On Tue, Jan 30, 2007 at 10:56:35AM -0600, Mike Miller wrote: > Even if I were to use FreeBSD, I doubt that differences in the kernels > would mean much to me as a user. I shouldn't, but I just can't resist responding to this.. FreeBSD isn't just a different kernel. It's like this: Linux is kernel + apps (mostly GNU). FreeBSD has a concept of a base system - so the OS itself isn't just a kernel, but a kernel, plus the bare bones of a working OS (and very little if any GNU in base). In other words, they distinguish between a base system, and 3rd party applications. Some things like sendmail and bind are included in base, but for most applications you install from the package/ports system (i hear gentoo's package system is quite similar). This lends to a very consistent and reliable core OS. As well, freebsd is very strict about the filesystem hierarchy. 3rd party applications *never* install their configs to /etc. They belong in /usr/local/etc. This separation, applied to all files and applications on the system, is one of the best userland reasons to favor freebsd over linux, imho. Dan (flame away..)