4 ms·

It has been my primary for ~16 years, and I’ve been running -current (tip of development branch) for nearly 10 years. Base system (which includes tmux[0]), X11

by bch 8y ago

It has been my primary for ~16 years, and I’ve been running -current (tip of development branch) for nearly 10 years. Base system (which includes tmux[0]), X11 (which is optional, but maintained by NetBSD), dwm[1], Tcl[2] cURL[3], fossil[4] and Firefox and I’m usually on my way... [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tmux https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tmux [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwm [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tcl https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tcl [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CURL https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CURL [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_(software) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_(software)

vasili111 8y ago
Why have you chosen NetBSD?
- bch 8y ago
  Perceived balance of Unix tradition, progressiveness and sane engineeering/community. The base build system (build.sh)[0] which is essentially Makefiles is absolutely beautiful to work with, ditto for pkgsrc[1]. They’re “progressive” enough to include dtrace[2], work on neat security[3], and kernel models[4][5], but have eschewed modern Linux-isms like ip(1), systemd. Of BSD v Linux, my heart is definitely with the more traditional BSD. Of BSDs, I feel Net is capable enough, simpler than Free, but more feature full than Open. The other interesting BSD would be DragonFly - really interesting, but I’m happy enough w Net that I’m not going to swap it out, and don’t need more (different) systems in my life right now. [0] https://www.netbsd.org/docs/guide/en/chap-build.html https://www.netbsd.org/docs/guide/en/chap-build.html [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pkgsrc https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pkgsrc [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DTrace https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DTrace [3] http://www.netbsd.org/support/security/ http://www.netbsd.org/support/security/ [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rump_kernel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rump_kernel [5] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6562611 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6562611
  - bch 8y ago
    Additionally, it’s not windows, not MacOS, and not Linux. It’s difficult to escape those in day-to-day computing, so my daily driver (thinkpad laptop) is slightly different on purpose, the idea being that, to a degree, everything I do is necessarily very “conscious”. What I mean is that nothing works automatically because I’m part of a vast majority. Where I run into friction, I try to take note and keep this in mind with the rest of my relationship with the world, whether it’s developing software, or making assumptions about the way people use computers. I often cite Neil Young to describe my “ditch”[0] computing. [0] http://www.thrasherswheat.org/tnfy/ditch.htm http://www.thrasherswheat.org/tnfy/ditch.htm
    - bitofhope 8y ago
      I also run NetBSD (mostly on servers, but occasionally PCs as well). I can relate to this. Difference is good; it helps challenge assumptions. Running different operating systems is good for the same reason as testing websites on different browsers is, or having things tested by disabled people for accessibility, or visiting foreign countries and learning about different cultures. One of my NetBSD machines is an UltraSPARC box. I've heard both NetBSD and OpenBSD devs say it's one of their favourite platforms, because being a big-endian 64 bit machine, it helps discover many false assumptions made in low level code.
      - bch 8y ago
        This is another good point that I think can’t be overstated (running on big-endian or otherwise non-x86 arch). Support the unconventional and it supports you back. It’s a fun, positive feedback loop.
    - davegauer 8y ago
      I love this approach and analogy. You're absolutely right: it's incredibly hard/impossible to _not_ make assumptions when you're part of the herd. I'd like to think there can be enormous payoffs to this kind of careful thinking, but I suspect it pays out sporadically and sometimes not at all. Such is the fate of any outlier or pioneer. Either way, traveling "in the ditch" means you get a lot of weird looks from people cruising by on the latest bandwagon. :-)

by bch 8y ago

vasili111 8y ago

Why have you chosen NetBSD?

bch 8y ago
Perceived balance of Unix tradition, progressiveness and sane engineeering/community. The base build system (build.sh)[0] which is essentially Makefiles is absolutely beautiful to work with, ditto for pkgsrc[1]. They’re “progressive” enough to include dtrace[2], work on neat security[3], and kernel models[4][5], but have eschewed modern Linux-isms like ip(1), systemd. Of BSD v Linux, my heart is definitely with the more traditional BSD. Of BSDs, I feel Net is capable enough, simpler than Free, but more feature full than Open. The other interesting BSD would be DragonFly - really interesting, but I’m happy enough w Net that I’m not going to swap it out, and don’t need more (different) systems in my life right now. [0] https://www.netbsd.org/docs/guide/en/chap-build.html https://www.netbsd.org/docs/guide/en/chap-build.html [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pkgsrc https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pkgsrc [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DTrace https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DTrace [3] http://www.netbsd.org/support/security/ http://www.netbsd.org/support/security/ [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rump_kernel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rump_kernel [5] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6562611 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6562611
- bch 8y ago
  Additionally, it’s not windows, not MacOS, and not Linux. It’s difficult to escape those in day-to-day computing, so my daily driver (thinkpad laptop) is slightly different on purpose, the idea being that, to a degree, everything I do is necessarily very “conscious”. What I mean is that nothing works automatically because I’m part of a vast majority. Where I run into friction, I try to take note and keep this in mind with the rest of my relationship with the world, whether it’s developing software, or making assumptions about the way people use computers. I often cite Neil Young to describe my “ditch”[0] computing. [0] http://www.thrasherswheat.org/tnfy/ditch.htm http://www.thrasherswheat.org/tnfy/ditch.htm
  - bitofhope 8y ago
    I also run NetBSD (mostly on servers, but occasionally PCs as well). I can relate to this. Difference is good; it helps challenge assumptions. Running different operating systems is good for the same reason as testing websites on different browsers is, or having things tested by disabled people for accessibility, or visiting foreign countries and learning about different cultures. One of my NetBSD machines is an UltraSPARC box. I've heard both NetBSD and OpenBSD devs say it's one of their favourite platforms, because being a big-endian 64 bit machine, it helps discover many false assumptions made in low level code.
    - bch 8y ago
      This is another good point that I think can’t be overstated (running on big-endian or otherwise non-x86 arch). Support the unconventional and it supports you back. It’s a fun, positive feedback loop.
  - davegauer 8y ago
    I love this approach and analogy. You're absolutely right: it's incredibly hard/impossible to _not_ make assumptions when you're part of the herd. I'd like to think there can be enormous payoffs to this kind of careful thinking, but I suspect it pays out sporadically and sometimes not at all. Such is the fate of any outlier or pioneer. Either way, traveling "in the ditch" means you get a lot of weird looks from people cruising by on the latest bandwagon. :-)