[ I trimmed the CC list a bit... --thorpej ]

On Thu, 20 Jun 1996 12:25:50 -0500 (CDT) 
 john goerzen <jgoerzen@cs.twsu.edu> wrote:

 > I am looking at switching over to NetBSD because it has DOSEMU.  I have a 
 > few questions before I do, though.
 > 
 >  - How easy is it to install NetBSD?

Not as easy as it should be, but that's slowly improving.

 >  - Does the DOSEMU program work over non-console terminals?

I'll let John Kohl and/or Charles Hannum answer the dosemu questions... I 
don't personally use it...

 >  - Will NetBSD read my FreeBSD filesystems?  (FreeBSD uses ufs, I believe)

It should read the filesystems just fine ... I'm not sure about the 
disklabels, though ... it probably will.  You could certainly find out by 
booting a NetBSD floppy and trying to mount the FreeBSD filesystems.

 >  - How good is NetBSD's Linux emulation?  (Even though I don't run it 
 >    personally, a good test is how well it runs Linux doom or Netscape)

It works pretty well.  I've personally used Netscape and Doom, the former 
was actually somewhat useful, the latter was just to say "Wow, it 
actually works!".

 >  - Does it have sound capabilities for the Pro Audio Studio/Spectrum
 >    sound card?

There is a Pro Audio Spectrum driver.

 >  - How about PPP?  How good is it?

I rely on NetBSD's ppp _every_ day ... on my hp380 at home.  It works 
_really_ well for me.

 >  - Security and networking are also things I need to know about.

NetBSD is a fairly secure system.  I certainly haven't run into any 
security problems, in any of the environments I run NetBSD in (quite a 
few).  I use some auxillary tools (such as ssh), but other than that, 
pretty stock system for me.

The networking implementation is solid, and performs well.

 >  - Support?  How do I get it and how good is it.  I have been very impressed
 >    with FreeBSD -- have even spoken to the project president a few times.
 >    They are very helpful.

Well, you're "speaking" to one of NetBSD's Core group members right now, 
and I certainly try very hard to be as helpful as I can be :-)

Seriously, though ... The NetBSD community is a helpful one, in my 
experience.

 >  - Installation methods.  Can I install it from a PPP connection or
 >    CDROM?

PPP ... probably not at the moment.  It really depends on the port in 
question... NetBSD/hp300 and NetBSD/sparc can deal with network installs, 
but NetBSD/i386 hasn't had the tools written for that, yet.

As for CD-ROM installations, that depends on who's CD-ROM you've 
purchased.  The NetBSD Foundation doesn't ship CD-ROMs of its own at this 
time.

 >  - Binary-level compatibility.  Will it run FreeBSD binaries without
 >    recompilation?  I know FreeBSD has a NetBSD emulator; does NetBSD
 >    have a FreeBSD emulator?

NetBSD can indeed run FreeBSD executables, in addition to Linux, SVR4 
(such as Dell SVR4 and Solaris x86), and SCO executables.

 >  - Where can I get a NetBSD CD-ROM?

http://www.infomagic.com/ should have info about purchasing the BSDdisc.

Just as an aside, I personally run NetBSD on Sun3, SPARC, Alpha, 
MVME-147, hp300, and i486 systems.  The fact that it runs on all of those 
(and more!) is, IMO, a testament to how good the system really is.

 -- save the ancient forests - http://www.bayarea.net/~thorpej/forest/ -- 
Jason R. Thorpe                                       thorpej@nas.nasa.gov
NASA Ames Research Center                               Home: 408.866.1912
NAS: M/S 258-6                                          Work: 415.604.0935
Moffett Field, CA 94035                                Pager: 415.428.6939