this post was submitted on 13 Jun 2024
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submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by bubstance@lemmy.sdf.org to c/unixporn@lemmy.ml
 
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[–] aida@lemm.ee 5 points 4 months ago (1 children)

something you can't do or any inconvenience on this system?

[–] bubstance@lemmy.sdf.org 8 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

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.