excuse my ingorance but.....

[nownot]

is freebsd just another flavor of linux?

[wastern]

nope.

BSD is a type of unix

[nownot]

ahh i see good shit :) advantages over anything? else or is it just something else to use?

[wastern]

ahh i see good shit :) advantages over anything? else or is it just something else to use?

its good if you're going to run a server. If you are looking at a desktop OS Linux wins out

[simon]

Interesting for you to say that. I find FreeBSD to be just as easy as Linux to work with, even installation is a breeze these days. However, I find that the BSD community prefers you find things out for yourself, while the Linux community can be more helpful to newbies.

There is a very good intro to FreeBSD (http://www.over-yonder.net/~fullermd/rants/bsd4linux/bsd4linux1.php) from a Linux user's point of view which quotes:
BSD is what you get when a bunch of Unix hackers sit down to try to port a Unix system to the PC. Linux is what you get when a bunch of PC hackers sit down and try to write a Unix system for the PC.

[seb_onley]

Linux = GNU
BSD = BSD

One is a grown up, the other is not.
Stallman is a communist!!!!!

[wastern]

Interesting for you to say that. I find FreeBSD to be just as easy as Linux to work with, even installation is a breeze these days. However, I find that the BSD community prefers you find things out for yourself, while the Linux community can be more helpful to newbies.

There is a very good intro to FreeBSD (http://www.over-yonder.net/~fullermd/rants/bsd4linux/bsd4linux1.php) from a Linux user's point of view which quotes:

you know, someone else told me the installer was easier now...so I tried it again just a few weeks ago to see what had changed......its hellish and archaic still, didn't seem like they changed it at all since the last time I tried.

Once you get FreeBSD setup it can be ok, and its solid as hell and a fantastic OS for many situations. However, BSD just isn't as 'desktop ready' as some of the Linux distros out there right now and isn't well suited for it

[lordfoul]

freebsd and all bsd's are derivatives of unix with berkley licensing while linux is also an unix derivative despite the implication, GNU=Gnu is not unix acyronym, which is based upon the gnu licensing agreement. They share similar roots but bsd hasn't had as much support behind it as far as implementing it on the desktop and typically appeals to the linux or unix efficienado while the latest linux distros are almost command line free as far as day to day operation now.

[wastern]

freebsd and all bsd's are derivatives of unix with berkley licensing while linux is also an unix derivative despite the implication, GNU=Gnu is not unix acyronym, which is based upon the gnu licensing agreement. They share similar roots but bsd hasn't had as much support behind it as far as implementing it on the desktop and typically appeals to the linux or unix efficienado while the latest linux distros are almost command line free as far as day to day operation now.


they use different kernels, the paths diverged long, long ago

[jdhore]

i run FreeBSD and 2 different flavors of Desktop Linux (not on the same box) and FreeBSD is definetly more stable and better for servers (it's on my home server)...My FreeBSD box has been up for over 150 days straight

[volcanomike]

freebsd is easy to install. its easy if you know anything about a computer

[wastern]

freebsd is easy to install. its easy if you know anything about a computer


I got through it just fine. However it's an unnecessarily manual process. Compared to any other modern OS the install is a lot more work then it needs to be

[CharlieM]

Linux is only a Kernel. Its typically bundled with various other components which make up the Linux distros we know and love. Thats why there are so many and they are so different.

That is of course Linuxs (as a whole OS) biggest problem, they are all slightly different. When trying to fix something on my linux server I don't type in linux but the distros name along with my query into Google.

BSD on the other hand is a handfull of differenent complete operating systems. These aren't different distributions of the same kernel with a varying selection of user software like Linux. These a different kernels that have diveraged since they were forked off, although features added to one often get ported to others.

You effectivly end up installing a single packaged product like you would if you went out and bought a copy of Windows XP, execpt of course the BSD's are Open Source.

Whilst the installer for FreeBSD might look a bit long in the tooth its very functional. Very quickly you end up with a efficent reliable and completly consistant platform, perfect for servers. The problem is the lack of support, many opensource apps run but its rarely the main target of development. MySQL runs apparently less efficently than on linux. Java used to be a problem too, although thats getting better.

For desktop use its possible to run KDE or similar but theres not the emphasis on a command line free enviroment that many of the popular Linux distros have managed.

Still I found setting up my server running FreeBSD alot simpler than running on Ubuntu Server. Although its currently still running Ubuntu because I use it to record TV using Myth TV which doesnt work on FreeBSD.

[volcanomike]

I got through it just fine. However it's an unnecessarily manual process. Compared to any other modern OS the install is a lot more work then it needs to be

In FreeBSD you get to choose what you want to install. You can install just the base and install ports later or install some ports during the installation. So its not that much of a manual process. Its more of a control issue i suppose. I like having the power of what the installation is doing and not throwing a bunch of shit on my harddrive.

[lordfoul]

BSD has loads of potential, look what Apple is doing with it in Leopard; most people do not what to have to read a manual to operate their OS they want it to be intuative not have to learn its language. Us Geeks like that shit but most people don't. It's silly to pledge ones allegiance to an operating system anyway.

[lonescout]

Free BSD is probably your best bet for a good little server if you want rock solid stability, security and performance. I actually played with NetBSD for a desktop once and it wasn't bad at all. Think it's package manager was quite nice, and ran great with my hardware. Main difference, as least that I found, is that is seems you just find alot more documentation (as far as "plain english" how-tos) for the popular Linux distros. Certainly don't count it out as a dekstop distro if you just want the basic desktop. It's slightly different under the hood than Linux, but not much more than going from one Linux distro to the next.