[RndTbl] NetBSD, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, yikes!

[Mike Pfaiffer]

Montana Quiring wrote:
> I've been playing with Solaris over the past year but I would like to
> get more experience with UNIX.
> There seems to be three (correct me if I'm wrong) main players in the
> BSD playing field.
<snip>

	OS X (Mac) is the most popular BSD out there. It has been ported to the 
"standard" PC by several "projects". I can testify to its ease of use on 
a Mac (30 seconds to set up a server box through the GUI). If you have 
the latest and greatest version there is plenty of free and commercial 
software out there.

	There is a down side to it too. It *IS* a commercial product. The OS 
itself seems to be a bit schizophrenic when it comes to the split 
between the GUI and the BSD parts. The company is a bit schizophrenic 
with its relationship with its customers as well. Come to think of it 
they are a bit inconsistent in their relationship to the open source 
community as well. Like many Linux distros they also include a lot of 
things many of us will never need.

	Apparently NetBSD and FreeBSD will also work on *some* non-G series PPC 
Macs. However the general consensus is the G series PPCs are easier to 
deal with. Frankly I'd love to put one on a 7100 but I gather it is a 
very painful process and (for the moment) beyond my skill and 
understanding. :-)

				Later
				Mike