On Thu, 18 Dec 1997, Todd Vierling wrote:
> On Wed, 17 Dec 1997, Jason Evans wrote:
> : My guess is that there are three main reasons people are asking for
> : FreeBSD particulary:
> : 
> : 1) Some of them have already implemented systems using FreeBSD.
> : 
> : 2) FreeBSD has more press exposure (that I've seen), so it's better known.
> : 
> : 3) FreeBSD's VM subsystem is quite excellent.
> 
> Isn't 1) just another manifestation of 2)?  If people have FreeBSD installed
> on their i386 boxes, what's to stop them from using NetBSD on their sparcs,
> since the base hardware is already radically different?  The _name_.

No, I don't think so.  Vendors could well have made an arbitrary choice
some time back to use FreeBSD (or NetBSD).  To switch now would involve
some amount of work that in some cases seems prohibitive.

> FreeBSD and NetBSD are two different projects, with a rather similar (and in
> many cases identical) interface as seen by your typical user and system
> administrator.  Only the name is keeping people from accepting NetBSD as an
> OS for their SPARCs; I'd bet $100 per customer that these customers don't
> even know the fact that NetBSD exists, or don't know that NetBSD is that
> close to FreeBSD that they probably wouldn't tell the difference.

Actually, I'd venture that almost anyone involved with ripping into a
kernel to the extent these vendors usually do is aware enough to know of
the multiple BSDs.  Also, I don't think the switch for these people would
be as simple as you make it out to be (just guessing). 

Jason

Jason Evans
Email: [jasone@canonware.com]
Home phone: [(650) 856-8204]
Work phone: [(408) 774-8007]
Quote: ["Invention is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration" - Thomas Edison]