CYLOGISTICS FreeBSD 5.2

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Summary: FreeBSD 5.2 is a mature, professional operating system
Review: I use FreeBSD 5.2 on three separate computers, one personal and two commercial web/email servers (as well as several V4.9 and V4.6 server computers). It is easy to install and packed with features. It works with almost any software and hardware. It will run pretty much any Linux program, as well as many Windows programs via WINE (but don't think you are going to run graphically intense Windows games like Battlefield 1942 on it -- that is not what it is made for). Many folks think it doesn't work with P4 Hyperthreading, but it does. For me, the strength of FreeBSD is threefold: (1) It is extremely fast and stable. It uses virtual memory better than Linux or Windows. The TCP/IP stack is THE industry standard. (2) The "port" system is easier and more flexible for add-on program install than the Linux "RPM" system (although RPMs can be used as well). (3) Things are laid out in a very intuitive and usable fashion, without a lot of clutter. The only problems I have run into after numerous installs have to do with the X-Window graphical interface to the OS. Sometimes this has been a little tricky to set up. I have to admit that I tend to use FreeBSD with good CPUs and tons of memory, but crappy old video cards because the machines are usually used as business servers where video means nothing. I recently installed 5.2 with a new 64MB NVidia MX420 card and the X-Window system set up very easily. If there are any other negatives for newbies, the default is to not load support for sound cards, and loading sound card support is not trivial.

Some Linux distributions (SUSE 9.0 gets kudos here) are slicker, especially when it comes to the ease of setting up sound and the X-Windowing system. However, most folks using FreeBSD are not looking for a Windows alternative, but rather are using it as an extremely competent business back end server, or as a flexible and fast high-end workstation OS.

I cannot say enough about this OS. My 11 year old son uses it, so newbies shouldn't be put off too much by my comments on sound and graphics here. Semi-pro and pro computer folks who are using Linux should definitely give it a spin -- after you load a few "ports" instead of "RPMs" you will be grinning from ear to ear. Experimenters and hobbyists will find thousands of programs that are professionally designed and rigorously tested and ready to install.

If I had to live with one OS, this would be it. My servers are typically taken down by DSL issues or power outages before this OS locks up. It is a better OS than Linux or Windows in my opinion. I recommend reading "Absolute BSD" by Michael Lucas if you get serious about this OS.

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Summary: The power of Unix for your computer...
Review: Most computer users have heard of Linux. How it's stable, secure and rarely crashes. And this is true. And most know that Linux patterns itself after Unix in structure and function--though not in source code. Linux has risen to be THE alternative to the Windows hedgemony.

But there are other OSs that inherit the same great characteristics of Unix but are not Linux: they're known as the BSDs.

Without going into a lot of history, suffice it to say that the BSDs--FreeBSD in particular, have the same structure and function of Unix and at the same time, are more Unix-like than Linux. This is due to a more mature code base and BSD's historical relationship with Unix. I say "BSDs" because there are three variants available: FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and NetBSD. Of the three, FreeBSD is the friendliest and the most desktop-ready.

FreeBSD has many of the same great programs that Linux does but the difference is to be found under the hood.

In Linux, the kernel is really "Linux" with a bunch of programs from the GNU project sitting atop of it. But with the BSDs and FreeBSD in particular, the WHOLE OS is one monolithic system--so the system is tightly integrated and its packages work well together.

Another key difference with the BSDs: the version releases are farther apart. This is because the BSDs are concerned with stability--not necessarily "cutting edge" packages. The result: a very stable operating system.

There are some things to watch out for, however.

Although many of the same desktop environments and programs that are found on Linux exist for FreeBSD and the BSDs, they do not have the wealth of software available for them that Linux does. This is because of the way BSD is developed (not by many different programmers as Linux is but by a team of individuals who decide what will and will not be included in a release), and because it's not as visible as Linux is right now.

But thanks to the BSD porting system and its Linux emulation layer, many of the same programs found in Linux can be made to run on FreeBSD and the BSDs in general. However, it does take some know-how and skill to make this happen. Linux is definitely easier to use and is better supported than the BSDs are in the software/applications arena.

With this said, I believe that, eventually, the BSDs and FreeBSD in particular will begin to gain in popularity as they match Linux in both ease of use and support.

In the meantime, if you're looking for a stable system and want to try something different then this is the OS to choose. Its stability, security, and close relationship to Unix is as good as it gets.

Highly recommended as a server or desktop.