1 files changed, 143 insertions, 186 deletions

diff --git a/release/ABOUT.TXT b/release/ABOUT.TXT
index e86835cdc728..e14e3bd8c766 100644
--- a/release/ABOUT.TXT
+++ b/release/ABOUT.TXT
@@ -1,245 +1,202 @@
-=============
-About FreeBSD
-=============
+o About FreeBSD:
 
-What is FreeBSD?  FreeBSD is an operating system based on 4.4 
-BSD Lite for Intel, AMD, Cyrix or NexGen "x86" based PC hardware.
-It works with a very wide variety of PC peripherals and 
-configurations and can be used for everything from software 
-development to providing professional internet services.
+What is FreeBSD?  FreeBSD is an operating system based on 4.4 BSD Lite
+for Intel, AMD, Cyrix or NexGen "x86" based PC hardware.  It works
+with a very wide variety of PC peripherals and configurations and can
+be used for everything from software development to Internet Service
+Provision.
 
-This release of FreeBSD contains everything you need to run such
-a system, including full source code for everything.  With the
-source distribution installed you can literally recompile the
-entire system from scratch with one command, making it ideal for
-students, researchers or folks who simply want to see how it 
-all works.
+This release of FreeBSD contains everything you need to run such a
+system, including full source code for everything.  With the source
+distribution installed you can literally recompile the entire system
+from scratch with one command, making it ideal for students,
+researchers or folks who simply want to see how it all works.
 
-A large collection of ported 3rd party software (the "ports
-collection") is also provided to make it easier for you to
-obtain and install all your favorite traditional UNIX utilities
-for FreeBSD. Over 1300 ports, from editors to programming
-languages to graphical applications, make FreeBSD a powerful and
-comprehensive operating environment that extends far beyond that
-provided by many commercial versions of UNIX.
+A large collection of 3rd party ported software (the "ports
+collection") is also provided to make it easier for you to obtain and
+install all your favorite traditional UNIX utilities for FreeBSD.
+Over 1500 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.
 
-If you are interested in more documentation on this system we
-recommended that you purchase the 4.4BSD Document Set from
-O'Reilly Associates and the USENIX Association, 
-ISBN 1-56592-082-1.  If you are a developer, "The Design and
-Implementation of the 4.4 BSD Operating System" by McKusick,
-Bostic, Karels & Quarterman, Addison-Wesley ISBN 0-201-54979-4,
-is also a worth-while purchase.
+For more documentation on this system it is recommended that you
+purchase the 4.4BSD Document Set from O'Reilly Associates and the
+USENIX Association, ISBN 1-56592-082-1.  We have no connection with
+O'Reilly, we're just satisfied customers!
 
-We have no connection with O'Reilly or Addison-Wesley, we're simply
-satisfied customers!
+If you're new to FreeBSD then you should also read EVERYTHING listed
+in the Documentation menu on the boot floppy.  It may seem like a lot
+to read, but you should at least acquaint yourself with the types of
+information available should you later get stuck.  Once the system is
+installed, you can also revisit this menu and use a WEB browser to
+read the installed FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) and Handbook HTML
+documentation sets for FreeBSD.  You can also use the browser to visit
+other WEB sites on the net (such as http://www.freebsd.org) if you
+have an Internet connection.
 
 
-=========================================
-Contact and technical support information
-=========================================
+DISCLAIMER: While FreeBSD does its best to safeguard against
+accidental loss of data, it's still more than possible to WIPE OUT
+YOUR ENTIRE DISK with this installation!  Please do not proceed to the
+final FreeBSD installation menu unless you've adequately backed up any
+important data first!  We really mean it!
 
-Your suggestions, bug reports and contributions of code are
-always valued. Please do not hesitate to report any problems
-you may find (preferably with a fix attached, if you can :).
 
-Questions
----------
+o E-mail addresses and tech support info:
 
 For general questions, please send email to :
 
-        freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
+        freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.org
 
-Please have patience if your questions are not answered as soon
-as you might want. This mailing list is staffed solely by
-volunteers and they have real life schedules to contend with.
-Questions which are asked intelligently (e.g. not "My system
-doesn't work!  What's wrong!?") also stand a far greater chance
-of being answered. If your question does not contain enough
-information to allow the responder to generate a meaningful
-answer, they generally won't. An informative subject line will
-help the people who answer the questions pick out questions
-they are knowledgeable about to answer. 
+Please also have patience if your questions are not answered right
+away - this mailing list is staffed purely by volunteers and they also
+have real life schedules to contend with.  Questions which are asked
+intelligently (e.g. not "My system doesn't work!  What's wrong!?")
+also stand a far greater chance of being answered. If your question
+does not contain enough information to allow the responder to generate
+a meaningful answer, they generally won't.
 
-Comments and offers of help
----------------------------
+Bug reports submitted with the send-pr command are also logged and
+tracked in our bugs database, and you'll be kept informed of any
+changes in status during the life of the bug (or feature request).
 
-Since we are a volunteer effort, we are always happy to have
-extra hands willing to help. There are already far more desired
-enhancements than we'll ever be able to manage by ourselves!  To
-contact us on technical matters or with offers of help, send
-mail (in English please) to:
+Technical comments on this release should be sent (in English!) to:
 
         freebsd-hackers@FreeBSD.org
 
-Bugs
-----
-
-The preferred method to submit bug reports from a machine with
-Internet mail connectivity is to use the send-pr command. If
-that's not possible you can use the CGI script at
-http://www.freebsd.org/send-pr.html.
-
-Bug reports will be handled by our faithful bugfiler program and
-you can be sure that we'll do our best to respond to all
-reported bugs as soon as possible.  Bugs filed in this way are
-also visible on our WEB site in the support section and are
-therefore valuable both as bug reports and as "signposts" for
-other users concerning potential problems to watch out for.
-
-If you cannot use either of these two methods, you can send
-mail to:
+Bug reports should be sent using the `send-pr' command or the Web page
+at http://www.freebsd.org/send-pr.html.  If you cannot use either of
+these two methods, you may also send mail to:
 
         freebsd-bugs@FreeBSD.org
 
+
 PLEASE ALSO BE SURE TO INDICATE WHICH VERSION OF FREEBSD YOU'RE
-RUNNING IN ALL BUG REPORTS OR QUESTIONS!
+RUNNING IN ANY BUG REPORTS OR QUESTIONS!
 
-Sorry for the use of caps, but you'd be amazed at how many times
-people forget this and there are many different release versions
-of FreeBSD out there now.  It's imperative that we know what
-you're running so that we tell if you're suffering from a bug
-which has already been fixed.
+Sorry for the caps, but you'd be amazed at how many times people
+forget this and there are many different release versions of FreeBSD
+out there now.  It's imperative that we know what you're running so
+that we tell if you're suffering from a bug which has already been
+fixed.
 
-General Information
--------------------
 
-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 to:
+o WWW Resources:
 
-                freebsd-announce@FreeBSD.org
+Our WEB site, http://www.freebsd.org, is also a very good source for
+updated information and provides a number of advanced documentation
+searching facilities.  If you wish to use Netscape as your browser,
+you may install the BSDI version from ftp://ftp.mcom.com or simply
+type:
 
-It also goes almost without saying that proper etiquette and
-topic discipline is essential to making sure that the FreeBSD
-mailing lists continue to be viable forums for communication,
-and your cooperation in this is kindly requested.  Please read
-the mailing list usage charters at:
-       http://www.freebsd.org/handbook/eresources.html
-before posting to the FreeBSD mailing lists.
+        # cd /usr/ports/www/netscape3
+        # make all install
 
-WWW Resources
--------------
+If you have the Ports collection installed on your machine.
 
-Our WEB site, http://www.freebsd.org, is also a very good source
-for updated information and provides a number of advanced
-documentation searching facilities.  If you wish to use Netscape
-as your browser, simply select it from the packages menu during
-installation or run "/stand/sysinstall configPackages" after the
-system is up.
 
 Several other non-commercial browsers are also available in
-the ports & package collection under the www category.
+/usr/ports/net and may be compiled and installed in the same fashion.
+Many are also available as pre-compiled packages - see the Packages
+entry in the Configuration menu for more details.
 
 The Handbook and FAQ are also available as on-line documents in
 /usr/share/doc and can be read using the ``file:/usr/share/doc''
-syntax with any HTML capable browser.
-
-
-=================
-Obtaining FreeBSD
-=================
-
-You may obtain FreeBSD in a variety of ways:
-
-FTP/Mail
---------
-
-You can ftp FreeBSD and any or all of its optional packages from
-`ftp.freebsd.org' - the official FreeBSD release site.
-
-For other locations that mirror the FreeBSD software see the
-file MIRROR.SITES.  Please ftp the distribution from the site
-closest (in networking terms) to you.  Additional mirror sites
-are always welcome! Contact freebsd-admin@FreeBSD.org for more
-details if you'd like to become an official mirror site.
-
-If you do not have access to the Internet and electronic mail is
-your only recourse, then you may still fetch the files by
-sending mail to `ftpmail@ftpmail.vix.com' - putting the keyword
-"help" in your message to get more information on how to fetch
-files using this mechanism.
+syntax in any HTML capable browser.
 
-Please do note, however, that this will end up sending many
-*tens of megabytes* through the mail and should only be employed
-as an absolute LAST resort!
 
-CDROM
------
+o Distributions:
 
-FreeBSD 2.2.x-RELEASE and 3.0-SNAPSHOT CDs may be ordered on
-CDROM from:
+A typical FreeBSD distribution directory looks like this:
 
-        Walnut Creek CDROM
-        4041 Pike Lane, Suite F
-        Concord CA  94520
-        1-800-786-9907, +1-925-674-0783, +1-925-674-0821 (fax)
+ABOUT.TXT       bin             dict            manpages        tools
+HARDWARE.TXT    compat1x        des		doc             packages
+INSTALL.TXT     compat20        floppies        ports
+README.TXT      compat21        games           proflibs
+RELNOTES.TXT    info            src
+XF86331
 
-Or via the Internet from orders@cdrom.com or
-http://www.cdrom.com. Their current catalog can be obtained via
-ftp from: ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/cdrom/catalog.
+If you want to do a CDROM, FTP or NFS installation from this
+distribution directory, all you need to do is make a 1.44Mb floppy
+from the floppies/boot.flp image file (see floppies/README.TXT for
+instructions on how to do this), boot it and follow the instructions.
 
-Cost per -RELEASE CD is $39.95 or $24.95 with a FreeBSD
-subscription. FreeBSD 3.0-SNAP CDs are $29.95 or $14.95 with
-a FreeBSD-SNAP subscription (-RELEASE and -SNAP subscriptions
-are entirely separate).  With a subscription, you will
-automatically receive updates as they are released. Your
-credit card will be billed when each disk is shipped and
-you may cancel your subscription at any time without further
-obligation.
+If you're trying to do some other type of installation, or are just
+curious about how the distribution is organized in general, what
+follows is a more thorough description of each item in more detail:
 
-Shipping (per order not per disc) is $5 in the US, Canada or
-Mexico and $9.00 overseas.  They accept Visa, Mastercard,
-Discover, American Express or checks in U.S. Dollars and ship
-COD within the United States.  California residents please add
-8.25% sales tax.
+The *.TXT files obviously contain documentation (ABOUT.TXT being what
+you're reading now).
 
-Should you be dissatisfied for any reason, the CD comes with an
-unconditional return policy.
+The XF86331 directory contains the XFree86 project's 3.3.1 release and
+consists of a series of gzip'd tar files which contain each component
+of the XFree86 distribution.
 
+The bin, dict, des, doc, games, info, manpages, proflibs, and src
+directories contain the primary distribution components of FreeBSD
+itself and are split into smaller files for easy packing onto floppies
+(should that be necessary).
 
-================
-Acknowledgments
-================
+The compat1x, compat20 and compat21 directories contain distributions
+for compatibility with older releases and are distributed as single
+gzip'd tar files - they can be installed during release time or later
+by running their `install.sh' scripts.
 
-FreeBSD represents the cumulative work of many dozens, if not
-hundreds, of individuals from around the world who have worked
-very hard to bring you this release.  For a complete list of
-FreeBSD project staffers, please see:
+A typical distribution (we'll use the info distribution as an example)
+looks like this:
 
-        http://www.freebsd.org/handbook/staff.html
+CHECKSUM.MD5    info.ab         info.ad         info.inf        install.sh
+info.aa         info.ac         info.ae         info.mtree
 
-or, if you've loaded the doc distribution:
+The CHECKSUM.MD5 file contains MD5 signatures for each file, should
+data corruption be suspected, and is purely for reference - it is not
+used by the actual installation and does not need to be copied with
+the rest of the distribution files.  The info.a* files are split,
+gzip'd tar files, the contents of which can be viewed by doing:
 
-        file:/usr/share/doc/handbook/staff.html
+	cat info.a* | tar tvzf -
 
-Additional FreeBSD helpers and beta testers:
+During installation, they are automatically concatenated and extracted
+by the installation procedure.
 
-        Coranth Gryphon            Dave Rivers 
-        Kaleb S. Keithley          Terry Lambert
-        David Dawes                Don Lewis
+The info.inf file is also necessary since it is read by the installation
+program in order to figure out how many pieces to look for when fetching and
+concatenating the distribution.  When putting distributions onto floppies,
+the .inf file MUST occupy the first floppy of each distribution set!
 
-Special mention to:
+The info.mtree file is another non-essential file which is provided
+for user reference.  It contains the MD5 signatures of the *unpacked*
+distribution files and can be later used with the mtree(1) program
+to verify the installation permissions and checksums against any possible
+modifications to the file.  When used with the bin distribution, this can
+be an excellent way of detecting trojan horse attacks on your system.
 
- Walnut Creek CDROM, without whose help (and continuing support)
-  this release would never have been possible.
+Finally, the install.sh file is for use by those who want to install the
+distribution after installation time.  To install the info distribution from
+CDROM after a system was installed, for example, you'd do:
 
- Dermot McDonnell for his donation of a Toshiba XM3401B CDROM
-  drive.
+		cd /cdrom/info
+		sh install.sh
 
- Chuck Robey for his donation of a floppy tape streamer for
-  testing.
+And that's all there is to it!  Each distribution contains its own
+install.sh file for this.
 
- Larry Altneu and Wilko Bulte for providing us with Wangtek
-  and Archive QIC-02 tape drives for testing and driver hacking.
 
- Everyone at Montana State University for their initial support.
+The floppies subdirectory contains the floppy installation images and
+the floppies/README.TXT file should be read for further information
+on them.
 
- And to the many thousands of FreeBSD users and testers all over
-  the world, without whom this release simply would not have
-  been possible.
+The packages and ports directories contain the FreeBSD packages and
+ports collections.   Packages may be installed from the packages directory
+by running the /stand/sysinstall utility with the argument ``configPackages''
+or by feeding the individual filenames to the pkg_add(1) command.
 
-We sincerely hope you enjoy this release of FreeBSD!
+The ports collection may be installed like any other distribution
+and requires about 15MB unpacked.  More information on the ports collection
+may be obtained from http://www.freebsd.org/ports or locally from
+file:/usr/share/doc/handbook if you've installed the doc distribution.
 
-                        The FreeBSD Project
+Last of all, the tools directory contains various DOS tools for
+discovering disk geometries, installing boot managers and the like.
+It is purely optional and provided only for user convenience.