From owner-freebsd-questions Thu Dec 27 17:36: 2 2001 Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from hawk.prod.itd.earthlink.net (hawk.mail.pas.earthlink.net [207.217.120.22]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 8E31E37B417 for ; Thu, 27 Dec 2001 17:35:58 -0800 (PST) Received: from dialup-63.214.209.154.dial1.philadelphia1.level3.net ([63.214.209.154] helo=sparky) by hawk.prod.itd.earthlink.net with smtp (Exim 3.33 #1) id 16Jlw8-0004bF-00; Thu, 27 Dec 2001 17:35:52 -0800 From: Jud To: freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG, Paul Citro Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2001 20:35:59 -0500 X-Priority: 3 (Normal) Reply-To: jud@operamail.com In-Reply-To: <20011228001738.32998.qmail@web9106.mail.yahoo.com> Message-Id: Subject: Re: Escape from the Windows Madness MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" X-Mailer: Opera 6.0 build 1010 Sender: owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Precedence: bulk List-ID: List-Archive: (Web Archive) List-Help: (List Instructions) List-Subscribe: List-Unsubscribe: X-Loop: FreeBSD.ORG 12/27/2001 7:17:38 PM, Paul Citro wrote: >Hello, > I am a typical computer user with a Windows 98, AMD >K6 system with 128 megs of ram and a 20 gig. hard >drive. I want to escape from the Microsoft monopoly >and Windows madness. Can I use dsb? Will it be >compatible with my computers mother board, sound card, >video card, cd, modem, Panasonic monitor, Cannon >printer, Vivitar scanner? Can I use my favorite >Internet Provider, Bluelight? > >===== >Sincerely >Paul Citro Current release version (FreeBSD 4.4) will support at least the hardware on the following list: http://www.freebsd.org/releases/4.4R/hardware-i386.html ISP won't be a problem as long as you're using the pay service that provides you an access number. However, if you're on the free service with ads and a banner that won't go away, that may be Windows- specific code. If you want to "escape the Windows madness," you're not a typical computer user. ;) But running FreeBSD involves a learning curve that can be steep. A friend who knows Unix would be a great asset, and this mailing list can be helpful. If you're looking for something a little less "hands on" that does some of the hard stuff for you, I hear the new Mandrake Linux is relatively easy to install and get running. I haven't used Linux myself, though - that's just hearsay I'm passing along. Jud > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message