Pwn2Own hack topples Firefox on Windows

[mr-bisquit]

I like the picture.
It's cute. I have a sense of humor.
BC, Quanto stated that he also has experience working with BSD systems.
Perhaps he can help you.


Remember these simple rules:
Read the handbook. If need be use google and add freeBSD and handbook to the query.
Search the mailing lists. I'm on quite a few and they are helpful. You know the basic rule: search before you ask and present everything when you do.

Questions about the guide or the system?

[Cityscape]

Well, it sounds very interesting. I'll try it in a few weeks. And I'll let you know what I think.

So I install it via command line? Do I then choose to install GNOME, KDE or what?

[Cityscape]

And does it have some sort of Package/Software manager (Linux way) to install stuff from or do you download apps (Windows way) from the net and install them?

Also how difficult would you say BSD is compared to the average Linux distro (Say Fedora or Mandriva for example)?

[mr-bisquit]

You have two options to add  software: building from ports and package add.
No, these are source packages. You  build them according to your needs.

[mr-bisquit]

The basic command for port building are:
make, make config, make depends, make install, and make clean.
You can use a combination of commands with the ampersand:

Code: [Select]

cd /usr/ports/emulators/qemu && make config && make install clean.
You could use the pkg_add- I don't for the mot part but that's because I like watching it compile- along with the variables.

[Cityscape]

So what is better, FreeBSD or PC-BSD?

[mr-bisquit]

Ok.
Yes, by the command line.
Different from a Linux distro. Hmm.
Have you ever built a program from source? A tar.gz or bz2 file?
My opinion is FreeBSD but that is because I like the challenge.
You could install PC BSD if you want an instant system.
That's your choice.
Hmm.
Are you going to be running this on real or virtual hardware?
If real, then PCBSD until you are comfortable with it.
If virtual, then make two instances and run one then the other. You can stop and switch.
This way you see both the assembly and the finished product.

[Cityscape]

Ok.
Yes, by the command line.
Different from a Linux distro. Hmm.
Have you ever built a program from source? A tar.gz or bz2 file?
My opinion is FreeBSD but that is because I like the challenge.
You could install PC BSD if you want an instant system.
That's your choice.
Hmm.
Are you going to be running this on real or virtual hardware?
If real, then PCBSD until you are comfortable with it.
If virtual, then make two instances and run one then the other. You can stop and switch.
This way you see both the assembly and the finished product.

No, I have never built a program from source, never could figure out how. I have always wanted to though. I've tried following instructions before but always failed somehow.

Probably virtual hardware. What are the hardware requirements? The only real hardware I could run it on is a old AMD K6-2 350 Mhz, 256 RAM machine.

So you recommend FreeBSD? What BSD is most user friendly? What BSD is best for overall use?

PC-BSD
DesktopBSD
FreeBSD
OpenBSD
DragonFly BSD
NetBSD

[Cityscape]

And does it have some sort of Package/Software manager (Linux way) to install stuff from...

I see that PC-BSD uses package management like Linux.

[mr-bisquit]

DesktopBSD is basically dead. The maintainer has left it open to whoever.
NetBSD requires a little work and porting it means running only in console mode sometimes.
PCBSD is your best bet.
OPenBSD isn't for you, yet and Dragonfly requires more studying.
FreeBSD is the easiest to deal with out of the normal BSDs.

[Cityscape]

PCBSD is your best bet.
FreeBSD is the easiest to deal with out of the normal BSDs.

Okay, so if FreeBSD is the easiest to deal with, why would PCBSD be my best bet?

[mr-bisquit]

If you want an "instant" system, then PCBSD; but, since you listed the specs, use FreeBSD.
Run it minimalized.
You can run xfce4 on it or one of the box managers. Xcdroast for burning. Use the Linux compat layer if you need to run flash and use the normal noscript and  optimized firefox settings.

Reason I said best bet is because you haven't done much as far as compiling. That machine you mentioned won't run PCBSD but it will run one of the main BSDs.

[Cityscape]

Thanks for the info. I'll probably get PCBSD for a VM and FreeBSD to run on my old rig.

XFCE wouldn't run well on such an old computer I think, I'd like to use either LXDE or Enlightenment. Will they work with BSD?

I'm thinking about dual-booting FreeBSD with Lubuntu on my older PC. Which is best to install first?

[mr-bisquit]

If they are in the ports tree.
BSD, look in the howto.
Try it first on the vm.

[Cityscape]

8.0-RELEASE-i386-bootonly.iso             42.7 MB
8.0-RELEASE-i386-disc1.iso             625.2 MB
8.0-RELEASE-i386-dvd1.iso.gz             1.7 GB
8.0-RELEASE-i386-livefs.iso             244.2 MB
8.0-RELEASE-i386-memstick.img     880.4 MB


And which Free BSD disc should I download? I'd rather have one that can I fit on a CD, but at the same time when I install software on BSD (however you do that) I don't want to download much off the net. What is the difference between disc1.iso and dvd1.iso? Will the DVD have lots of software on it so I won't have to download as much? And is there such a thing as a FreeBSD Live CD?

A lot of questions I know, but my knowledge of BSD is very low.