Q: what is linux better than freeBSD at?
A: (this is a big question) most Linux distributions have a more "user friendly" setup routine, and more graphical thingies and neat toys in the default desktop setup. (I found though, that once I was willing to "get under the hood" a little bit, FreeBSD's installation routine made more sense). I think perhaps the clustering software for Linux is a little more mature, but that will probably change when FreeBSD version 5 is out. Linux is at present getting supported more by corporations such as Oracle and IBM, (I think mainly because they perceive it as a more immediate threat to Microsoft ;-)), so you will find more commercial databases that run on Linux. The funny thing is, FreeBSD can also run these because it has a Linux compatibility mode, and it actually sometimes outperforms Linux on Linux-specific software. Finally, I find FreeBSD to have less security holes than Linux.
Q: what is freebsd better than linux at?
A: I and many other FreeBSD converts have found it to be even more stable than Linux as a server. No matter what I have thrown at a FreeBSD machine, it just never gives up and dies. Guess who has the longest uptimes of ANY webserver OS at Netcraft.com (
Also it has the most sophisticated routine I have seen yet to update and install applications. (the "ports" collection).
Q: which is more technical (harder for newbies to adjust to)
A: Of course everyone will say FreeBSD, however I must point out one thing: Every bit of extra "touchy-feely" stuff comes with a price. I just spent several hours wrestling with Mandrake Linux to customize some things that I could do in FreeBSD within minutes. In other words, user-friendliness and install wizards are nice, as long as you have just the right hardware, and you are happy with a default configuration, but once you want a little bit more, those things will just get in your way. My favorite Linux distro (Slackware) actually behaves more like FreeBSD in that regard, and I have found it to be the most dependable and configurable Linux out there. If you go the user-friendly route, you will find yourself installing WAY more software than you really need, and even then you sometimes will still have to go in and manually install some of the other stuff you really need.
Q: which one would be better for multimedia? (considering that I will be using a window's manager)
A: Generally, I think Linux wins here, just because more attention has been put into gaming and related stuff on Linux. But, if your hardware is in the supported list, you should have no problem with multimedia on FreeBSD.
My feeling is generally, if you want a nice workstation, and don't want to mess with a serious development-or-production server, then use Linux. If you want games, definitely use Linux. If you need specific software that FreeBSD doesn't support, then you have to use Linux. However, if you want a bulletproof server that doesn't quit, definitely use FreeBSD. If you want to learn what a real Unix feels like, definitely use FreeBSD.
Theoretically, there is nothing one can do that the other cannot, but they have chosen different design and development philosophies, and overall, I prefer FreeBSD's results.
