XP v Vista - Feedback/Comments Wanted

Originally Posted by Sandi Bowman

Don't want to hijack your thread, Michael, but since Marye brought this up in it, I figured it belonged here. If I'm wrong, my apologies.

Marye, you mentioned BSD for the OS. Since that is an OS for servers (if I'm wrong please correct me) does that mean we'd have to do all the manual patching like they do on the servers? If so, where does one get the patches, info on what's needed and when, and so on?

If I recall correctly, BSD is freely available on the internet but I'd have to look up the sources since it's been so long since I stumbled on to it when I was very much a newbie years ago and didn't fully understand much beyond basics.

Anything you can share would be much appreciated!

Sandi Bowman

Hi Sandi,

BSD (and any OS of the Unix/Linux persuasion) can be a robust server, given the configuration, so it isn't *necessarily* a server OS.

That said, it/they can serve as workstation OSes, and to a large part eliminate much of the hassle of virii, worms trojans, "drive by" malware installation and a host of other problems that have arisen as a result of the ubiquity of Windows (DIG ALERT! . . . And Microsoft's sloppy coding/response to problems.).

I'm setting up a Freebsd workstation that I intend to replace my Windows machine with for most of my computing.

Installing the OS was fairly simple. Installing programs can be simple, and so can the routines that keep things running smoothly and securely.

HOWEVER!

The habits I've gotten from Windows keep getting in the way. I just deleted something I no longer want. I didn't uninstall it properly, and pieces of it were left lying around. Getting things straightened out so I can install a later version is proving to be a challenge (PITA) because I'm having to really learn how the OS operates.

Almost every program available for Windows can be found for Freebsd, and it's free. The downside is that documentation is minimal because all the work to program is done by someone who just wants to provide the functionality - - and it's perfectly clear to HIM/HER what you need to do to get it working.

Another downside is that since AT&T gave it to the computing world, everybody has his own way of implementing things. Thus, you got Freebsd, OpenBSD, Solaris, Unix, etc. All similar, all good, but now standardization about the things that let programmers develop one program to operate under all of them.

[Unix came to be when 3 guys at Bell Labs were chided for playing games on the computer and hogging cycles needed for work - computing that supported that division of the Labs. They found an old Dec machine that had a whopping 64k of memory and wrote their own operating system - Unix.]

While I'm thoroughly enjoying my "trials and tribulations," I realize that I'm kind of "geeky," with a health dose of OCD.

When I've got it all together, I'll have a robust and very secure system, and I'll be able to run almost anything on it that will run on Windows. I'm willing to dig for enough understanding to make that happen, though I realize that everybody may not want to. (I also build my own computers - geeky, huh?]

There is a repository of all the "stuff" you need to do any patching, building, adding on, whatever. Support is also there, but it's in the form of forums and newslists. It requires participation in those, or at least as I do, googling for my problem and chasing down the answer. For one error message I got the only person in the world who had my exact problem, it seemed, was in Russia, and so was the information on the webpage!

One more downside: Lots of folks in the Unix/Linux communities give lip service to wanting their OS to be more widely used, but few of them know how to think like someone new to the OS. (. . preferring to be "elite" in their own minds, I think) They give answers that are rather cryptic, then refer you to the "man" pages (manual pages - they exist for, and are part of the OS package.)

Trouble is, its a whole 'nuther experience learning to navigate those. I read somewhere that documentation should always be written by someone who doesn't speak english, and translated by someone who doesn't know anything about computers. That's how I feel when I go to the "man" page.

The bright side: I'm having a ball. And along the way, I'm making note of every problem I solve as I learn. If I use something I already know to help solve a problem, I note that too. I'm thinking of putting up a website that explains as much of the ins and outs as I can so those willing to try can have an almost step-by-step path to follow, and somewhere to go for a complete answer.

It (BSD) has come a very long way from what it was when I first got the notion to try it. (I was thrown for a loop when my very own computer demanded that I Login, and wouldn't let me do anything until I did!

"It's ME!" I yelled - - "your OWNER! You do what I TELL you to do!"

It said "Login."

Hope this helps, some.

Marye.
P.S. A good alternative to the hassle is the new Mac with the intel chip. The OS is combination BSD and some other Unix-like stuff, with the nice Apple Gui integrated. You can do Windows, Mac and BSD stuff on it! SWEET!