Intel Macs and FreeBSD?

[Uwe Laverenz]

On Sun, Apr 30, 2006 at 02:03:20AM -0700, Mark Edwards wrote:

> So, how about it?  Is the concept of running this off of Ubuntu being  
> easier than FreeBSD just a pipe-dream?  I have messed with Debian and  
> Ubuntu, but never tried to run a server off of either.  I would love  
> to hear from people who have been down both roads, whether there is  
> some sense to it, or if I should just stick with FreeBSD.

A good way to make the right decision would be intensive testing of the
systems you don't know (Debian/Ubuntu). Install them, read about them,
see how they fit your needs.

>From my experience, running a server using a Debian-based system is a
lot easier and safer (as long as you choose one of their "stable"
releases). You get a well-tested set of software that does not change
if you don't want it. Installing the latest security fixes is as easy
as typing "apt-get update" followed by an "apt-get upgrade". The
downside with running "stable" is that after a while the software will
be somewhat outdated. This is not a problem for servers, but many people
don't like "old" software on their desktops (Debian-Stable aka "Sarge"
comes with Gnome 2.8, for example). This is one of the problems that
Ubuntu tries to solve: they try to get a new release done twice a year.
A quite common answer to the question "which distribution?" is:
Debian-Stable for servers, Ubuntu for workstations.

hth,
Uwe