*BSD News Article 42307


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From: pgf@id.wing.net (Paul Fox)
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.advocacy,comp.os.386bsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd
Subject: Re: Linux vs. BSD?!
Followup-To: comp.os.linux.advocacy,comp.os.386bsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd
Date: 7 Feb 1995 16:01:58 GMT
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Igor Chudov (ichudov@wiltel.com) wrote:
: You know, it is too hard to live without Unix at home, so now I am trying 
: to make a major choice for my home PC based system. Do you have any 
: arguments about Linux vs. 386BSD? 

freebsd is probably more stable on a release-to-release basis -- the
releases are quite controlled, and the whole process is pretty regimented.
the networking code especially, having been around forever, is probably
more robust, and better documented.  there are probably fewer binary
applications available than for linux.

linux is somewhat anarchic -- there are lots of releases, it's somewhat
hard to know what works with what (i.e. it takes more homework), but
newer features are available more quickly -- things like drivers for
every soundcard and cdrom in the world, power management functions on
laptops, etc.  there are more things ported to linux than freebsd, mainly
due to the size of the user base.

i can't comment on relative memory or disk requirements.

i run linux, and i avoid the release du jour problem by only upgrading
once a year or so.  i'm running .99pl12 now, and am about to upgrade
because my shared lib is incompatible with some of the binaries i've
downloaded lately, and because i need some of the more "modern" features
of the networking code, like more robust ppp and non-standard subnet masks. 
i've considered switching to freebsd, but i think all i'd buy is stability,
and things haven't been all that unstable lately.  although i do get a "dup
free" message from ext2fs once in a while that's sort of worrying.  i hope
that goes away with my upgrade.

paul

---------------------------------
paul fox, pgf@foxharp.boston.ma.us (arlington, ma)