How to view Root directory and subdirectories in Finder?

Apparently, the Macintosh HD icon on the desktop points to the root directory but it is not showing all the contents. Some of the files and directories are the same as those which I see when I perform an ls on / dir in Terminal, but most other directories like /usr, /bin, etc are not visible. I'm assuming that for security, Mac OS X isn't showing the rest of the files and directories. Is there a way to change this behavior so as to make it like we view root folder in Linux? Edit: just found the following [here](http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1528) : > The Finder and the Terminal show different contents for the root > directory. Some items in the root directory are not visible in the > Finder. This reduces visual clutter and enhances simplicity. If you > are familiar with a UNIX-style command line you can use Terminal to > view all items in a directory. As per this note, Terminal has to be used to view all the items. So, what do others do? Use terminal or there is some other way?