Gary and `The List` (good name for a Rock Band), First post and all; I have been trolling this list for a long time and finally got a thread I am interested in. Here I am to defend my beloved BSD...
I will set aside the obligatory flame for not even picking up the latest version of an operating system you are intending to learn and move right on to the defense of same. FreeBSD was designed with enterprise-grade (whatever that means, these days) stability in mind and a focus on easing administration chores. Honestly, Gary, X and similar were the _last_ things on the minds of the projects originators. This general philosophy is reflected throughout the OS through many little 'quirks' (known to devotees as "personality traits"... haha). The general idea behind using BSD as a desktop is, "yeah, you can do it, but it isn't the project's goal." A little background on the above: I am only 20-years young, but have been using BSD since my first install 8 years ago. I run a BSD flavor on my Thinkpad, my primary workstation (dual P3) and my little server (dual Xeons). I am what you might call 'calloused' toward the (seemingly) not-so-subtle oversights that new users seem to notice when they are introduced to BSD. Most of these "oversights" are, honestly, not part of "The Way" (not trying to sound _too_ mystical here). BSD is one of those things that either sparks that fuzzy feeling inside, or sends one running in fear and loathing. I don't pretend to "get it", but I do know that if I were a developer trying to maintain the simplicity of Unix, I would choose to leave out silly auto-configuring window managers, too. The facility and the opportunity are in place for you to implement what you want on the FreeBSD platform. I just wouldn't expect the much enthusiasm about the concept from the development community, should you offer it to them. Being a first-poster and all, I would not belong to the group of FreeBSD users that may have been mentioned on the list in the past. However, I am more than willing to help with any and all questions regarding any of the BSD flavors... if you won't hold my age against me (this seems to be a recurring problem as a consultant in this field, for me). Brandon 'smokey' Mitchell _______________________________________________ RLUG mailing list [email protected] http://lists.rlug.org/mailman/listinfo/rlug
