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Date:      Wed, 26 Jun 2002 09:40:13 -0400 (EDT)
From:      David Kramer <david@thekramers.net>
To:        "Roger 'Rocky' Vetterberg" <listsub@rambo.simx.org>
Cc:        freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: FreeBSD, Linux or Solaris
Message-ID:  <Pine.LNX.4.44.0206260917060.4765-100000@kramer.thekramers.net>
In-Reply-To: <3D198036.7020409@rambo.simx.org>

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On Wed, 26 Jun 2002, Roger 'Rocky' Vetterberg wrote:
> I suspected this would start one of those thread that never dies, 
> thats why I clearly stated that it was only my personal opinion.

When I started this thread, I specifically said I was looking for facts, 
not "Will that be the ten minute argument, or the full half hour?", 
because I didn't want a bunch of name calling either.

> First, let me assure you that Im not one of the zealots that only 
> has eyes for one os and all other software is inferior to their 
> favorite. I frequently use all versions of Windows and every 

And I appreciate that.  You are the kind of person I was hoping would be 
able to give me a fair comparison.

> The things I dont like about linux is the madness of libc and 
> dependencies, rpm's, the different distributions that all seem to 
> have their own idea about what path to follow, and the enormous 
> hype that follows it. 

I'm Associate Director at the Boston Linux and UNIX group 
(http://www.blu.org) (we also cover *BSD, but you can only make the name 
so long ;).  Our last meeting was about UNIX standards, and this was a 
very hot topic at that meeting.  There are Linux distros I would love to 
check out (like Mandrake), but I'm afraid to because different distros 
store things in different places, some have /opt and some don't, some are 
using differernt gcc or libraries.  This is definitely an issue for me, 
and a prime motivator for moving away from it.  

I have to go through the collection of ports and make sure everything I 
need is there, but I'm sure it is.  BTW, is there a way to check what 
software is installed on your box?  Is there an automated way of 
uninstalling ports?  I couldn't find this info on freebsd.org.

> People that know nothing about computers 
> still know the word linux. They may have a totally screwed idea 
> about what it really is, but they know its something really cool 
> and advanced and that you can make millions on dollars in profit 
> if you use it. *sigh*

Popular != Good.  See entry under "M$FT".

But that's not where I'm coming from.  I've been using some flavor of 
*NIX for about 12 years, and Linux for about 7 years I think.  That's why 
I'm looking for the technically superior solution.  Popularity does figure 
into the equasion somewhat because I want to keep my portable skills 
sharp, but from a user/admin point of view, there just can't be that much 
difference besides ports vs RPM and /etc/rc.d.


> Now could this thread die, it answers very few BSD related questions.

Just because the majority of the responses to my query have not stuck to 
my question is not reason to kill the thread.  If I could *refocus* it I 
would.  I have already received some valuable information, and am now 
leaning towards FreeBSD (<cue Van Halen> Runnin' with the devil..), but 
would like to find out a little more first.

One of the aspects touted as FreeBSD's strenghts, the fact that all the 
software comes from one place, can also be seen as a weakness.  I could 
get RPM's for almost anything imaginable, because if one website doesn't 
have it, another one will.  For instance, Webmin 0.980 is available as of 
a few weeks ago, but the latest port is 0.970.  The packages for several 
Linux distros is already available.

---
DDDD   David Kramer                           http://thekramers.net
DK KD  "The universe is a complicated interaction of 3 elements,
DKK D  Mr. Garibaldi.  Mass, Energy, and enlightened self interest.
DK KD  The sooner you realize that the happier you will be."
DDDD                                  - Ambassador G'Kar, Babylon 5


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