Date: Sat, 2 Jun 2012 16:07:23 +0300 From: Alexander Yerenkow <yerenkow@gmail.com> To: FreeBSD Stable Mailing List <freebsd-stable@freebsd.org> Subject: Re: Why Are You NOT Using FreeBSD ? Message-ID: <CAPJF9wk6ojvKrzxV28dE_YwUN-qx0u-KvUiQXi4bQidgx_vA%2Bw@mail.gmail.com> In-Reply-To: <4FC9F245.8030300@digsys.bg> References: <CAOgwaMvsv3e1TxDauV038Pp7LRiYeH7oAODE%2Bw-pxHt9oGrXMA@mail.gmail.com> <2730bd1bab4223e718193254cb8bbd60@dizum.com> <CADLo838vpbVP3caXG7LF7st4inWnMLi5zB3U1hD2dkXwf8ZLBg@mail.gmail.com> <20120601194621.GA83046@e-new.0x20.net> <4FC9DC69.6090907@zedat.fu-berlin.de> <4FC9F245.8030300@digsys.bg>
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I'll try to be short. I'm using FreeBSD both at servers and as a desktop, but I see struggling of my friends with it in some things. 1. Ports mess. You can very easily render system unusable, or broken if you trying to use latest ports. And then you had to became "a port master" to fix all. Of course you need a lot of free time, right? :) 2. No decent packet manager (I hope pkgng will make life easier). You can't just upgrade this and that packet and see what's new, and rollback if you don't like somthing . 3. "FreeBSD is not a linux" - so FreeBSD avoid linuxisms, like KMS etc. And when it became crystal clear that progress is inevitable, we need wait few more years to get new graphics working. Some time ago, I read somewhere on wiki proud phrase "We are more linux than linux itself", it was about LSB test or something similar. FreeBSD can deny linux ways, but it's here, and it's widespread standard (at least in comparing with FreeBSD). FreeBSD do really need those fancy new techs, at least which related to X/hardware. XEN is one more thing, which could be attractive, but there's not much progress. I don't say let's rewrite all as in linux. I'm saying about having copatibility layer a bit fresher. 4. NDIS is working, right? Why there's no L(inux)DIS :) For new hardware, like wifi's, networks,webcams,raids etc there some linux drivers. and no FreeBSD drivers. At all. And if you need one - "write one" or "wait please few years until someone look into it". 5. Name public person behind Microsoft? yes, there are one. And from Google? And from Oracle? And from GNU? And from Linux? Human nature is such that any company/big product is replaced in his mind with person, at least partially. And there's no person behind FreeBSD. There are many collaborators, who rarely well known in world as FreeBSD developer. And this is how it's affect reality: - Please, big boss, give me 10mil for new cluster system run on Linux. - What's Linux? - It's product developed for 20 years by Linus, and in recent years got support by many major world companies (long list goes here). - Ah, ok, here you go. - And also, big boss I need 50 thousands for FreeBSD cluster. - FreeBSD? What's this? - Ehm... it's a operating system, developed by many peoples, there are many good progammers (long list goes here) - You better buy a few more linuxes then. That could be PR issue anyway, but dirty politics rules the world, face it. 6. No "try-it" system for FreeBSD. No official virtual images (PC-BSD will fix the issue). No testing images for major changes, where's nightly builds with latest KDE/QT/KMS/new drivers? There's none, at least none automatic build. Yea, I know that's because there's no decent auto build system of such things. - I'm volunteer to test FreeBSD! - Ok, grab sources here, compile kernel, world, download ports, patch it with area51, try to build something, and rebuild all again (you too early build all, we just updated libXX*)... - Oh... ok. I'm volunteer to test Linux - Grab live image/virtual image, boot and poke programs. - Great, thanks! You can easily be involved in many programs development. Kdenlive - just another example how one program have own infrastructure to provide live images and virtual machine images, so any can try and test it. You could think I'm wrong, but FreeBSD have many problems as project, but it's all fixable. P.S. Of course FreeBSD is great, and I'm using it, and I glad that it here, and all developers are awesome, no offence here ;) -- Regards, Alexander Yerenkow
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