Date: Sun, 2 Aug 1998 22:24:11 -0400 From: "Dru" <genisis@istar.ca> To: <freebsd-newbies@FreeBSD.ORG> Subject: RE: What tipped the balance Message-ID: <005d01bdbe85$d2dbf440$7501d8cf@genisis>
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>> Someone asked me in private mail why I chose FreeBSD instead of another >> OS, and I thought it might make an interesting topic. Sorry to take so long to add my bit; I had to recuperate after reading David Wolfskill's two cents <grin>. I'm at the opposite end of the newbies spectrum. Never touched so much as a computer keyboard til 2 years ago when the family decided it was time to buy a PC for Xmas and join the rest of the computer generation. Hold the groans, but it was a Radio Shack special (which I'm still paying for) that was loaded with (what else) but Windows. In fact, it was Compaq's beta version of Windows, but that's another story. It didn't take me long to figure out that I had a knack for this computer stuff and I soon mastered all the Windows tips, tweaks, and Registry hacks I could get my hands on. At the time I was in a deadbeat job, so I took the plunge and decided to go back to school and networking sounded challenging. The only school in my area was offering Novell certifications, so I obtained my CNE. Then they began to offer Microsoft certifications, so I started my MCSE. Along the way, I discovered the Internet and found a greater wealth of information there. Around school, you would sometimes hear the word Unix (usually whispered in hushed, reverent tones) and how anyone who learned this strange language would achieve demigod status. I figured it was time for a Yahoo search, and guess which was the first site I encountered? Thank god for Yahoo search engines. Anyways, the word free was a good hook for a starving student; the home Web site for freebsd.org was just as intriguing. I knew I had to get my hands on this system and wrap my brain around Unix. That was in March, I finally got installed in June, and hope to have my own kernel and ppp working by the end of summer and say goodbye to Windows forever. As a side note, I'm finding it very hard to concentrate on my MCSE studies as freebsd is much more interesting; I've had to relegate freebsd time to my limited leisure time; once I graduate in September, I'll have more spare time as I'll only have to balance work and freebsd. Why the delay from March til present? I started out with Greg Lehey's Complete Freebsd but had a problem with blindly following commands when I didn't have a clue what I was doing (sort of like ordering off a menu written in Chinese; I like to know what I'm getting into beforehand). Took some time off to read Unix Unleashed to get some basic understanding of Unix commands and syntax. Armed with that and my networking knowledge and the increasing info on freebsd on the Internet, I should be ok. Well, that's it for now; hope I didn't put you all to sleep, To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-newbies" in the body of the message
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