I have been considering having a play around with FreeBSD or such for a long time, do you think BSD is easier to use and install than linux (slackware) (im also guessing its harder lol)

Nah, FreeBSD (for example) isn't really any harder to user or install then Slack... it is just different is all, and thus, if you are use to Slackware it might take you a bit of time to get used to FreeBSD.

erm... im not very used to slack, im a n00b to that, im jumping in the deep pool with that, but i find more usability from slack than any other distro ive tried lol!

FreeBSD's a fairly straightforward install.... , as ever the handbook's your friend - in addition, regards software installation, if you so choose, you can actually install binaries like:

# pkg_add -r <packagename>

Easy & quick to come up to speed

I have been using linux a long time, I started off with an early slackware, at slack 9 I switched to gentoo cause slack 9+ changed a lot, and I did not like the changes. but a few days ago I decided to try freebsd on a spare box. Freebsd and slack are mor alike than slack is to other linux distro's I have used. (Refering to slack 8.1 and below) Free bsd is defenately different, I was tempted to try and just go for it and do what I am used to, but I used restraint and followed the guide, because of that I have a working system and basic knowledge over it. If you follow instructions you should be fine, but if you try and approach it liek it is linux then you might as well give up now. but since that is why most new linux people fail (trying to think of linux as windows) so if you use linux I will assume you are smarter than that ;-)

I think FreeBSD is fairly easy to install and grasp. As others mentioned just don't treat it like Linux even though they have a lot of stuff in common. The handbook is a very good learning resource.

Other then the packaging system and ports systems in the os's I find them to be very similair and neither is really harder then the other

Depends on the distro you're talking about. Freebsd, for me only having done mandrake gui infesting newbie install... I was able to do it easily.

Ports are much easier and hundreds of times better than rpms.

The only thing I've seen on freebsd that's harder than linux is starting up X... because mandrake does it for you, bsd doesn't.

Yep, it's harder, just not much harder.

I'll admit that removing the option to configure X during the install was a controversial move but since it has a likelyhood of failure (that the release team does not feel right about) it was removed. Sure 99% of the time it was fine... but the 1% (or less) who had a card which locked the system when probed or causes a spontanious reboot... wouldn't like to learn that partway through the installation. I had a card which did that to me and I promise that, even though I knew the install was fine and everything could be done manually from the base installed already, it was a scary event to have to [power] cycle the machine during the install.

There are many Linux distros out there that don't configure X for you.

This is true there are many that don't do it for you, but you cant give us something and then take it away, thats just cruel, we were used to it in the installation

my view is similar but reverse, I loved having so much customisation without a bulky x server getting in the way of the install (this was linux btw) then bam I go to install a new version and have to deal w/ a gui?!?!? GRRRR! now I have to reboot and try to find the no gui option. thank God gentoo does not do that.

-p.s. perfect xorg.conf file all setup, install auto-configures gui and wipes it all out, stay tuned for more horror tails of the evil gui monster.

I hove nothing against gui's I use X w/ enlightenment myself, but it has no place in install.

Yea but on the old bsd you can choose not to install a gui if you wanted, but at least it offered you the option of installing it, not that it is that much harder to get it set up, but it leaves you wondering if you are used to the old days

I think Linux is easier when it comes to installing stuff: RedHat does a pretty good job, and preloads (or can preload) stuff like a GUI CD-Burner and MySQL.
BUT, when it comes to customization, tweaking, and -- most irmportantly --troubleshooting/fine-tuning, FreeBSD is much better--not easier per se, but more flexible. You might wanna consider having both FreeBSD and Linux installed (OK, it sounds kinda iffy, but I've NO problem dual-booting between the two).

for customisation and tweaking I say gentoo linux all the way, I have used several distro's, and freebsd 9recently) I think gentoo wins on everything but easyness, and as fo rit's difficulty... that is overblown, it is isn't so much hard as it is dependant upon willingness to learn and try something new. Free bsd reminds me of a distro like redhat without a gui and a bit less software compaitibility, oh and a totally different device naming scheme.... that I am getting used too. I think I would be at the point in FreeBSD where I would feel comfortable if I get off my @$$ and find a kernel tutorial that explains how it all works, and hopefully how to customise it. the first thing I did upon installing linux 6+ years ago was compile my kernel (as described in the slackware guide that came with it) I need to make a first move liek that, but for bsd. start small and stop when you have it working is useless, go for the grand and work down from there... very hard, often frustrating (remembers kicking his computer and trashing a 40gb hd that was quite expensive at the time) but the education I gained was well worth it (skills and abilities, not knowledge of how not to treat a computer, though I gained that too.)

...I am gonna shut up now, I am tried and ranting, never a good combo.