Hi everyone, I'm wondering if anyone has relatively recent experience using both Debian (or some derivative) and FreeBSD, and if they might like to give me some thoughts on the relative merits of each. I'm not looking to start a holy war here -- just looking for an informed opinion. I have used Debian and derivatives since I came to the free software world, but I have never used any of the BSDs.
The back story is this: I have just started a graduate program at Berkeley, and I am putting a desktop machine together (via parts acquired from Craigslist), which I anticipate will be my main work station for writing papers and such. I am most interested in having a minimal, efficient, and stable system, since I am running on slightly older hardware. I guess I have an institutional curiosity in the BSDs, and I like the idea of learning a new system (particularly one with such excellent documentation). On the other hand, I know Debian well enough that I could install it tomorrow and still have time to write the paper I have due Thursday. Is it worth the learning curve to stray from Linux land? Richard
