LinuxSA Mailing list archives

  From: Matthew Geddes <mgeddes@xavier.sa.edu.au>
  To  : <ian_hogben@computercorp.com.au>
        < linuxsa@linuxsa.org.au>
  Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2001 15:01:30 +0930

Re: bsd for linux users?

ian_hogben@computercorp.com.au wrote:
> 
> Hello, list:
> 
> I am interested in expanding my interests in unix, and trying to have some
> fun with FreeBSD 4.3. It looks pretty similar to linux (mandrake and redhat,
> for instance), but there are some differences.

It's closer to slackware. Some of the more cosmetic differences include
things like SysV-style init scripts (as found in most linux
distributions) and different naming conventions for /dev/* (as is the
case with most unixes). BSD people also don't appear to put PAM down as
a big priority (which is their choice, I guess).

> In looking through the web
> there doesn't seem to be the same wealth of information available as for
> linux users. There's no ldp-compatible site, for instance.

At freebsd.org, theres a bit of documentation. I also think Greg Lehey
wrote a book which is shipped with the boxed version of FreeBSD.
Apparently it's quite good. I'm also positive that Greg would know of
somewhere that would have more information.

> As linux users, have any of you out there ventured into bsd, and are there
> any resources that you would recommend to me? I have heard great things
> about "The Complete FreeBSD" second edition. Since that's not available as
> free hypertext, I'm hoping to find some more accessible resources before
> committing to this OS.

Greg also runs a BSD mailing list. I'm no expert, but I am willing to
answer questions.

> As an example, I have a Xircom RBEM-56G PCMCIA lan/modem card. What do I do
> to configure this? It is so easy in linux... ;]

I'm not sure about the specific card in question, but check out the
FreeBSD Handbook at freebsd.org. It will show you how to recompile the
kernel.

You will probably be quite happy with BSD once you're more comfortable.
Obviously, it's personal preference as to which is "better" out of Linux
and BSD :-)

Hope it helps,
Matt

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