2 Dec
2005
2 Dec
'05
4:14 a.m.
On Thu, 01 Dec 2005 15:40:09 +0000
Jules Richardson <julesrichardsonuk at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
Cini, Richard wrote:
I moved from Slackware to NetBSD a number of years ago, and just recently gave OpenBSD a
try. From my perspective, there's an advantage in any of the BSDs over a Linux in
that you're dealing with a more integrated OS. The three 'main' BSDs provide
an entire userland from the same source tree, not 'packages' from all over. So
you get X Window and all your standard unixy things, including the core development tools,
in a small single-install produced by one organization. Then 'packages' like word
processors, browsers, emulators and such are installed as 'packages' through a
package management system. Most 'linux' distros try to do this, but pull in
source and binaries from all over to make up the 'distribution' without the degree
of oversight that a modern BSD operating system entails.
What has me 'sold' on OpenBSD at this point is that there is a rich directory of
prebuilt binary packages from one place and mirrors that I was able to mirror onto a
DVD-ROM and now have in it's entirety. Which can be done with any other 'free
UNIX' if you download enough but there often aren't centrally located
repositories. (BTW- anybody who wants a set of said stuff, holler in private email
because I'm in favor of sharing bandwidth. I will distribute CDs or DVDs- the
'downloadable' stuff only, though, for the cost of media and shipping) And being
moderately cross-platform (not as widely ported as NetBSD, of course) you can run it on a
LOT of different systems. I bought the commercial OpenBSD CDROM set a month ago before
embarking on my new OpenBSD system install, and it clearly stated right on the outside of
the CD that the set contained the binaries to run on a MicroVAX 3100. What ELSE can you
buy at a Frys Electronics that will run on the latest Pentiums, the 64 b!
it AMD processors, your Macintosh SE/30 and your MicroVAX 3100? (they didn't have
the NetBSD set at the Frys I visited)
There is also a slogan out there that sums it all up nicely and/or is obvious flamebait:
"Linux is for people who hate Microsoft. BSD is for people who love Unix."
All:
I'm thinking of ditching Windows totally on my desktop at home
as I build my next upgraded x86-bsed PC. So, I wanted to take a poll of the
group for a recommendation on which Linux distro to use. I downloaded Fedora
Core, Slackware, FreeBSD, Unbuntu and Linspire.
Always been a Slackware fan myself (used it since the SLS days, apart from a
brief diversion to RedHat). It's less bloated than the likes of Fedora, but
still comes with the option of a lot of desktop software.