Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2004 13:25:28 +0100 From: Matthew Seaman <m.seaman@infracaninophile.co.uk> To: Spuds <spuds@allstream.net> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Some Simple Questions Message-ID: <20040614122528.GA80662@happy-idiot-talk.infracaninophile.co.uk> In-Reply-To: <000a01c451c8$044d4b60$1e999a8e@3ey7m> References: <000a01c451c8$044d4b60$1e999a8e@3ey7m>
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--2oS5YaxWCcQjTEyO Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable On Sun, Jun 13, 2004 at 09:28:16PM -0700, Spuds wrote: > 1) Is FreeBSD truly free, as in I don't have to pay for it and can downlo= ad it at no charge or is FreeBSD just a name? Yes. It's free. You can download it and use it with out worrying about license fees. =20 > 2) Is FreeBSD in any way affected by the SCO lawsuits against Linux distr= ibutors and commercial users, as I am aware that FreeBSD is based on Unix? = I believe it is the fact that Linux may have Unix code, but I am not sure, = as I have read many different opinions. SCO are blowing a lot of wind right now, but it's all bark and no bite. Basically the AT&T lawsuit in the early nineties resolved all questions about intellectual proprietary and AT&T Unix code within any of the *BSD family. That has not prevented SCO directors making threats, but then they would, wouldn't they. In any case, FreeBSD is not going to be high on SCO's target list, as there's no money to be wrung out of the FreeBSD organization. For the opinions of a former member of the FreeBSD core team and generally interested party, see: http://people.lemis.com/grog/sco.html =20 > 3) Is FreeBSD compatible with Linux software? I believe I read that somew= here. If you install the Linux compatability port, you can run most Linux executables directly under FreeBSD. Sometimes the applications even seem to perform better under FreeBSD than they do natively... > 4) Can FreeBSD run on a laptop that is hardware compatible, as I know som= e OS's cannot run on laptops but can on desktops? Yes, in general. However, laptops are much trickier to deal with than usual desktop style hardware, and getting FreeBSD to run properly on a specific model can be difficult. Check out the freebsd-mobile@freebsd.org mailing list as a resource to find out what works and what doesn't. Cheers, Matthew --=20 Dr Matthew J Seaman MA, D.Phil. 26 The Paddocks Savill Way PGP: http://www.infracaninophile.co.uk/pgpkey Marlow Tel: +44 1628 476614 Bucks., SL7 1TH UK --2oS5YaxWCcQjTEyO Content-Type: application/pgp-signature Content-Disposition: inline -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.4 (FreeBSD) iD8DBQFAzZk4iD657aJF7eIRAhN5AJ0f8OANmzWRUEp+53VnzPd+GYitVgCgo8zK Pu/0lgm74Y8ciGZPPJ9p2vw= =TN9a -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- --2oS5YaxWCcQjTEyO--
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