BSD impressions (Page 1 of 7)

FreeBSD and OpenBSD are both great systems.
Differences... well let's see...
OpenBSD is more like a mini system as they achieved to pack a complete system in a less than 250 mb iso. I also think the installation is faster and easier and after installing you get a pretty much usable desktop (you get a nice fvwm desktop). And they have some native packages that are the best you can get in FOSS like cwm, tmux and pf.
FreeBSD is more mainstream, with a much larger iso (dvd image recommended if you don't have a fast connection), and you got to work a little more to get your system ready (for a desktop), you don't get anything customized as in OBSD. That being said, FBSD has one of the most complete binary package collections (repositories) available.

I like them both but maybe as an entrance to BSD i'd choose OpenBSD.

BSD is similar enough to Linux to allow some familiarity but different enought for there to be a steep(-ish) learning curve. I started with SCO and migrated into Linuxland. Like the others, I would recommend virtualisation of FreeBSD first.

If you're referring to remote holes specifically, I think there've only been 2.

If you've used Arch, then you should be comfortable. Arch is afterall Linux trying (and failing) to become BSD.

You could also try PC-BSD, it's really good from what I've read, and actually in ways even better than FreeBSD. Specifically in how it has a graphical installer that allows you to choose between FreeBSD and PC-BSD, and just its general usability.

In addition, it's basically FreeBSD that's aimed more towards the desktop than the server, whereas the original FreeBSD is aimed more towards the server.

Last edited by Psyduck9550 (2011-10-28 00:17:55)

My dA. http://dfx4509b.deviantart.com/

Artistic, techie Otaku, and that ain't changing any time soon!

Chimming in with the rest of you ...

One thing about BSD that is different is that each BSD "OS" has it's on kernel, in contrast to Linux "Distros" that share the same kernel.  This difference contributes to each BSD meeting particular needs.

OpenBSD - Security

FreeBSD - General Usage (kind of the debian)

NetBSD - Portability (ability to run on anything)

DragonFly - SSD and SMP Performance

PC-BSD - Out - of - Box experience (like ubuntu)

They all share common themes though.  A choice of either binary or source based package management, and maybe better security than Linux.  I think this is do to the development process kept in house rather than being organic like Linux.

If anyone is interested in a FreeBSD ZFS install I'd recommend this BSDMAG issue (free download) http://bsdmag.org/magazine/1049-hosting-bsd to learn by getting your hands dirty.  That article started out by @vermaden on the FreeBSD forums install guide and was good enough to be put in the magazine.  The other alternative now is to use PC-BSD to do a base FreeBSD ZFS install as it's "PC-Sysintstall"  backend is the next generation FreeBSD installer and it allows the option of installing FreeBSD only.  I still recommend that magazine pdf though.  It's got an X11 config article that's pretty good too.

What's this about masturbating monkeys?

Edit: I shoulda known. Know-nothing Linus said it. Still the image is strange. I'm sure Linus has weird fetishes though.

Last edited by dmhdlr (2011-10-28 01:42:25)

That and it, along with FreeBSD, would be a perfect OS for a main desktop PC, or any BSD distro would, whereas Crunchbang, Puppy, Debian, Ubuntu, or any Linux distro would be better on a laptop for a secondary PC and vice versa.

Windows is average, and Mac is really good if you have the money.

There's also Solaris, but you gotta pay for that OS.

Last edited by Psyduck9550 (2011-10-28 02:51:56)

My dA. http://dfx4509b.deviantart.com/

Artistic, techie Otaku, and that ain't changing any time soon!

And also, if you wanna pay for it, Solaris is supposed to be really, really good as well. BSD's a great free alternative though. I basically respect all OS for the most part, as every platform has its ups and downs.

Linux and Unix (and especially BSD and Solaris) are supposed to be lightyears ahead of Windows as far as security, stability, hardware range, and overall performance goes though.

Last edited by Psyduck9550 (2011-10-28 03:02:06)

My dA. http://dfx4509b.deviantart.com/

Artistic, techie Otaku, and that ain't changing any time soon!

An excellent resource. Top bloke, that vermaden. I've been running mods of some of his scripts (mainly for screen) for years.

That link @rstcogburn shared contains an issue where they have quite a decent comparo between FreeBSD and OpenBSD. I wouldn't call OpenBSD the coolest, but I sure like their "mission statement" and their single-minded, almost belligerent pursuit of security and cleanliness of code. Just study the source files of any app approved for the project (the Xenocara tree is a good example) and you'll see what I mean. They also seem to set the standard when it comes to documentation, though to be fair all BSD projects annihilate Linux in that segment. One "downside" of OpenBSD is that it doesn't support newer journaling systems like ZFS or HAMMER, either due to licensing or stability issues.

In OSX's defence, it provides a very decent X11 environment to work in. I don't like Aqua either, but one can run WMs like xMonad or ScrotWM quite well (with a little tweaking) on OSX. Just don't show screenshots of it to a Mactard, cos you won't hear the end of it. Alas, BSD hardware support isn't the most current (no fault of theirs), as it would be nice to buy a brand new MacBook and proceed to purify it with FreeBSD. =P

Don't say that while talking to BSD-techies .. they'll tear you apart.

Then you'd probably like OpenBSD devs....

Image courtesy of Daisuke_Aramaki/P.K.Murugan/Skinwalker.

You're right, and I stand corrected. I was mainly referring to man page documentation

Linux projects probably have the lead with regards to overall documentation, thanks to bigger forums, possibly more active mailing lists, google's project pages (since their "summer of code" movement gained traction) and all the unofficial stuff you can find online.

Last edited by gutterslob (2011-10-28 08:43:29)