FreeBSD vs Linux

[Peter N. M. Hansteen]

koen de wijs <koendewijs at gmx.net> writes:

> I want to try out Linux. I heard it is more user friendly and the basic 
> stuff will be set up during installation.

The definition of "user friendly" is hardly set in stone.  I for one do
not equate Microsoft style demoability with user frienliness, at least
for this user.  I strongly suspect that in most cases, "user friendly"
is really just another way of saying "just like what I'm used to".
Quite a few, if not all, the major packaged Linuxes out there come with
installers which will in all but a few weird cases figure out what your
graphics hardware and mouse are and give you some sort of workable mode
for both.  That apparently makes the experience a lot less scary for a
large chunk of those-who-install-Linux-for-the-first-time. Some of the
packages even try to grab a network setup for you via DHCP.  FreeBSD
sysinstall on the other hand, will let you configure X if you choose
during the install, and will configure your network the way you choose.

> I really don't like the sysinstall menu. It is really unlogically. Why 
> isn't there a desktop and a server installation?

This reminds me of somebody who turned up quite frustrated on the BLUG
mailing list a while back complaining essentially that choosing the
"server" option during NamedAfterComicstripMagician install gave him a
Samba and web server, not the firewall with some extras he had in mind.
Essentially there are too many definitions of "desktop" and "server" out
there to make any real sense.  The FreeBSD installer and related tools
let you pick exactly the stuff you need, not some stranger's idea of
what would be nice for you to prune back and swear at later.

> Could anyone give me a good site that describes the differences between 
> FreeBSD and Linux?

Google is your friend (or perhaps not in this particular case). I enjoy
reading Daemon News (http://daemonnews.org) for a variety of reasons,
and I vaguely remember some sensible articles on this very topic
there.  That URL also takes you within clicking distance of a good number
of useful BSD sites.

-- 
Peter N. M. Hansteen, member of the first RFC 1149 implementation team
http://www.blug.linux.no/rfc1149/ http://www.datadok.no/ http://www.nuug.no/
"First, we kill all the spammers" The Usenet Bard, "Twice-forwarded tales"