Date: Wed, 31 Jul 2013 06:40:00 +0100 From: Matthew Seaman <matthew@FreeBSD.org> To: petersontr@aol.com Cc: freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.org Subject: Re: Fwd: Glen Peterson from Wisconsin. Some questions Message-ID: <51F8A330.50501@FreeBSD.org> In-Reply-To: <8D05BB0B1E35F93-A6C-CAD9@webmail-d137.sysops.aol.com> References: <8D05BAF9AC564D3-A6C-CA64@webmail-d137.sysops.aol.com> <8D05BB04C1E3633-A6C-CAB7@webmail-d137.sysops.aol.com> <8D05BB0B1E35F93-A6C-CAD9@webmail-d137.sysops.aol.com>
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This is an OpenPGP/MIME signed message (RFC 4880 and 3156) --Rokv6xPXpH2MAqJ8RNTvErKWWwfxkqvTC Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable On 31/07/2013 03:56, petersontr@aol.com wrote: > I have been thinking about installing your FreeBSD onto some of my > extra PC's that I have laying around, just to see what that Unix OS > can do on my PC. I have a few questions, though, before I order your > Install Disk to do that. I spoke to your receptionist there on 30 > July, and she suggested that I write to you with my detailed > questions before I went ahead an purchased your well-recommended OS: Receptionist? I don't believe we (FreeBSD) have anything like that. We're not a business; just a bunch of people that write an OS and make it available for anyone to use. Perhaps you spoke to one of the companies that sell FreeBSD derived products? Note that you can simply download FreeBSD CD and USB stick images for free (well, not counting anything you'ld have to pay for bandwidth) -- pre-written CDs come from third parties, but buying them will generally result in some money going to the FreeBSD foundation. > 1. I have a Dell Dimension 3000 PC with a 32-bit Intel processor in > it. It has 2G's of RAM, and a 250GB hard drive under Windows OS, > currently. I use A.T.&T. as my ISP and I have a DSL line supplied by > A.T.& T. May I install your OS onto an external 80 GB Seagate > Barracuda ATA IV Model ST380021A hard drive, and boot off of that > into BSD and have it run on that Dell computer? The BIOS Chip seems > to support external drives and USB sticks, since I have successfully > used the later to boot this PC into Debian Linux. Should work fine with FreeBSD. The best way to test for full compatibility is to boot from a USB stick or a live CD before installing on your hard drive. > 2. Do you have a version of your free BSD program with a graphical > user interface (like that seen on Mac's and Windows boxes) that will > run on that same Dell Dimension 300, mentioned above? FreeBSD itself is just the basic operating system without any frills. Graphical environments are certainly available, but they are considered as add-ons and not part of FreeBSD itself. I suggest that instead of FreeBSD itself, you start with PC-BSD (http://www.pcbsd.org/) This is an integrated desktop system with all the graphical bits layered on top of the basic FreeBSD operating system. It's much more like what you'll have see when you tried out Debian, and as it has a nice graphical interface, it tends to be a lot easier for people new to the Unix command line. > 3. How much does the install CD cost me, including shipping to the > Milwaukee area, for the Free BSD OS that will run on said computer? It's free to download. You can buy a boxed set of CDs or a DVD from here= : https://www.freebsdmall.com/cgi-bin/fm Looks like about $30 for CDs, $40 for a DVD. Plus shipping nd handling and the usual taxes. > 4. I have another PC at work that has a 32-bit AMD chip in it with > 1GB RAM and 250 GB under Vista OS, currently. Do you likewise have a > version of your latest Free BSD that will run on THIS machine in a > graphical environment like that mentioned for the Dell computer above > from the same external 80 GB Seagate hard drive? Yes, FreeBSD has versions for both the i386 (Intel 32 bit) and amd64 (64 bit) architectures. Note that you'ld use amd64 for any 64bit capable intel type CPU, including ones from Intel specifically and not just ones from AMD. > 5. Does the OS come with an application, like I have observed with > some Linux distros, that enables me to get updates as they become > available? Yes, in fact there are several different ways of doing this. If you try out PC-BSD as I suggest, it has built-in update mechanisms which will allow you to update from the net. > Does your FreeBSD come with its own browser? If not, may I still > connect to the web by some means to obtain a BSD-compatible browser > (e.g., Firefox) that will run on this OS on either of the two > computers above? FireFox and Chrome and a number of other web browsers certainly are available either as native FreeBSD applications, or by running the Linux applications under emulation. Cheers, Matthew --=20 Dr Matthew J Seaman MA, D.Phil. PGP: http://www.infracaninophile.co.uk/pgpkey --Rokv6xPXpH2MAqJ8RNTvErKWWwfxkqvTC Content-Type: application/pgp-signature; name="signature.asc" Content-Description: OpenPGP digital signature Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="signature.asc" -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG/MacGPG2 v2.0.16 (Darwin) Comment: Using GnuPG with Thunderbird - http://www.enigmail.net/ iEYEARECAAYFAlH4ozsACgkQ8Mjk52CukIzongCgkBbpcZFoSB9hC8ovN6gI8s5B nxkAn2ntLaIS4r3iBzw78RMniJRrJqZ5 =WCBq -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- --Rokv6xPXpH2MAqJ8RNTvErKWWwfxkqvTC--
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