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NetBSD v3.0 Released
FullMetalAlchemist writes "After six release candidates, the NetBSD project has finally released a gold version of a major mile stone; v3.0. I'm looking forward to this release a good deal. If I wanted to, I could build our entire office infrastructure on it thanks to Xen. Major Changes can be found on the NetBSD website, and there are several ways to get the release. Get downloading!"
Hrrmph. As a loyal VAX owner, I need to note that it seems that although NetBSD claims to support some gawd-awful high number of architectures...many are left behind to basically fend for themselves.
Just because NetBSD v3 is out, doesn't mean it runs on anything except a few of the common Intel/PPC chips.
It would be nice to be able to complete a full VAX build without some bizarre GCC error forcing me to go look for a workaround.
VAX 4-ever!
Two, we hardly knew thee.
Some settling may occur during posting.
I can install NetBSD on my, oh, (picks obscure platform) VAX, and have xen run multiple virtual vaxes?
try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
Netcraft surrenders...
No WPA support, very little support for 802.11g devices, and a lot of missing things as compared with other modern OSes (a current, working DRI implementation and support for ACPI suspend/resume would both be very nice)... this is a pretty disappointing release.
I've always liked NetBSD for being very cleanly implemented, but the way things have been going lately, I might wind up having to switch to FreeBSD or *shudder* Linux for some upcoming projects.
I'm compiling it on my toaster right now!
I am trolling
Anyone got any?
I've run OpenBSD and FreeBSD but what compelling reason would there be for me to run this variant? Riddle me this, is it worth my time installing this on a test box?
What exactly does one do w/a Dreamcast running BSD anyways?
Indeed it does -- under Xen at least.
One great thing about netbsd is the possibility of handheld netbsd. Find out more Here. Some people have tried using it on flash cards with great success, a good choice if that is the case is 256mb's to get the full effect. Handheld BSD is great though, give it a try.
"Of course it runs NetBSD" - the old saw, it seems. But I think that NetBSD is falling down in this regard. Many ports don't work properly, or haven't been updated in ages. Mailing lists lie dormant, waiting for attention, such as SBMips (BroadCom Sybyte MIPS) - in spite of Wasabi Systems (which is basically the commercial arm of NetBSD) having a press release about Broadcom support back in 2002, not much is being done in extending NetBSD to the CPUs used in consumer-grade equipment like Linksys routers. It's not even available for a fee: Wasabi doesn't have it in their development products and doesn't plan to. Linux is clearly quite far out in front in this regard.
And it's not only MIPS: VAX ports are stale as well, from what I see here. This is sad. I like the idea of portability, and I like NetBSD - but I don't find that it lives up to its repuation in portability. Yes, someday I'll shut up and work on ports to the platforms I care, but in the meantime I am using Linux on the Broadcom CPUs and finding I enjoy it..almost too much to bother with NetBSD.
Damn shame mods didn't think this an insightful question.
I'd sure like to see some bsd folks take a stab at answering it.
Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
Linux is a kernel. NetBSD is an operating system.
When Linux runs on a platform, most of the time it means an incredibly stripped-down variant that has almost no features runs on the platform. In addition, no support is thrown in to port the rest of the operating system (e.g. userland, applications, etc.).
When NetBSD runs on a platform, most of the time it means the default NetBSD userland, kernel, and everything else in the source repository will run on the platform. In addition, NetBSD tends to be careful about incorporating new features (Linux had support for hot-swappable CPUs at one point...).
Binary emulation too. Has had it for ages!
Isn't it??
Reality is nothing but a collective hunch.
I have a special place in my heart for NetBSD. I once was living poor, and was given a small, mips based computer. The only modern OS I could run was NetBSD, and it ran great! Never crashed and was well documented enough for me to figure out whatever I wanted to do.
;) In this day and age, with distros like Ubuntu and Linspire, even my mom can run linux, let alonse a lowly Windows Admin. Being able to setup and run NetBSD restores my geeky feeling of supiority!
Here are some reasons you might want to try it out:
1. Geeky history lesson. In my mind there was a golden age of geekiness going on during the 70s and early 80s centered around the creation of BSD. Reading the many stories in the Jargon File gives you an idea of the times. NetBSD is a decendent of that OS and those times. Using it gave me a taste of times I would love to visit if I ever had a time machine. Geeky!
2. It is simple. Install a basic machine and look at the process list. On my 1.6 machine there would be maybe 5 lines. Interesting to see how little an OS needs to be useful.
3. It is something new to learn. I love tinkering and learning new things. Instead of a train set, I have a network of old and/or unusual computers. Not an x86 in the bunch. NetBSD and linux power most of it.
4. You can me more of an elitest
if you were cool you could install NetBSD on your Dreamcast and SSH into your Xbox
A Sega Dreamcast console out of the box supports only dial-up. An Ethernet card for the Dreamcast costs more than the Dreamcast itself.