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dvd+rw-tools Ported to FreeBSD

Dan writes "Matthew Dillon has finished porting Andy Polyakov's excellent dvd+rw-tools to FreeBSD. These tools support DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, and DVD+RW format dvd burners, including the popular Sony 500A, which he has bought himself. He says that these tools should work on a wider variety of burners than the half-broken GNU dvdrecord tools work on."

62 comments

  1. In Soviet Russia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    *BSD is dying!

  2. Holy Fuck, What's Next? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Floppies?

  3. Pathetic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    All comments on this thread are trolls.

    1. Re:Pathetic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll
      I know, makes you wonder if the trolls are right and no one really cares about BSD anymore.

      Just to stay on topic: BSD is dead!

    2. Re:Pathetic by Ilvatar · · Score: -1, Troll

      This just proves that slashdot is filled with 12 year old "I LOVE LINUX AND HATE WINDOWS"-faggots.

  4. rejoice by Ahaldra · · Score: 3, Interesting
    just IMHO the cdrecord-prdvd tools suck - read, for exampl. this readme - they suck because they are essentially not really free. this thingee seems to be a step in the right direction, although one still needs the cdrtools according to this faq.

    --
    Code is Speech. No to Censorship.
    1. Re:rejoice by prmths · · Score: 1, Interesting

      i like cdrecord-prodvd ... it actually works for me
      dvd+rw-tools locks my machine half the time...
      made about $30 worth of coasters so far
      not being free is a DEFINITE bummer though

    2. Re:rejoice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait
      It is official. Netcraft now confirms: *BSD is dying

      One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered *BSD community when IDC confirmed that *BSD market share has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all servers. Coming on the heels of a recent Netcraft survey which plainly states that *BSD has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. *BSD is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent Sys Admin comprehensive networking test.

      You don't need to be a Kreskin to predict *BSD's future. The hand writing is on the wall: *BSD faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for *BSD because *BSD is dying. Things are looking very bad for *BSD. As many of us are already aware, *BSD continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

      FreeBSD is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core developers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time FreeBSD developers Jordan Hubbard and Mike Smith only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: FreeBSD is dying.

      Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

      OpenBSD leader Theo states that there are 7000 users of OpenBSD. How many users of NetBSD are there? Let's see. The number of OpenBSD versus NetBSD posts on Usenet is roughly in ratio of 5 to 1. Therefore there are about 7000/5 = 1400 NetBSD users. BSD/OS posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of NetBSD posts. Therefore there are about 700 users of BSD/OS. A recent article put FreeBSD at about 80 percent of the *BSD market. Therefore there are (7000+1400+700)*4 = 36400 FreeBSD users. This is consistent with the number of FreeBSD Usenet posts.

      Due to the troubles of Walnut Creek, abysmal sales and so on, FreeBSD went out of business and was taken over by BSDI who sell another troubled OS. Now BSDI is also dead, its corpse turned over to yet another charnel house.

      All major surveys show that *BSD has steadily declined in market share. *BSD is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If *BSD is to survive at all it will be among OS dilettante dabblers. *BSD continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, *BSD is dead.

      Fact: *BSD is dying

    3. Re:rejoice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll
      It is official; Netcraft now confirms: *BSD is dying

      One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered *BSD community when IDC confirmed that *BSD market share has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all servers. Coming on the heels of a recent Netcraft survey which plainly states that *BSD has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. *BSD is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent Sys Admin comprehensive networking test.

      You don't need to be a Kreskin to predict *BSD's future. The hand writing is on the wall: *BSD faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for *BSD because *BSD is dying. Things are looking very bad for *BSD. As many of us are already aware, *BSD continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

      FreeBSD is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core developers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time FreeBSD developers Jordan Hubbard and Mike Smith only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: FreeBSD is dying.

      Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

      OpenBSD leader Theo states that there are 7000 users of OpenBSD. How many users of NetBSD are there? Let's see. The number of OpenBSD versus NetBSD posts on Usenet is roughly in ratio of 5 to 1. Therefore there are about 7000/5 = 1400 NetBSD users. BSD/OS posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of NetBSD posts. Therefore there are about 700 users of BSD/OS. A recent article put FreeBSD at about 80 percent of the *BSD market. Therefore there are (7000+1400+700)*4 = 36400 FreeBSD users. This is consistent with the number of FreeBSD Usenet posts.

      Due to the troubles of Walnut Creek, abysmal sales and so on, FreeBSD went out of business and was taken over by BSDI who sell another troubled OS. Now BSDI is also dead, its corpse turned over to yet another charnel house.

      All major surveys show that *BSD has steadily declined in market share. *BSD is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If *BSD is to survive at all it will only be among OS dilettante dabblers. *BSD continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, *BSD is dead.

      Fact: *BSD is dying

    4. Re:rejoice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

      ur ghey

  5. Isn't it funny that *BSD has to port everything? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    too bad they can't port life. Once it is gone, it's gone.

  6. yay by asdfx · · Score: -1, Troll

    Insert obligatory 'bsd is dying' comment here

    now, if they could just make free dvd media, we'd be set.

    1. Re:yay by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

      shut up you dick sucker

    2. Re:yay by asdfx · · Score: 1

      erm.. there was a sarcasm tag in there... whoops

      i swear, i love *bsd :-)

  7. Re:Isn't it funny that *BSD has to port everything by evilviper · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Isn't it funny that *BSD has to port everything?

    No, it isn't funny. That means that most programmers are using OS specific syscalls in their programs. It's a terrible thing to do, yet the Linux community does it constantly...

    Release a program that only works on the BSDs, and watch the Linux users come out in arms like their first born has been slaughtered... I really hate hypocrites.
    --
    Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
  8. dvd+rw-tools == dd(1) by hubertf · · Score: 2, Informative

    IIRC the growisofs tool that's the core of the dvd+rw-tools is really just a frontend to dd(1), and you don't really need it, *IF* you have a decent driver that allows dd(1)ing a ISO image to it.
    Tried it some time ago under SuSE 8.something, worked.

    - Hubert

    1. Re:dvd+rw-tools == dd(1) by phoenix_rizzen · · Score: 2, Informative

      growisofs is a front-end to mkisofs, which has no relation to dd. When in doubt, read the FAQ. :)

    2. Re:dvd+rw-tools == dd(1) by hubertf · · Score: 1

      yes, nice... and what does it do if it is done with running mkisofs or if you hand it a ready-made iso image?

      - Hubert

    3. Re:dvd+rw-tools == dd(1) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait
      It is now official; Netcraft has confirmed: *BSD is dying

      One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered *BSD community when IDC confirmed that *BSD market share has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all servers. Coming on the heels of a recent Netcraft survey which plainly states that *BSD has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. *BSD is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent Sys Admin comprehensive networking test.

      You don't need to be a Kreskin to predict *BSD's future. The hand writing is on the wall: *BSD faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for *BSD because *BSD is dying. Things are looking very bad for *BSD. As many of us are already aware, *BSD continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

      FreeBSD is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core developers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time FreeBSD developers Jordan Hubbard and Mike Smith only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: FreeBSD is dying.

      Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

      OpenBSD leader Theo states that there are 7000 users of OpenBSD. How many users of NetBSD are there? Let's see. The number of OpenBSD versus NetBSD posts on Usenet is roughly in ratio of 5 to 1. Therefore there are about 7000/5 = 1400 NetBSD users. BSD/OS posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of NetBSD posts. Therefore there are about 700 users of BSD/OS. A recent article put FreeBSD at about 80 percent of the *BSD market. Therefore there are (7000+1400+700)*4 = 36400 FreeBSD users. This is consistent with the number of FreeBSD Usenet posts.

      Due to the troubles of Walnut Creek, abysmal sales and so on, FreeBSD went out of business and was taken over by BSDI who sell another troubled OS. Now BSDI is also dead, its corpse turned over to yet another charnel house.

      All major surveys show that *BSD has steadily declined in market share. *BSD is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If *BSD is to survive at all it will be among OS dilettante dabblers. *BSD continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, *BSD is dead.

      Fact: *BSD is dying

    4. Re:dvd+rw-tools == dd(1) by phoenix_rizzen · · Score: 1

      [shrug] I dunno. I don't have any DVD drives of any kind, so I've never used the software. I just took a speedread through the FAQ. :)

    5. Re:dvd+rw-tools == dd(1) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll
      It is official; Netcraft now confirms: *BSD is dying

      One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered *BSD community when IDC confirmed that *BSD market share has dropped yet again, now down to less than a mere fraction of 1 percent of all servers. Coming close on the heels of a recent Netcraft survey which plainly states that *BSD has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. *BSD is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent Sys Admin comprehensive networking test.

      You don't need to be a Kreskin to predict *BSD's future. The hand writing is on the wall: *BSD faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for *BSD because *BSD is dying. Things are looking very bad for *BSD. As many of us are already aware, *BSD continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

      FreeBSD is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core developers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time FreeBSD developers Jordan Hubbard and Mike Smith only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: FreeBSD is dying.

      Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

      OpenBSD leader Theo states that there are 7000 users of OpenBSD. How many users of NetBSD are there? Let's see. The number of OpenBSD versus NetBSD posts on Usenet is roughly in ratio of 5 to 1. Therefore there are about 7000/5 = 1400 NetBSD users. BSD/OS posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of NetBSD posts. Therefore there are about 700 users of BSD/OS. A recent article put FreeBSD at about 80 percent of the *BSD market. Therefore there are (7000+1400+700)*4 = 36400 FreeBSD users. This is consistent with the number of FreeBSD Usenet posts.

      Due to the troubles of Walnut Creek, abysmal sales and so on, FreeBSD went out of business and was taken over by BSDI who sell another troubled OS. Now BSDI is also dead, its corpse turned over to yet another charnel house.

      All major surveys show that *BSD has steadily declined in market share. *BSD is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If *BSD is to survive at all it will be among OS dilettante dabblers. *BSD continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, *BSD is dead.

      Fact: *BSD is dying

    6. Re:dvd+rw-tools == dd(1) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll
      The End of FreeBSD

      [ed. note: in the 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

    7. Re:dvd+rw-tools == dd(1) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, the dvd+rw tools are a collection of things

      a) a Linux kernel patch which allows packet writing on dvd+rw disks, I really wonder if this one made it into bsd, I doubt it.

      b) a collection of scripts and tools, parts of them route into makeisofs

      there is:
      a formatting tool

      growisofs, which routes into mkisofs and a bunch of other tools

      and you need a tool which can create a udf filesystem (mkudffs in Linux) to prepare a formatted DVD+RW for UDF packet writing.

  9. Re:Isn't it funny that *BSD has to port everything by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They aren't hypocrites, because the aren't even the same people. I'm so tired of hearing about contrived groups of people being hypocrites because they don't all say exactly the same thing. It's stupid to argue about strawmen.

  10. Developer laments: What Killed FreeBSD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll
    The End of FreeBSD

    [ed. note: in the 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. I

  11. Re:Isn't it funny that *BSD has to port everything by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    It is strange that nothing original comes out of BSD. All the BSD applications are ersatz hacks on the Linux originals. It can be truthfully said that without GNU and Linux software, BSD would be even worse off than it already is.

  12. Re:Isn't it funny that *BSD has to port everything by Arandir · · Score: 4, Funny

    Release a program that only works on the BSDs, and watch the Linux users come out in arms like their first born has been slaughtered...

    I did that once by accident. Usually I test my software on a Linux distro before making a release, but I didn't do it once. I had QNX installed on my extra partition and didn't want to wipe it out. So I just released it.

    I realized my mistake about twenty minutes later when the bug reports started coming in...

    --
    A Government Is a Body of People, Usually Notably Ungoverned
  13. *BSD is dying by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    It is official; Netcraft now confirms: *BSD is dying

    One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered *BSD community when IDC confirmed that *BSD market share has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all servers. Coming on the heels of a recent Netcraft survey which plainly states that *BSD has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. *BSD is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent Sys Admin comprehensive networking test.

    You don't need to be a Kreskin to predict *BSD's future. The hand writing is on the wall: *BSD faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for *BSD because *BSD is dying. Things are looking very bad for *BSD. As many of us are already aware, *BSD continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

    FreeBSD is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core developers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time FreeBSD developers Jordan Hubbard and Mike Smith only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: FreeBSD is dying.

    Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

    OpenBSD leader Theo states that there are 7000 users of OpenBSD. How many users of NetBSD are there? Let's see. The number of OpenBSD versus NetBSD posts on Usenet is roughly in ratio of 5 to 1. Therefore there are about 7000/5 = 1400 NetBSD users. BSD/OS posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of NetBSD posts. Therefore there are about 700 users of BSD/OS. A recent article put FreeBSD at about 80 percent of the *BSD market. Therefore there are (7000+1400+700)*4 = 36400 FreeBSD users. This is consistent with the number of FreeBSD Usenet posts.

    Due to the troubles of Walnut Creek, abysmal sales and so on, FreeBSD went out of business and was taken over by BSDI who sell another troubled OS. Now BSDI is also dead, its corpse turned over to yet another charnel house.

    All major surveys show that *BSD has steadily declined in market share. *BSD is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If *BSD is to survive at all it will be among OS dilettante dabblers. *BSD continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, *BSD is dead.

    Fact: *BSD is dying

    1. Re:*BSD is dying by Tassadar99 · · Score: 1

      Screw Netcraft. If BSD is dead, why ThE HeLl AM i tYPiNg ThIS iF It is DEAD!!!! I wrote this off of FreeBSD 4.7. Thank you.

      --
      Hardware is what you kick, Software is what you curse.
  14. who the fuck cares? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    i don't bother with computers anymore. *BSD is dead. linux is overrated (though i would like to see it conquer winblowz). anywho. i realized there was a world outside. if computers are what you love then by all means, you have your own decisions to make, but jesus... there is a world out there of people to love, friends to have, girls to score on. go get buzzed and have some fun. LIVE. take a break sometimes...

    1. Re:who the fuck cares? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

      What a cop-out. You are a fucking moron. Just because people are interested in computers and you are not doesn't make them worse than you or anyone else.

      To each, his/her own. Be happy. If fucking sheep makes you happy, go do that and be happy. Don't idle around looking to criticize others for finding their happiness.

    2. Re:who the fuck cares? by Doctor+Dox · · Score: 0, Troll

      No wonder you sign as Anonymous Coward

  15. Re:Isn't it funny that *BSD has to port everything by evilviper · · Score: 2, Insightful

    You are now saying that there are not ANY programmers that have written non-portable programs, that have also complained when a program didn't work on their OS? I would beg to differ.

    You are also saying that there are no people that promote and/or support a Linux program that don't care that it doesn't run on another system, but are upset when a program doesn't work on their system?

    I beg to differ.

    --
    Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
  16. *BSD as shameful as being a virgin! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Where have all the *BSD users gone?
    Long time passing
    Where have all the *BSD users gone?
    Long time ago
    Where have all the *BSD users gone?
    Girls have kicked them every one
    When will they ever learn?
    When will they ever learn?

    Where have all the young *BSD users gone?
    Long time passing
    Where have all the young *BSD users gone?
    Long time ago
    Where have all the young *BSD users gone?
    Taken it anally every one
    When will they ever learn?
    When will they ever learn?

    Where have all the young *BSD users gone?
    Long time passing
    Where have all the young *BSD users gone?
    Long time ago
    Where have all the young *BSD users gone?
    Gone for linux every one
    When will they ever learn?
    When will they ever learn?

    Where have all the *BSD users gone?
    Long time passing
    Where have all the *BSD users gone?
    Long time ago
    Where have all the *BSD users gone?
    Gone to graveyards every one
    When will they ever learn?
    When will they ever learn?

    Where have all the graveyards gone?
    Long time passing
    Where have all the graveyards gone?
    Long time ago
    Where have all the graveyards gone?
    Covered with *BSD code every one
    When will we ever learn?
    When will we ever learn?

  17. *BSD is dying by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll
    It is official; Netcraft now confirms: *BSD is dying

    One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered *BSD community when IDC confirmed that *BSD market share has dropped yet again, now down to less than a mere fraction of 1 percent of all servers. Coming on the heels of a recent Netcraft survey which plainly states that *BSD has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. *BSD is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent Sys Admin comprehensive networking test.

    You don't need to be a Kreskin to predict *BSD's future. The hand writing is on the wall: *BSD faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for *BSD because *BSD is dying. Things are looking very bad for *BSD. As many of us are already aware, *BSD continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

    FreeBSD is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core developers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time FreeBSD developers Jordan Hubbard and Mike Smith only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: FreeBSD is dying.

    Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

    OpenBSD leader Theo states that there are 7000 users of OpenBSD. How many users of NetBSD are there? Let's see. The number of OpenBSD versus NetBSD posts on Usenet is roughly in ratio of 5 to 1. Therefore there are about 7000/5 = 1400 NetBSD users. BSD/OS posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of NetBSD posts. Therefore there are about 700 users of BSD/OS. A recent article put FreeBSD at about 80 percent of the *BSD market. Therefore there are (7000+1400+700)*4 = 36400 FreeBSD users. This is consistent with the number of FreeBSD Usenet posts.

    Due to the troubles of Walnut Creek, abysmal sales and so on, FreeBSD went out of business and was taken over by BSDI who sell another troubled OS. Now BSDI is also dead, its corpse turned over to yet another charnel house.

    All major surveys show that *BSD has steadily declined in market share. *BSD is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If *BSD is to survive at all it will be among OS dilettante dabblers. *BSD continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, *BSD is dead.

    Fact: *BSD is dying

  18. Re:Isn't it funny that *BSD has to port everything by cperciva · · Score: 4, Informative

    That means that most programmers are using OS specific syscalls in their programs.

    Not necessarily. I count 8817 ports in the tree right now, of which only 4663 have local patches.

    In many cases, the "port" is used as nothing more than a convenient front-end to the package system.

  19. BSD? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    BSOD!

  20. Re:Isn't it funny that *BSD has to port everything by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    It's strange that nothing original comes out of BSD. All the BSD applications are ersatz hacks on the Linux originals. It can be truthfully said that without GNU and Linux software, BSD would be even worse off than it already is.

  21. Elegy for *BSD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    Elegy For *BSD


    I am a *BSD user
    and I try hard to be brave
    That is a tall order
    *BSD's foot is in the grave.

    I tap at my toy keyboard
    and whistle a happy tune
    but keeping happy's so hard,
    *BSD died so soon.

    Each day I wake and softly sob
    Nightfall finds me crying
    Not only am I a zit faced slob
    but *BSD is dying.

  22. Re:Isn't it funny that *BSD has to port everything by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Furthermore, most of the local patches only exist to make the port follow the FreeBSD file heirarchy and play nice with the pkg system.

  23. need information by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1
    I'm doing some research and need information on what killed freebsd. Any clues as to why it died?

  24. Re:Isn't it funny that *BSD has to port everything by evilviper · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Yes, but that isn't actually porting software, it's just a matter of making a port out of it.

    Besides, I never said that all software was system specific, but a LOT of it is. Additionally, many programs that were originally OS specific, but someone wrote patches, and the author integrated them into the main tree instead of requiring patches in the port.

    Another instance of the word "port" being insanely over-used...

    --
    Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
  25. Re:Isn't it funny that *BSD has to port everything by cperciva · · Score: 2, Interesting

    True. On the other hand, the word "port" has gone from verb to noun, and is now being verbified again. That is to say, "to port" means to fix operating system-specific code; "a port" is either the result of porting something, or anything in the ports tree; and "to portify" means to add the necessary wrappers to make some code fit into the ports tree.

    Isn't the English language great?

  26. Re:Isn't it funny that *BSD has to port everything by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    The End of FreeBSD

    [ed. note: in the 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

  27. Re:Isn't it funny that *BSD has to port everything by evilviper · · Score: 1

    May god help the man who ports the software that listens on a TCP port, for requests to query a router NIC port... Especially if it is then used by the port authority in Portland, OR.

    Maybe it can check all the port holes on the port side of the ship, but, of course, only while the ship is in port.

    --
    Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
  28. *BSD .. The end is near... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    and so I reformat my final workstation...

    *BSD vapourware poof!

  29. Re:Isn't it funny that *BSD has to port everything by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    It's strange that nothing original comes out of BSD. All the BSD applications are ersatz hacks on the Linux originals. It can be truthfully said that without GNU and Linux software, BSD would be even worse off than it already is.

  30. Re:Isn't it funny that *BSD has to port everything by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll
    The End of FreeBSD

    [ note: in the 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

  31. half-broken GNU dvdrecord by zdzichu · · Score: 2, Interesting

    What is so bad in cdrecord (modified to be dvdrecord)? I'm not trolling, I'm curious.

    --
    :wq
    1. Re:half-broken GNU dvdrecord by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What's that? BSD is dead?

  32. Re:Isn't it funny that *BSD has to port everything by Quill_28 · · Score: 1

    Actually, it would be better off.

  33. Re:Isn't it funny that *BSD has to port everything by meshko · · Score: 1

    if you bite a troll hard enough, will it die?

    OpenSSH

    --
    I passed the Turing test.
  34. Re:Isn't it funny that *BSD has to port everything by agent+dero · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I am a huge FreeBSD advocate, and I use it all the time, and the only major things I have seen that may not have happened without Linux, were the great Xfree Window Managers, along with the software that uses the X Window system, GTK+, Netscape, QT, etc, etc. That and maybe the publicity.

    Otherwise I'd say the *BSD community has been moving along fine, and wuold have with or without the existance of Linux or GNU. Look at applications such as MySQL, Apache, and clustering software. People have been using BSD since before the invention of Linux, somehow they survived without "ersatz hacks" (crazy german) If a troll is killed by a falling tree in the forest, will anybody miss him?

    --
    Error 407 - No creative sig found
  35. Fact by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    All *BSDs go to heaven.

  36. Re:Isn't it funny that *BSD has to port everything by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll
    The End of FreeBSD

    [ed. note: in the 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

  37. *BSD - the target of many a troll by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Goodbye *BSD
    Though I never knew you at all
    You had the grace to hold yourself
    While those around you crawled
    They crawled out of the woodwork
    And they whispered into your brain
    They set you on the treadmill
    And they made you change your name

    And it seems to me you lived your life
    Like a candle in the wind
    Never knowing who to cling to
    When the rain set in
    And I would have liked to have known you
    But I was just a kid
    Your candle burned out long before
    Your legend ever did

    Loneliness was tough
    The toughest role you ever played
    Hollywood created a superstar
    And pain was the price you paid
    Even when you died
    Oh the press still hounded you
    All the papers had to say
    Was that Marilyn was found in the nude

    Goodbye *BSD
    From the young man in the 22nd row
    Who sees you as something as more than sexual
    More than just our Marilyn Monroe

  38. *BSD is dying by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll
    It is official; Netcraft now confirms: *BSD is dying

    One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered *BSD community when IDC confirmed that *BSD market share has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all servers. Coming on the heels of a recent Netcraft survey which plainly states that *BSD has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. *BSD is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent Sys Admin comprehensive networking test.

    You don't need to be a Kreskin to predict *BSD's future. The hand writing is on the wall: *BSD faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for *BSD because *BSD is dying. Things are looking very bad for *BSD. As many of us are already aware, *BSD continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

    FreeBSD is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core developers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time FreeBSD developers Jordan Hubbard and Mike Smith only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: FreeBSD is dying.

    Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

    OpenBSD leader Theo admits that there are only 7000 users of OpenBSD. How many users of NetBSD are there? Let's see. The number of OpenBSD versus NetBSD posts on Usenet is roughly in ratio of 5 to 1. Therefore there are about 7000/5 = 1400 NetBSD users. BSD/OS posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of NetBSD posts. Therefore there are about 700 users of BSD/OS. A recent article put FreeBSD at about 80 percent of the *BSD market. Therefore there are (7000+1400+700)*4 = 36400 FreeBSD users. This is consistent with the number of FreeBSD Usenet posts.

    Due to the troubles of Walnut Creek, abysmal sales and so on, FreeBSD went out of business and was taken over by BSDI who sell another troubled OS. Now BSDI is also dead, its corpse turned over to yet another charnel house.

    All major surveys show that *BSD has steadily declined in market share. *BSD is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If *BSD is to survive at all it will be among OS dilettante dabblers. *BSD continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, *BSD is dead.

    Fact: *BSD is dying

  39. Re:Isn't it funny that *BSD has to port everything by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Otherwise I'd say the *BSD community has been moving along fine, and wuold have with or without the existance of Linux or GNU."

    Bla bla.

    Then *BSD should create their own portable C/C++ compiler. Its a fact that *BSD systems depend on the GNU project.

  40. Sorry if this is off topic by Mostly+a+lurker · · Score: 1

    but I really would like to know. Has anyone tried these tools under cygwin?

    1. Re:Sorry if this is off topic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      how could they? BSD 1Z D34Dhow could they? BSD 1Z D34Dhow could they? BSD 1Z D34D

  41. Re:Holy Fuck, What's Next? *BSD is dying by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll
    It is official; Netcraft now confirms: *BSD is dying

    One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered *BSD community when IDC confirmed that *BSD market share has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all servers. Coming on the heels of a recent Netcraft survey which plainly states that *BSD has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. *BSD is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent Sys Admin comprehensive networking test.

    You don't need to be a Kreskin to predict *BSD's future. The hand writing is on the wall: *BSD faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for *BSD because *BSD is dying. Things are looking very bad for *BSD. As many of us are already aware, *BSD continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

    FreeBSD is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core developers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time FreeBSD developers Jordan Hubbard and Mike Smith only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: FreeBSD is dying.

    Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

    OpenBSD leader Theo states that there are 7000 users of OpenBSD. How many users of NetBSD are there? Let's see. The number of OpenBSD versus NetBSD posts on Usenet is roughly in ratio of 5 to 1. Therefore there are about 7000/5 = 1400 NetBSD users. BSD/OS posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of NetBSD posts. Therefore there are about 700 users of BSD/OS. A recent article put FreeBSD at about 80 percent of the *BSD market. Therefore there are (7000+1400+700)*4 = 36400 FreeBSD users. This is consistent with the number of FreeBSD Usenet posts.

    Due to the troubles of Walnut Creek, abysmal sales and so on, FreeBSD went out of business and was taken over by BSDI who sell another troubled OS. Now BSDI is also dead, its corpse turned over to yet another charnel house.

    All major surveys show that *BSD has steadily declined in market share. *BSD is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If *BSD is to survive at all it will be among OS dilettante dabblers. *BSD continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could possilby save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, *BSD is dead.

    Fact: *BSD is dying

  42. Matt by thujone · · Score: 1

    It's good to see Matt Dillon still being productive in the FreeBSD space.