From owner-freebsd-questions Thu Aug 17 11:24:37 2000 Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from relay1.inwind.it (relay1.inwind.it [212.141.53.67]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 015D437B640 for ; Thu, 17 Aug 2000 11:24:34 -0700 (PDT) Received: from localhost (212.141.79.213) by relay1.inwind.it (5.1.039) id 399AA5C5000152FE; Thu, 17 Aug 2000 20:24:28 +0200 From: Salvo Bartolotta Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2000 17:24:13 GMT Message-ID: <20000817.17241300@mis.configured.host> Subject: Re: BSD Inquiry... To: cyberstorm Cc: freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG In-Reply-To: <399BEE09.F77DDD6C@prodigy.net> References: <399BEE09.F77DDD6C@prodigy.net> X-Mailer: SuperCalifragilis X-Priority: 3 (Normal) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Sender: owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Precedence: bulk X-Loop: FreeBSD.ORG >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Original Message <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< On 8/17/00, 2:52:10 PM, cyberstorm wrote=20 regarding BSD Inquiry...: > Hello. > I'm a Linux user and was wondering why BSD hasn't hit mainstream > yet???=20 Dear "Cyberstorm", *BSD systems, and in particular FreeBSD, are probably known as=20 "difficult[-to-learn]" OSes. They are certainly not designed/intended=20 for the "point-click-and-do-not-think" people. However, with a little configuration work, you can have graphical=20 interfaces (e.g. Gnome, KDE, etc.) if you like, as well as GUI=20 administration tools (cf /usr/ports/sysutils/webmin, found in the=20 FreeBSD Ports Collection). Also, you can install a variety of=20 "desktop" software under FreeBSD: StarOffice, WordPerfect, Gimp, etc.=20 Incidentally, the FreeBSD Ports Collection includes over 3,000=20 applications, a number of which are desktop ones. =20 Actually, unlike e.g. Windows, these operating systems simply require=20 that one should understand what one is doing -- ie study the relevant=20 (very often superb) documentation. Flexibility, stability and power=20 come with a little price. One further note: whenever you meet with problems, if you "do your=20 homework", you very often get excellent support from *BSD lists. The=20 kind of support for which people usually pay $$$$. As far as diffusion is concerned, you may wish to note that insects,=20 too, are **incredibly** widespread; this fact, in general, not=20 implying that they are very intelligent beings ... =20 > The other question is... how does BSD compare to LINUX??? IMHO, there is no "absolute" or "perfect" operating system.=20 Sorry. Even if I think that *BSD, and especially FreeBSD, come close=20 ... :-))) Some people have performed tests in which *BSD, in certain areas=20 (networking; single CPU), obtain better results than Solaris 7/8 and=20 Linux. In other tests, Linux, Solaris et al. get (or might get) better=20 results, I shouldn't wonder :-) If you want to form a really unbiased picture, please fetch a more or=20 less "fancy" bootloader, a couple of HDs, and try ALL of these OSes=20 ... =20 > For my last question... is there a variety of security software for > this operating system, or does it use the same as Linux??? If not, > would you recommend a firewall and antivirus[if needed]. > --------------------- > Thanks There IS security software for FreeBSD: packet-filtering tools such as=20 ipfw and ipf, as well as other software (cf /usr/ports/security/* in=20 the Ports Collection). Albeit some viruses for Unix HAVE been written, the concept of=20 "virus", AFAIK, provided you get used to few simple administration=20 rules, is virtually meaningless. Just my 2 picoEuro. Best regards, Salvo To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message