[NBLUG/talk] Linux v. Free BSD

William Tracy afishionado at gmail.com
Sun Apr 8 15:29:12 PDT 2007


> As a layman regarding Linux, I would like to know the opinions of those
> on this list regarding the pros and cons of using Linux over Free BSD on
> my home computer.

The last time I tried FreeBSD as a desktop, I was not impressed.

Most desktop software that runs on FreeBSD is originally written for
Linux and ported over. FreeBSD just isn't as popular as Linux--if you
thought it was hard to find support for Linux, try finding it for BSD.
It's just not user-friendly.

Now, under the hood, BSD is awesome, possibly better than Linux in
terms of stability and scalability. Yahoo uses FreeBSD on all their
servers, and it strikes me as a good choice. Unfortunately, on a
normal desktop you just won't see the difference.

That said, that's just my experience.You'll have to see what everyone
else has to say.

I might add that right now I'm downloading PC-BSD, which is supposed
to be a more desktop-friendly derivative of FreeBSD, so we'll see how
that goes.

However, right now, I can't really recommend BSD on a desktop. Lean
Linux, and try BSD after you start getting bored. :-)

William



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