On Sat, May 2, 2009 at 3:32 AM, Bret Busby <b...@busby.net> wrote: > On Sat, 25 Apr 2009, Michael Pobega wrote: > >> >> On Sat, Apr 25, 2009 at 01:12:35PM +0300, Dotan Cohen wrote: >>>> >>>> Check out the FreeBSD handbook at: >>>> http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/ >>>> It is also available as a pdf which is >1000 pages! It doesn't cover >>>> everything, but it does cover a lot. They also have other books and >>>> articles at http://www.freebsd.org/docs/books.html. >>>> >>> >>> That sounds more like a problem than a solution. I would not try an OS >>> that had a 1000 page manual. I want simple, not comprehensive. >>> >> >> Well, the thing about FBSD is that it's users are pretty much all >> hobbyists, so the length of a manual is a good thing. If Debian had >> documentation of equal or greater length I can only see that as a >> strength, not a weakness. >> >> > > And, if the handbook's content is valid and well structured (with Table of > Contents, and index, etc), it would probably be an incentive for me (and > others) to try FreeBSD (FreeBSD was on a recent Linux Format DVD, from > memory). > > Decent Linux reference books in printed form, tend to be around 1000-1200 > pages. > > Some good ones are less, significantly less, but, provided the content is > useful and helpful, there is no problem with a single volume text being > around 1000 pages. > > I haven't used BSD for about 30 years, now, and a good reference book, that > is comprehensive, is a good incentive to have another go with it. > > I think that the BSD that I last used, was v4.2, running on a VAX 11/785. > > Hmm. I will have to find another free partition, somewhere...
I haven't been closely following this thread. So, if I'm out-o-bounds, I apologize . . . But, if you're interested in a BSD with good (dare I say, great) documentation, I would suggest openBSD (which just came out with 4.5 yesterday). FreeBSD is alright (I've been experimenting with there most recent stable version), but I found that oBSD to be a more straightforward, less bloated OS with clear and comprehensive documentation. Some may say that the environment (mailinglist) is harsh, but that harshness can/should be interpreted as directness and it's usually focused on those who provide little/useless info about his/her situation and don't do their homework . . . i.e., read the documentation. FYI - While many of the fBSD folks will tout there ports/package system, I found it to be a pain (especially the upgrade), as did many others. There has recently been some chatter on their general mailing list to overhaul how they handle packages. Again, I found oBSD's package handling system to be superior. Good Luck! > > -- > Bret Busby > Armadale > West Australia > .............. > > "So once you do know what the question actually is, > you'll know what the answer means." > - Deep Thought, > Chapter 28 of Book 1 of > "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: > A Trilogy In Four Parts", > written by Douglas Adams, > published by Pan Books, 1992 > > .................................................... -- www.nealhogan.net www.lambdaserver.com -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org