Date: Wed, 08 Mar 2000 22:27:22 -0600 From: Bob Martin <bob@buckhorn.net> To: Sebhat_Tenna <stenna@foxinternet.net> Cc: freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Very New User.... Message-ID: <38C7282A.BD06D2FC@buckhorn.net> References: <B0008562770@mailsite.foxinternet.net>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
Sebhat_Tenna wrote: > > I am 17 and have been a Windows user since I started to use PCs 1 1/2 years > ago. I have never used UNIX. I have taught myself Java programming for 3 or > so months, and I am learning C++ now. > I just ordered FreeBSD 3.4 Power Pack. > > My questions are: > 1)Does it take a computer scientist to install it? It's actually quite easy to install. Read the directions at http://www.freebsd.org/handbook first > 2)What are the major benefits of UNIX over Windows NT? This is a hotly debated issue. It's more stable, has much better documentation, and doesn't need as much RAM or CPU to do the same amount of work. > 3)I hear UNIX is open source. What does this mean? Can I change my > operating system? Is my operating system one big application to be tinkered > with? Unix is catch name for a lot of different operating systems. FreeBSD is open source. Like all OS's, it's hundreds (and potentially thousands) of programs that work together. And yes, it can be tinkered with. That is the point of open software. > 4)Can I get software for UNIX for a reasonable price(word processors, > editors, compilers, etc...)? I mean, do many people use UNIX? If so, who? There are thousands of free software programs available for FreeBSD. Unix is now where near as common as MS Windows, but there are hundreds of thousands of users. Unix has long been the favorite of scientists, engineers, and graphics specialists. And Unix is far and away the favorite OS of internet service providers. > 5)I hear UNIX has a big following with crackers and hackers. I don't want > to be a hacker or anything, but they are the ones that seem to know the > most. Can I be part of their group to learn about UNIX and programming with > out being dubbed a hacker and end up on the eleven o'clock news? Will they > receive me with open arms or shun me? In the Unix community, the term hacker is used to describe programmers, and crackers are the ones that the media calls hackers. Both groups will welcome you. Your being on the news will ultimately be your choice. > thanks allot > showing I sponcer a local organization that teaches Unix to teens. If you are expecting Unix to be like Windows, you're in for a suprise. Learning Unix will take time. And a lot of reading. If you are looking for quick and easy, you won't be happy with Unix. But if you are willing to make the effort, you'll be rewarded with a computing environment with almost unlimited capibilities. Bob Martin -- "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." -- Albert Einstein To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?38C7282A.BD06D2FC>