Submit screenshots of all your *NIX desktops, themes, and nifty configurations, or submit anything else that will make themers happy. Maybe a server running on an Amiga, or a Thinkpad signed by Bjarne Stroustrup? Show the world how pretty your computer can be!
machine: ThinkPad T420
os: ⑨front
cwfsprograms:
clock
For those interested in learning more about Plan 9 and trying it out in a public environment: SDF Public Access UNIX System is hosting their seasonal Plan 9 Boot Camp starting June 20th. Feel free to drop into com and say hello!
You're running Plan9 on real hardware???
How's it faring?
But of course! Real hardware or bust.
This particular machine has been my daily driver for months now, so I would say it is faring quite well.
Do you browse on this?
Indeed.
9front comes with two browsers out of the box: abaco and mothra. There is also a port of NetSurf as well as both gopher and gemini browsers.
Nice! I think I'm gonna follow that footstep.
something you can't do or any inconvenience on this system?
Oh sure, lots of things are "inconvenient" on Plan 9.
Of note for most would-be users: if you rely on a modern web browser like Firefox/Chrome, forget about it. Never going to happen.
It's important to remember that Plan 9 is fundamentally a research operating system; it's not really a "typical" environment by any stretch, and that stems largely from it being entirely network-based and distributed. A single Plan 9 system in isolation can only be so interesting. Using it on a laptop like this can be an entirely different set of problems.
If you'd like some examples of things you may face:
booting can be slow
can be intimidating to set up for some of the more important features – factotum(4) and secstore(1), new users and directories under /, etc.
cwfs is slow
hjfs is really slow
no multi-monitor support
only recently did we get a filesystem that specifically aims to be crash-safe
poor documentation, though it's been getting better
reading research papers is basically a requirement for understanding the system
security is not a priority
For me, though? I genuinely don't need much more than what's available in the base system.
Got all the device driver support?
On this machine I have everything except for Bluetooth and the fingerprint reader, neither of which I ever use anyway.
Is this for business or personal? Both? Other? I'm wondering about differences in daily interactions when running Plan 9.
All? I just use it like any other computer, honestly.
Are there any specific questions you have? I can try my best to explain.
This is the sexiest plan 9 shot I've seen, insanely cool OS
The wallpaper is awesome. And everything else looks quite unique, pretty and usable
PNINU? That acronym will never fly
Perhaps just PNU?
Of course. I forgot to leave out the short words
What is Plan9? Is is an OS... or a kernel... or a set of utilities? I've been sorta interested in it in the past, but have no idea where to start.
Plan 9 is a research operating system developed by Bell Labs as a successor to UNIX.
I would suggest starting somewhere like here to get an idea of what it's about, as well as checking out this video from one of 9front's core contributors.
Wild to see a Plan9 distro. What do you use it for? Hobby projects, distro surfing, etc?
Thats super freaking cool!!! I didnt know what plan 9 was until i read the comments and then went to wikipedia and mannn its super epic. Like in 2015 theres videos of a guy porting plan 9 on a raspberry pi!!
I have an RPi4 and a 0W that run 9front as diskless terminals thanks to that effort. It works really well!
Richard Miller is one of the OGs; he did the first port of UNIX, and if you look into Plan 9 more you'll see exactly how much of a connection to history it really is.
rio’s color scheme may be modified by editing the .c configuration files and re-compiling:
Note: Someone will mock you for doing this.
What's wrong with the pretty gray background?
Nothing at all.
It's purely for my own needs — what worked for Rob Pike's eyes in the '90s doesn't really work for mine when it comes to actually using it every day, so I figured I'd have fun with it while I was changing the colors for the various programs.
Ah, I didn't know Pike or Thompson were involved with Plan 9 . Does anyome here know why they used the Ed Wood movie for the name?
I think it really is as simple as our dorks from the Labs liking Ed Wood.
Same reason the mascot is named Glenda.
