Date: Sun, 28 May 2000 21:52:27 -0500 (CDT) From: BWS - Offwhite <brennan@offwhite.net> To: Ender <thistleb@home.com> Cc: freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Switching to FreeBSD from Windows Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.4.21.0005282130390.84728-100000@home.offwhite.net> In-Reply-To: <000501bfc8c1$ce16b060$616d2a18@on.wave.home.com.slnt1.on.wave.home.com>
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Going from Windows directly to FreeBSD as your first Unix system ever may be very frustrating. I have been using Unix systems for years and still get frustrated and stumped at times. And the focus of FreeBSD is to be a server, and perhaps a workstation, but not a desktop. The difference is that support for nice things like sound, fonts, and user interface are not really at the same level as you would find for other systems like Windows and MacOS. It simply has not been a priority because the core group of FreeBSD developers wish to create a solid server based system. FreeBSD does have a GUI interface and you can install Gnome or KDE which are both pretty good once you have them installed and configured to suit you, but you have to do some work to get them there. FreeBSD can also do sound and has decent support for fonts, but not to the level as other desktop oriented systems. I would expect that you will need to feel comfortable with the command-line if you hope to make FreeBSD your day to day system. If that is totally foreign to you, you will have to get past some growing pains here. I came from the DOS world from long ago before I went to college and started to get exposed to Unix. I had some command-line experience, which is becoming less and less rare as people first learn to use a computer with Win95 and above. Perhaps you would find it easier to start with Linux which does strive to create a friendly desktop environment. If you spent the $30 to buy a CD set at Best Buy you will also get phone support to get past any problems right away. If you choose FreeBSD you will have this mailing list as a resource, but responses to questions will not be a quick or perhaps as helpful as a toll free phone call to Caldera. Linux also detects and sets up your GUI interface and sound without making you read up on any of the internals of Linux. This may be get past some stumbling blocks. You can also get by for a while without much exposure to the command-line. After running Linux for a few months and you are comfortable with the Unix-like environment, back up the system entirely and install FreeBSD as you wish. With the experience with Linux you have built you will be better prepared to really enjoy running FreeBSD. I started with DOS, went to Windows, then to MacOS. I then took a job where I was on FreeBSD workstations all day. I liked them. After a year I sampled 3 of the major Linux distros and found them easy to set up, but still found FreeBSD to be preferable once the initial work to set it up was completed. FreeBSD has the ports collections and a mentality which sets it apart. You have to experience both Linux and FreeBSD for some time to see the difference. By experiencing Linux and FreeBSD you will be able to choose the one you like best. I just hope the differences between the Unix world and Windows does not scare you off. There will be a learning curve, but once you get past it, you will be that much better for overcoming that small challenge. And depending on what you do for a living, having that knowledge may make you a more valuable person to have around. :) Brennan Stehling - web developer and sys admin projects: www.greasydaemon.com | www.onmilwaukee.com | www.sncalumni.com Microsoft: Will you get a macro virus today? http://www.greasydaemon.com/noms/ <- Why avoid MS? On Sun, 28 May 2000, Ender wrote: > Hi guys, I really have no idea what the hell I am doing here, so I'll make > this quick so as not to waste too much of your time. I want to switch to > FreeBSD from windows98, but I have never touched a Unix or Linux machine > be4. And I also dont have a CD burner or the cash to send to you for the > CDs(hell if I did I would definatly send) basically all I want to know is > this; is there a way to just get one very simple little file that I can > download and run to install the FreeBSD os and once I have done so, will I > be able to still run my win98 games with an emulator of some sort?? > > -Bryan > > > > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org > with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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