[H-GEN] Unix Flavours

[Sarah Walters]

Rick et al,

On 17/01/2008, Rick Phillips <rickp at suntech.net.au> wrote:

> [ Humbug *General* list - semi-serious discussions about Humbug and     ]
> [ Unix-related topics. Posts from non-subscribed addresses will vanish. ]
>
> I have been using Linux seriously for a number of years now and thought
> I would like to stretch to new horizons by trying one of the BSDs.
>
> A number of years ago on one of my rare trips to Humbug from the
> Sunshine Coast, someone told me that if I tried BSD I would never go
> back to Linux.  This may be the case but which one to try?
>
> Without starting a war could someone bring me up to speed on the basic
> difference between the BSDs (Open, Free, Net).  I would be interested in
> knowing which has more packages available.


I have to agree with Greg, FreeBSD would be a good way to go. Each BSD has
its own focus. NetBSD, for example, is known for running on just about
anything. OpenBSD is known for being a very secure distribution (and is the
parent of OpenSSL/OpenSSH). Both target the server space and as far as I
know are not really desktop distributions. FreeBSD, like Linux, targets a
broader spectrum of the market. It is functional as a desktop machine,
though without the extensive application support that Linux can boast, and I
have also used it as an excellent gateway and server. I was very happy with
it, and in recent years quite a few of OpenBSD's strong points (such as its
pf firewall) have been incorporated.

Regards,
Sarah Walters
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.humbug.org.au/pipermail/general/attachments/20080118/23aca820/attachment.html>