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Date:      Tue, 3 Nov 1998 12:15:38 -0600 (CST)
From:      <snowfox@Mcs.Net>
To:        advocacy@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: On advocating FreeBSD and the Halloween memo...
Message-ID:  <199811031815.MAA12469@Mars.mcs.net>
In-Reply-To: <709.910110116@time.cdrom.com> from "Jordan K. Hubbard" at Nov 3, 98 08:21:56 am

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> [ caution - this is a bit long.  Lots of points here I've been
>   wanting to cover for awhile and now seems as good a time as any.. ]

Yay! COREDUMP! =)


Myself, I run FreeBSD and Linux both. I use Linux when I want to see
what's hot and new - I use FreeBSD when I actually want to use it.
Linux tends to do things first, FreeBSD tends to do things right.

When a non-technical friend asked why I tend to choose FreeBSD over
Linux, the best way I could think of putting it was that "FreeBSD is
basically Linux that stops to tie its shoes. Kind of like waiting to
buy Windows until it ships with service pack eight."

Linux is innovative, and FreeBSD takes no risks - when you guys say
"-STABLE," you mean it. There's room for both in the OSS OS market.
And the cool thing is that the professional, conservative approach
seems to be paying off: FreeBSD is beginning to pull ahead a bit at
a time. In some cases, FreeBSD has been months or even years ahead
of Linux in adding significant features.

Now, does it matter if Linux is the one in the spotlight right now?
Jordan put it pretty well, but it's worth restating - this isn't just
about Linux. It's about OSS. When people are just starting to get a
glimpse of the OSS community is NOT the time to be jumping up and
down, screaming or slamming Linux (or any other OSS OS)!

Look at the situation as a very real blessing; Linux is establishing
the credibility of open software. And when the hubub is all over and
people are examining their options, if the FreeBSD team has kept
the current pace, if the advocates have maintained a respectable
image, if we -all- keep our acts together, Linux just may have
beaten the cleanest, clearest path FreeBSD could have ever hoped for.

Cheers!
Brian


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