Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.

Re: FreeBSD/Linux

Author:Bruce Hoult
Posted:5/15/1999; 8:30:02 PM
Topic:FreeBSD/Linux
Msg #:6312 (In response to 6292)
Prev/Next:6311 / 6313

I just don't understand why is there so much hype about Linux, when FreeBSD is also running on Intel hardware.

This precise question was the topic of a presentation made at a conference I was at a couple of weeks ago (Uniforum NZ, an "open systems user group").

According to the speaker (who happens to be a friend who lives about a km from here) the reasons are:

Timing

Linus started out just as the 386 became affordable to a student, usenet became generally available for discussions, and ftp became generally available. On the software side, most GNU software was done right about then, except a kernel.

Cheap hardware

Linux always supported MFM/IDE disks. BSD wanted SCSI. SCSI is clearly the Right Choice (as a Mac guy how can I disagree with that?) but most x86 people didn't have machines that had SCSI. BSD assumed you'd buy the right machine to run it, Linux assumed you had a machine lying around and wanted to try Unix.

Public development

It was before the web took off. Usenet groups and mailing lists were the choices for communication. The BSD developers used mailing lists. High signal to noise ratio and other advantages. Linux used a bunch of newsgroups. Low signal-to-noise ratio. But for the curious wondering about trying a free unix it looked as if lots was happening in Linux and nothing was happening in BSD.

The AT&T USL lawsuit

AT&T claimed that the BSD network code had copyright AT&T code. BSD networking was mature, stable an high performance. Linux network code was not. The fuss and delay of the lawsuit delayed free BSDs and people wanting to use them enough that Linux had a chance to catch up (mostly -- BSD is still better).

development model and a figurehead

The BSDs tend to be based on teams. In Linux, Linus is a benevolent dictator. This may or may not make any difference to the actual efficiency of development, but it gives Linux a facade of unity. And it gives a figurehead. When the media wants to interview someone about BSD -- well, whoever heard of such a thing? When they want to talk to someone about Linux there's an obvious name and phone number to call. This is a huge contributor to the development of the hype.



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