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NetBSD 1.5.3 Released, 1.6 On The Way
djcdplaya writes: "The highly portable NetBSD has reached a new milestone. OSNews.com is reporting that NetBSD 1.5.3 has been released. 1.5.3 was released correcting some bugs and adding some additional security. It also has improved device driver support." Part of the same announcement: "Please note that a new major release of NetBSD, version 1.6, is
currently in beta test and should be released within a few weeks.
I read about a Dreamcast port of NetBSD a while back. Can anyone fill me in on the current status of it? Is it incorporated into this current release (1.5.3) or the upcoming release (1.6.0)?
How well does NetBSD work on Dreamcast... is it worth buying a Dreamcast to run NetBSD on it?
Karma: Good (despite my invention of the Karma: sig)
One more thing to note is that the web site stil has not bee updated and some of these binaries are about a month old... guess I'll upgrade tomorrow afternoon... something to do at work ;-)
Only 'flamers' flame!
i guess regular users of netbsd will wait till 1.5.6 for a full upgrade? after all this is supposed to be an incremental release is'nt it?
I have had NetBSD for about 6 months now, and all I can say is that the software is brilliant. I am genuinely stunned by how good this is. And I am genuinely thankful to all the people who made this possible. I know it is a little unfair to mention anyone by name but;
Richard Stallman; I think you are a genius.
Linus; many thanks for making your magnificent kernel available to us all forever via the GPL. If I had ever written anything this good, I would have been reluctant to part with it, but you gave it away. I hope you are soon rich as well as famous.
ESR; what can I say, keep up the good work I guess. Try not to take everything that is said too personally. Like all the others, I don't agree with everything you say, but I think your contribution is overwhelmingly positive. And I think you write well. This is something not all good programmers can do, or want to do.
So far I have NetBSD running on 3 machines. I have the complete home LAN going with IP masquerading and all that. I have never had a crash, but to be honest sometimes I have screwed up my systems so badly the best way to recover was just to reboot and start again. Quicker than reading the manual if you know what I mean, just hit it with a bigger hammer. I have a real talent for screwing up routing tables.
I would guess that Linux has saved me at least USD$5,000-00, and maybe USD$10,000-00. I base this estimate on the software savings (the missing BLOATware), hardware savings and over priced upgrades to both that I can now permanently avoid. My gateway/server box is a P75 for instance, with an 8 gig drive. Intra-LAN pings take 0.5 milliseconds on 100 meg PCI cards with a 10 meg hub. Me, I can wait 0.5 microseconds for a packet. Especially when it puts 10 grand in my pocket.
There was an 'astroturfed?' thread here a while ago about everyone who uses Linux having a ton of books and CD's lying around essentially as papers weights with no useful system to show for it. In my case, I have 4 distributions already, but I also have a very useful system. I will try an explain... I have all these distributions because they are so cheap, and because whenever I want some new component for the system, like StarOffice 5.1 for instance, the download is too big and if you buy it from StarDivision (here in Freemont) they want $39-00. If you go to Fry's (the local electrical store) you can find a complete distribution containing the single thing you want, plus upgrades for all the others for $24-95. I am thinking of Caldera 2.2 here. So why not just take the whole thing? So invariably, I do.
In summary, it is difficult to believe that something this good could be produced in such an unusual way. If I had not seen it with my own eyes I would not have believed it.
My advice to anyone is just try it. You will save a small fortune, learn a lot, have a lot of fun.
Got friends?
The pkgsrc version of KDE 3.0.1 is _very_ high quality. Everything works as expected (except ksirc in the kmenu which must have the path specified).
Seriously folks, if you haven't looked at NetBSD because you wondered what its niche is, try it for your workstation. A lot of people recommend FreeBSD for workstations and servers, OpenBSD for firewalls, and NetBSD for your toaster that should be running *BSD. Don't believe it. NetBSD is a very comfortable workstation.
Some other things that have impressed me with NetBSD:
- The new init system. Starting services is logical and a snap
- How much better disk performance is than I remember it.
/usr/X11R6/bin/xf86cfg. NetBSD is one of the few distributions that has really configured this to work. This program autodetects all of my hardware. All I need to do is set what screen resolutions I want. (right click on the monitor in the "screen" section. - The very high quality of the pkgsrc collection. Everything that I have built has gone off without a hitch.
...there's a lot more folks.
NetBSD has really impressed me with this version (1.6), and it isn't even fully released. I strongly recommend it to anyone interested in a robust, easily maintained workstation.-Peter
. Penguins Surely Ca
Here ya go, click and drool:
netbsd.org
ftp.netbsd.org
official text of the release
Mirror listing, for when the ftp server gets slashdotted
The previous has been a secret message to my comrades.
Despite beeing a Redhat user, I find NetBSD very nice, and occasionally play around with it. So, you Linux guys beeig thinking about testing FreeBSD? Try NetBSD as well.
In case you havnt noticed it *BSD is 3 times as popular as Linux on the desktop. (thanks to MacOS X)
You trollers have serious issues. I dont know if you had a bad childhood or something, but there no excuse whatsoever for beeing this stupid.
Will NetBSD work on a machine with ez-drive hd? The last version I tried (1.5.0) didn't... Also, there doesn't seem to be a lot of info regarding dualbooting NetBSD + other OSen w/ GRUB. Is it possible to boot it from non-first hd?
Save your wrists today - switch to Dvorak
so when are you going to lead the boycott? and get the hell off this site
MacOS X is not BSD!
There is no point flocking MacOS X users with other BSD users. MacOS X is no different from other proprietary products just taking advantage over free software and doesn't wanna give back.
How is this a troll?
It seems to have better device support (especially for wireless)
than 1.5.2 does.
For the obligitory karma whoring, you can get copies /pub/NetBSD ( I believe).
of the daily releases at ftp site releng.netbsd.org
ACually, if you havent noticed, Apple is giving back. Rendevous is "open as can be" and darwin mac os x's core is open. Im glad to see a *nix envirnment made into a workstation. hey, it converted a friend over to the *nix world, thats all i care about, because thats one less "m$ power user"
--NitroPye
How is _this_ a troll?
; CmdrTaco is Gay Really!; I am not lying...
it's spelled E-U-L-O-G-Y, dumbass
No, "elegy" is correct and apropos. Get a clue before you post, eh?
I need confirmation.
what can i say? a $100 UNIX laptop w/sound, LCD blanking, 10-hour battery life, wired and wireless support and X w/the trackpoint... NetBSD is *THE* OS for the Z50, and helps keep this laptop model line out of the landfill..
BSD is dead. Get over it.
An install ISO would be nice.
dead, dead, dead.
What about watching divx on a NetBSD machine ?
:)
I heard there was some problemes with running mplayer on NetBSD but I don't know at all if it's true or not.
Has anyone tried ?
And what about playing games like Quake3 or RTCW ?
I you tell me this is ok, I see no reason to keep running linux on my workstation instead of NetBSD
wtf.n0x.org
[editors' note: in this following text, former FreeBSD developer Mike Smith gives his reasons for abandoning FreeBSD]
When I stood for election to the FreeBSD core team nearly two years ago, many of you will recall that it was after a long series of debates during which I maintained that too much organisation, too many rules and too much formality would be a bad thing for the project.
Today, as I read the latest discussions on the future of the FreeBSD project, I see the same problem; a few new faces and many of the old going over the same tired arguments and suggesting variations on the same worthless schemes. Frankly I'm sick of it.
FreeBSD used to be fun. It used to be about doing things the right way. It used to be something that you could sink your teeth into when the mundane chores of programming for a living got you down. It was something cool and exciting; a way to spend your spare time on an endeavour you loved that was at the same time wholesome and worthwhile.
It's not anymore. It's about bylaws and committees and reports and milestones, telling others what to do and doing what you're told. It's about who can rant the longest or shout the loudest or mislead the most people into a bloc in order to legitimise doing what they think is best. Individuals notwithstanding, the project as a whole has lost track of where it's going, and has instead become obsessed with process and mechanics.
So I'm leaving core. I don't want to feel like I should be "doing something" about a project that has lost interest in having something done for it. I don't have the energy to fight what has clearly become a losing battle; I have a life to live and a job to keep, and I won't achieve any of the goals I personally consider worthwhile if I remain obligated to care for the project.
Discussion
I'm sure that I've offended some people already; I'm sure that by the time I'm done here, I'll have offended more. If you feel a need to play to the crowd in your replies rather than make a sincere effort to address the problems I'm discussing here, please do us the courtesy of playing your politics openly.
From a technical perspective, the project faces a set of challenges that significantly outstrips our ability to deliver. Some of the resources that we need to address these challenges are tied up in the fruitless metadiscussions that have raged since we made the mistake of electing officers. Others have left in disgust, or been driven out by the culture of abuse and distraction that has grown up since then. More may well remain available to recruitment, but while the project is busy infighting our chances for successful outreach are sorely diminished.
There's no simple solution to this. For the project to move forward, one or the other of the warring philosophies must win out; either the project returns to its laid-back roots and gets on with the work, or it transforms into a super-organised engineering project and executes a brilliant plan to deliver what, ultimately, we all know we want.
Whatever path is chosen, whatever balance is struck, the choosing and the striking are the important parts. The current indecision and endless conflict are incompatible with any sort of progress.
Trying to dissect the above is far beyond the scope of any parting shot, no matter how distended. All I can really ask of you all is to let go of the minutiae for a moment and take a look at the big picture. What is the ultimate goal here? How can we get there with as little overhead as possible? How would you like to be treated by your fellow travellers?
Shouts
To the Slashdot "BSD is dying" crowd - big deal. Death is part of the cycle; take a look at your soft, pallid bodies and consider that right this very moment, parts of you are dying. See? It's not so bad.
To the bulk of the FreeBSD committerbase and the developer community at large - keep your eyes on the real goals. It's when you get distracted by the politickers that they sideline you. The tireless work that you perform keeping the system clean and building is what provides the platform for the obsessives and the prima donnas to have their moments in the sun. In the end, we need you all; in order to go forwards we must first avoid going backwards.
To the paranoid conspiracy theorists - yes, I work for Apple too. No, my resignation wasn't on Steve's direct orders, or in any way related to work I'm doing, may do, may not do, or indeed what was in the tea I had at lunchtime today. It's about real problems that the project faces, real problems that the project has brought upon itself. You can't escape them by inventing excuses about outside influence, the problem stems from within.
To the politically obsessed - give it a break, if you can. No, the project isn't a lemonade stand anymore, but it's not a world-spanning corporate juggernaut either and some of the more grandiose visions going around are in need of a solid dose of reality. Keep it simple, stupid.
To the grandstanders, the prima donnas, and anyone that thinks that they can hold the project to ransom for their own agenda - give it a break, if you can. When the current core were elected, we took a conscious stand against vigorous sanctions, and some of you have exploited that. A new core is going to have to decide whether to repeat this mistake or get tough. I hope they learn from our errors.
Future
I started work on FreeBSD because it was fun. If I'm going to continue, it has to be fun again. There are things I still feel obligated to do, and with any luck I'll find the time to meet those obligations.
However I don't feel an obligation to get involved in the political mess the project is in right now. I tried, I burnt out. I don't feel that my efforts were worthwhile. So I won't be standing for election, I won't be shouting from the sidelines, and I probably won't vote in the next round of ballots.
You could say I'm packing up my toys. I'm not going home just yet, but I'm not going to play unless you can work out how to make the project somewhere fun to be again.
= Mike
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