Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 05:22:39 -0700 From: Robert LaThanh <hybrid@pearlmagik.com> To: freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: FreeBSD. FreeBSD & Linux. FreeBSD & me. Message-ID: <37985E8F.C4D8375D@pearlmagik.com>
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Section 1.3 of the FreeBSD FAQ, "What are the goals of FreeBSD?" says the following: "... the GNU General Public License (GPL) or GNU Library General Public License (LGPL) comes with slightly more strings attached, [...]. Due to the additional complexities that can evolve in the commercial use of GPL software, we do, however, endeavor to replace such software with submissions under the more relaxed BSD copyright whenever possible." I thought that GNU was less restrictive. From what I've read, GNU software can be modified and redistributed without restriction. They mention that BSD has restrictions such as that one must include the BSD license. What are the differences between the definitions of GNU's and BSD's "Free software"? Second of all, I've come to understand that some software in FreeBSD is GNU software. Does FreeBSD use GNU software such as glibc? I would guess that FreeBSD has both it's own lib and can also use glib. Lately Linux, a GNU OS, has seen tremendous publicity and increase in users/usage. What does this mean for FreeBSD's future? Tivo, a new interactive-TV-esque product from Phillips, uses Linux. FreeBSD is established in some of the largest applications such as cdrom.com (and I've heard that Microsoft has used it on some of its servers), but is there a threat that Linux will overcome the established performance and reliability of FreeBSD and essentially take FreeBSD's place? Does FreeBSD intend to someday be the OS on a user's desktop? Does FreeBSD hope to attract the 'rebellious' or 'adventurous' user (and in some cases companies) like Linux does? or will it focus on being the best choice for the most demanding applications? I know there's a lot of questions in there, I hope they can all be answered. I've used FreeBSD on-and-off for almost two years now. I am disappointed when I see Linux and not FreeBSD on store shelves. Having used both, I prefer FreeBSD, but I'm becoming skeptical about the future of FreeBSD. I'm 19-years old and I would say that I'm an intermediate programmer. I've programmed a basic search engine from the ground up (http://www.pearlmagik.com/) and managed the server. I learn mostly everything on my own from online documentation (usually on the internet) and trial-and-error (and sometimes from books), and I feel alone in my work. I want to learn more and contribute to a greater project. If there's room and resources (and a way) to guide and teach a random lone student, I'd love to be able to contribute to the FreeBSD project. Please let me know if there are any opportunities for me. Thanks, Robert LaThanh pearlmagik.com To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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