Date: Sat, 6 Jan 1996 19:55:54 -0800 (PST) From: Jake Hamby <jehamby@lightside.com> To: fyl@ssc.com Cc: hackers@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: If you want to see a FreeBSD magazine, please respond... Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.3.91.960106193636.196A-100000@localhost> In-Reply-To: <199601062221.OAA05502@violet.berkeley.edu>
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> For those who don't immediately recognize me, I am the publisher of Linux
> Journal. About two weeks ago I posted note in this thread about what
> it would take to get us (or someone else) to start a *BSD magazine.
> Someone had suggested that many of the Linux Journal readers really used
> *BSD and just read LJ because there was no *BSD magazine.
> I suggested that if the *BSD community was out there, they should speak
> up. That is, we get lots of letters to the editor of LJ and none that I
> can remember have said "I use *BSD, not Linux".
I used to use Linux, and used to read Linux Journal. Now I use FreeBSD,
and there are many cases where I've found it superior to Linux, namely:
1) Superior PPP/networking code. With Linux (either 1.2.x or 1.3.x
kernels), I can only get 2.8K/sec on my 28.8kbps modem. On FreeBSD (and
OS/2, and even Windows 95 for God's sake), I get 3.2K/sec on average.
That's a 14% speed improvement, not to mention that interactive sessions
such as telnet seem more responsive than Linux. On the other hand, a busy
FTP server (like ftp.cdrom.com which supports 300 simultaneous users and
is run on a FreeBSD box) also needs FreeBSD's robust 4.4BSD networking
code which has been enhanced for faster name lookups and the like.
Linux's networking code seems too "hacked together" in comparison.
2) FreeBSD is 4.4BSD, a "standard" flavor of Unix. As such, it is VERY
similar to NetBSD, BSDI, and SunOS, which makes it easier for experienced
sysadmins to move to FreeBSD, and for FreeBSD admins to move to other
flavors of Unix. Linux isn't BSD, and it's not really System V, it's
just sort of an odd GNU-ish mess.
3) There are too many distributions of Linux, all slightly incompatible.
There is only a single FreeBSD distribution, which is maintained under a
public development tree, and a disciplined release system. With Linux,
no matter what distribution you get, there is always the need to upgrade
to experimental versions (of libc, the kernel, etc..) which means that
you need to throw in pieces and parts from different archives in order to
run the latest fancy toy. When those parts don't work together (and as
often as not, they don't) you're basically screwed. This situation seems
to be a lot worse now that everyone has moved to ELF, perhaps because
work is progressing at a more rapid (i.e. experimental) pace. Also,
whenever I've found bugs in Slackware Linux, I mailed Patrick Volkerding,
and he often never responded (or fixed the bug). Whereas with FreeBSD, I
can post to the mailing list or file a GNATS bug report, and I can trust
the problem will be fixed (although I've never needed to do this yet!).
4) FreeBSD has the "ports" collection of over 300 programs which are
guaranteed to work. You can either install a binary package, or type
"make" in the ports directory, which causes FreeBSD to automagically
download (from FTP) the source code, patch it (if necessary), run any
configuration scripts, and then compile it. Linux programs, on the other
hand, are scattered across a number of FTP sites, and often there are no
diffs between the "official" version and the Linux version.
I can think of a few others, but basically my point is that FreeBSD was a
better choice for me because I was fed up with the "experimental" nature
of Linux and desired a more stable, robust, STANDARD flavor. Now, when I
recommend a free Unix to friends, I still recommend Linux for new users
(moving from DOS or Windows), but only because it has better documentation
(this is changing, the FreeBSD Handbook is looking pretty good now).
However, for people setting up a Web or FTP server, or other serious
usage, I strongly recommend FreeBSD to them.
In closing, if you feel the *BSD community isn't large enough to justify
a separate magazine, consider adding one or two BSD-related articles
monthly to Linux Journal. Doing so would give me a reason to renew my
subscription. Best of luck in the new year!
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Jake Hamby | E-Mail: jehamby@lightside.com
Student, Cal Poly University, Pomona | System Administrator, JPL
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