Unix die off? Not likely. Consider: There are over 10-15 million Linux machines, perhaps half to 75% of which are used for desktops. Don't forget the 3 BSD's - there are perhaps 5-10 million of those boxes. Then there's the hundreds of thousands of UNIX systems (Solaris, HP/UX, Digital UNIX, take your pick) used as servers on the Internet. If Unix ever dies off, I sure hope the successor is worthy of its new position.
FreeBSD developers develop drivers for the things they use. The OS itself supports a very large number of devices. If you want a specific device added, all you have to do is find a developer willing to add it, send them your hardware, and get them technical docs from the manufacturer. Of course, if they have the device themselves, maybe that's all the encouragement they need.
FreeBSD will take patches from anyone. The problem is, most people don't know how to send them in - you can use the send-pr(1) interface at http://www.FreeBSD.org/send-pr.html. Of course, whether or not it gets accepted into the main source tree is what the discussion is for. The big misconception that I highly disagree with here is the fact that anyone can help out patching the system source. It's up to them to take the initiative to send mail the the appropriate mailing list, or to use send-pr(1).
Walnut Creek has had FreeBSD CD's sent out since 1993 or 1994, ever since FreeBSD 1.0. Whether it was as "easy to install" back then as it is now (and has been for several years), I don't know.
We have our own "representative" - Jordan K. Hubbard. He's just as energetic, helpful, and as much of a driving force for FreeBSD as Linus has been for Linux. And the FreeBSD community has obviously appreciated his efforts - there were a large number asking for his autograph at the closing ceremonies for the FreeBSDCon '99. And the other BSD's have their own representatives, most notably Theo de Raadt for OpenBSD and Alistair Crooks for NetBSD.
Please don't try to spread untrue rumors for things you don't know anything about. If you had actually tried to give patches to the FreeBSD project and were rejected in the appropriate form, I'd be interested. But this is just a rumor spread around by people who don't know what they're talking about.
In particular, I am irritated about the "closed discussion" and "elitist bastard" theory regarding BSD developers. I used to be a nobody in the FreeBSD scene, but after I started porting a large number of programs/libraries, I discovered how simple it is to contribute to this great OS, as well as how friendly MANY of the FreeBSD developers can be should you take it upon yourself to contribute.
What I think is the best part is that with the send-pr(1) interface, you really don't need to have a fix already for a bug you've found. Somebody will eventually take up bugs/ideas that have been recorded in the GNATS database. They will not be thrown away without a valid response.
As you can see, all it takes to contribute is an understanding of the differences between the organization for Linux and the organization for FreeBSD (and the other *BSDs as well).
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Unix die off? Not likely. Consider: There are over 10-15 million Linux machines, perhaps half to 75% of which are used for desktops. Don't forget the 3 BSD's - there are perhaps 5-10 million of those boxes. Then there's the hundreds of thousands of UNIX systems (Solaris, HP/UX, Digital UNIX, take your pick) used as servers on the Internet. If Unix ever dies off, I sure hope the successor is worthy of its new position.
Please don't try to spread untrue rumors for things you don't know anything about. If you had actually tried to give patches to the FreeBSD project and were rejected in the appropriate form, I'd be interested. But this is just a rumor spread around by people who don't know what they're talking about.
In particular, I am irritated about the "closed discussion" and "elitist bastard" theory regarding BSD developers. I used to be a nobody in the FreeBSD scene, but after I started porting a large number of programs/libraries, I discovered how simple it is to contribute to this great OS, as well as how friendly MANY of the FreeBSD developers can be should you take it upon yourself to contribute.
What I think is the best part is that with the send-pr(1) interface, you really don't need to have a fix already for a bug you've found. Somebody will eventually take up bugs/ideas that have been recorded in the GNATS database. They will not be thrown away without a valid response.
As you can see, all it takes to contribute is an understanding of the differences between the organization for Linux and the organization for FreeBSD (and the other *BSDs as well).
--Will