On Fri, 14 Feb 2003 10:41:31 -1000
Gary Dunn [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
I am working on a project that applies open-source philosophy to
hardware design and courseware aimed at the secondary school and
college level. The centerpiece of the project is a self-made portable
computer similar to the newly reborn Windows tablet PC. There are
still many design details to be worked out -- thin client vs. full
featured, independent workstation, for example -- but one of the most
fundamental issues is the choice of operation system.
I have been using FreeBSD at work since version 2.something and am
completely satisfied with it as a server. Setting up X and a clean
user experience was a lot of work. I kept hearing about Linux and how
much more it was like Windows, so I bought a box of Mandrake 6.5
and gave it a try. I was very impressed with how smooth the
installation went and the resulting workspace -- not just for myself,
mind you, but for a hypothetical newbie. I have continued to use
Mandrake, and have 8.1 running on my little Sony SR7K notebook with an
802.11b home LAN. (But that was NOT a newbie level task, I can assure
you!)
Linux is just another unix clone with not that truely seperates it from any of the
others... but any ways setting up FreeBSD is simple. Not sure about linux being much
more like windows than FreeBSD... /me does not regards niether of them to be any
thing like windows... the closest thing they have to windows is KDE which looks some
what like windows in that it has a startbar thing...
My biggest complaint is poor battery life; about an hour. Even less if
I use Xemacs!
I continue to have doubts about using FreeBSD for my reference
design. To me it seems like using a cargo ship to go fishing. Okay,
how about holding school in a sports stadium? Using a deer rifle to
kill a mouse? A fire hose to fill a water glass?
On the other hand, FreeBSD as a complete OS -- kernel plus ports --
comes the closest to my ideal. The technology is cutting edge, we
don't get too tangled up in different versions and feature sets, and
there is this wonderful community. Most Linux distros have their own
community of supporters, too, but so often they become, well, so
passionate.
I would enjoy hearing your opinions on how well FreeBSD supports these
requirements:
o Long battery life (e.g. automatic CPU speed throttle)
do a man on apm
o Multi-level power management
- Full speed
- Reduced speed
- Suspend
- Hibernation
man apm should help
o 802.11b networking
- Automatic configuration in a many-access point setting
- Seamless transition to wired or dial-up connections
http://www.FreeBSD.org/releases/4.7R/hardware-i386.html
moving from connection to connection is easy... never done it with wireless, but have
done it with ethernet... doing dial-up on freebsd works nicely
o Digitizer input
(I have John Joganic's Linux Wacom tablet driver working on my
VAIO)
This is provided by X... goto /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/input and ye will see what input
stuff there is for the version of X ye have installed
o Handwriting recognition
(Not really there even in Linux)
does not exist in either, afaik
Finally, a shameless plug: I am looking for help, so if this sounds
like something you'd like to participate in please drop me a line and
visit my mailing list sign-up page.
-kitsune
when asking a fox expect a foxy reply
To Unsubscribe: send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
with unsubscribe freebsd-questions in the body of the message
