From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Mon Jun 14 15:43:30 2004 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.FreeBSD.org (mx1.freebsd.org [216.136.204.125]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id CCB6116A4F0 for ; Mon, 14 Jun 2004 15:43:30 +0000 (GMT) Received: from pi.codefab.com (pi.codefab.com [199.103.21.227]) by mx1.FreeBSD.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 548C343D2F for ; Mon, 14 Jun 2004 15:43:30 +0000 (GMT) (envelope-from cswiger@mac.com) Received: from [10.1.1.193] (nfw1.codefab.com [199.103.21.225]) by pi.codefab.com (8.12.11/8.12.11) with ESMTP id i5EFh4gl098235; Mon, 14 Jun 2004 11:43:04 -0400 (EDT) In-Reply-To: <000a01c451c8$044d4b60$1e999a8e@3ey7m> References: <000a01c451c8$044d4b60$1e999a8e@3ey7m> Mime-Version: 1.0 (Apple Message framework v618) Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed Message-Id: <8670B719-BE19-11D8-BD27-003065ABFD92@mac.com> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit From: Charles Swiger Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2004 11:43:04 -0400 To: Spuds X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.618) X-Spam-Status: No, hits=1.0 required=5.5 tests=NO_COST autolearn=no version=2.63 X-Spam-Level: * X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63 (2004-01-11) on pi.codefab.com cc: freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.org Subject: Re: Some Simple Questions X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2004 15:43:31 -0000 On Jun 14, 2004, at 12:28 AM, Spuds wrote: > 1) Is FreeBSD truly free, as in I don't have to pay for it and can > download it at no charge or is FreeBSD just a name? Yes, FreeBSD is free as in "you don't have to pay for it". You can download .iso images of the CDs to burn yourself for no charge from ftp.freebsd.org or other mirrors from: http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/mirrors- ftp.html > 2) Is FreeBSD in any way affected by the SCO lawsuits against Linux > distributors and commercial users, as I am aware that FreeBSD is based > on Unix? I believe it is the fact that Linux may have Unix code, but I > am not sure, as I have read many different opinions. FreeBSD is Unix, as in derived from the BSD sources. SCO hasn't made any efforts to sue FreeBSD users or the project, and IMO are even less likely to succeed if they tried then they are likely to win their cases against Linux. > 3) Is FreeBSD compatible with Linux software? I believe I read that > somewhere. Yes, there is Linux binary compatibility support which gives you something close to a RedHat 7 environment. > 4) Can FreeBSD run on a laptop that is hardware compatible, as I know > some OS's cannot run on laptops but can on desktops? Sure. -- -Chuck