Re: Got a spare machine...

[Jordan Bettis <jordanb@m-net.arbornet.org>]

On Sat, 16 Sep 2000, Tim wrote:

> I find myself with a spare machine...Its only a p90 with 64MB RAM. I'd
> like to try some other OS on it. Anyone have any suggestions?

You might want to try OpenBSD, I wanted to use OpenBSD as my NAT box, but
there wasn't very good documentation on how to go about doing that, so I
settled on Debian GNU/Linux, because of its moderately good security and
the use of the very well documented Linux kernel. 

OpenBSD is the most secure operating system you can get, the problem,
which is generally the problem with all BSD's is that their support is
pathetic compared to that for Linux based distros. BSD doesn't really
have culture of inclusion, they have gurus, and those on the 'inside' of
the development groups, and don't really care about anybody else. 

In fact, OpenBSD exists because its creator (Theo van Raadt IIRC) started
flaming newbes who asked questions in the NetBSD forums. He was banned
from contributing to NetBSD, so he started his own BSD, his server was
rooted, he got pissed off, and OpenBSD was born.

Another anecdote: Alan Cox and many other early Linux kernel hackers were
interviewed by LJ once, when asked why they started hacking Linux, the
overwhelming answer was that 386BSD refused to accept patches, wouldn't
answer questions, and wouldn't release unstables, so they went with Linux.

> I have thought about FreeBSD...but is there anything I can run on it that
> I cant run under Linux?

No, but you'll have one hell of a time getting some Linux stuff to work on
BSD (gnome was always a real bitch, but helix might have fixed that).

FreeBSD is just about the most stable Unix, NetBSD is the most portable,
and OpenBSD is the most secure, *BSD are good Operating systems, they just
come with a lot of extra baggage. 

Jordan Bettis.
"Probably the best operating system in the world is the [operating system]
 made for the PDP-11 by Bell Laboratories." - Ted Nelson, October 1977

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