I quit

[Ted Mittelstaedt]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-freebsd-questions at freebsd.org
> [mailto:owner-freebsd-questions at freebsd.org]On Behalf Of Andrew L. Gould
> Sent: Sunday, January 09, 2005 6:55 AM
> To: freebsd-questions at freebsd.org
> Subject: Re: I quit
>
>
> On Sunday 09 January 2005 02:53 am, william gatlin wrote:
> > Hello,
> >
> > I have spent at least two weeks of my free time downloading 5.3 and
> > trying to get it to work.  After figuring out how to get an ISO
> > image, windows couldn't do it because netscape insisted on modifying
> > the file, I loaded it and got a lot of error code 1 messages that I
> > never did figure out.  I changed the partitioning and allowed 1/2 a
> > gig for the root directory and loaded it again.
> >
> > All seemed to go well untill I tryed to configure the X.org windowing
> > system.  Nothing in /stand/sysinstall would do any configuration of
> > X.  Went to the net and got instructions.  Finally got X to work and
> > found vidtune.
> >
> > Kdm comes up with a log in screen which just leads to another log in
> > screen.  ctrl-alt-backspace won't turn x off as it keeps comming back
> > on it's own.  Nothing leads to a window manager other than the little
> > one that comes with X.
> >
> > I re-downloaded the window managers from the net and hoped that would
> > fix it. It didn't.  I'm sure that the trouble is in some little
> > config file somewhere or another  but I just don't have the time as I
> > need a running system going.
> >
> > My opinion is that x.org isn't integrated quite well enough yet for
> > prime time. My BSD books don't have the new commands and other
> > information to be of any use and the Man pages that downloaded were
> > of no help either.
> >
> > So for now I'm going to try to load Slackware and hope that maybe in
> > a year BSD will be easier to wade through.  I have to admit a bit of
> > sorrow in having to do this as I wanted them both on the same
> > machine.
> >
> > At the same time I wish to communicate my respect and admiration for
> > the great job the BSD community is doing and hope in no way to
> > communicate any disregaurd for everyones efforts.
> >
> > Right now I have to have Windows up and running also and am watching
> > it go into a self destruct mode from somthing that it downloaded from
> > the net all by it's self with no human operator touching it.  There
> > are so many Popups I had to pull the net cable just to stop it.  They
> > don't get no respect.
> >
> > It is my hope that the various Windows emulators will/are working
> > well enough to run some of my mission critical programs.  Espesially
> > 'Trade Station' .  I can't imagine having thousands of dollars riding
> > on Microsoft reliability.
> >
> > Thank You--------Bill Gatlin
>
> "Prime Time", in it's truest sense, would suggest that FreeBSD is
> targetted at a mass market -- it is not.  The mass market is not
> characterized, primarily, as thinkers.   The FreeBSD user community
> would be better described as system users and administrators who enjoy
> technical aspects of computing; and who insist on controlling the
> operating system.  I'm not trying to insult you, or suggest that you're
> not a thinker.  I am trying to clear up any misconceptions about
> FreeBSD.  The "strengths" of MS Windows lead to its weaknesses.  The
> lack of those "strengths" in FreeBSD lead to a robust, stable operating
> system; but require more work on the part of the user --> no "loose
> nuts between the chair and the keyboard".  (I can't remember where I
> first heard that phrase.)
>

A couple misconceptions I would like to clear up (some I may have created):

1) FreeBSD isn't really targeted anywhere, because targeting implies there's
a marketing department out there listening to customer feedback and
telling the software developers what to write.  It is liked by sysadmins
mainly because sysadmins and developers work on it -
but there really isn't anyone in the FreeBSD development group
sitting around deliberately making FreeBSD difficult for the new
user to use.

2) On request I can preconfigure a FreeBSD system for a business to
be EXACTLY targeted to JUST what the business wants their employees
to be running.  So can any good FreeBSD admin.  Thus, the possibility
always exists that some 3rd party can come between the raw ISO's and
a "mass market" end user and set it up for the mass market.  Nothing in
the OS exists that makes this impossible.

The fact that many people have already done this with Linux somewhat
precludes
this from happening, though.

Ted