Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2000 13:41:05 +0200 From: Alwyn Schoeman <alwyns@littlecruncher.prizm.dhs.org> To: Neil Blakey-Milner <nbm@mithrandr.moria.org> Cc: Salvo Bartolotta <bartequi@nojunk.com>, freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Not enough information Message-ID: <20000106134056.H8865@littlecruncher.prizm.dhs.org> In-Reply-To: <20000106124006.B68710@mithrandr.moria.org>; from nbm@mithrandr.moria.org on Thu, Jan 06, 2000 at 12:40:06PM %2B0200 References: <Pine.BSF.3.96.1000105165841.24564A-100000@inbox.org> <20000106.1392900@bartequi.ottodomain.org> <20000106113309.B8865@littlecruncher.prizm.dhs.org> <20000106124006.B68710@mithrandr.moria.org>
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Hi, > Is it better, or simply more easy to do when you have no clue what's > going on yet? I liked Linux's make menuconfig for a long time > until I realized how much simpler editing the kernel config is with > vi. > I know, only thing with the Linux kernel is that there is SO many options. Makes the GUI bit better suited, xconfig isn't that bad these days. > Maybe we need a nice UI front-end for new people, I'll admit that, > but there would be massive resistance to forcing people to use it. > Definitively needed. The minimum requirement would be something that list all options and describe what it means. I don't want to go checkup on LINT or whatever to find out that my 3Com509 should be ep0. I should have a option that says "3com509". One of the nice features of freebsd, linux, xxx, is that you can configure it to fit your requirements precisely, be mean and lean. A UI-frontend would be a great step in empowering(Damn I hate South Africa(:) users, new and possibly old. > > 2) I'm impressed with the way ports work, being used to RPM's I > > quickly noticed some shortcomings. If RPM is used correctly, ports are > > no match. Recently FreeBSD's not so great filesystem got corrupted. > > Guess what got damaged? Package information, so now I can't get any > > information on installed packages.UPgrading ports, I mean installed > > ports? Probably the only point its got going for it against RPM is > > that its easier to stay up to date. Kernel and userland I would about > > rate the same. > > Personally I find our binary package system a little behind-the-times, > but the ports collection beats rpm's hands-down in a large number > of areas. > > . The ports collection is easy to keep up to date. Good point. > . You only download what you need. Along with next point makes perfect sense. > . You don't need to search for your packages at various different sites. > > Case in point - How many times do you have to ask someone where to find > a common package because you can't remember its home page or ftp site? > Nothing is easier than 'cd /usr/ports/*/name && make install' > > . The ports collection is easily customizable. > > Different default target locations, compiler directives, compiler, and > much more. > > . The ports collection provides customizable configurations. > > The rest are fights I'd rather not get into, but mostly things > depend on your application and experience. > > I think there is a lot more you are missing with regards to choosing > between the Linux distributions or using just FreeBSD. > > FreeBSD is a full operating system. RedHat is an operating system, > and so is Debian. There really is no point contrasting Linux and > FreeBSD in the area of operating system. Debian documentation is > as much use to you running RedHat as it is to you running FreeBSD, > for the most part. > > FreeBSD has a large community. RedHat doesn't. Debian has a > community. I've found the community to be a massive draw factor, > and it's much easier to relate to a member of the community than > some theoretical person manning RedHat's email. You'll easily find > that there are many friendly faces for whatever problem you have, > so long as you try your best to give them enough of an idea what > the problem is. > > On the same note, the actual developers are on the centralized > mailing lists, who'll give you support for your technical problems. > There's just one place you need to go for any level of technical > or other support. > > Neil > -- > Neil Blakey-Milner > nbm@rucus.ru.ac.za Communities. Amazing how our environment is getting more and more like real life communities. I've noticed with Linux that as the community experiences a baby boom if I might call it that, that you get new elements in your community, some good, some bad, some irritating, some misguided. I'm positive that freebsd will to some extent experience the same, and is possibly already starting. What puzzle's me is whether communities grow to be more important than the subject? Say for some reason you find that you start disliking the new freebsd community? Will you forsake the OS along with the community? And if only the community, will it not be worse off? Shit I scare myself... To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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