For *BSD fans, I wish to understand something that truly bothers me.
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@darth I'm mostly using various releases of various BSDs in VMs for cross-platform software testing.
I do have plans to experiment with FreeBSD on a couple of machines in my homelab, and to run NetBSD on a few unusual old computers. If I ever get the opportunity, I'd like to try OpenBSD on a ThinkPad X230.
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@darth used to be FreeBSD until some 4 years ago and I used to be a contributor even. "graduated" to Linux with no regrets tbh
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Both my desktop and my ThinkPad run OpenBSD.
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@darth i use netbsd for everything personal and as much work as possible.
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@darth #openBSD - to give some indication of how simple the installer is: I installed it myself and I'm using it as a daily driver, and I'm such a noob I haven't figured out how to mount a USB stick yet. Seems very secure indeed
I managed easily to give it a GUI, office suite, web browsers, #freeCAD, #GIMP, #nextcloud client, & #flightGear. As a computer ignoramus, I'm really impressed by how easy it is. One day I will understand the disk partitioning too 
One cheap Chinese laptop worked fine except for the trackpad, another one has to be left overnight to boot up (the text-only installer boots swiftly so I guess it's most likely an X problem) and the WiFi card isn't recognised. Moral of the story: you'll probably have an easy life, but probably get a thinkpad if you want some degree of assurance.
It's like art to me: I don't understand it the way the artists that made it do, but when I see a system as carefully documented and thoughtfully constructed to be as elegant as technology seems to permit... Well, I feel like I know it when I see it!
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@darth OpenBSD as primary OS.
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@darth I useOpenBSD (-current) as my main driver. I have also FreeBSD on a second hard-drive to play around from time to time, and Linux to play video games when they are not available on OpenBSD.
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@darth Yeah there are reasons why I have to run Ubuntu on certain nodes, but also given what a disgrace systemd is to actual humankind, I'd shitcan it at the drop of a hat if FreeBSD had Wi-fi and GPU/compute support for the NVidia RTX 500 and newer Intel Wifi7, and IEEE 1588 hardware master support for the I226V (I have a TimeNIC from Time Appliances for my protocol lab, and it needs Ubuntu for the igc driver mods for its custom 1PPS I/O over SMA). Oh, and I need KVM for ipspace netlab just now
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@darth I swear allegiance to no one. But Windows is currently dead to me (for the second time) and I am very much looking forward to the laptop improvements landing in FreeBSD 15.1.
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@darth@silversword.online I have only BSD computers that I use as "daily drivers": A laptop and a tower, both running FreeBSD.
In addition I run NetBSD on every computer I own that can run it, from an old 486slc2 and am Am586 via a Nintendo Wii to a couple of dual Pentium Pro machines. All but the 486slc2 are equipped with full GUI and set up so I can do Real Work(TM) from them.
I have my laptop full of BSD stickers, Once - and there are witnesses - I was in an Irish pub here in Oslo, and one of the waitresses who had walked past our table a few times stopped, looked me in the eyes and asked "Are you running BSD on that thing or are you just bragging with those stickers?"
Turns out she used to be a network engineer in Cambridge.
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Main desktop is FreeBSD. I use it as a server, game machine, and even have my Wacom drawing tablets connected to it.
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Currently using windows due to job, etc. But I have hardware sitting next to me waiting for when I have the time to install a BSD. Both desktop and laptop. Oh, and some Raspberry Pis.
Currently injured, so I can only sit for so long, and work takes up that slice of time. Got to survive first.
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@darth Linux has been my primary OS for 25 years, but feeling the lure of FreeBSD right now.
My new NAS runs vanilla FreeBSD, along with a Pi4 print server. Planning to migrate another server to FreeBSD, and currently experimenting with it on a laptop to get to know it better.
If all goes well and there are no major showstoppers, I'm hoping it will be the only OS on my new desktop very soon.
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@darth my daily driver is Debian GNU/Linux Stable (desktop and laptop), my home router runs OpenBSD and my NAS runs FreeBSD. My work environment is mostly based on Fedora and Rocky Linux (small HPC cluster) with a pair of pfsense boxes as redundant routers (CARP + pfsync).
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@darth #openBSD - to give some indication of how simple the installer is: I installed it myself and I'm using it as a daily driver, and I'm such a noob I haven't figured out how to mount a USB stick yet. Seems very secure indeed
I managed easily to give it a GUI, office suite, web browsers, #freeCAD, #GIMP, #nextcloud client, & #flightGear. As a computer ignoramus, I'm really impressed by how easy it is. One day I will understand the disk partitioning too One cheap Chinese laptop worked fine except for the trackpad, another one has to be left overnight to boot up (the text-only installer boots swiftly so I guess it's most likely an X problem) and the WiFi card isn't recognised. Moral of the story: you'll probably have an easy life, but probably get a thinkpad if you want some degree of assurance.
It's like art to me: I don't understand it the way the artists that made it do, but when I see a system as carefully documented and thoughtfully constructed to be as elegant as technology seems to permit... Well, I feel like I know it when I see it!
@doboprobodyne @darth Excellent book on filesystems in OpenBSD is by the venerable @mwl
OpenBSD Mastery by Michael W. Lucas | Open Library
OpenBSD Mastery by Michael W. Lucas, unknown edition,
Open Library (openlibrary.org)
