Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2001 14:27:25 -0600 From: Warren Smith <wasmith@cdocs.com> To: advocacy@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Microsoft Advocacy? Message-ID: <200112202027.OAA26931@mail00.cdocs.com> In-Reply-To: <001001c1893b$a164d420$69cab8d0@blah.com> References: <003701c18819$a9941a20$6600000a@ach.domain> <000901c18931$b11daf40$a700a8c0@cptnhosedonkey> <001001c1893b$a164d420$69cab8d0@blah.com>
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On Thursday 20 December 2001 03:49 am, Gilbert wrote: > At the very least, a statement such as "FreeBSD has no place on the > desktop" should have certain qualifiers. For example, I know many > people that run FreeBSD as a desktop operating system. Many people > that work at ISPs do. When I worked at an ISP I used FreeBSD as an > operating system. The main thing is what the majority of one's > work involves. At the ISP, the majority of my time was spent > logged into routers. I found a Unix operating system to facilitate > that much better than Windows. There are many engineering CAD > users that use Unix as a desktop operating system (perhaps not the > majority, but a significant number, I believe). In that > environment, FreeBSD might be a valid option. There are many Unix > software engineers/programmers that use Unix as a desktop > enviroment. Here again, FreeBSD would be a valid option (more so > than the CAD/CAM users, who probably need high end accelerated > video card support, which isn't a FreeBSD strength, though with a > commercial accelerated X server it may do better, I do not know for > sure). I am sure others could come up with more potential desktop > users, but my point is, I would think it reasonable to ask anyone > that considers themselves a FreeBSD advocate to modify a statement > such as "FreeBSD has no place on the desktop" to something such as > "FreeBSD has no appeal as a desktop operating system to the > mainstream computer user." It'd be even more FreeBSD-advocating to > use a phrase like the one on the web site, eg "It is well-suited > for a great number of both desktop and server applications." I agree. My last job was as a Network Engineer and backup SysAdmin at an ISP. FreeBSD on my desktop made perfect sense for what my job entailed (configuring Cisco routers and administering *NIX servers). Did it make sense for our Tech Support staff to have FreeBSD on their desktop? No. They needed to be running what most of our customers were running and that meant a flavor of Windows. In my current job as a programmer, most of the code that I write is intended to run on some flavor of *NIX and most of my code is written on a development *NIX box using vim via telnet/ssh. Because of this, what desktop I use doesn't really matter as long as I have access to a decent telnet/ssh client, web browser, and email client. One of my co-workers uses Windows because that is what he is most familiar with. Another co-worker uses Slackware Linux because he preferes it over Windows. I use FreeBSD because I prefer it over the other OSs that I could use to do the job (Windows and Linux included). I don't claim that it is the best desktop around, nor do I agree that "FreeBSD has no place on the desktop". It works great as MY desktop, but YMMV depending on what you need a desktop to do. For the vast majority of computer users, Windows does make the most sense for a desktop because it is what most people use. This is important for a variety of reasons including: 1. Variety of available applications (including games) 2. Probability that a trusted friend can help them when they have a problem. However, just as FreeBSD is often ill-suited for the average desktop when compared to Windows, Windows is often ill-suited for the average server when compared to FreeBSD. Small businesses that choose Windows as a server OS are often unaware that there are alternatives that, while requiring a little more expertise to set up initially, can save them significant time and money down the road. IMHO, if FreeBSD is going to penetrate the market in any major way, more people that make decisions about what OS to run on their company server need to be educated about the merits of *NIX in general and FreeBSD in particular. Once they become familiar with its strengths as a server OS, they will also be familiar with the strengths (and weaknesses) it has as an OS in general and they can experiment and judge for themselves if it makes a good desktop for their particular needs. Ideas and news on the education of these people is the type of subject matter that I hope to see on this list. Many of the posts of late have done little to "advocate" FreeBSD and may have confirmed the negative things that some people have heard about Linux/*NIX/BSD "advocates." Just my $0.02 (or maybe $0.04, since this has gotten rather long. My apologies) -- Warren Smith To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-advocacy" in the body of the message
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