From owner-freebsd-newbies Tue Jun 12 9:47:48 2001 Delivered-To: freebsd-newbies@freebsd.org Received: from falcon.scana.com (falcon.scana.com [161.156.101.7]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 1F40737B401 for ; Tue, 12 Jun 2001 09:47:43 -0700 (PDT) (envelope-from MSILVER@scana.com) Received: by falcon.scana.com; id MAA01588; Tue, 12 Jun 2001 12:47:41 -0400 (EDT) Received: from maildmis.scana.com(161.156.252.90) by falcon.scana.com via smap (V5.5) id xma001486; Tue, 12 Jun 01 12:46:41 -0400 Received: by maildmis.scana.com with Internet Mail Service (5.5.2653.19) id ; Tue, 12 Jun 2001 12:46:40 -0400 Message-ID: From: "SILVER, MICHAEL A" To: "'joel2a@yahoo.com'" Cc: freebsd-newbies@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: RE: installation doesn't work right with X and Netscape Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 12:46:38 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2653.19) Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Sender: owner-freebsd-newbies@FreeBSD.ORG Precedence: bulk List-ID: List-Archive: (Web Archive) List-Help: (List Instructions) List-Subscribe: List-Unsubscribe: X-Loop: FreeBSD.org You are right, it isn't perfect, and perhaps there are some good ideas on how to improve it. I have done some pretty complete installs and have never run into package conflicts (knock on wood). Linux disrtibutions have paid full time people improving their install, while AFAIK, FreeBSD is done by part timers for free. This is both it's strength and weakness. In a sense FreeBSD follows the spirit of Linux more than Linux does. I started using the packages, but as I got more into FreeBSD, I found the ports offered much more. Now I rarely install a package, I usually use the port. Although the ports are by far the best collection of software I know of on any OS, it needs a good index and in depth descriptions of each of the applications. The freeBSD web site is a good source of info on the Ports, but you need to have an idea of what you are looking for. You may want to try using the ports instead. It is probably a good idea to install one at a time, and ensure each one works properly. ...Michael... -----Original Message----- From: joel2a@yahoo.com [mailto:joel2a@yahoo.com] Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2001 12:30 PM To: SILVER, MICHAEL A Cc: freebsd-newbies@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: RE: installation doesn't work right with X and Netscape Well maybe that install program is good for experts but as a newbie to it I think it needs much more improvement. It needs to be more newbie idiot proof! It should check for package conflicts and package errors. I tried an install containing almost everything and then there were a bunch of error messages during the rebooting from various packages that were not configured right during the install. Joel At 10:50 AM 6/12/01 -0400, you wrote: >I received a BUS error just recently, and it turned out to be bad memory. >Once I took out the offending memory, it worked like a champ. > >I think most people will disagree on some of your points. > >FreeBSD is picky, at least more so than windows 98. I have some cheap >motherboards that work fine with 98 but will cause spontaneous reboots in >FreeBSD. > >FreeBSD shines in the server arena, and less is usually better when talking >about servers. > >As for workstations, I would recommend you try Linux instead. Although I am >not a fan of linux, it offers better hardware support. > >I thought there were several good browsers for Linux/UNIX: Opera, Netscape, >and Konquer (or something like that). Opera is definitely my favorite. > >If there is one thing I would ask the FreeBSD porgrammers to keep, it would >be the install. It is close to perfect. The drive setup can be tough for a >newbie, but otherwise it is a great setup. Who cares if it is graphical. I >have installed Mandrake and Suse linux and hate the installs. They are real >slow and don't allow me to customize the install enough. I don't mind the >install picking default options, but I at least want the ability to change >these. > >When the other install programs leave so much to be desired, I find it funny >you criticize such a good one. > >One complaint I do have about the install, are the keystrokes. They are a >bit awkward when coming from windows. > >Overall, IMO, Windows kills X, at least XFree, Linux kills FreeBSD on the >desktop, FreeBSD kills Windows and Linux for servers. > >...Michael... _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-newbies" in the body of the message