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Xref: sserve comp.os.386bsd.misc:2122 comp.os.linux.misc:11652 Newsgroups: comp.os.386bsd.misc,comp.os.linux.misc Path: sserve!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!yeshua.marcam.com!usc!howland.reston.ans.net!pipex!sunic!psinntp!psinntp!newstand.syr.edu!mothra.syr.edu!smcarey From: smcarey@mothra.syr.edu (Shawn M Carey) Subject: Re: Impressions: FreeBSD vs Linux Message-ID: <1994Mar26.232802.26402@newstand.syr.edu> Sender: netnews@newstand.syr.edu (Network News Administrator) Nntp-Posting-Host: mothra.syr.edu Organization: Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY References: <HJSTEIN.94Mar24111940@sunset.huji.ac.il> <Cn6txK.IDp@boulder.parcplace.com> <2n1l3n$821@clarknet.clark.net> Date: Sat, 26 Mar 1994 23:28:02 GMT Lines: 78 In article <2n1l3n$821@clarknet.clark.net> rob-n@clark.net (Rob Newberry) writes: >... >IMHO, *BSD has a LONG way to go before its ready for users like me. I >guess what they need most is a kind of Slackware install, where someone >can get the system and many utilities installed quickly. I was I've done many installations of FreeBSD, haven't tried NetBSD yet... >VERY VERY disappointed to find that, even though I downloaded every >distribution file for NetBSD at iastate.edu, I didn't even have a good >way to talk to my modem -- kermit is not there, I can't get tip >to work, and there's just not any instructions anywhere. Plus, when cu/tip are in FreeBSD. Now I don't know what version of NetBSD you were trying, but I'd expect it's cu to work as expected. All the manpages I've seen for these commands are complete and correct. If you can't even look at a manpage long enough to see the '-l' option to cu(1) then I have no sympathy. >there are instructions, they're wrong. The FAQ for makeing a new >*BSD kernel tells me to switch to a directory that doesn't exists on >my machine, and config a file that isn't there. Yes, I did manage to >find the right place, and create the GENERICISA file from the Where did you find it? This is truly a mystery to me... >GENERICAHA, but it wasn't in /sys/i386/conf. Plus, there's no >description of all that junk in the configuration file -- the FAQ >says, "Perhaps someone should tell us what all these options actually >mean." I thought that's what the *!@# FAQ was for! Agreed. FreeBSD-1.0 has a /sys/i386/doc directory that describes most of the common entries for a kernel config file. I can't speak for NetBSD on this, though. >It's not just the FAQ's, either. The man pages are screwy. I wanted >to add some users. In linux, "adduser" does the trick. So I do a >"man adduser", and it says that this is a command for adding new users, >and furthermore that it has been around since 3.0BSD. Great! So I >try "adduser" and whammo! "adduser: Command not found." Yes, I >did finally find out to use "vipw" (Thanks, O'Reilly), but that's >just plain dumb. Sorry, the adduser manpage says it's a *PROCEDURE* for adding new users!!! I think you misread it? >utility programs that I never even used. In *BSD, none of the things >I was looking for were there -- no virtual consoles, no comm package, >no "adduser", no good mail reader, no "pico", no nothing. *BSD may >have fine networking code, but I won't know about it until they make >it easy enough to use. Oh, come on! virtual consoles ARE there. See above about comm packages (tip/cu). What's the matter with mail(1) for a reader, anyways? >Now, I do realize that many of the *BSD people like it fine. But I >will bet that they have a firmer grasp of Unix sys administration I was a total DOS-weenie when I first installed FreeBSD (after trying linux). I liked the fact that it didn't have a slew of things that I didn't know how to use or what they were for. >than I do. I won't say its a bad system...I don't know. I will say >that its packaging and installation process for novices like >myself is absolute crap. Why? Because it doesn't include everything under the moon? Some people don't wan't to have 1000 utilities on their system and know what only 5 of them are for. With FreeBSD I can get the source and build any utility I find a craving for. >... > >Rob Newberry >rob-n@clark.net > -Shawn Carey