Return to BSD News archive
Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!news.mel.connect.com.au!munnari.OZ.AU!spool.mu.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!newsfeed.internetmci.com!in2.uu.net!nwlink.com!tsunami.ixa.net!gandalf.compumedia.com!galadriel!scottm From: scottm@compumedia.com (Scott McDermott) Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.advocacy,alt.os.linux,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.misc Subject: Re: a monthly FreeBSD magazine (and other *BSD's too) Followup-To: comp.os.linux.advocacy,alt.os.linux,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.misc Date: 27 Dec 1995 18:47:58 GMT Organization: Compumedia, Inc. Lines: 40 Message-ID: <4bs4cu$mkm@gandalf.compumedia.com> References: <4ajc07$sb7@unix2.glink.net.hk> <4att23$mha@agate.berkeley.edu> <4au4fo$pbo@agate.berkeley.edu> <4av7jh$k48@orion.cc.andrews.edu> <4avg1j$dab@agate.berkeley.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: galadriel.compumedia.com X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2] Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.os.linux.advocacy:31495 alt.os.linux:6720 comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc:11179 comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.misc:1673 Nick Kralevich (nickkral@parker.EECS.Berkeley.EDU) wrote: : Of course, FreeBSD users might be different than Linux users with : regards to purchasing CDs. That might also explain why FreeBSD doesn't : have that much commerical support. My thoughts (aka opinions): It seems to me that FreeBSD isn't quite as new user friendly as Linux. Installation of the popular Linux distributions are aimed at people who know little or nothing about Unix. Installing FreeBSD requires more knowledge about what you are doing, and doesn't automagically install all the frills that Linux does. If FreeBSD had an installation that wasn't as scary to the average PC user, it would probably have more "market share", but who knows. Couple of other points, FreeBSD seems slower in getting drivers for new hardware out, it also doesn't support as much hardware. This is primarily because of the highly structured nature of FreeBSD's development cycle, but this does hurt FreeBSD a bit. The irony about the CD's is, buying a CD makes good sense with FreeBSD, because of the structured development. Buying a CD with Linux is (IMNSHO) a waste. By the time it's pressed it's out of date! Linux is so much more dynamic (almost chaotic). It requires far too much effort to keep up with it. ;) To sum my ramblings up: Linux is less stable under load, but is easier to use overall, good for single user/low usage machines, and learning UNIX. FreeBSD is more stable and handles multiple logins/heavy loads MUCH better than Linux. For me and my purposes, it's a better machine for actual usage. -- Happy Holidays! | Scott McDermott | System Administrator | Compumedia, Inc.