Thank you, Mark!
Mark C. Ballew wrote:
Glad to see you are giving FreeBSD a try Gary. I've been using FreeBSD
for years and years, longer than I've been using Linux, and the
installer hasn't changed very much in that time. The DragonFly project,
a code fork of FreeBSD 4.x, has a very nice GUI installer that will
hopefully replace the ancient sysinstall program that FreeBSD team keeps
because it "just works(tm)".
I'm interested!
I strongly suggest that you upgrade to FreeBSD 5.3 or later. 5.4 is the
current release. I would consider 5.0 beta quality at best, and I
wouldn't suggest running it at all when most of the issues in 5.0 have
been long since resolved, and the config file layout is much more sane.
I can appreciate the tendency to shoot for the latest version of any
distro. I have found that to be a mistake on occasion but, for the most
part, it's the right choice. I should have attempted to download an iso
for the latest...
If you are willing to fight with FreeBSD a bit, it makes a great
desktop, but where FreeBSD really shines is on the server. It has a
consistent core and binaries between releases, and the ports system to
keep 3rd party software up to date.
I really like the ports system. That is one of the things that impressed
me about it.
I've never installed FreeBSD with an Nvidia card before, but you can
download the driver from Nvidia's website. Much like other distros, the
Nvidia driver can't be shipped with the OS due to license issues. If the
card is working now, that is because it is using the slower open source
NV driver, which ships with Xorg (or XFree86 in your case. Upgrade to
5.4, seriously).
Yes, the NV driver is exactly what it's using. I won't notice if it's a
slower driver or not, however, because I don't play games or anything
like that. I've just never used computers that way very much. For me,
the "toy" in computers is the OS itself, not games and stuff. <gasp!>
Feel free to ask questions about FreeBSD, and I'll do the best I can.
Check the handbook and faq first though, as it answers many common
questions. Also, post your questions to the list! We are not only Linux,
but open source supporters here. You are certainly on topic.
Thanks for the generous offer. I will more than likely look you guys up
with some of this. Too bad I live in Carson and work till late in the
evening ... makes going to meetings rather difficult. I would really
like to meet some of the group in person, and see the regulars I haven't
seen in 6 years.
Oh, and upgrade to 5.4, in case I forgot to type that.
I think you mentioned that... <grin>
Thanks again!
-Gary
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--
Gary L. Allen
Engineer, Certified Computer Professional
Windows ?! "The more they over-think the plumbing, the easier it is ta' stop up the
drain." -Scotty
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