Hi Forum
This is my first post here... so pardon me if i am not posting in the right section, of if my questions are overly noobish for FreBSD's standards... so, here it goes... :
I come from the Linux world, where i am a power user of Debian 5.0 stable, been already through several distros:
Started several years ago, while still in University with RHEL 4.0, shifted to FC 4, went through the Fedoras, the Suses, the Ubuntus, and finally to the Debians, first with Etch, and now with Lenny.
I use Lenny with heavy number crunching applications, mainly for control analysis/synthesis/design, with Scilab/Octave/Freemat, Computational Fluid Dynamics with Code-Saturne/OpenFoam, as well as Finite Elements Analysis with Calculix/Code-Aster.
I also do DACE ( design and Analysis of computer experiments ) and Genetic/Evolutionary optimization of mechanical/Thermal systems.
I DO NOT USE PROPRIETARY SOFTWARE, for one practical, and one less practical, more "philosophical" reason, please correct me if i am wrong in my first statement...
:
1. proprietary software is by necessity less efficient than software compiled from free source code, because the compiling and linking ptions in proprietary software have all the emphasis in making all binaries less prone to reverse engineering, regardless of the quality/efficiency of the numerics algorithmics involved, while non-commercial/ research codes can be built with the sole objective of pure performance gains in thought... this issue is not critical when you run Ex=(&&%#$rer from Mi##$$@/ft Wi==¬½@ws to google for something... but sure is critical when you perform the aeroelastic ( Fluid + Structural ) coupled optimization of a supersonic reconaissance drone in a given flight envelope using a genetic/evolutionary optimization technique...
Without entering into much "esoteric" details, i think you grasp the picture...
2. I do believe that Scientific Knowledge should be free, as well as Scientific development tools, therefore, I use, contribute, and subscribe the use of Open Source Software, either GNU or BSD license compliant... There are no patents on pi, or e or the Theorem of Pithagoras, are they... ?!
This are the reasons why i left microStupidity world of ignorance in first place, and tried Linux in the first place.
I am willing to try FreeBSD for its purported stability/efficiency/robustness over linux systems...
I installed FreeBSD 7.2 amd64 in my laptop, but i verified two things :
When it boots, it does so in a shell, typing startx as root takes me to twm, this wm does not support the applications i intend to use, ( which exist in ports or may have to be compiled )...
1. How do I boot directly in a login screen that takes me to Gnome or ( my favourites ) fluxbox or GNUstep/WindowMaker...?
2. My wireless nic is an intel ipw3945 abg, is this supported in fBSD 7.2...?
3. When I tried to shutdown the laptop, POWEROFF in root shell, the shutdown process did not turn the energy down, I had to manually turn power down in power button... is this normal...? i mean, in Laptops...
4. I would like to try fBSD 7.2 in a HP Dv5 pavillion Laptop, but it is out of the question to remove Debian Lenny from its HDD, I would like to install it in an external USB HDD w/ 250 Gb... when installing GRUB, can I be assured that it will be written in external HDD master boot record... ? are usbcore ehci and uhci kernel modules loaded in fBSD 7.2 initrd to allow a USB Boot... or must a custom initrd be built to allow for this...?
Thank you for reading this long, noobish post...
Hope somebody out there can help me with those doubts...
Once again, thanks in advance
BRGDS
Alex
This is my first post here... so pardon me if i am not posting in the right section, of if my questions are overly noobish for FreBSD's standards... so, here it goes... :
I come from the Linux world, where i am a power user of Debian 5.0 stable, been already through several distros:
Started several years ago, while still in University with RHEL 4.0, shifted to FC 4, went through the Fedoras, the Suses, the Ubuntus, and finally to the Debians, first with Etch, and now with Lenny.
I use Lenny with heavy number crunching applications, mainly for control analysis/synthesis/design, with Scilab/Octave/Freemat, Computational Fluid Dynamics with Code-Saturne/OpenFoam, as well as Finite Elements Analysis with Calculix/Code-Aster.
I also do DACE ( design and Analysis of computer experiments ) and Genetic/Evolutionary optimization of mechanical/Thermal systems.
I DO NOT USE PROPRIETARY SOFTWARE, for one practical, and one less practical, more "philosophical" reason, please correct me if i am wrong in my first statement...
:1. proprietary software is by necessity less efficient than software compiled from free source code, because the compiling and linking ptions in proprietary software have all the emphasis in making all binaries less prone to reverse engineering, regardless of the quality/efficiency of the numerics algorithmics involved, while non-commercial/ research codes can be built with the sole objective of pure performance gains in thought... this issue is not critical when you run Ex=(&&%#$rer from Mi##$$@/ft Wi==¬½@ws to google for something... but sure is critical when you perform the aeroelastic ( Fluid + Structural ) coupled optimization of a supersonic reconaissance drone in a given flight envelope using a genetic/evolutionary optimization technique...
Without entering into much "esoteric" details, i think you grasp the picture...
2. I do believe that Scientific Knowledge should be free, as well as Scientific development tools, therefore, I use, contribute, and subscribe the use of Open Source Software, either GNU or BSD license compliant... There are no patents on pi, or e or the Theorem of Pithagoras, are they... ?!
This are the reasons why i left microStupidity world of ignorance in first place, and tried Linux in the first place.
I am willing to try FreeBSD for its purported stability/efficiency/robustness over linux systems...
I installed FreeBSD 7.2 amd64 in my laptop, but i verified two things :
When it boots, it does so in a shell, typing startx as root takes me to twm, this wm does not support the applications i intend to use, ( which exist in ports or may have to be compiled )...
1. How do I boot directly in a login screen that takes me to Gnome or ( my favourites ) fluxbox or GNUstep/WindowMaker...?
2. My wireless nic is an intel ipw3945 abg, is this supported in fBSD 7.2...?
3. When I tried to shutdown the laptop, POWEROFF in root shell, the shutdown process did not turn the energy down, I had to manually turn power down in power button... is this normal...? i mean, in Laptops...
4. I would like to try fBSD 7.2 in a HP Dv5 pavillion Laptop, but it is out of the question to remove Debian Lenny from its HDD, I would like to install it in an external USB HDD w/ 250 Gb... when installing GRUB, can I be assured that it will be written in external HDD master boot record... ? are usbcore ehci and uhci kernel modules loaded in fBSD 7.2 initrd to allow a USB Boot... or must a custom initrd be built to allow for this...?
Thank you for reading this long, noobish post...
Hope somebody out there can help me with those doubts...
Once again, thanks in advance
BRGDS
Alex
