Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 21:17:30 -0600 From: "Thatcher Hubbard" <hubbardj@earthlink.net> To: <FreeBSD-questions@FreeBSD.org> Subject: RE: Printed man pages (was: "The Complete FreeBSD", THIRD edition: question) Message-ID: <000201be69db$5deefbd0$0500a8c0@selway.thatch.org> In-Reply-To: <199903090205.UAA58199@nospam.hiwaay.net>
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I agree with you here, Linux has become the very "bandwagon" thing to do. I think that's why I'm trying FreeBSD out in the first place. However, the lack of FreeBSD-specific books isn't an especially good thing either. I probably wouldn't buy a beginner oriented one at this point, I went from not knowing what 'ls' did to being able to netboot a SPARC5 from another Linux machine by reading through boring .txt files. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a good intermediate-to-advanced book though, especially if it was aimed towards admins who wanted to use FreeBSD in a business environment. I don't think going after Joe Public like Linux is trying to do right now is the right thing for FreeBSD. If it was just like Linux I probably wouldn't have bothered. I have a real minimalist mindset when it comes to setting up systems (ironic that I have to admin NT systems for a living) and I think BSD appeals to that a lot better than Linux does. As for RedHat at Best Buy for $19.95, I don't think it's the worst news at all. For one thing, the fact that you can buy an OS of the shelves of a national chain store that's NOT MADE BY M$ is a big step, even better that it's a UNIX-based one. At this point, RH Linux makes a better introduction to UNIX for people who've never seen it than FreeBSD does, it's better suited for it, so why not see it as paving the way? While home computer enthusiasts keep reading about Linux on ZDNet and trying it out, there will always be people like me who got into UNIX through Linux but decide that FreeBSD is better suited to their needs. > -----Original Message----- > From: owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG > [mailto:owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG]On Behalf Of David Kelly > Sent: Monday, March 08, 1999 8:05 PM > To: Clem.Dye@wdr.com > Cc: FreeBSD-questions@FreeBSD.ORG > Subject: Re: Printed man pages (was: "The Complete FreeBSD", THIRD > edition: question) > > > Clem.Dye@wdr.com writes: > > If you compare what's currently available for FreeBSD verses Linux, > > it's clear that there's a long way to go. Without accessible printed > > material, I don't see how Joe Public is ever really going to hear > > about FreeBSD as a viable alternative to Linux or other commercial > > O/S'es. > > One of the things that bugged me when I was trying to be a Linux user > was the volume of books on the Un*x bookshelf with the word, "Linux" in > the title. It appeared to me that any wannabe author with an otherwise > unsellable book simply had to insert "Linux" in the title to get it > published. Similarly these days companies shout, "We're on the > Internet!" to drive up their stock prices. > > Possibly the worst news for FreeBSD recently was this Sunday's Best Buy > flyer in the paper. Listed Red Hat Linux for $19.95. > > > -- > David Kelly N4HHE, dkelly@nospam.hiwaay.net > ===================================================================== > The human mind ordinarily operates at only ten percent of its > capacity -- the rest is overhead for the operating system. > > > > > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org > with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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