Background: I am a newcomer to computing, and also to linux. My knowledge of computers/computing prior to 8 months ago was, I would say, worse than average. At that point I was introduced to the idea of free software and its implications and downloaded Ubuntu 9.10 and have recently been using 10.04.
In spite of the fact that I have enjoyed Ubuntu greatly, I my interest in learning Linux is for the learning itself, and the Free Software philosophy, not for any particular software/usability.

My admin skills are not great but I learn quickly. So far, I have mainly messed with Apparmor, configuring firefox, privoxy, conky, wicd-curses, etc. I have no fear of the CLI, but I am not experienced. And I have no background in programming, though I have started to learn C.

question: I am currently looking for another distro to help me learn more about linux. One that, perhaps has a steeper learning curve than Ubuntu, now that I am more comfortable with Ubuntu. I am thinking Gentoo or Slackware. However, I am sort of in awe of the supposed simplicity/security of BSD, in particular OpenBSD.

Is the installation/configuration of OpenBSD not advisable for a newbie to linux? Also, is learning xBSD sufficiently different from Linux such that most newly learned skills wont be applicable to any future Linux Distros??

thanks so much!

If you want to try BSD I would recommend starting out with PC-BSD. Although I have not tried it myself what I have read about it suggests that it is the most user-friendly BSD distro. The installation should not be not that much different than what you are used to. Im not sure about the config but it will probably have all the graphical KDE config tools so that probably won't be a problem. If you want to move on to a more advanced linux distro Debian or Fedora is a good stepping stone after Ubuntu.

Hi,
The issue with *BSDs is the licences. Also (according to my experience) the file system is something that makes me like ntfs. Openbsd is something you would look at if you want an exact operating system - look at linus vs bsds. The only good thing about BSDs is their documentation. They are light years ahead of any linux distros. The last time I installed bsd was pcbsd 7.1 and it did not have sound drivers for my 6 year old desktop.
Slackware, on the other hand, is more POSIX compliant than bsds.
So take your pick and see how things work for you.

Based on what you've said, I would not recommend OpenBSD for a beginner. It's primary focus is security, which makes it slightly more complected to deal with. If you want to try a BSD go with either PC-BSD, as mentioned earlier, or FreeBSD.

The skills learned from using any Unix-like OS will all be useful for any other Unix-like OS. There are subtle differences that can initially seem confusing but they soon fall into place.

If you are interested in Learning Unix as an OS platform I would also recommend Solaris (but NOT OpenSolaris, though, until Oracle gets their act together).

As to other Linux specific options, Fedora is good for learning how to handle 100% free/open systems, as is Debian (though Debian is a bit less forgiving).

The bottom line, really, is that playing with any and all of the Unix-like OS options out there will be beneficial. If you use something like VMware or VirtualBox you can install them all and play around w/o mucking up your main system.

That's how I learned Windows.

I'm curious as to what you mean. What licensing issue do the BSD's have?

The BSDs mostly use the BSD license, reproduced below:

<OWNER> = Regents of the University of California
<ORGANIZATION> = University of California, Berkeley
<YEAR> = 1998

In the original BSD license, both occurrences of the phrase "COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS" in the disclaimer read "REGENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS".

Here is the license template:

Copyright (c) <YEAR>, <OWNER>
All rights reserved.

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

* Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
* Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
* Neither the name of the <ORGANIZATION> nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

The OpenBSD project tolerate the GPL and the LGPL when they must, but new L/GPL code will never be added to their base, and they work to remove it as they can. They also do not tolerate un-sourced binaries *at all*. This means that Flash is tough to get working. OpenBSD is ok with that.

OpenBSD has the cleanest installation I have ever seen. It takes a little reading and thought to understand it, but once understood it is great.

I've never used the other BSDs, or Linux much at all, since my initial interest was for inexpensive servers that would be relatively secure without my having to study the OS's quirks, turn off services I had never heard of, and then patch weekly. OpenBSD made that very, very easy.

I do recommend, if you intend to try OpenBSD:

Know what problem you want to solve by installing OpenBSD.

Read the faq before you try to install.

Read the applicable man pages before asking the lists for help. While I don't really agree with Silverback, he is right that the BSDs have super docs. If it conceivable in the slightest that your hardware configuration is germane, include the output of the dmesg command. Cut and paste any commands and outputs that are related to your problem.

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Recognize that the members of the *BSD family are not Linux distributions. The *BSD family is based on an older code base which had already been vetted by real-world usage.
Although many here will (& have...) told you to do otherwise, if you are willing & able to read, study, & take your time to understand, OpenBSD does not have to be difficult nor does its installation. Instead of me telling you what to do, it is far better for me to point you to the relevant sections of the documentation such that you can decide for yourself. Installation is covered in Section 4 of the project's official FAQ. This is the single best document which covers many aspects of OpenBSD, its usage, & its configuration.

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I suppose that second quote is key here. Perhaps I need to refine a "use" for OpenBSD, I suppose I was attracted to OpenBSD for its cleanliness and security and am wondering if it can be used as a good non-server desktop/laptop system. If this is overly complicated, I may stick with Linux for now, however down the line Id like to experiment with xBSD

I use OpenBSD exclusively as a desktop at home on multiple laptops/netbooks. It's more stable than most alternatives. However if you must have Flash, OpenBSD may not be your best choice.

Again, most of these questions are addressed in the documentation. Section 15 of the official FAQ covers OpenBSD's package system which deals with sanctioned third-party applications. openports.se also can be used for searching for available choices.

Good luck with whatever decision you make.

OpenIndiana is (from what I've seen) the new OpenSolaris.

OpenBSD is used on the desktop and laptops by many people.

@Ubunoob001

I would 'advertise' FreeBSD as better BSD choice here, OpenBSD is good only for routers/firewalls while FreeBSD can be configured into almost everything.

The documentation is second to none, check it for yourself:
http://freebsd.org/doc/en/books/handbook/
http://freebsd.org/doc/en/books/faq/

Also check this if You already know 'some' Linux:
http://www.over-yonder.net/~fullermd/rants/bsd4linux/

There are also videos on youtube.com on how to install various BSDs.



Because they are more free ten the GPL?

Isn't that GPL (license) prevents Linux from having a proper ZFS port?

In what way?

UFS also has inodes like ext3/jfs/xfs, its basically same concept, if UFS is ntfs-like, then so are the Linux ones.



Yeah, mostly by OpenBSD developers

While it is possible to use OpenBSD as a desktop, it isn't something that would be pleasant. The draconian security tends to lock down what regular users would consider normal functionality. OpenBSD makes a top line firewall and a rock hard server, but isn't really built for desktops.

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Hopefully they can rev this project up to speed.

I use OpenBSD as a desktop all the time. The documentation is second to none and the software does *exactly* what the documentation states it will do. I know a lot of people say OpenBSD is too complicated for newbies to BSD, but if you can read a man page and are comfortable with a shell, don't let the naysayers get you down...the upcoming 4.8 release has a ton of laptop fixes and enhancements, so if you're targeting a laptop you can wait for the release on November 1st or download a snapshot.

Besides, if you download the cd installer and it does seem too complex for you, you're only out a CD and some bandwidth.