FreeBSD for the common man(or woman) (was: > upgrade 7.2

[Neal Hogan]

> inspired by a guy (the OP) who has been using fBSD for many
>> years
>> (over 5 . . . I can't remember the exact number).
>>
>
> I have been struggling to use FreeBSD for a shorter amount of time (for a fileserver). I was originally attracted to OpenBSD "for security." However, OpenBSD users are expected to compile all patches from source. Since I wasn't planning on doing code-reviews myself, I saw little benefit in using extra disk space and compile time when binaries would do.i

run -current (via snapshots)

>

[snip . . . a lot, which I didn't read]

> So, this long story boils down to the following question:
>
> What is that best way to use the handbook and related documentation (like man-pages)?
>

What?!

Ummm . . . read them. I'm not trying to be too big of a dick, but your
question strikes me as odd. Read them when you come across something
that is troubling you. I suppose there is no need to read about, say,
wifi card drivers that you don't use.

> I am willing to do some reading, but get distracted by irrelevant or sometimes too low-level stuff. I want to avoid programing as much as possible until I actually have a work-station I am comfortable playing around with.

How do you expect to get comfortable w/out "playing around," other
than, I guess (a'la above) reading the documentation?

>Thinking about it in the week before posting this, I think that part of my problem is I want to use the documentation to do the "right thing" rather than experiment. Once I move the family's files onto the server, it becomes essential. I won't be able to have it out of commission for weeks at a time. I hope with the server properly set up, win98 may even be usable again: just do a clean install every morning! I even downloaded the Windows 7 RC so that I can be informed when I say it sucks.
>
>
> Regards,
>
> James Phillips
>
> PS: I find it a little annoying that FreeBSD releases faster than I can configure my computer! ;)

Again . . . What?! You're not required to update every time there is a
release. This too is odd, IMO.

>
>
>
>
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