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Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!simtel!lll-winken.llnl.gov!uwm.edu!spool.mu.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!news.ecn.bgu.edu!newspump.wustl.edu!gumby!andrews-cc!gillham From: gillham@andrews.edu (Andrew Gillham) Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc Subject: Re: Why isn't NetBSD popular? Date: 16 Aug 1995 03:43:10 GMT Organization: Andrews University Lines: 59 Message-ID: <40rpge$fta@orion.cc.andrews.edu> References: <DDACyE.CBt@seas.ucla.edu> <VIXIE.95Aug14011302@wisdom.home.vix.com> <40nj98$8g2@news.belwue.de> NNTP-Posting-Host: edmund.cs.andrews.edu Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.misc:765 comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc:4553 In article <40nj98$8g2@news.belwue.de> Markus Baeurle <s671687@rghx50.gp.fht-esslingen.de> writes: > >To some extent, this may still be true. >But I think there's a much more important thing about it: >NetBSD is mainly interested in supporting a lot of platforms. So it's naturally >used by people from different platforms, but the PC userbase is much larger >than all of them together. Definitely true, _but_ the whole idea of NetBSD is free UN*X for "your" computer. So, we're not just talking about the PC users. While Microsoft has become wildly successful on marketing exclusively to the PC market (which _they_ built), NetBSD is not about making billions, but about running free software on the various computer bits you might have. >PC users normally choose Linux or FreeBSD. Let's face it, I wouldn't recommend >NetBSD to a PC user because they don't have such a nice installation and an >easy way to add packages that come in binary form as FreeBSD does. There's >nobody to blame for that, it's just a matter of fact. It would be quite >difficult and very time consuming to support more than ten platforms and still >offer dozens of programs in binary form for each of them. Hmm, I would tend to agree with you that the NetBSD install is not the greatest for a novice, but it does work. My brother installed it without too much difficulty (Hi Greg!), and he doesn't have a "unix background." Nevertheless, the instlal needs work, though I am fairly sure that someone is working on it. As for the packages that you mention... That is somewhat questionable. I understand where you might think of FreeBSD as being the core OS, _plus_ X11R6, various X programs, etc, etc, but I have to disagree. I think the OS is the OS, and everything else is an addon. It would also be nice if NetBSD had more packages available, but it is not necessary as most programs work out of the box. Be honest for a minute and think about whether FreeBSD would be as "snazzy" as it is if Walnut Creek was not pushing it as a product? Because of the commercial interest they are adding tons of packages, not because those packages are part of the OS. Thinking about Linux for a bit, is it Linus Torvalds that is adding all of the glitzy programs to Linux, or the Slackware (et. al) people? >So, NetBSD is not bad IMHO. It just addresses a different user base. What I >would like to see for NetBSD is a little bit more user friendliness. This may >be a nicer installation process, but first of all I think it should mean >better documentation and other support. The FreeBSD newsgroup is quite busy, >while this can't be said for the NetBSD one. This cannot all be up to the >smaller user base. Basically in my ramble above, I was trying to point out that the OS is just the core of the whole "package", but you're comparing the NetBSD OS, with the FreeBSD "package" (sorry Jordan, I think you know what I mean). Once a company starts selling NetBSD CDs, then you'll be seeing this "user-friendly" aspect that you are wanting. Also, I try to answer questions in the NetBSD newgroup, as I'm sure others do, but you're right, there is not that much traffic. -Andrew -- ============================ Real 32bit multi-tasking UN*X System Andrew Gillham | TCP/IP,NFS,PPP,4.4BSD-lite,multi-user gillham@andrews.edu | i386,sparc,alpha,mac68k,amiga,others LAN/WAN/NW/UN*X specialist | ---> http://www.NetBSD.org <---