FreeBSD vs. RedHat

[Robert G.Waycott]

============================================================
From: Erik Steffl <steffl at bigfoot.com>
Date: 2003/10/02 Thu PM 01:55:57 EDT
To: freebsd-questions at freebsd.org
Subject: Re: FreeBSD vs. RedHat

Todd Stephens wrote:
> On Thursday 02 October 2003 03:13 am, Erik Steffl wrote:
> 
> 
>>    I just don't think that your fairly general statement about linux
>> distros pushing kitchen sink on you while freeBSD being more
>>traditional unix is true...
> 
> 
> I have tried RH, Mandrake, SuSE and Slackware Linux distros.  Sure, you 
> can uninstall things later, but the only one that really gave me a 
> choice of specific packages to install from the get-go was Slackware.

   Mandrake: I installed it few times about 6 months to 1 year ago and I 
remember playing with package selector for quite some time. DURING 
installation. It also let me choose which services to run (to start at 
boot).

   Debian: runs dselect during install so you can choose whatever you 
want (individual packages)

   I am not 100% sure about RH and know nothing about suse...

	erik
     =================================

I CAN be 100% sure about all of the above. I have tried every major
Linux distribution in the last greater-than-three years. Started 
with Caldera. Then Suse. Then Mandrake. Then Storm. Then Redhat. 
Then Mandrake. Then Suse. Then Redhat. Then Slackware. Then Redhat. 
Then Knoppix. Then Redhat. Then Debian. Then College. Then Redhat. 
Then Gentoo. Then my hardware problems got worse. Then Redhat. 
Then I spent three days reading through [not all, but nearly] 
every page I could click on www.freebsd.org. Then I saw God--well,
I am not going to get into an argument with any of you theists out
there, or atheists for that matter. Nor any of you who would try
to save me from worshipping The Daemon. Nor those who would advise
me to drop FreeBSD from my pantheon so I am not wholly disappointed
one day when the ports tree breaks. Anyway ... Every install CD I
have placed in my box and gone through has inevitably had that nice
little button, check-box, prompt, whatever that all said the same
exact thing, time after time:

   "Individual Package Selection?"

And so I believe I have reached the summit. For everyone who wants
the easiest-to-use plus everything-is-on-the-CD [except for peace
of mind] use Windows XP, 2000, 95/98, or any other minor,
perpetually unstable version. For Unix-based user-friendly without
demanding anything of you, use Mac osX. And for an OS that is not
only stable but impeccably robust, that encourages you to learn 
how to configure and administer a system that is you-friendly, 
not just [average-illiterate] user-friendly, that also exudes an
undeniably human character, a inexplicably spectral quality of 
being 'alive,' that is far more apt to aid a user solve a problem 
or resolve a conflict or learn something new than sending a not to
Redhat, use FreeBSD. Whoa, that turned a bit proselytic. Sorry.

--Robert G. Waycott