BSD, the other open source OS.

Bsd short for Berkeley Software Distribution was originally a closed source operating system software, but various flavors have become open source software. Bsd has been around since 1977, so it is very mature and dependable.  One version known as FreeBSD allegedly became the basis for the Fruit operating system for the newer Macintosh computers.  BSD an offshoot of Unix can be very gui oriented not just text based like it's ancestors. Shown below is open BSD. OpenBSD even comes with a web server pre-installed unless you choose not to install it.


Of course, if you are a hardcore nix person, you can still use BSD without all the gui.  In the picture below is NetBSD running in the text mode with a familiar game of Tetris running on it.What is unusual about this system is that it was installed from the internet using floppy disks as the boot media.  Try that with your proprietary systems. The perfect system for people without a lot of resources. 


Like Openbsd and Freebsd, they both will run on about anything with a cpu. In fact, I still think we have the cdrom that will run on the Sega Dreamcast.


Like Linux, BSD has a tremendous amount of software available from various repositories. Linux and BSD are not exactly alike, but you can move from one to the other without much trouble. You can always use the "man" command. Want a change, then give BSD a try.

Netbsd supported platforms:

Tiers

Tier I: Focus — support is part of NetBSD's strategy (top)

Focus ports are the architectures that NetBSD targets as part of its strategy. The platforms consist of modern server, embedded and desktop architectures. The guidelines are as follows:
  • Machine independent (MI) changes should benefit these ports.
  • MI changes must be tested on at least one of these ports.
  • It is the developer's responsibility to implement machine dependent (MD) support necessary for changes, fix build problems and aid in debugging with any platform-specific problems.
  • Even within a port, common sense should be used (cf. the i386 port which still supports 486).
  • Regressions in the automated NetBSD test suite (/usr/tests) are not allowed.
Currently there are 8 ports with Tier I status. They are:
Port CPU Machines Latest Release
amd64 x86_64 64-bit x86-family machines with AMD and Intel CPUs 6.1.4
evbarm arm ARM evaluation boards 6.1.4
evbmips mips MIPS-based evaluation boards 6.1.4
evbppc powerpc PowerPC-based evaluation boards 6.1.4
hpcarm arm StrongARM based Windows CE PDA machines 6.1.4
i386 i386 32-bit x86-family generic machines ("PC clones") 6.1.4
sparc64 sparc Sun UltraSPARC (64-bit) 6.1.4
xen i386, x86_64 Xen Virtual Machine Monitor 6.1.4

Tier II: Organic — evolving at its own pace (top)

Organic ports are highly valued by the NetBSD project, but their development is not as tightly mandated as that of the focus ports. Generally speaking, the hardware platforms of organic ports have lost their industrial relevance, or there is not enough community activity for the port to make it to the first tier. The guidelines are as follows:
  • Generally speaking, the port boots and works, but keeping it working is the responsibility of the user community. This includes, but is not limited to, kernel changes and toolchain upgrades.
  • Developers committing MI changes are still encouraged to keep ports up-to-date when it can be easily done.
  • MI architecture decisions may penalize organic ports if there is a benefit for focus ports.
  • If the port is not working at release time, a release is done without the port and the port is moved down to the life support tier.
Currently there are 50 ports with Tier II status. They are:
Port CPU Machines Latest Release
acorn26 arm Acorn Archimedes, A-series and R-series systems 6.1.4
acorn32 arm Acorn RiscPC/A7000/NC and compatibles 6.1.4
algor mips Algorithmics MIPS evaluation boards 6.1.4
alpha alpha Digital Alpha (64-bit) 6.1.4
amiga m68k Commodore Amiga, MacroSystem DraCo 6.1.4
amigappc powerpc PowerPC-based Amiga boards 6.1.4
arc mips Machines following the Advanced RISC Computing spec 6.1.4
atari m68k Atari TT030, Falcon, Hades 6.1.4
bebox powerpc Be Inc's BeBox 6.1.4
cats arm Chalice Technology's Strong Arm evaluation board 6.1.4
cesfic m68k CES's FIC8234 VME processor board 6.1.4
cobalt mips Cobalt Networks' Microservers 6.1.4
dreamcast sh3 Sega Dreamcast game console 6.1.4
emips mips Machines based on "Extensible MIPS" 6.1.4
epoc32 arm 32bit PSION EPOC PDA none
evbsh3 sh3 Evaluation boards with Renesas (Hitachi) Super-H SH3 and SH4 CPUs 6.1.4
ews4800mips mips NEC's MIPS based EWS4800 workstations 6.1.4
hp300 m68k Hewlett-Packard 9000/300 and 400 series 6.1.4
hp700 hppa Hewlett-Packard 9000/700 series 6.1.4
hpcmips mips MIPS based Windows CE PDA machines 6.1.4
hpcsh sh3 Renesas (Hitachi) SH3 and SH4 based Windows CE PDA machines 6.1.4
ia64 itanium Itanium family of processors none
ibmnws powerpc IBM Network Station Series 1000 6.1.4
iyonix arm Iyonix ARM pc 6.1.4
landisk sh3 SH4 based NAS appliances by I-O DATA 6.1.4
luna68k m68k OMRON Tateisi Electronics' LUNA series 6.1.4
mac68k m68k Macintosh 6.1.4
macppc powerpc Power Macintosh and clones 6.1.4
mipsco mips Mips family of workstations and servers 6.1.4
mmeye sh3 Brains' mmEye Multi Media Server 6.1.4
mvme68k m68k Motorola MVME 68k SBCs 6.1.4
mvmeppc powerpc Motorola MVME PowerPC SBCs 6.1.4
netwinder arm StrongARM based NetWinder machines 6.1.4
news68k m68k Sony's m68k based "NET WORK STATION" series 6.1.4
newsmips mips Sony's MIPS based "NET WORK STATION" series 6.1.4
next68k m68k NeXT 68k 'black' hardware 6.1.4
ofppc powerpc Generic OpenFirmware compliant PowerPC machines 6.1.4
pmax mips Digital MIPS-based DECstations and DECsystems 6.1.4
prep powerpc PReP (PowerPC Reference Platform) and CHRP machines 6.1.4
rs6000 powerpc MCA-based IBM RS/6000 workstations 6.1.4
sandpoint powerpc Motorola Sandpoint reference platform 6.1.4
sbmips mips Broadcom SiByte evaluation boards 6.1.4
sgimips mips Silicon Graphics' MIPS-based workstations 6.1.4
shark arm Digital DNARD ("shark") 6.1.4
sparc sparc Sun SPARC (32-bit) 6.1.4
sun2 m68k Sun 2 6.1.4
sun3 m68k Sun 3 and 3x 6.1.4
vax vax Digital VAX 6.1.4
x68k m68k Sharp X680x0 series 6.1.4
zaurus arm Sharp C7x0/C860/C1000/C3x00 series PDA 6.1.4

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