From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Thu Aug 9 23:29:59 2007 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id AAC4D16A41A for ; Thu, 9 Aug 2007 23:29:59 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from modulok@gmail.com) Received: from rv-out-0910.google.com (rv-out-0910.google.com [209.85.198.186]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 814EC13C458 for ; Thu, 9 Aug 2007 23:29:59 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from modulok@gmail.com) Received: by rv-out-0910.google.com with SMTP id f1so467716rvb for ; Thu, 09 Aug 2007 16:29:58 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=beta; h=domainkey-signature:received:received:message-id:date:from:to:subject:cc:in-reply-to:mime-version:content-type:content-transfer-encoding:content-disposition:references; b=Ao+qnmksjDQG/HdYVchhX9PtIgbZo0xcwx+x9atUajbeVrPC6M5uLdkLmqNgha5YuPeXGy1Vn21z4/6laA5fwuxO2Jy5d0HZvlVAR8adulgLc4uYYYe2WjD9iRDqxJ5mgF5qZ0n166MJcCuyN3jXcrDO8uhRkPyKKS2NDpDPolk= DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; c=nofws; d=gmail.com; s=beta; h=received:message-id:date:from:to:subject:cc:in-reply-to:mime-version:content-type:content-transfer-encoding:content-disposition:references; b=Ex7RZQThuZufhRJ8jZHE1utP9Kb/bQX4mXDHKS2Js6mCZDiQIaO1L2aTBczjLcaULbLDUw36Q1GWgTM6VxgjxHeA59D1ebRo4xI3bPWKiCu6KP5pbdQFGmWB8WFJAMNx3jGX3UijqhRN70lHefgKjhSjqmmjCCcYIUQgJt4liNk= Received: by 10.141.197.18 with SMTP id z18mr809321rvp.1186702198829; Thu, 09 Aug 2007 16:29:58 -0700 (PDT) Received: by 10.140.207.2 with HTTP; Thu, 9 Aug 2007 16:29:58 -0700 (PDT) Message-ID: <64c038660708091629s306ed106rbef8736e0732989d@mail.gmail.com> Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2007 17:29:58 -0600 From: Modulok To: Latitude In-Reply-To: <20070809213359.GC73498@demeter.hydra> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline References: <46BA9682.7020203@ix.netcom.com> <20070809140617.GB10705@Grumpy.DynDNS.org> <20070809185248.J71656@wojtek.tensor.gdynia.pl> <20070809173032.GB12072@Grumpy.DynDNS.org> <20070809213359.GC73498@demeter.hydra> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Convince me, please! X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Thu, 09 Aug 2007 23:29:59 -0000 > I'm interested in changing over to FreeBSD from Windows, but I'll have > to say, you guys don't really present a forceful argument to Windows > users of how easy the switch may be. For someone with zero Unix experience. It's not easy. > I need to see an overwhelming argument that FreeBSD is a perfectly > acceptable alternative for home desktop users who have previously > known only Windows. Unless you know some other flavor of Unix, or have the time to invest learning it, or have a local guru to hook you up - it isn't. > For instance, if I download and install FreeBSD, will I instantly have > a desktop windowing environment that I can navigate in while I figure out > what's going on? No. Not unless you install one. > I understand you guys have been around for a while, but you don't seem > to understand the monumental "fear" involved in switching operating > systems. *Laughs* I do. I came from exactly where you're coming from, the "Windows user" camp. It's been a very long, frustrating trip, but for me it's been worth it. For those who want an easy to use Windows clone, FreeBSD is not it. FreeBSD is, first and foremost, a server, hence the catch phrase, "The power to serve." That's not to say it cannot be configured to be a windows work-alike, it can, but this would require at least some learning of Unix basics to configure the system in this way. For a friendly windows clone, you might look into "PC-BSD". It comes out of the box ready for Windows converts. For those coming from a "Windows user" background, FreeBSD will require a significant investment in time in order to see any benefit. For those who have that time, the rewards are rich indeed. The majority of what you would learn about FreeBSD can also be applied to almost any other flavor of Unix, should you decide to jump ship again. The FreeBSD project has excellent documentation for learning the system, as well as a very supportive mailing list. These two factors are what got the sway vote for me to get onboard over the other Unix flavors. my 2 cents. -Modulok-