Date: Wed, 26 Nov 1997 13:43:58 +1030 From: Mike Smith <mike@smith.net.au> To: francisco@federation.addy.com Cc: "FreeBSd Chat list" <chat@FreeBSD.ORG> Subject: Re: Help me reply to Infoworld correspondent: what is diff between BSDI and FreeBSD? Message-ID: <199711260313.NAA02104@word.smith.net.au> In-Reply-To: Your message of "Tue, 25 Nov 1997 21:13:06." <bauykmgycwcvvufo.pminews@natserv.com>
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> In this week's Infoworld there is a review on Red Hat Linux. I wrote > to the author (Eric Hammond) telling him about FreeBSD. He mentioned > He recently did a review in which he included BSDI and also said > there is another review in which BSDI will be included. > > I am familiar with FreeBSD Vs Linux discussions (and even a bit about > Open BSD, Net BSD), but never really have seen much about BSDI. > > One of the things he wrote was: > "I'm assuming that Internet Server is the commercial version of > FreeBSD. > Correct me if I'm wrong." > By internet Server he is referring to BSDI. > > How different are these products (BSDI and FreeBSD)? In many regards, enormously. > I can prepare some little promo to send to him telling him about > FreeBSD, but I want to answer his comment about BSDI vs FreeBSD. FreeBSD and BSD/OS share common ancestry, however their development diverged several years ago. BSD/OS is a commercial product developed by BSDi, while FreeBSD is a free-software product developed by the FreeBSD Project Inc. At this point in time, it is not correct to associate BSD/OS and FreeBSD other than with reference to their history. FreeBSD continues the BSD tradition of public development, with substantial involvement from all segments of the userbase, whilst BSD/OS is developed only by BSDi. BSD/OS serves primarily as a profit vehicle for BSDi. In contrast, FreeBSD is developed by volunteers and organisations which see it as a viable platform for their products and applications. This communal development tends to lead to a more user-driven product. FreeBSD is the platform of choice for many high-performance and mission-critical applications. (eg. Yahoo, Oracle NC server, etc. See commercial gallery for more examples) The open development model makes knowledgable developers directly available to users, drastically reducing turnaround time for queries and fixes. Public availability of full source makes integrated development simpler and more cost-effective. Generous source licensing and usage terms make FreeBSD an excellent starting point for embedded systems development as well. ... blah ... mike
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