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Netbsd was interesting around 2000 when there were a bunch of living computer architectures. Now when there is just basically ARM, AMD64 and maybe IBM Power it

Netbsd was interesting around 2000 when there were a bunch of living computer architectures. Now when there is just basically ARM, AMD64 and maybe IBM Power it makes less. As an avid Unix afficionado I have yet to install NetBSD. OpenBSD does whatever I need it to do. Maybe the ability of NetBSD to support commericial linux software makes it still relevant but I suspect that is rapidly going away with SystemD dependence. Does anybody know if you can run a SystemD layer on Netbsd? Otherwise the ability to support Alpha and Vax and M68k while interesting once is for all intents and purposes irrelevant today, at least for me. >NetBSD/next68k System Requirements and Supported Devices NetBSD/next68k 9.2 will run on the 25 MHz 68040-based NeXT workstations. The Turbo (33 MHz) models are not supported. The 68030 model is not supported. NetBSD/next68k 9.2 does not have any local disk support, so you must netboot and run diskless. >The minimum configuration requires 4 MB of RAM and a network server capable of netbooting NetBSD/next68k. Serial consoles are poorly supported by the hardware, see the FAQ for help... In 2021 people spent developer hours testing NetBSD 9.2 on the NeXT cube...like what the www started on before the USSR fell. Anyway I guess everybody needs their hobbies...

sitzkrieg 5y ago
netbsd is pure pain compared to openbsd, dont bother
- crasla 5y ago
  What do you mean by pure pain? Netbsd and both openbsd are great operating systems. Neither one of them is bad,they just work differently and have other goals. Openbsd is more security minded and netbsd works on more computers/architectures
mlyle 5y ago
> In 2021 people spent developer hours testing NetBSD 9.2 on the NeXT cube...like what the www started on before the USSR fell. Anyway I guess everybody needs their hobbies... Do you see no utility in this? I think we should keep old machines alive-- both their original operating system / environment and also something like NetBSD which is quasi-supported and quasi-modern have their roles. Preserving the history of it all is important.
- morpheos137 5y ago
  For society as a whole I see negative utility in time wasted. Not all history is important to keep alive. You don't see people firing up coal fire steam engines in their back yard. For the individual there may be some utility in such a hobby though. In life since we have a limited amount of time, we got to pick our priorities. Maybe maintaining a modern operating system on 30 year old esoteric hardware is rewarding to you. It wouldn't be for me. Neither of us have to justify our positions, however if I was looking at a resume and one kid put "Helped maintain netbsd/NeXT 2018-2021" and another put "Set up and maintained PostgreSQL based system for small business CRM," I would probably take the latter more seriously.
  - jraph 5y ago
    Why? Most people have "non-contructive" hobbies and that's fine. Everybody is out there for taking pleasure in life. What do you do during your leisure time? I do hike among other things. That probably does not help society too much. If you need to fulfill a OS-related position you should definitively the former, all other things being equal, because they will probably be more qualified. If you need a DBA, sure, take the latter.
    - morpheos137 5y ago
      >what I do in my leisure time. Sometimes I participate in HN. My understanding is that systems programming is not in demmand these days. Microsoft and Apple products are mature. There is not a proliferation of different hardware architectures to port to anymore. Almost nobody gets paid for systems programing in unix or linux unless you want to become an AIX programmer or maybe work in academia. Again, OS programming was the big thing in the late 1990s early 2000s. Now it is important that your OS just works and gets out of the way and lets you get real work done. Anyway I am done with this thread because I don't want to be accused of flaming.
      - the_only_law 5y ago
        While I agree that systems programming has nowhere near the demands of business application developer these days, “almost nobody” seems like a hyperbole. There are a number of jobs out there for Unix/Linux systems programmers. Driver development at hardware companies, all sorts of security software, etc.
the_only_law 5y ago
> Otherwise the ability to support Alpha and Vax and M68k while interesting once is for all intents and purposes irrelevant today, at least for me. Great! You don’t have to use it.
yjftsjthsd-h 5y ago
> In 2021 people spent developer hours testing NetBSD 9.2 on the NeXT cube...like what the www started on before the USSR fell. Yes; isn't it fantastic? Someone has to laugh in the face of obsolescence, planned or otherwise:) > Anyway I guess everybody needs their hobbies... They do; why did you pick being dismissive of others as yours?
- bityard 5y ago
  Just wait until he finds out that most of the software that powers the Internet was originally written as somebody's hobby, from the OS kernel all the up to web frameworks.

sitzkrieg 5y ago

netbsd is pure pain compared to openbsd, dont bother

crasla 5y ago
What do you mean by pure pain? Netbsd and both openbsd are great operating systems. Neither one of them is bad,they just work differently and have other goals. Openbsd is more security minded and netbsd works on more computers/architectures

mlyle 5y ago

> In 2021 people spent developer hours testing NetBSD 9.2 on the NeXT cube...like what the www started on before the USSR fell. Anyway I guess everybody needs their hobbies... Do you see no utility in this? I think we should keep old machines alive-- both their original operating system / environment and also something like NetBSD which is quasi-supported and quasi-modern have their roles. Preserving the history of it all is important.

morpheos137 5y ago
For society as a whole I see negative utility in time wasted. Not all history is important to keep alive. You don't see people firing up coal fire steam engines in their back yard. For the individual there may be some utility in such a hobby though. In life since we have a limited amount of time, we got to pick our priorities. Maybe maintaining a modern operating system on 30 year old esoteric hardware is rewarding to you. It wouldn't be for me. Neither of us have to justify our positions, however if I was looking at a resume and one kid put "Helped maintain netbsd/NeXT 2018-2021" and another put "Set up and maintained PostgreSQL based system for small business CRM," I would probably take the latter more seriously.
- jraph 5y ago
  Why? Most people have "non-contructive" hobbies and that's fine. Everybody is out there for taking pleasure in life. What do you do during your leisure time? I do hike among other things. That probably does not help society too much. If you need to fulfill a OS-related position you should definitively the former, all other things being equal, because they will probably be more qualified. If you need a DBA, sure, take the latter.
  - morpheos137 5y ago
    >what I do in my leisure time. Sometimes I participate in HN. My understanding is that systems programming is not in demmand these days. Microsoft and Apple products are mature. There is not a proliferation of different hardware architectures to port to anymore. Almost nobody gets paid for systems programing in unix or linux unless you want to become an AIX programmer or maybe work in academia. Again, OS programming was the big thing in the late 1990s early 2000s. Now it is important that your OS just works and gets out of the way and lets you get real work done. Anyway I am done with this thread because I don't want to be accused of flaming.
    - the_only_law 5y ago
      While I agree that systems programming has nowhere near the demands of business application developer these days, “almost nobody” seems like a hyperbole. There are a number of jobs out there for Unix/Linux systems programmers. Driver development at hardware companies, all sorts of security software, etc.

the_only_law 5y ago

> Otherwise the ability to support Alpha and Vax and M68k while interesting once is for all intents and purposes irrelevant today, at least for me. Great! You don’t have to use it.

yjftsjthsd-h 5y ago

> In 2021 people spent developer hours testing NetBSD 9.2 on the NeXT cube...like what the www started on before the USSR fell. Yes; isn't it fantastic? Someone has to laugh in the face of obsolescence, planned or otherwise:) > Anyway I guess everybody needs their hobbies... They do; why did you pick being dismissive of others as yours?

bityard 5y ago
Just wait until he finds out that most of the software that powers the Internet was originally written as somebody's hobby, from the OS kernel all the up to web frameworks.