                           FreeBSD 4.4-RELEASE README

  The FreeBSD Project

   Copyright (c) 2000, 2001 by The FreeBSD Documentation Project

   $FreeBSD: src/release/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/readme/article.sgml,v
   1.1.2.6.2.1 2001/09/14 18:21:05 bmah Exp $

     ----------------------------------------------------------------------

     This document gives a brief introduction to FreeBSD 4.4-RELEASE. It
     includes a roadmap to the other release documentation files, as well as
     some pointers on obtaining FreeBSD and contacting the FreeBSD
     development team.

     ----------------------------------------------------------------------

                                 1 Introduction

   This distribution is a release of FreeBSD 4.4-RELEASE, the latest point
   along the 4-STABLE branch.

     ----------------------------------------------------------------------

1.1 About FreeBSD

   FreeBSD is an operating system based on 4.4 BSD Lite for Intel, AMD, Cyrix
   or NexGen ``x86'' based PC hardware and Compaq (formerly DEC) Alpha
   computers. Versions for the IA64, PowerPC, and Sparc64 architectures are
   currently under development as well. FreeBSD works with a wide variety of
   peripherals and configurations and can be used for everything from
   software development to games to Internet Service Provision.

   This release of FreeBSD contains everything you need to run such a system,
   including full source code for the kernel and all utilities in the base
   distribution. With the source distribution installed, you can literally
   recompile the entire system from scratch with one command, making it ideal
   for students, researchers, or users who simply want to see how it all
   works.

   A large collection of third-party ported software (the ``Ports
   Collection'') is also provided to make it easy to obtain and install all
   your favorite traditional UNIX utilities for FreeBSD. Each ``port''
   consists of a set of scripts to retrieve, configure, build, and install a
   piece of software, with a single command. Over 5,800 ports, from editors
   to programming languages to graphical applications, make FreeBSD a
   powerful and comprehensive operating environment that extends far beyond
   what's provided by many commercial versions of UNIX. Most ports are also
   available as pre-compiled ``packages'', which can be quickly installed
   from the installation program.

     ----------------------------------------------------------------------

1.2 Target Audience

   This release of FreeBSD is suitable for all users. It has undergone a
   period of testing and quality assurance checking to ensure the highest
   reliability and dependability.

     ----------------------------------------------------------------------

                              2 Obtaining FreeBSD

   FreeBSD may be obtained in a variety of ways. This section focuses on
   those ways that are primarily of use for obtaining a complete FreeBSD
   distribution, rather than updating an existing installation.

     ----------------------------------------------------------------------

2.1 CDROM and DVD

   FreeBSD -RELEASE distributions may be ordered on CDROM or DVD from several
   publishers. This is frequently the most convenient way to obtain FreeBSD
   for new installations, as it provides a convenient way to quickly
   reinstall the system if necessary. Some distributions include some of the
   optional, precompiled ``packages'' from the FreeBSD Ports Collection.

   A list of the CDROM and DVD publishers known to the project are listed in
   the ``Obtaining FreeBSD'' appendix to the Handbook.

     ----------------------------------------------------------------------

2.2 FTP

   You can use FTP to retrieve FreeBSD and any or all of its optional
   packages from ftp://ftp.FreeBSD.org/, which is the official FreeBSD
   release site, or any of its ``mirrors''.

   Lists of locations that mirror FreeBSD can be found in the FTP Sites
   section of the Handbook, or on the http://www.freebsdmirrors.org/ Web
   pages. Finding a close (in networking terms) mirror from which to download
   the distribution is highly recommended.

   Additional mirror sites are always welcome. Contact
   <freebsd-admin@FreeBSD.org> for more details on becoming an official
   mirror site.

   Mirrors generally contain the floppy disk images necessary to begin an
   installation, as well as the distribution files needed for the install
   process itself. Some mirrors also contain some of the ISO images necessary
   to create a CDROM of a FreeBSD release.

     ----------------------------------------------------------------------

                        3 Contacting the FreeBSD Project

3.1 Email and Mailing Lists

   For any questions or general technical support issues, please send mail to
   the FreeBSD general questions mailing list
   <freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.org>.

   If you're tracking the -stable development efforts, you must join the
   FreeBSD-stable mailing list <freebsd-stable@FreeBSD.org>, in order to keep
   abreast of recent developments and changes that may affect the way you use
   and maintain the system.

   Additionally, being a largely-volunteer effort, the FreeBSD Project is
   always happy to have extra hands willing to help -- there are already far
   more desired enhancements than there is time to implement them. To contact
   the developers on technical matters, or with offers of help, please send
   mail to the FreeBSD technical discussions mailing list
   <freebsd-hackers@FreeBSD.org>.

   Please note that these mailing lists can experience significant amounts of
   traffic and if you have slow or expensive mail access and are only
   interested in keeping up with significant FreeBSD events, you may find it
   preferable to subscribe instead to the FreeBSD announcements mailing list
   <freebsd-announce@FreeBSD.org>.

   All of the mailing lists can be freely joined by anyone wishing to do so.
   Send mail to <majordomo@FreeBSD.org> and include the keyword help on a
   line by itself somewhere in the body of the message. This will give you
   more information on joining the various lists, accessing archives, etc.
   There are a number of mailing lists targeted at special interest groups
   not mentioned here; more information can be obtained either through
   majordomo or the mailing lists section of the FreeBSD Web site.

     Important: Do not send email to the lists asking to be subscribed. Use
     the <majordomo@FreeBSD.org> address instead.

     ----------------------------------------------------------------------

3.2 Submitting Problem Reports

   Suggestions, bug reports and contributions of code are always valued --
   please do not hesitate to report any problems you may find. Bug reports
   with attached fixes are of course even more welcome.

   The preferred method to submit bug reports from a machine with Internet
   mail connectivity is to use the send-pr(1) command or use the Web form at
   http://www.FreeBSD.org/send-pr.html. ``Problem Reports'' (PRs) submitted
   in this way will be filed and their progress tracked; the FreeBSD
   developers will do their best to respond to all reported bugs as soon as
   possible. A list of all active PRs is available on the FreeBSD Web site;
   this list is useful to see what potential problems other users have
   encountered.

   Note that send-pr(1) itself is a shell script that should be easy to move
   even onto a non-FreeBSD system. Using this interface is highly preferred.
   If, for some reason, you are unable to use send-pr(1) to submit a bug
   report, you can try to send it to the FreeBSD problem reports mailing list
   <freebsd-bugs@FreeBSD.org>.

   In any case, before submitting a PR, please try to determine whether the
   problem might have already been fixed since.

     ----------------------------------------------------------------------

                               4 Further Reading

4.1 Release Documentation

   A number of other files provide more specific information about this
   release distribution. These files are provided in various formats. Most
   distributions will include both ASCII text (.TXT) and HTML (.HTM)
   renditions. Some distributions may also include other formats such as
   PostScript (.PS) or Portable Document Format (.PDF).

     * README.TXT: This file, which gives some general information about
       FreeBSD as well as some cursory notes about obtaining a distribution.

     * RELNOTES.TXT: The release notes, showing what's new and different in
       FreeBSD 4.4-RELEASE compared to FreeBSD 4.3-RELEASE.

     * HARDWARE.TXT: The hardware compatability list, showing devices with
       which FreeBSD has been tested and is known to work.

     * INSTALL.TXT: Installation instructions for installing FreeBSD from its
       distribution media.

     * ERRATA.TXT: Release errata. Late-breaking, post-release information
       can be found in this file, which is principally applicable to releases
       (as opposed to snapshots). It is important to consult this file before
       installing a release of FreeBSD, as it contains the latest information
       on problems which have been found and fixed since the release was
       created.

   Most of this information is also available from the Documentation menu
   during installation. Once the system is installed, you can revisit this
   menu by running the sysinstall(8) utility.

     Note: It is extremely important to read the errata for any given release
     before installing it, to learn about any ``late-breaking news'' or
     post-release problems. The errata file accompanying each release (most
     likely right next to this file) is already out of date by definition,
     but other copies are kept updated on the Internet and should be
     consulted as the ``current errata'' for this release. These other copies
     of the errata are located at http://www.FreeBSD.org/releases/ (as well
     as any sites which keep up-to-date mirrors of this location).

     ----------------------------------------------------------------------

4.2 Books and Articles

   Two highly-useful collections of FreeBSD-related information, maintained
   by the FreeBSD Project, are the FreeBSD Handbook and FreeBSD FAQ
   (Frequently Asked Questions document). On-line versions of the Handbook
   and FAQ are always available from the FreeBSD Documentation page or its
   mirrors. If you install the doc distribution set, you can use a Web
   browser to read the Handbook and FAQ locally.

   A listing of books and other documents about FreeBSD can be found in the
   bibliography of the FreeBSD Handbook. Because of FreeBSD's strong UNIX
   heritage, many other articles and books written for UNIX systems are
   applicable as well, some of which are also listed in the bibliography.

     ----------------------------------------------------------------------

                               5 Acknowledgments

   FreeBSD represents the cumulative work of many hundreds, if not thousands,
   of individuals from around the world who have worked countless hours to
   bring about this release. For a complete list of FreeBSD developers and
   contributors, please see Contributors to FreeBSD on the FreeBSD Web site
   or any of its mirrors.

   Special thanks also go to the many thousands of FreeBSD users and testers
   all over the world, without whom this release simply would not have been
   possible.

     ----------------------------------------------------------------------

     This file, and other release-related documents, can be downloaded from
                      ftp://ftp.FreeBSD.org/pub/FreeBSD/.

     For questions about FreeBSD, read the documentation before contacting
                            <questions@FreeBSD.org>.

   All users of FreeBSD 4-STABLE should subscribe to the <stable@FreeBSD.org>
                                 mailing list.

       For questions about this documentation, e-mail <doc@FreeBSD.org>.
