*BSD News Article 80553


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From: John Dyson <dyson@freebsd.org>
Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc
Subject: Re: Transfer FREEBSD setup to BSD
Date: Sat, 12 Oct 1996 23:11:34 -0500
Organization: John S. Dyson's home machine
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Message-ID: <32606BF6.167EB0E7@freebsd.org>
References: <326040A2.2865@dznet.com>
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Doney Jimenez wrote:
> 
> Greetings
> I wonder if I could setup(customize) FREEBSD and then be able to
> transfer the setup to BSD.  Can I?
> What I want is to test FREEBSD and then buy BSD if I like it, but I
> don't want to loose my setup time.
> Please pardon me but I don't know anything about UNIX or BSD.
> 
If you are trying out FreeBSD then using your results to choose
BSDI, then you are comparing one OS and using it as a try-out
of an fairly different one.  FreeBSD performs differently
from BSDI.  However, if you are checking it out to see if it
is a flavor that you like, then BSDI and FreeBSD are similar.

If you find that you like FreeBSD, there is absolutely no
obligation to pay for it in any way.  In fact, the FreeBSD
team takes only contributions, mostly in the form of software
help and sometimes patience on the part of it's user base.
Support is available from several sources for a price, but
very good (and many times adequate) support is available
through the mailing lists for free (of course there are
no guarantees when you don't pay for the support.) :-).

FreeBSD is a generously copyrighted piece of software
originally from UCB and other sources and
the FreeBSD team (with the help of Walnut Creek and others)
continue to support, enhance and add to.  We are happy
for people to use the code productively, and ask for nothing
(except for compliance with the liberal software copyright
terms) in return. If you want a system that is easy to
install, you can get a copy of the OS on CDROM
from Walnut Creek for a very low price.  (In fact, it is
desirable for most people to get a copy of the CDROM, but
many people are satisfied to support themselves totally
through the net.)  Of course, you can obtain a copy of the
system for free across the net, but with net connections
mostly being at 28.8K, that can be tedious (again many people
do it that way though.)  The CDROM can be purchased from many
sources, including Walnut Creek CDROM for somewhere around $40
perhaps less.  (I don't know the exact price.)  If you buy the
CDROM from Walnut Creek, you will indirectly be supporting
FreeBSD development, since WC has been very helpful and
supportive to the project.

John