I'm a big fan of using Debian, at least on servers, and I gave FreeBSD a try a few months ago. I thought was an interesting experience and worth trying. The ports system is very nice. It wasn't hard to install - the documentation is thorough, and well written. But it did take quite a while to set up, so I probably wouldn't attempt it with a deadline.
Asa On Wed, Sep 16, 2009 at 10:46 AM, Rene Churchill <[email protected]> wrote: > Unless you're a programmer or sysadmin, the learning curve isn't worth it. > Go with what you know and get the paper done. The differences between the > various *nix systems to Joe Average user are pretty minor compared to what > you're really trying to accomplish. (i.e. write papers, read email, surf > the web, process lab data, etc.) > > Knowing that in BSD v4.3, the amount of RAM devoted to the file cache is > established at boot time and is not dynamic is kinda interesting to fellow > geeks. The number of times that it has actually mattered in 20+ years of > programming? Once. > > Rene > > Richard Lawrence wrote: > > 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 > > > -- > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > René Churchill [email protected] > Geek Two 802-244-7880 x527 > Your Source for Local Information http://www.wherezit.com > >
