Date: Wed, 28 Apr 1999 17:51:36 +0200 (CEST) From: Konrad Heuer <kheuer@gwdu60.gwdg.de> To: freebsd-advocacy@freebsd.org Subject: CHIP: Lies about FreeBSD Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.4.05.9904281702270.59373-100000@gwdu60.gwdg.de>
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The popular German computer magazine CHIP 05/99 comes with an article
about alternate (imagine the typical Windows user) PC operating systems.
Among others, the authors mention Linux (6 pages), and they mention
FreeBSD (1 page).
They elaborately write about the new Linux 2.2 kernel, and they write
one(!) sentence about 3.1-RELEASE after mentioning 3.0-R just unstable.
Nothing about the large step from 2.2.8-R to 3.x-R.
The description of the history of FreeBSD ist approximately correct, and
they talk about internet service providers loving FreeBSD because of its
performance. They state that FreeBSD is as an server OS at least as useful
as Linux. So long, no problem.
But: The authors also give statements which are incorrect and which sound
very negative. Below I give some citations, and I try to translate and
(=3D=3D>) comment:
1. "FreeBSD ist binaerkompatibel zu SCO-Unix, BSDI, NetBSD, Linux und zu
386BSD. Das bedeutet, dass (theoretisch) Programme dieser Plattformen
auch auf FreeBSD laufen."
FreeBSD comes with support for SCO-Unix, BSDI, NetBSD, Linux
and 386BSD binaries. This means that in principal programs for that
operating systems run under FreeBSD.
=3D=3D> No word about the nearly perfect Linux emulation! Instead,
the reader will believe that emulation doesn't work in practice!
2. "Weitaus schlimmer ist, dass FreeBSD auch keine
ISA-Plug-and-play-Karten unterstuetzt."
Much more worse - FreeBSD doesn't support ISA plug and play cards.
=3D=3D> I really don't know how the authors could overlook PnP support
in FreeBSD!
3. "Mit dem Entwicklungstempo von Linux kann die freie Unix-Familie
mangels Entwickler- und Anwendermassen sowieso nicht mithalten. Kurz:
Ein Betriebssystem fuer Fans, dessen Zukunft unklar ist."
The free UNIX family [the authors talk about FreeBSD and NetBSD here]
will inevitably fall behind Linux because there are too less
developers and users. To be short: an operating system for fans with
an obscure future.
=3D=3D> Have the authors ever taken a look at the impressive step to
3.x-RELEASE? I'm in doubt! Have they really shown interest for
any other alternate OS than Linux?
What can we do? I will write a detailed comment about that article to the
editorial office (redaktion@chip.de), and I'd like to encourage others to
this as well.
It's worse to read about FreeBSD in a negative context than to read
nothing about it! The normal Windows user will never install FreeBSD after
reading the article! One exception: he/she already knows FreeBSD and thus
removes the magazine where it belongs - to the waste paper basket.
Regards
//
// Konrad Heuer ____ ___ _____=
__=20
// Gesellschaft f=FCr wissenschaftliche / __/______ ___ / _ )/ __=
/ _ \
// Datenverarbeitung mbH G=D6ttingen / _// __/ -_) -_) _ |\ \/=
// /
// Am Fa=DFberg, D-37077 G=D6ttingen /_/ /_/ \__/\__/____/___=
/____/=20
// Deutschland (Germany) ----- The Power to Serve ----=
-
// http://www.freebsd.org
// kheuer@gwdu60.gwdg.de
//
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