5 ms·

It's crazy how much negativity there is in comment threads like this. I would get it if FreeBSD was a product you paid for, or someone was evangelizing about ho

It's crazy how much negativity there is in comment threads like this. I would get it if FreeBSD was a product you paid for, or someone was evangelizing about how you're missing out if you don't get the FreeBSD laptop experience, or something. As someone who liked FreeBSD in the past and curious to check it out again, I'm glad to have this handy list.

stackghost 6mo ago
>It's crazy how much negativity there is in comment threads like this I think it's because this chart continues a trend I've noticed with BSD zealots. Namely, there's some sort of reality distortion effect at play. Consider that there are obvious bullshit scores on TFA, like giving a laptop 9/10 when the fucking wifi doesn't work. In reality, this should be 5/10 or arguably 0/10. After all, what use is a laptop without wifi? If my laptop's wifi didn't work I wouldn't just buy a usb-ethernet adapter and never bring it anywhere; I would get a new laptop because a laptop without WiFi is useless. On top of that there was a while here where every BSD thread had: - a comment about how BSD powers the PlayStation, Netflix, and other FAANGs, except those corps don't contribute enough back because of the license so won't you please subsidize these giant corps by donating to BSD? - people who argue BSD is superior because it's "more cohesive" and "feels cleaner" or similar - OpenBSD zealots claiming it's 110% secure because trust me bro Mostly I'm just tired of people claiming BSD is this amazing new thing with no flaws, when reality is that it has got some niche use cases, I suspect lots of its developers don't even dogfood it, and is otherwise superceded by Linux in nearly every meaningful way. I have no problem with BSD, and I have two boxes in my basement running freeBSD right now, but I'm not delusional about BSD's limitations.
- asveikau 6mo ago
  > Mostly I'm just tired of people claiming BSD is this amazing new thing I don't think I've heard anybody claim BSD is new. > Netflix, and other FAANGs, except those corps don't contribute enough back because of the license I believe Netflix has upstreamed a lot to FreeBSD. They don't do it because the license compels them, they do it because upstreaming your changes makes maintenance easier. > If my laptop's wifi didn't work I wouldn't just buy a usb-ethernet adapter and never bring it anywhere I'm going to guess with this rant that you weren't using Linux in the olden days, because that's what it was like. The workaround isn't using wired ethernet by the way..you can get a USB wifi adapter or you can buy an m.2 wifi card. On on one of my machines I got a cheap m.2 Intel ax200 (just checked, about $15 on eBay) because it runs faster on FreeBSD than the one that shipped with my laptop.
  - stackghost 6mo ago
    >I'm going to guess with this rant that you weren't using Linux in the olden days, because that's what it was like. I've been using Linux and BSD in one form or another since 2003, and I definitely used wpa_supplicant on the command line to connect my Thinkpad to WiFi. And you're right, it did suck. It was not a 9/10 experience by a long shot.
    - dizhn 6mo ago
      Regarding your wifi example. I did have to replace it with an intel one on my Lenovo because wifi would not work with something connected to Bluetooth (might have been USB . I don't recall). This is on Windows by the way. I just replaced it instead of fighting it. Same reason people prefer AMD on linux but this is changing with better Nvidia support.
    - asveikau 6mo ago
      Do you remember ndiswrapper? FreeBSD actually has a similar thing, you can run Linux wifi drivers inside a VM and pass through the adapter. There's a port called wifibox that does this. You can even forward the Unix domain socket for wpa-supplicant from the guest to host, so all the normal tools that talk to wifi cards via that socket work transparently.
      - deleted 6mo ago
        [deleted]
- olivierestsage 6mo ago
  I think what you're seeing is partly a consequence of how capable Linux has become. Linux is in a weird phase where it can still be enjoyed by hobbyists/enthusiasts/eccentric types, which were arguably its original audience, but now you can also Zoom and do work and install Steam on it, which gives it less appeal from the niche/hobby angle. The software ecosystem in Linux is also increasingly homogenizing, which helps with the "practicality" aspect, but also diminishes the niche appeal. BSDs are in a position to snap up that audience that appreciates engineering elegance/design and uses the computer as an end unto itself (not just as a means to an end). This audience isn't necessarily bothered by wonky laptop WiFi, and may even enjoy tinkering with it as a hobby project. Just my take.
  - Hasslequest 6mo ago
    [dead]
- skydhash 6mo ago
  If you don’t care about administrating your computer and just want to use some software on some hardware, the BSDs are not that great. But if you do, the experience is better on the BSD land because cohesiveness reduces cognitive debt. Also I wouldn’t make hardware support an OS quality metric. Linux get by with NDA and with direct contributions from the vendors. Which is something the BSDs don’t want/don’t benefit from.
  - Hasslequest 6mo ago
    [dead]
  - stackghost 6mo ago
    >If you don’t care about administrating your computer and just want to use some software on some hardware, the BSDs are not that great. Yes this is my opinion also. BSD seems more suited to people for whom fiddling with the OS itself is the point, rather than the OS being a tool to get other things done. I fall firmly into the latter camp. I'd rather chew glass than manually set flags in rc.conf
    - skydhash 6mo ago
      I like the word tune rather than fiddle. The BSD are very stable. You adjust some configuration, and then updates without having to change your tools or your config with every release. The config are not provided out of the box but the manuals can be very informative. A lot of current GNU/Linux complexity have no benefits for most users and may be an hindrance when they want to slightly alter their use cases. sudo -> doas systemd -> rcctl nftable -> pf iproute2|netplan -> ifconfig|route alsa|pulseaudio|pipewire -> sndiod cgroups|podman|lxc -> jails(freebsd)* The first column may have valid use cases, but I strongly doubt those cases include casual usage. Simple tools that work well is better than complex tools that solves everything. * Openbsd does not like containers or being a vm host
      - SoftTalker 6mo ago
        OpenBSD doesn't have containers but does have a virtual machine system (vmm(4), vmd(8), vmctl(8)) in base.
- throwaway27448 6mo ago
  > I would get a new laptop because a laptop without WiFi is useless. Why would you not just replace the wifi card or use a USB one? You're greatly overemphasizing how much this matters.
  - justin66 6mo ago
    Seriously. I'd rip the wifi hardware out of the laptop with a spoon if it somehow got me a laptop that handles sleep mode properly. I can't even imagine what that would be like with a Unix (aside from a Mac).
  - NekkoDroid 6mo ago
    Fun fact: My old Lenovo Y50 only supports like 3 specific WiFi cards else it doesn't even POST. And I think none of them work with upstream Linux drivers (I think, have only 2 different ones and neither worked ages ago and I changed laptops a while ago and haven't retested). Actually I think one didn't have bluetooth work (the non-standard one) and the other needed the broadcom-wl package.
    - estebank 6mo ago
      Paradoxically, given their otherwise positive standing, Lenovo has keept allowlists on their BIOS for specific devices on specific ports. For example, I have a T460 that has an m2 slot that only works with two specific WWAN modules.
    - rfmoz 6mo ago
      There are modified BIOS firmware that allow any WiFi card. Good luck
      - NekkoDroid 6mo ago
        I remember seeing something in that direction when I was looking but never did look deeper into it. The post made me actually take out the laptop again and maybe use it as a server or something like that in the future and for that I'd use ethernet anyway.
- sidkshatriya 6mo ago
  > I would get a new laptop because a laptop without WiFi is useless. You can run Linux in a VM and PCI passthrough your WiFi Adapter. Linux drivers will be able to connect to your wifi card and you can then supply internet to FreeBSD. Doing this manually is complicated but the whole process has been automated on FreeBSD by "Wifibox" https://freebsdfoundation.org/our-work/journal/browser-based-edition/virtualization-2/wifibox-an-embedded-virtualized-wireless-router/ https://freebsdfoundation.org/our-work/journal/browser-based... I tried it myself and it worked pretty well for a wifi card not supported by FreeBSD. So, no need to get a new laptop :-)
  - Hasslequest 6mo ago
    [dead]
  - mghackerlady 6mo ago
    is there a similar thing for GPUs? I want to build a workstation and have it work on freebsd but would prefer to use an intel arc card which has no information about freebsd compatibility online
- cosmic_cheese 6mo ago
  I would argue that much of the mentioned zealotry is a sort of kneejerk response to cult-like behavior from some Linux adherents. It’s mostly defensive; these people want continued variety in the FOSS desktop space and feel that’s threatened by Linux.
  - pimeys 6mo ago
    I don't understand this. I've been running Linux for decades, and FreeBSD for decades. Love both systems.
- yjftsjthsd-h 6mo ago
  > OpenBSD zealots claiming it's 110% secure because trust me bro Or possibly because it has a good track record. If you'd like to point at actual vulnerabilities go ahead.
  - maximilianburke 6mo ago
    It's not so much the vulnerabiltiies as that OpenBSD's mitigations often seem targeted towards imaginary issues.
  - stackghost 6mo ago
    >Or possibly because it has a good track record. "Only two remote code execution vulns in the default install" isn't saying much, because the default install has essentially no functionality. Similarly, RCE is not the only kind of vuln. Let's just say it is not the mainstream consensus that OpenBSD is meaningfully more secure than an up-to-date linux. This may have been true in 1995, but it's generally acknowledged by people who know what they're talking about that OpenBSD's reputation for security is overstated.
    - yjftsjthsd-h 6mo ago
      > because the default install has essentially no functionality I dunno, it's got a built in HTTP/S web server and everything needed to be VPN or router. > Let's just say it is not the mainstream consensus that OpenBSD is meaningfully more secure than an up-to-date linux. This may have been true in 1995, but it's generally acknowledged by people who know what they're talking about that OpenBSD's reputation for security is overstated. Yes, I've read plenty of vague aspersions that it's totally not as secure as claimed. Since those claims never come with evidence, I'm going with the traditional response: PoC||GTFO.
    - groundzeros2015 6mo ago
      Ok here is one. Pledge is really good and works by default. Unlike cgroups?
- f1shy 6mo ago
  If you look the table you will realize 9/10 means 9 of 10 included HW devices run. Is not a scale from 0 to 10. Is not a "out of ten" in usability scale. Just count the devices that work, vs. the ones included in the HW.
wolvoleo 6mo ago
I am not negative about it at all. I love it. It's not as polished as linux obviously, especially for desktop usage but the maintainers are very much on the ball (and they do a lot of work to get things to compile and work, there's a lot of linuxisms they have to work around).
- deleted 6mo ago
  [deleted]
- Gud 6mo ago
  Why is that “obviously “? I find Linux to be a broken mess. FWIW I use them both, FreeBSD and Arch , but let’s not pretend the layers of crap tacked onto the Linux kernel is some pinnacle of computing.
  - realusername 6mo ago
    While I like the simplicity from FreeBSD, this simplicity also comes specifically because there's less contributions. I doubt anything can get the scale of Linux and not have some mess.
    - ux266478 6mo ago
      > this simplicity also comes specifically because there's less contributions. Not entirely. A rather large amount of Linux's mess stems from the fact that it was a hobbyist project in its foundational years. It was never clean or well designed, at any point in its life. Go look at Linux 1.2.0 vs FreeBSD 2.0 Even when Linux began to get traction, it had already developed an ingrained culture that didn't particularly care about "nice" code or architectural solutions. The BSDs inherited their culture where such things were prioritized. You're right that things get messier as they get larger, but the gap between the two is much, much larger than can possibly be accounted for. Things like Linux not respecting NICE values have very little to do with surface-level problems like stylistic inconsistencies in the source code.
  - wolvoleo 6mo ago
    It's because the userbase is 500 times smaller (really, Linux is like 5%, FreeBSD 0,01%. You can't expect the same attention to detail.
deleted 6mo ago
[deleted]
AshamedCaptain 6mo ago
What is sad is that even though Linux now has hardware support that is miles ahead of Windows, we've exchanged one problem with another, because nowadays most of the hardware I see is only supported on Linux and nothing else. Even on PCs, latest generation AMD graphics cards (already >1yr old) are not supported in _anything_ other than Linux (and Windows). This is just sad.
- craftkiller 6mo ago
  FreeBSD uses a compatibility layer to run the Linux graphics drivers, though it lags behind Linux. So if FreeBSD currently does not support the graphics cards, it will soon. It looks like they are currently porting over 6.11: https://github.com/FreeBSDFoundation/proj-laptop/issues/41 https://github.com/FreeBSDFoundation/proj-laptop/issues/41
  - AshamedCaptain 6mo ago
    It is the _only_ OSS operating system that supports AMD cards from this decade, and it does so by having to emulate the Linux kernel API, and yet _still_ it lags years behind Linux itself. I've chosen this example for a reason -- this is exactly what I'm sad about.
    - 0x457 6mo ago
      That and WiFi being stuck at 802.11g is what made me switch. It was a very sad day for me when I uninstalled FreeBSD from all of non-server machines.
      - craftkiller 6mo ago
        That certainly _used_ to be the case, but it looks like 802.11ac is supported in iwlwifi since FreeBSD 14.3: https://man.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=iwlwifi&sektion=4&format=html https://man.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=iwlwifi&sektion=4&... And it looks like they're adding 802.11ac support to some realtek drivers too: https://www.freebsd.org/status/report-2025-10-2025-12/#_linuxkpi_802_11_and_native_wireless_update https://www.freebsd.org/status/report-2025-10-2025-12/#_linu...
nesarkvechnep 6mo ago
A few years back I attended a talk by one of the Netflix developers who contributed kTLS. It was very informative as he pointed the reasons why Netflix went with FreeBSD. The first question afterwards was “why not Linux”… Didn’t you listen to the talk, man…

stackghost 6mo ago

>It's crazy how much negativity there is in comment threads like this I think it's because this chart continues a trend I've noticed with BSD zealots. Namely, there's some sort of reality distortion effect at play. Consider that there are obvious bullshit scores on TFA, like giving a laptop 9/10 when the fucking wifi doesn't work. In reality, this should be 5/10 or arguably 0/10. After all, what use is a laptop without wifi? If my laptop's wifi didn't work I wouldn't just buy a usb-ethernet adapter and never bring it anywhere; I would get a new laptop because a laptop without WiFi is useless. On top of that there was a while here where every BSD thread had: - a comment about how BSD powers the PlayStation, Netflix, and other FAANGs, except those corps don't contribute enough back because of the license so won't you please subsidize these giant corps by donating to BSD? - people who argue BSD is superior because it's "more cohesive" and "feels cleaner" or similar - OpenBSD zealots claiming it's 110% secure because trust me bro Mostly I'm just tired of people claiming BSD is this amazing new thing with no flaws, when reality is that it has got some niche use cases, I suspect lots of its developers don't even dogfood it, and is otherwise superceded by Linux in nearly every meaningful way. I have no problem with BSD, and I have two boxes in my basement running freeBSD right now, but I'm not delusional about BSD's limitations.

asveikau 6mo ago
> Mostly I'm just tired of people claiming BSD is this amazing new thing I don't think I've heard anybody claim BSD is new. > Netflix, and other FAANGs, except those corps don't contribute enough back because of the license I believe Netflix has upstreamed a lot to FreeBSD. They don't do it because the license compels them, they do it because upstreaming your changes makes maintenance easier. > If my laptop's wifi didn't work I wouldn't just buy a usb-ethernet adapter and never bring it anywhere I'm going to guess with this rant that you weren't using Linux in the olden days, because that's what it was like. The workaround isn't using wired ethernet by the way..you can get a USB wifi adapter or you can buy an m.2 wifi card. On on one of my machines I got a cheap m.2 Intel ax200 (just checked, about $15 on eBay) because it runs faster on FreeBSD than the one that shipped with my laptop.
- stackghost 6mo ago
  >I'm going to guess with this rant that you weren't using Linux in the olden days, because that's what it was like. I've been using Linux and BSD in one form or another since 2003, and I definitely used wpa_supplicant on the command line to connect my Thinkpad to WiFi. And you're right, it did suck. It was not a 9/10 experience by a long shot.
  - dizhn 6mo ago
    Regarding your wifi example. I did have to replace it with an intel one on my Lenovo because wifi would not work with something connected to Bluetooth (might have been USB . I don't recall). This is on Windows by the way. I just replaced it instead of fighting it. Same reason people prefer AMD on linux but this is changing with better Nvidia support.
  - asveikau 6mo ago
    Do you remember ndiswrapper? FreeBSD actually has a similar thing, you can run Linux wifi drivers inside a VM and pass through the adapter. There's a port called wifibox that does this. You can even forward the Unix domain socket for wpa-supplicant from the guest to host, so all the normal tools that talk to wifi cards via that socket work transparently.
    - deleted 6mo ago
      [deleted]
olivierestsage 6mo ago
I think what you're seeing is partly a consequence of how capable Linux has become. Linux is in a weird phase where it can still be enjoyed by hobbyists/enthusiasts/eccentric types, which were arguably its original audience, but now you can also Zoom and do work and install Steam on it, which gives it less appeal from the niche/hobby angle. The software ecosystem in Linux is also increasingly homogenizing, which helps with the "practicality" aspect, but also diminishes the niche appeal. BSDs are in a position to snap up that audience that appreciates engineering elegance/design and uses the computer as an end unto itself (not just as a means to an end). This audience isn't necessarily bothered by wonky laptop WiFi, and may even enjoy tinkering with it as a hobby project. Just my take.
- Hasslequest 6mo ago
  [dead]
skydhash 6mo ago
If you don’t care about administrating your computer and just want to use some software on some hardware, the BSDs are not that great. But if you do, the experience is better on the BSD land because cohesiveness reduces cognitive debt. Also I wouldn’t make hardware support an OS quality metric. Linux get by with NDA and with direct contributions from the vendors. Which is something the BSDs don’t want/don’t benefit from.
- Hasslequest 6mo ago
  [dead]
- stackghost 6mo ago
  >If you don’t care about administrating your computer and just want to use some software on some hardware, the BSDs are not that great. Yes this is my opinion also. BSD seems more suited to people for whom fiddling with the OS itself is the point, rather than the OS being a tool to get other things done. I fall firmly into the latter camp. I'd rather chew glass than manually set flags in rc.conf
  - skydhash 6mo ago
    I like the word tune rather than fiddle. The BSD are very stable. You adjust some configuration, and then updates without having to change your tools or your config with every release. The config are not provided out of the box but the manuals can be very informative. A lot of current GNU/Linux complexity have no benefits for most users and may be an hindrance when they want to slightly alter their use cases. sudo -> doas systemd -> rcctl nftable -> pf iproute2|netplan -> ifconfig|route alsa|pulseaudio|pipewire -> sndiod cgroups|podman|lxc -> jails(freebsd)* The first column may have valid use cases, but I strongly doubt those cases include casual usage. Simple tools that work well is better than complex tools that solves everything. * Openbsd does not like containers or being a vm host
    - SoftTalker 6mo ago
      OpenBSD doesn't have containers but does have a virtual machine system (vmm(4), vmd(8), vmctl(8)) in base.
throwaway27448 6mo ago
> I would get a new laptop because a laptop without WiFi is useless. Why would you not just replace the wifi card or use a USB one? You're greatly overemphasizing how much this matters.
- justin66 6mo ago
  Seriously. I'd rip the wifi hardware out of the laptop with a spoon if it somehow got me a laptop that handles sleep mode properly. I can't even imagine what that would be like with a Unix (aside from a Mac).
- NekkoDroid 6mo ago
  Fun fact: My old Lenovo Y50 only supports like 3 specific WiFi cards else it doesn't even POST. And I think none of them work with upstream Linux drivers (I think, have only 2 different ones and neither worked ages ago and I changed laptops a while ago and haven't retested). Actually I think one didn't have bluetooth work (the non-standard one) and the other needed the broadcom-wl package.
  - estebank 6mo ago
    Paradoxically, given their otherwise positive standing, Lenovo has keept allowlists on their BIOS for specific devices on specific ports. For example, I have a T460 that has an m2 slot that only works with two specific WWAN modules.
  - rfmoz 6mo ago
    There are modified BIOS firmware that allow any WiFi card. Good luck
    - NekkoDroid 6mo ago
      I remember seeing something in that direction when I was looking but never did look deeper into it. The post made me actually take out the laptop again and maybe use it as a server or something like that in the future and for that I'd use ethernet anyway.
sidkshatriya 6mo ago
> I would get a new laptop because a laptop without WiFi is useless. You can run Linux in a VM and PCI passthrough your WiFi Adapter. Linux drivers will be able to connect to your wifi card and you can then supply internet to FreeBSD. Doing this manually is complicated but the whole process has been automated on FreeBSD by "Wifibox" https://freebsdfoundation.org/our-work/journal/browser-based-edition/virtualization-2/wifibox-an-embedded-virtualized-wireless-router/ https://freebsdfoundation.org/our-work/journal/browser-based... I tried it myself and it worked pretty well for a wifi card not supported by FreeBSD. So, no need to get a new laptop :-)
- Hasslequest 6mo ago
  [dead]
- mghackerlady 6mo ago
  is there a similar thing for GPUs? I want to build a workstation and have it work on freebsd but would prefer to use an intel arc card which has no information about freebsd compatibility online
cosmic_cheese 6mo ago
I would argue that much of the mentioned zealotry is a sort of kneejerk response to cult-like behavior from some Linux adherents. It’s mostly defensive; these people want continued variety in the FOSS desktop space and feel that’s threatened by Linux.
- pimeys 6mo ago
  I don't understand this. I've been running Linux for decades, and FreeBSD for decades. Love both systems.
yjftsjthsd-h 6mo ago
> OpenBSD zealots claiming it's 110% secure because trust me bro Or possibly because it has a good track record. If you'd like to point at actual vulnerabilities go ahead.
- maximilianburke 6mo ago
  It's not so much the vulnerabiltiies as that OpenBSD's mitigations often seem targeted towards imaginary issues.
- stackghost 6mo ago
  >Or possibly because it has a good track record. "Only two remote code execution vulns in the default install" isn't saying much, because the default install has essentially no functionality. Similarly, RCE is not the only kind of vuln. Let's just say it is not the mainstream consensus that OpenBSD is meaningfully more secure than an up-to-date linux. This may have been true in 1995, but it's generally acknowledged by people who know what they're talking about that OpenBSD's reputation for security is overstated.
  - yjftsjthsd-h 6mo ago
    > because the default install has essentially no functionality I dunno, it's got a built in HTTP/S web server and everything needed to be VPN or router. > Let's just say it is not the mainstream consensus that OpenBSD is meaningfully more secure than an up-to-date linux. This may have been true in 1995, but it's generally acknowledged by people who know what they're talking about that OpenBSD's reputation for security is overstated. Yes, I've read plenty of vague aspersions that it's totally not as secure as claimed. Since those claims never come with evidence, I'm going with the traditional response: PoC||GTFO.
  - groundzeros2015 6mo ago
    Ok here is one. Pledge is really good and works by default. Unlike cgroups?
f1shy 6mo ago
If you look the table you will realize 9/10 means 9 of 10 included HW devices run. Is not a scale from 0 to 10. Is not a "out of ten" in usability scale. Just count the devices that work, vs. the ones included in the HW.

wolvoleo 6mo ago

I am not negative about it at all. I love it. It's not as polished as linux obviously, especially for desktop usage but the maintainers are very much on the ball (and they do a lot of work to get things to compile and work, there's a lot of linuxisms they have to work around).

deleted 6mo ago
[deleted]
Gud 6mo ago
Why is that “obviously “? I find Linux to be a broken mess. FWIW I use them both, FreeBSD and Arch , but let’s not pretend the layers of crap tacked onto the Linux kernel is some pinnacle of computing.
- realusername 6mo ago
  While I like the simplicity from FreeBSD, this simplicity also comes specifically because there's less contributions. I doubt anything can get the scale of Linux and not have some mess.
  - ux266478 6mo ago
    > this simplicity also comes specifically because there's less contributions. Not entirely. A rather large amount of Linux's mess stems from the fact that it was a hobbyist project in its foundational years. It was never clean or well designed, at any point in its life. Go look at Linux 1.2.0 vs FreeBSD 2.0 Even when Linux began to get traction, it had already developed an ingrained culture that didn't particularly care about "nice" code or architectural solutions. The BSDs inherited their culture where such things were prioritized. You're right that things get messier as they get larger, but the gap between the two is much, much larger than can possibly be accounted for. Things like Linux not respecting NICE values have very little to do with surface-level problems like stylistic inconsistencies in the source code.
- wolvoleo 6mo ago
  It's because the userbase is 500 times smaller (really, Linux is like 5%, FreeBSD 0,01%. You can't expect the same attention to detail.

deleted 6mo ago

[deleted]

AshamedCaptain 6mo ago

What is sad is that even though Linux now has hardware support that is miles ahead of Windows, we've exchanged one problem with another, because nowadays most of the hardware I see is only supported on Linux and nothing else. Even on PCs, latest generation AMD graphics cards (already >1yr old) are not supported in _anything_ other than Linux (and Windows). This is just sad.

craftkiller 6mo ago
FreeBSD uses a compatibility layer to run the Linux graphics drivers, though it lags behind Linux. So if FreeBSD currently does not support the graphics cards, it will soon. It looks like they are currently porting over 6.11: https://github.com/FreeBSDFoundation/proj-laptop/issues/41 https://github.com/FreeBSDFoundation/proj-laptop/issues/41
- AshamedCaptain 6mo ago
  It is the _only_ OSS operating system that supports AMD cards from this decade, and it does so by having to emulate the Linux kernel API, and yet _still_ it lags years behind Linux itself. I've chosen this example for a reason -- this is exactly what I'm sad about.
  - 0x457 6mo ago
    That and WiFi being stuck at 802.11g is what made me switch. It was a very sad day for me when I uninstalled FreeBSD from all of non-server machines.
    - craftkiller 6mo ago
      That certainly _used_ to be the case, but it looks like 802.11ac is supported in iwlwifi since FreeBSD 14.3: https://man.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=iwlwifi&sektion=4&format=html https://man.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=iwlwifi&sektion=4&... And it looks like they're adding 802.11ac support to some realtek drivers too: https://www.freebsd.org/status/report-2025-10-2025-12/#_linuxkpi_802_11_and_native_wireless_update https://www.freebsd.org/status/report-2025-10-2025-12/#_linu...

nesarkvechnep 6mo ago

A few years back I attended a talk by one of the Netflix developers who contributed kTLS. It was very informative as he pointed the reasons why Netflix went with FreeBSD. The first question afterwards was “why not Linux”… Didn’t you listen to the talk, man…