Tackling BSD
by
zen
Before I head off in a couple weeks, I wanted to deal with a question I tend to get every 3-4 months. The question is why don't I write a BSD guide, or can I help them install BSD from scratch.
These questions are a bit ridiculous, since that is not at all how one should approach BSD for the first time. It is the type of thing that you read a book about before you even attempt using it. There are BSD install guides out there, but that won't teach you most of the fundamentals you'll need to get by. The main problem with install guides is that you don't really grasp what you're doing. You're really just going through the motions that someone else figured out for you. You can approach Linux like this in limited ways, but not BSD.
If you really want an install guide then use the ones on the BSD sites, but I won't be linking to any, since I cannot promote that way of learning if you're coming to the table with a totally blank BSD slate. Instead, I will link to BSD books you should read first.
BSD is actually less user accessible than Linux, and that is saying something. You need to use it to truly understand that. It's not that it gets in your way, but more that it's just on another level. BSD is the closest modern remnant to true UNIX. Linux on the other hand is a UNIX-like OS, but in an off on its own sense; which means it's based on many of the same concepts and ideals, but not the same code or direction. BSD is also technically UNIX-like, as it's not the original AT&T version, but it is the truest form of UNIX today. The most proper thing to call BSD is a UNIX clone. GNU/Linux was designed by largely UNIX people to be more user accessible, and include features those developers couldn't get into UNIX at the time; for whatever reasons. GNU literally stands for GNU's Not UNIX.
These days things are a lot more open in the UNIX/BSD world, and there are multiple BSD variants that have been released in the last couple decades, but it's still BSD; the Everest of operating systems.
This is not an OS for the lighthearted user. You've been warned.
A good list of BSD/UNIX books to read can be found here. The list is a bit OpenBSD dominant, but that is my BSD of choice. The next closest thing would be NetBSD.
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"The next closest thing would be NetBSD."
ReplyDeleteDo you recommend trying openbsd or netbsd for a new user? Or maybe freebsd? Sorry if I sound like a dumb newb.
Obviously my recommendation would be OpenBSD. None of them are easier to use, and since OpenBSD is the most open (hence its name) and code correct; it's the clear choice to have the most flexibility. It's also the most secure. A whole 2 security issues in its history, and they were fixed of course.
DeleteFreeBSD is the most widespread, but OpenBSD is the most flexible. NetBSD is somewhere in the middle. OpenBSD was originally ported from NetBSD, by the famous/infamous Theo de Raadt. A South African turned Canadian.
Theo is kind of like me on steroids, in terms of always doing what is best for the technology and well being of the users. He is seen as one of the most all-round talented developers on earth.
To add to what I already typed, as I forgot, but OpenBSD actually passed NetBSD in user base size a few years back. So OpenBSD is now the 2nd most used BSD, behind only FreeBSD.
DeleteLarger user base means more software, but if you're using BSD anyway then you can just compile everything yourself and fine tune it to your gear (once you get to that level) for amazing performance.
Light OS to start with + code compiled specifically for its CPU = screaming performance on chips in the 300-500MHz range. That is the true liberation that UNIX gives you as a user.
Give it proper respect, learn everything you can before you even use or install it, and treat it like a beast that will take you a long time to slay. Do that and you (or anyone) will have a fighting chance.
It takes more will and dedication to learn and master BSD than any other OS. That is the reality. I have seen it break some very capable people.