From owner-freebsd-advocacy@FreeBSD.ORG Tue Jun 21 17:34:29 2005 Return-Path: X-Original-To: advocacy@freebsd.org Delivered-To: freebsd-advocacy@FreeBSD.ORG Received: from mx1.FreeBSD.org (mx1.freebsd.org [216.136.204.125]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 145BD16A41C for ; Tue, 21 Jun 2005 17:34:29 +0000 (GMT) (envelope-from davidjohnson@siemens.com) Received: from zeus.acuson.com (ac17860.acuson.com [157.226.71.80]) by mx1.FreeBSD.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id DC34C43D1D for ; Tue, 21 Jun 2005 17:34:28 +0000 (GMT) (envelope-from davidjohnson@siemens.com) Received: from mvwcim1a.acuson.com ([157.226.95.42]:2706 helo=mvwcim1a.ww005.siemens.net) by zeus.acuson.com with esmtp (Exim 4.30) id 1Dkmdn-0001uD-4i; Tue, 21 Jun 2005 10:34:27 -0700 Received: by mvwcim1a.acuson.com with Internet Mail Service (5.5.2657.72) id ; Tue, 21 Jun 2005 10:34:27 -0700 Message-ID: <6F2F8FD3FBCF7A489CB18912A4807EBA0E085B@mvwcim1a.acuson.com> From: Johnson David To: 'Ted Mittelstaedt' , advocacy@freebsd.org Date: Tue, 21 Jun 2005 10:34:23 -0700 MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2657.72) Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" X-Content-Filtered-By: Mailman/MimeDel 2.1.5 Cc: Subject: RE: SPAM: Score 2.0: RE: Explaining FreeBSD features X-BeenThere: freebsd-advocacy@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: FreeBSD Evangelism List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Tue, 21 Jun 2005 17:34:29 -0000 From: Ted Mittelstaedt [mailto:tedm@toybox.placo.com] > > You see, the problem is that FreeBSD is not a general computer > operating system product. It is a very specific product in fact. I have to take exception to this, and your amplification of it later on. FreeBSD is a very general operating system. It may not fill the "newbie" and "casual" ecological niches, but it fills so many others that you can't consider it specific. Despite protestations to the contrary, FreeBSD does make a good desktop and workstation. It might not be suitable for a newbie's desktop, but it's been working just fine as my desktop for several years now. For a corporate office with a dedicated systems administrator, there's nothing at all stopping a successful rollout of FreeBSD on the company desktops. You are telling us not to get confused by the -use- of a system, but you're making a very similar mistake getting confused by the -users- of a system. What makes a system general or specific is its functionality and accessibility. You've split users up into two broad categories, those who are "very knowledgeable", and those who "barely know how to push a button." Are you saying that FreeBSD is unsuitable for "moderately knowledgeable" people? If so, I had better stop using it. What about people who are only "somewhat technical" but who are willing to read the documentation when they get stuck? > You need to really understand intimately how FreeBSD works > and how computer software that runs on it works in order to > get it to work well enough for you to learn intimately how it > works. I have absolutely no idea how the ULE scheduler works or what the heck a "giant lock" is that everything is trying to get out from under. Does this mean I shouldn't be using FreeBSD? David