Date: Fri, 9 Sep 2005 14:09:00 -0400 (EDT) From: Jerry McAllister <jerrymc@clunix.cl.msu.edu> To: Nathansm@aol.com Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: need more info Message-ID: <200509091809.j89I90w2020436@clunix.cl.msu.edu> In-Reply-To: <ba.79c8ae54.305318c5@aol.com>
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> > What exactly is FreeBSD? Can it be used by the computer beginner or do you > need to be a very knowledgable computer user? Is it compatible with my > computer? It is a compaq presario 5000 series with an AMD Duron 750MHz > processor. FreeBSD is an operating system. If you are familiar with something like MAC OS-X, it is somewhat equivalent in sense to that. It is sort of equivalent to MS Win-XP except FreeBSD is a real operating system. An operating system manages the resources of the computer and provides an environment in which application programs can function. Applications would be things like MS-Word, Powerpoint, Excel, CD writer, etc in the MS world. Beginners can use FreeBSD, but you need to know that it is not set up to do all your thinking for you. People who come from an MS environment where decisions are made for you and you are discouraged from having direct access to your machine or control over resources often have early difficulty getting a handle on the concept of FreeBSD and other real operating systems. For that reason it is common to say that FreeBSD has a steep initial learning curve. But, it depends on what you want. If you are happy with the limited access and predetermined patterns of usage (and poor security) provided by MS systems then you might find FreeBSD difficult. But, if you are trying to gain closer control over your system, or create a secure system or create your own types of uses you will begin to find that FreeBSD is the easier one to use and that MS systems have a steep learning curve. One more thing is that, if your intention is to use your machine as a robust and reasonably secure server on the internet, FreeBSD is a clearer path to success. MAC OS competes well with FreeBSD in personal use, but less so as a server. MS stuff is a perpetual headache as a server. Almost any "WinTel" PC-like machine will work well for FreeBSD. Some oddball and/or weak devices that might be installed on a PC do not have drivers in FreeBSD for them. In most cases, that is a good/fortunate thing, because those devices are not up to the rigors of serious network server service. Each Release version of the FreeBSD os has a list on the web page of known devices that are supported. It is a long list. Sometimes you have to extrapolate a little, in that the list names the main chip and not always every brand of device that uses the chip and in a few cases it names devices without naming the relevent chip and you have to work it out. But, mostly the information you need is there. So go to http://www.freebsd.org/ Now presuming you are thinking of installing FreeBSD 5.4, look over on the right hand side of the page and you will see "Production Release 5.4" Under that you will see a link named "Hardware Notes" Click on it. Then you will see a page with a list of CPU type platforms. Chose the right one and click on it. Almost all, including regular AMD chips and all the Intel ixxx series regardless of marketing name are the i386 type. Then you will see a page with all the hardware know to work on that version of FreeBSD. Generally, anything that is there and anything that uses the same components as other things there will work. The final thing to say is read the handbook and other documenation and then just start trying it out. There are several good book out in addition to the handbook. There area FAQs on many aspects and a number of web sites with very good information, some conceptual documentation and some step by step howto-s. There are online publications with very good articles and archives. Most of these can be found easily by doing searches from the FreeBSD web site and/or from Google. The handbook starts at: http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/index.html FAQs start at: http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/faq/index.html In the beginning you will probably screw up some stuff. Just go back and reinstall and try some more. It will become more clear as you gain experience and by then you will know so much more about computers than any MS user that you will find it hard to limit yourself to the MS world. > _______________________________________________ > freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list > http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions > To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-questions-unsubscribe@freebsd.org" >
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