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Garfinkel Blasts Linux in Favor of BSDs

Posted by Roblimo on from the more-good-press dept.

howardjp writes "Computerworld is running an article by Simson Garfinkel. In it, Garfinkel effectively blasts Linux and the Linux development model in favor of the BSDs and their development model. It is nice to see the BSDs getting the respect and press they have deserved for so long."

17 of 29 comments (clear)

  1. Well.. by Duke+of+URL · · Score: 2

    I use Linux and OpenBSD. As a matter of fact I just upgraded to OpenBSD 2.6. I don't think there's any need to blast Linux's dev style or what not, though. There's a need for both, and plenty of room for all.

    Whats the point of yelling at eachother?
    I don't think "The BSD developers have had different motivations" than Linux developers. We all just want software that doesn't suck, right?

    http://www.openbsd.org/

    Check out this cool OpenBSD T-shirt, a shirt any Linux user would be proud to wear.

  2. BSD rocks by niekze · · Score: 2

    I've been using OpenBSD for about half a year now, both 2.5 and the relatively new 2.6. I find it much faster than and linux dist. How many OS'es come pre-installed with crypto AND ssh? OpenBSD....and....thats it! The only features i would like to see implemented are support for mounting smb shares (namely SMBFS in the kernal) and SMP support.
    I also have FreeBSD 3.4 on another machine and it runs quite well too. Maybe if i wanted every possible service running post-install and a lack of security as well as having the fun of applying the root exploit patch of the week...I would run RedHat. enough said

    --


    Chaos, Mayhem, and Destruction: Not
    1. Re:BSD rocks by Matthew+Weigel · · Score: 1
      When are they gonna get SMP for OpenBSD?
      Who knows? I offered to donate a low-end dual processor system for testing (obviously not an actual development machine, I am a college student), and went ignored. I am under the impression that they want kernel threads working (man kthreads in 2.6 and you'll see what I mean) before they begin work on SMP.

      I have three SMP machines at work, though, that I'd love to move to OpenBSD on. Given the performance boosts I've seen on my home machine (which has half the processing power of a single CPU at work, and a quarter the RAM), I'd very much like to see the difference in performance at work :)
      --
      --Matthew
    2. Re:BSD rocks by not+Bruce+Perens · · Score: 1

      There's a *reason* not many OS's come with crypto...it's called US export regulations. You might have seen them mentioned on this site once or twice before.

      Yes, RedHat installs too much crap. But it's considerably easier to uninstall software after installation than to have to explicitly install things like bash.

    3. Re:BSD rocks by alsogut · · Score: 1

      i agree. bsd rocks

    4. Re:BSD rocks by kartiknarayan · · Score: 1
      Yes, RedHat installs too much crap. But it's considerably easier to uninstall software after installation than to have to explicitly install things like bash.

      You're kidding right??????!!!!! I so much prefer FreeBSD's install model [which is probably similar to Slackware's, I guess], where you can explicitly specify which packages you want installed. I just installed RH6.1 and was appalled at the crap it installed without asking me. Or did I miss something along the way? --KN

    5. Re:BSD rocks by not+Bruce+Perens · · Score: 1

      Notice that the thread pertained to OpenBSD. The FreeBSD installation system is more friendly (though it segfaults on me with wild abandon), but then you have to go through the trouble of setting up crypto and securing the system.

  3. Re:"Blast?" Oh, please! Give me a break... by dodobh · · Score: 1

    The writer has essentially compared *BSD and Linux and found BSD to be better is some aspects. The header was taken from the submitters post and not created by Roblimo. The posters phrasing though should be moderated down as -1 Flamebait.

    --
    I can throw myself at the ground, and miss.
  4. Can't we all just get along by DrWiggy · · Score: 2

    How many times do we have to have this argument on slashdot/Usenet/lists/wherever... we all have the same objective, and we all have different tastes. If people want to use Linux, that's upto them, and likewise with BSD

    Both options are better than an NT/closed-source solution... why can't we all just admit we're happy with what we are, and the OS is suited to what we do?

    We'd all be far more productive if we stopped arguing... personally, I'm getting tired of the arguments on slashdot between BSD and Linux. If you don't know which is best for you already, use Redhat - it's simpler to install... if you are an admin of a multi-server, high-availability, high-performance site, then you should have the qualifications and resources to DO THE RESEARCH YOURSELF!!!!!

    Can we all stop arguing now please?

  5. "blasts"????? by wardk · · Score: 1

    Having read this article, I am having difficulty finding the actual text that "blasts" linux.

    So did VA/Slashdot get bought out by Rupert Murdock and you never mentioned it?

  6. Re:BSD developers deserve respect and all, but . . by NovaX · · Score: 1

    Ask him where he submitted it. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he posted it on the incorrect forum (or didn't send it to the maintainers). If he sends it to the right people, then it should be looked at, and most likely integrated. But just sending it to some random usenet forum that says 'x-bsd' just wont do.

    --

    "Open Source?" - Press any key to continue
  7. "Blast?" Oh, please! Give me a break... by edhall · · Score: 2

    I've read the linked article twice, and I just can't see how anyone would consider it a "Blast" at Linux or the Linux development model. It's one thing to post pointers to controversial articles, but it's an entirely different thing to attempt to stir up flames with a misleading article header like this.

    My respect for Roblimo, which generally has been pretty high, now has taken a serious downturn.

    -Ed
    1. Re:"Blast?" Oh, please! Give me a break... by DrWiggy · · Score: 1

      Hang on a minute - I didn't post that article in this thread - it was posted elsewhere. Taken out of it's original context, it's implied meaning is altered.... don't blame me.

      What I was originally trying to point out is that it is pointless us all arguing as to which is better. I'm a BSD advocate, and probably always will be. I've worked on big sites with Linux and it's been a nightmare. I don't know about you, but I'm getting very bored though of the whole slanging match which is counter-productive and has no benefit or effect on the real world.

      So, whoever cross-posted it in here and took it out of context deserves a slap, but my words are my own, and the underlying meaning holds true - wouldn't it be better if we put time in writing code than arguing about the granularity of SMP in FreeBSD as opposed to Linux, or how Linux gets more press attention, and how Linux was written by some weird Finnish dude and our BSD wasn't, etc. etc... :)

  8. OT: What Press? by hodeleri · · Score: 2

    It is nice to see the BSDs getting the respect and press they have deserved for so long.

    <RANT>What I am curious about is how Slashdot seems to secret away BSD articles in the BSD section that have equal merit as any Linux article that graces the main page. For example, the previous BSD-only articles announced 4.0-RC. At the same time, RedHat 6.2-beta was announced (within a day or so) and it graced the main page. Why wasn't 4.0-RC put up on the main page?

    If Slashdot is "news for nerds" and "stuff that matters" shouldn't that news be weighted equally? Perhaps a "Linux" section is needed for articles about Linux that don't need to grace the main page. Maybe I should just ignore Slashdot and go read DDN instead. Ok, enough</RANT>

    --
    marotti.com
    1. Re:OT: What Press? by fuzzybunny · · Score: 1
      Probably because Linux enjoys a far wider use than most of the BSDs. Without any real corporate sponsorship, BSD has never received any of the graphical bells and whistles of, say, RedHat. At the same time, the BSD usership tends towards more clued individuals, not Kl00d H@x0r types, and the OS is thus more focused on functionality and stability. You decide which caused which.

      Regardless of this, the BSDs are superb operating systems with a very dedicated developer base; technically superior since they've followed far more coherent development paths than Linux. That said, they don't really _need_ the kind of press coverage Linux gets, since anyone needing the kind of ease of mind they get from *BSD will probably find out about their existence through a bit of research in any case.

      --
      Cole's Law: Thinly sliced cabbage
  9. license fees ? by bug1 · · Score: 1

    What license fees was he refering to ?

  10. Re:ipv6 by bugg · · Score: 1
    FreeBSD 4.0-Release will ship IPv6-ready.

    Linux doesn't count because IPv6 is both kernel and userland, and it will only "count" when there is a distribution that includes ipv6-ready userland tools as well as kernel sources that don't need external patches to turn on IPv6.

    --
    -bugg