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Xref: sserve comp.os.386bsd.misc:4250 alt.folklore.computers:68503 Path: sserve!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!newshost.marcam.com!news.mathworks.com!hookup!nic.hookup.net!not-for-mail From: mike@muise.hookup.net (mike muise) Newsgroups: comp.os.386bsd.misc,alt.folklore.computers Subject: Re: BSD sluggish compared to Linux? Date: 27 Nov 1994 22:15:39 -0500 Organization: Mike's Carnival of Whimsy Lines: 69 Message-ID: <3bbi0r$dff@muise.hookup.net> References: <3am248$7kv@itu1.sun.ac.za> <3ao31t$9fo@itu1.sun.ac.za> <1994Nov21.000855.124757@slate.mines.colorado.edu> <3atqbj$9u5@muise.hookup.net> <Czq128.506@bonkers.taronga.com> <3b0ut5$637@itu1.sun.ac.za> NNTP-Posting-Host: muise.hookup.net X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2] Peter da Silva (peter@bonkers.taronga.com) wrote: : In article <3atqbj$9u5@muise.hookup.net>, : mike muise <mike@muise.hookup.net> wrote: : >Why are you folks being such jerks about this? Getting accurate : >information on any religious issue is a non-trivial feat, and : >this guy has pulled it off without starting a flame war. : Um, he's gotten information. Whether it's accurate or not is at this point : unknown. He hasn't done it without starting a flame war. Want to try again? Uh, my point was that it was done without starting a Linux vs. BSD flamewar. Any flames were critical of the method, _not_ of the OSes in question. Is it accurate? I dunno. But if you've taken the time to respond to a post, asking for info, would you fill it with lies? (intentionally?) And as I mentioned, the whole point behind posting to two separate and opposing groups is to reduce the bias. While there will certainly be half-truths and non-truths among the responses, they aren't likely to be _consistently_ dishonest. With some contrasting viewpoints, you can distinguish the facts from the boasting (in theory, anyway) and come to a conclusion. As to the poster who doesn't have the time to wipe the asses of others: I wholehearedtly agree with the idea of doing some legwork on your own rather then relying on the net for every answer, but all is not always as it seems. First, as PC Unix becomes more and more mainstream, it's common to order a system with the intention of running *nix on it, rather than retrofitting to existing hardware. In that case, the specific harware will be based on the choice of OS (to ensure compatibility), and so it's impossible to compare the two on your own (since you're choosing the OS before you own the h/w). Second, believe it or not, we weren't all farted forth from the bowels of the earth as Unix wizards. Not everyone has the expertise to make a valid comparison between a couple of very unique operating systems (BTW, I say "unique" as in "different from DOS/Windows," not "obscure"). I could do it now, but certainly not before I installed Linux, when I was a relative newbie to the non-DOS world. Third, since when did asking for help qualify someone as "lazy"? (Note: I'm referring to a previous post, which is [unfortunately] not the post I've quoted above) Everyone was a newbie once, though some admit this only as a preface to "but *I* never had to ask for help, 'cuz I wasn't a lazy newbie." When someone asks for comparitive performance, they *aren't* asking someone else to go out and benchmark the systems and mail in a summary. Rather, they're asking for the *already-collected* knowledge on the subject, i.e., "if you have a file kicking around with OS benchmark results, press a few keys and mail it to me please." Before I do something myself, especially a task as large as that, I first ask if it's been done already. How does this make me lazy? I empathize with the hacker nature and the do-it-yourself spirit, but hell, does every `real' user just code up whatever tools they need, or do they poke around first to see if the tool exists? If you want to know what time it is, do you ask someone with a watch or go out and stare at the sun? The fact is, the guy didn't spam a thousand groups to ask his question; he didn't include six copies of his .sig in the post, and he didn't even ask to be e-mailed any responses. The only thing he did was preface the question with a remark that I've heard lots of times: "I hear X is faster than Y." Honestly, I don't see how this is bad. If someone wants to enlighten me, go ahead; I'm listening. =) mike