Date: Tue, 11 May 2004 23:27:30 +0100 From: Peter Risdon <peter@circlesquared.com> To: wendy <uberdoift@sympatico.ca> Cc: freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.org Subject: Re: Message-ID: <40A15352.9000707@circlesquared.com> In-Reply-To: <000501c43770$082b8070$6700a8c0@aopen> References: <000501c43770$082b8070$6700a8c0@aopen>
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wendy wrote: >Easy to install >FreeBSD can be installed from a variety of media including CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, >floppy disk, magnetic tape, an MS-DOSŪ partition, or if you have a network >connection, you can install it directly over anonymous FTP or NFS. All you >need is a couple of formatted 1.44MB floppies and these directions. > > > >THIS IS NOT TRUE! - the installation actually is very difficult and so this >"Superior" OS is not for 99.9% computer users - I'll probably kill my time >only if I lost my job and stay home having nothing to do to configure how to >install it. > > It is incredibly frustrating when you're trying to install an operating system like FreeBSD and are unfamiliar with the process. >Comparing to Windows, this BSD is very dumb- want to me to tell it >everything. No wonder it's Free. > > It's not so much dumb as polite: it asks what you want to do - after all, it's your computer. Reflect on the fact that Microsoft use it themselves, for firewalls and development here in Cambridge, UK, last I heard, for HotMail, and in some other situations. Mac OS X is deeply influenced by it. But it isn't meant to be an automatic install, so you're really criticising an apple for not being an orange. FreeBSD is really a server OS that can be used as a desktop. If you were to get used to it, you might find it is very much to your taste. But you might not (the Unix Haters' Handbook is out of print, but still very funny in parts). Using a Unix type OS helps you learn about computing, rather than about one company's terminology, and that's really useful with all operating systems and in all situations. You'd also find that the responsiveness and helpfulness of users and developers in the FreeBSD world is incomparable. For example, if you had posted a specific question about your problems with the install to this list, you'd have got really excellent and well-informed help, perhaps within minutes of posting. But using FreeBSD isn't compulsory. Do what suits you best. PWR.
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