5 ms·

At least for servers, FreeBSD is more polished than mainstream Linux (RedHat, Debian, and ancestors), if you ask me. The ports system keeps far more up to date

At least for servers, FreeBSD is more polished than mainstream Linux (RedHat, Debian, and ancestors), if you ask me. The ports system keeps far more up to date than the typical Linux packaging system and the releases seem to be on a somewhat sane schedule. Of course, Linux is sort of this amalgamation of the kernel and whatever distribution you choose, so the ecosystem is fragmented and lacks the centralized command-and-control that FreeBSD has. However, I still recommend and use Linux, mainly for support reasons. 7-8 years ago it was more of a toss-up as far as support, because Linux was far less established. These days it's a different ballgame. All the reasons to prefer FreeBSD (network & VM performance, stability, security, etc) are no longer clear advantages when compared to contemporary Linux. You are correct in your assertion that there simply isn't enough benefit to using FreeBSD to weigh out the lack of support both from a community and a hardware perspective. Also, the Gentoo crowd seems to be similar, at least in spirit, to the FreeBSD folks. While they don't have the same deep integration of kernel & environment, they do have the same values when it comes to clean aesthetics and keeping up-to-date with packaged software.

rhizome 16y ago
As for support, BSD has over 30 years of community expertise built up, Linux about half that.
apotheon 16y ago
> All the reasons to prefer FreeBSD (network & VM performance, stability, security, etc) are no longer clear advantages when compared to contemporary Linux. Really? Why don't you think stability and security are important? What about consistency of interface between tools in a single system, and adherence to expectations of standard tools that make sense to the user (e.g., man pages instead of GNU Info pages, which are slowly creeping into Linux-based systems everywhere I look)? I'm afraid I have to disagree with this estimation. In fact, the more time that passes, and the more the biggest Linux distributions are those that pander to people with expectations grown in the MS Windows ecosystem, the more the benefits of FreeBSD over Linux distributions grow. I suppose your mileage may vary, though. > Also, the Gentoo crowd seems to be similar, at least in spirit, to the FreeBSD folks. While they don't have the same deep integration of kernel & environment, they do have the same values when it comes to clean aesthetics and keeping up-to-date with packaged software. . . . but not when it comes to stability, from what I have seen.
- rbranson 16y ago
  I was a little unclear. My main point is that many of the things that made FreeBSD such a strong leader years ago are no longer weak points in Linux. I agree with you though otherwise. From a cleanliness, usability, and aesthetics point of view, the state of Linux is pretty sad, especially when compared to FreeBSD. Linux could also learn a little bit about documentation from FreeBSD's excellent handbook. EDIT: Let me also say that I'd really like to see the OpenSolaris devs jump to the FreeBSD team and help drive FreeBSD further.
  - apotheon 16y ago
    Okay, fair 'nuff. > EDIT: Let me also say that I'd really like to see the OpenSolaris devs jump to the FreeBSD team and help drive FreeBSD further. I can definitely agree with that.

rhizome 16y ago

As for support, BSD has over 30 years of community expertise built up, Linux about half that.

apotheon 16y ago

> All the reasons to prefer FreeBSD (network & VM performance, stability, security, etc) are no longer clear advantages when compared to contemporary Linux. Really? Why don't you think stability and security are important? What about consistency of interface between tools in a single system, and adherence to expectations of standard tools that make sense to the user (e.g., man pages instead of GNU Info pages, which are slowly creeping into Linux-based systems everywhere I look)? I'm afraid I have to disagree with this estimation. In fact, the more time that passes, and the more the biggest Linux distributions are those that pander to people with expectations grown in the MS Windows ecosystem, the more the benefits of FreeBSD over Linux distributions grow. I suppose your mileage may vary, though. > Also, the Gentoo crowd seems to be similar, at least in spirit, to the FreeBSD folks. While they don't have the same deep integration of kernel & environment, they do have the same values when it comes to clean aesthetics and keeping up-to-date with packaged software. . . . but not when it comes to stability, from what I have seen.

rbranson 16y ago
I was a little unclear. My main point is that many of the things that made FreeBSD such a strong leader years ago are no longer weak points in Linux. I agree with you though otherwise. From a cleanliness, usability, and aesthetics point of view, the state of Linux is pretty sad, especially when compared to FreeBSD. Linux could also learn a little bit about documentation from FreeBSD's excellent handbook. EDIT: Let me also say that I'd really like to see the OpenSolaris devs jump to the FreeBSD team and help drive FreeBSD further.
- apotheon 16y ago
  Okay, fair 'nuff. > EDIT: Let me also say that I'd really like to see the OpenSolaris devs jump to the FreeBSD team and help drive FreeBSD further. I can definitely agree with that.