OFF: Final words from Thorasin

root chris at HAWKLORD.UKLINUX.NET
Sun Oct 14 15:01:05 EDT 2001


Hi ya,

> Of course, because Linux grabs the headlines (because they essentially
> "got there first" on i86), all the big corporations have thrown their
> weight behind it.  C'est la guerre!

Its also got all the users / developers
I used to have Microsoft/linux/OS2 all on the same box
I dumped Microsoft the week wincrap98 came out... it SUCKS!

I dumped OS2 a month later, though I loved it the software ain't there,
now there is enougth linux stuff to keep me happy for my next 23
re-incarnations!

>
> => What I'd really like to try is the hurd (GNU) kernel, but I think my
> => poor 133Mhz box won't cope.
>
> Last time I ran a microkernel it was on an i286 and it was called Minix.
> (IMHO, Hurd is a day late and a dollar short.  It's a bit of a joke
> now.)

Its an accademics OS.   Linux is theoretically not the best design for
modern Operating System but its VERY stable

HURD is theoreticlly a good design but it took SO long to make stable
(10+ years)
MINIX sucks  its just for 286s IMHO

>
> (NetBSD will run on both your and my hardware, but Linux will only run
> on yours.  I guess that makes Linux better because it's more
> exclusive...;)
>

Linux will support most modern architectures i386, spark, Alpha, sun,
Siicon Graphics etc.

Linux will never support old architectures like i286.. I'm supprised BSD
has such backward compatibility.


>
> Let's hope you're not running one of those crypto implementations that
> have the entropy-gathering bug that makes the keys trivially easy to
> break...
>

The kernel (if you get the patches... its illeagal to distribute kernel
source with cryptography included, you must get a patch an apply it to
kernel source... damnd Americans!) supports most strong encryption
standards and you can even mix them to get multiple layers of
encryption!!!   Personally I just use serpent (256 bit encryption) I'm
not an expert on cryptography its a DEEP and BIG subject!  Since
everything is open source here I leave it to the experts to examine the
code and make it good:- believe me they do!  I recommend you have a
2.4.n kernel because crypto support in 2.2.n kernels is nowhere near as
good.

I'm impressed... I've not looked at BSD for a couple of years... sounds
like its maturing nicely... we need good competition!

Chris

--
CAABA, n.  A large stone presented by the archangel Gabriel to the
patriarch Abraham, and preserved at Mecca.  The patriarch had perhaps
asked the archangel for bread.



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