Free Unix OS's on x86

[Andy Kahn <kahn@zk3.dec.com>]

hi all,

this isn't really a Debian specific question, but i'll ask anyway
since i find that Debian users/developers usually have a pretty
good answer. :)

after being a fairly long-time Linux user (since mid-1993), i
decided to take a look at the other free OS's out there.  my first
stop was at FreeBSD.  on one of their pages, i found even more OS
projects: NetBSD, OpenBSD, Lites, and GNU HURD.

so here are some of my questions: since practically all these OS's
(including Linux) are free, and use a lot of GNU software, why
would one choose one OS over another?  they are all Unix variants,
provide similar functionality, run on the same base platform (x86,
and branching out to others), and even use the same software (gnu
gcc, XFree86, et al).

from a functional standpoint, they all seem about the same.
can anyone comment on the internals of each OS?
--andy

-- 
Andy Kahn  (kahn@zk3.dec.com)        Phone: 603-884-2557 (DTN: 264-2557)
Digital Equipment Corporation        Fax  : 603-881-2257


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