OpenBSD brochure, text only

["Ian F. Darwin" <ian@darwinsys.com>]

[I'm sending this to the whole list for two reasons: because
louis@signalpath.on.ca asked me to send it to him but I can't
get mail directly to him - his ISP is too paranoid - and secondly because 
Theo suggested it would be easier than trying to find it on my web site.]

[openinq quote is in large type & basically takes the "cover page"]
"If a free browser is good for Bill Gates, then a free operating
system, functional and secure, and including full source code, is even
better for the rest of us."


-- Ian Darwin,
ian@openbsd.org
The OpenBSD Project
www.OpenBSD.org

OpenBSD?

OpenBSD is a free-software operating system.that is a world leader in
security & cryptography. Because it ships from Canada, OpenBSD can
include a lot more security and crypography software than systems made
in the U.S..A.. Airst with AFS support. First with VPN. First with lots
of other great stuff. Check us out at www.OpenBSD.org

Server Ready

OpenBSD is ready to serve you out of the box.  Full Internet
firewall/gateway support includes "network address translation" to
allow any number of inside addresses on a single external IP connection
(what some systems call "IP masquerading").  Rules-based packet
filtering (IPF). Virtual Private Network (VPN) support.  Filesystem
sharing by NFS and AFS/XFS; SMB filesharing via Samba in the "ports
tree" (see below under  portability). . IP tools including packet
sniffer (tcpdump).  Plus all the usual TCP/IP pieces like DNS,
sendmail, etc.

Web Ready

OpenBSD includes the ever-popular Apache webserver, installed and ready
to run. Just add web pages! Support for virtual hosting (IP layer and
Apache).  An SSL library (SSLeay) comes with OpenBSD 2.4; a small
Apache Patch and a library are all you need  to do secure HTTP.  No
wonder OpenBSD is becoming popular with ISP's.

On the client side, the Lynx text browser is part of the standard
distribution, while graphical browsers such as Netscape (on some
platforms) and the free Mozilla client are available in the ports tree.

Desktop & Developer Ready

OpenBSD makes a great server platform. But it's also a great desktop
OS. Responsive & reliable, functional & secure, OpenBSD ships with The
X Window System (XFree86 server) and all "standard" X11 clients.
Common window managers and GUI libraries (lesstif, OPEN LOOK, etc.)
are readily available in the ports tree.

OpenBSD is a good POSIX-conforming development platform. C and C++
compilers and libraries are included, as is Perl. Java, Scheme,
SmallTalk, Tcl and TK, icon, python and others are free for the picking
in the ports tree.  If you're a UNIX or Linux user, all the familiar
UNIX tools are either included or readily available.

[The part about MS-Windows was deleted from here.]

Our Development Process
[this section remains to be written]

Administrator Friendly

OpenBSD 2.4 is easier to install than any previous release.  And easier
to administer than many other UNIXes.  Most of the option handling has
been centralized in a few configuration files in the /etc directory.
And, we tell you - as part of the installation process - which files
need attention first.

Building OpenBSD kernels uses the familiar UNIX-style  "config file"
for  the few kernel options that need recompilation or to add/remove
device support.  No more  20 Questions - just edit the  file, run
config  and  make. Plus, it's easy to build a kernel that will run on a
variety of identical or similar configurations. You can even build all
your kernels on one system and install over the network. OpenBSD
doesn't trivialize the kernel build process, but for those who have
done it before and for those who can read the documentation, OpenBSD is
administrator friendly.

Portable?

Ports has two meanings for us. Porting is the act of making software
portable to a new platform. The OpenBSD operating system itself has
been ported to many computer architectures. Our ancestor,  Berkeley's
4.4BSD, ran primarily on DEC VAXen and Sun & HP workstations.  We
support these (both Sun3 and SPARC), the 486/Pentium "PC", Atari,
Amiga, 68K Macintosh, and others.

As well, a lot of system and application software has been ported to
OpenBSD.  When somebody ports a program, he or she may only use it on
one or two of the multiple architectures listed above.  So others may
take advantage of this work, the developer will usually store the
changes in a special format called a "port", and send it in.  Then,
anybody wanting to download, validate and unpack the software,
customize it for OpenBSD, compile it, and install it (whew) need only
change to the appropriate /usr/ports subdirectory, and type, as root,
the command make install. OpenBSD does the rest.

Does security matter to you?

You might not want to think about it.  But if you ever connect even one
computer to the Internet, you really should consider the issues.  And
even a "desktop" machine running a subsystem like Windows 95 can be
compromised during a dialup connection.  Simple email virus scanners
cannot protect you from IP-based attacks.  You need the security of a
"hardened" system between you and the rest of your ISP's customers and
the big bad Internet.

OpenBSD's entire code base has been through a year-long world-wide
security audit. We have the best record for finding and fixing security
problems before the crackers (criminal hackers) find them and exploit
them.  OpenBSD founder Theo de Raadt and the  team  often provide
security fixes that make it into other free and commercial operating
systems.

How to obtain OpenBSD

The best way to get OpenBSD is to purchase it on CD-ROM. This gives you
a stable copy to install from, and helps provide needed financial
support.

If you received this brochure at a conference or similar event, you can
probably buy a copy from the OpenBSD booth or representatives.

Otherwise, please visit our Web site. The ordering page is
www.openbsd.org/orders.html. There's a list of places to order from,
around the world. Or order direct from the Calgary Computer Shop, in
Alberta, Canada. Secure HTTP spoken.. If that's not convenient, order
by regular mail, FAX, or telephone.

The Computer Shop
3515 18th St, SW
Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2T 4T9
Phone: (403) 605-8166
FAX:   (403) 243-2684

You can order the current release (2.4, released  December, 1998) or
selected previous releases.

If you're in a hurry to get started, you can also obtain the parts you
need to install OpenBSD via FTP. You can even do a minimal install over
the Web from just a boot floppy.  Or update what's on the CD to the
"current", not necessarily as stable, version that our developers are
working on.  Visit our web site for details and  mirrors.

Other free operating systems?

OpenBSD is the newest incarnation of the oldest freeware  operating
system in the world. "Berkeley UNIX", or BSD for Berkeley Software
Distribution, dates back to the late 1970's. Bill Joy (who later
co-founded Sun Microsystems) and others at the University of California
at Berkeley made significant extensions to Bell Laboratories' UNIX
operating system. Many of these were home-grown, but a large number
were contributed by other universities, agencies and companies. BSD was
distributed with full source code (although a license from AT&T was
required to cover the remaining parts of UNIX).

This spirit of cooperation and contribution continued unabated through
the 1980's and 1990's. In the early 1990's, Berkeley began to wind down
its UNIX operation and released 4.4BSD-Lite, which left out  the
remaining licensed portions. It was almost a full UNIX-like system,
including most  kernel and  utility source.  FreeBSD, NetBSD, and
OpenBSD fill in the missing parts plus much more; all trace their
ancestry back to the first releases of BSD, back in the 1970's. Release
of 4.4BSD-Lite was held up due to an unfortunate lawsuit. By then Linux
had arrived on the scene, and borrowed many ideas and some utilities
from BSD, as well as from commercial UNIXes. Because Linux  was
unleashed on the media first, it has attracted a lot of  attention. But
the BSD systems have a longer history, and tend to be quite stable as a
result.

A detailed comparison between OpenBSD, FreeBSD, NetBSD, and Linux? Ahh,
 there is a subject with the potential for non-halting debates. Each of
these is good in some areas. Each has areas that are being improved.

We think that if you look at OpenBSD's security and cryptography
features, our reliability and scalability, our mature multi-platform
support, and our other capabilities,  you'll find that OpenBSD is right
for you.

$Id: brochure.aw,v 1.2 1998/11/11 03:36:58 ian Exp $