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Date:      Thu, 31 May 2012 14:17:26 -0500 (CDT)
From:      Karl Dunn <kdunn@acm.org>
To:        freebsd-stable@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: Why Are You Using FreeBSD?
Message-ID:  <alpine.LRH.2.02.1205311356320.13507@fly.hiwaay.net>
In-Reply-To: <20120531041345.0F71310657B6@hub.freebsd.org>
References:  <20120531041345.0F71310657B6@hub.freebsd.org>

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> Hi Everyone,
>
> This is off-topic, so please feel free to disregard it, but I'm sending 
> it to this list in the hope that it will reach a largish number of 
> users.
>
> I am currently looking at updating some of our advocacy material (which 
> advertises exciting new features like SMP support), and before I do I'd 
> like to get a better feel for why the rest of you are using FreeBSD. 
> If you had to list the three things you most like about FreeBSD, which 
> would you pick?  Are they the same as when you first started using it?
>
> David
>
> ------------------------------

1.  Stability
2.  Security
3.  Ease of configuration

  ... and more ...

4.  Lots of good ports, that build and install mostly with NO trouble.
5.  Works like ('cause IS) BSD/Solaris, rather than Sys5 (see 3 above)
6.  Good lists
7.  Great help when I need it

  ... some history ...

Had been using Solaris on a variety of Suns, when in July 1999 it fell to 
me (a hardware designer) to set up a firewall to replace a really 
unreliable Windows app-level firewall.  Got an old PC, put FreeBSD 3.2 on 
it, got Trusted Information Systems' proxies for HTTP and FTP, got it up 
and working with only minor problems.  Into production in less than a 
week.  It ran until GE bought the whole company out in late 2001, finally 
upgraded to 4.2.

Currently (2012) maintaining a FW based in FreeBSD 8.1-RELEASE GENERIC for 
a local charity's office.  Hardware is a Dell T105.  First light was in 
2008 using 6.2.  No noticeable trouble.  The same host also runs Samba 
3.3.13 for the LAN users, DHCP, and internal mail.  FW is NATing ipfw.

I have been retired since 2002 January, and do this for fun.

FreeBSD has made it so.  Thanks, very much indeed, everyone.

Karl Dunn
kdunn@acm.org



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