on content versus presentation [ was: Re: Why the FreeBSD license will not be changing ]

[Peter Ross]

Hi Robert,

On Fri, 14 Mar 2008, spellberg_robert wrote:

> now, mr. ross, above, appears to prefer that
>  freebsd behave similarly to microsoft and apple,
>  but, without actually being microsoft or apple.

I am not sure whether you understand it here.

As my personal computers were dual-boot, because they came with Windows 
and you never know.. in fact I rarely used the Windows partition.

Main reason: lack of beauty.

Since 1995, when I had to administrate a uni network with Nextstep 
(amongst other systems), I enjoyed to have the freedom of choice not to 
use Windows.

(To be honest, Apples are okay but it is not that elegant and clear as 
Nextstep was, I do not like GUIs grabbing my attention and distracting 
me).

I am writing this on a Edubuntu desktop that goes into a school next week. 
I hope that the kids enjoy this as I do.

The desktop looks nearly as my FreeBSD laptop so it is good to have the 
choice to give them more or less the same (and if needed with a working 
flush-plugin;-)

At work I am administrating web servers at the moment, the requirements 
are slightly different;-) And everyone who has to administrate Red Hat 
servers as I have to do at the moment, and knows FreeBSD, stumbles across 
situations where you just wish to have a FreeBSD server.. and I am 
thankful when having a well-designed operation system that supports my 
needs, as FreeBSD does.

While I am running my desktop with FreeBSD more or less "for fun", as a 
proof of concept, a bit of advocacy amongst my colleagues too,

the German BSD forum was interesting because it shows real interest in 
running FreeBSD desktops, as the PC-BSD shows as well.

I am not asking you to cater for it, you have the freedom of choice to put 
your efforts in the parts you are interested in:-)

I just wanted to make the community aware that there are people serious 
about desktop usage. So the FreeBSD project may consider it when making 
decisions.

(Besides the forum is in another language so "invisible" outside Germany. 
As a German living in Australia I realize sometimes how people tend to 
interpolate from their own experience and generalize it. Often "Western 
world" or even "world" as such stands for the part of the world that 
speaks English or plays cricket and rugby;-) So people may overlook 
developments outside of it).

Regards
Peter