Why BSD?

[Lucas Holt]

BSD is arguably more popular.  Mac OS X uses BSD code for portions of 
the kernel and the userland.  10.3 uses FreeBSD 5.0 code, and previous 
releases used FreeBSD 3.2 or NetBSD code.  SInce Apple is the number 
one supplier of *NIX, i'd say that is a good reason.  Apple has shipped 
more OS X units than all the linux distros.

The other question on my mind is the future of Linux.  The GNU would 
prefer everyone to switch to GNU HURD which is a Mach kernel style 
operating system.  The remaining momentum for Linux is large companies 
that got on the bandwagon late like IBM, and Sun.  Personally, I never 
think of IBM as a trend setter.  If they were, everyone would be using 
OS/2 right now.  (my OS/2 box is really dusty!)

Also, there are two groups of distros of linux.. the large ones that 
only care about $$$ and the small indepenants that have terrible 
installers, limited support, and weak compatibility.  Software for 
linux is tested on redhat, suse, or debian.  If you don't run the $$$ 
distros, good luck.

On the BSD end, i can count the distros practically on one hand.
large projects: FreeBSD, NetBSD
medium: OpenBSD, OpenDarwin
small: DragonFly, ClosedBSD, PicoBSD
the last two are actually freebsd derivatives used for specific 
purposes.

Lucas Holt
Luke at FoolishGames.com
________________________________________________________
FoolishGames.com  (Jewel Fan Site)
JustJournal.com (Free blogging)

'Re-implementing what I designed in 1979 is not interesting to me 
personally. For kids who are 20 years younger than me, Linux is a great 
way to cut your teeth. It's a cultural phenomenon and a business 
phenomenon. Mac OS X is a rock-solid system that's beautifully 
designed. I much prefer it to Linux.'
-- Bill Joy, Wired Article 2003