*BSD News Article 69652


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From: james@jraynard.demon.co.uk (James Raynard)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc
Subject: Re: I hope this doesn't start a war!
Date: 28 May 1996 23:51:52 -0000
Organization: A FreeBSD Box
Lines: 59
Message-ID: <4og3io$bee@jraynard.demon.co.uk>
References: <4odu25$3q6@buffnet2.buffnet.net>
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In article <4odu25$3q6@buffnet2.buffnet.net>,
Accurate Computer Service <accurate@buffnet.net> wrote:
>     Before everyone jumps down my throat, I'd like to back up to basics.
>I have never even SEEN a system running either FreeBSD or Linux so go

Try Walnut Creek's FTP and WWW sites - they are among the busiest in
the world and run on a FreeBSD machine. (I know that's not the same as
seeing it "in the flesh", but it should give you an idea of the kind
of load it can take).

>easy on me.  We were thinking about playing around with one of these and
>we are undecided as to which one.  Does anyone have any suggestions as to
>which one of the two might be easier to install or get used to?  I've

You don't say what system you're already running (MicroSlop?), but I
think you'll find the difference between them much smaller than the
gap between Unix and other operating systems.

>read some of the posts and I realize I'll get (heated) answers for both 
>but that's great.  

Hmm. Maybe I'm being a bit too bland here. All right, here goes 8-)

Linux is having its TCP/IP code re-written (so I'm told) and FreeBSD
is having its DOS filesystem code re-written. Now, I'm *not* trying to
say that TCP/IP is more important or more "worthy" than the ability to
read a DOS filesystem (obviously for some people it will be, for some
people the opposite will be the case), but I think that it shows the
different interests and aims of the two communities in an interesting
light.

>The system: 486-100 8MB 850MB CD 1.44

Is that an IDE system? The FreeBSD support for IDE CDROMs is still in
alpha, so perhaps you may prefer Linux in that case - unless of course
you would like to help in the testing! 8-)

>     Does everyone order the CD from Walnut Creek or are there better
>and/or cheaper places?  

There are other places which are cheaper, but I've no idea if they're
better!

>Is it better to D/L it?

Depends on what the phone charges are like where you are 8-)

If you have the FreeBSD CDROM, you have a permanent copy of it, even
if your hard disk implodes (you also get an extra CD with a full
installed system on it, which is useful for sanity checking and allows
you to keep the source for things off your hard disk when you're not
using it). On the other hand, FreeBSD can be installed over the Net by
FTP - all you need to do is grab the boot disk and it'll pull down
everything else automatically!

-- 
James Raynard, Edinburgh, Scotland
jraynard@dial.pipex.com
james@jraynard.demon.co.uk