My last blog post hit Hacker News - and has received 12.174 visits in the last hour.

The 1 Euro/Month #NetBSD server load, hosting it (and the MyNotes blog):
load averages: 0.00, 0.01, 0.00; up 4+16:31:26 15:52:15

#RunBSD

Running NetBSD on my Amiga 4000

https://sandervanderburg.blogspot.com/2025/02/running-netbsd-on-my-amiga-4000.html

#NetBSD #Amiga

@kzimmermann

I wonder how #NetBSD would run.

(Considering that NetBSD still runs (with X11) on mid-nineties m68k Macs 😄)

[…Continued]

#FreeBSD, #NetBSD, and #OpenBSD still directly maintain actual utmpx files

Once one realizes that instead of looking at this as login running stuff one can regard it as effectively UPSERT/DELETE triggers on the active logins table, that need not be enacted by login at all, the most currently BSD-ish way of doing this presents itself: a kqueue() EVFILT_VNODE watch on utmpx/utx.active and some way of detecting what the diffs are.

[Continued…] #Debian #DesktopBus #nosh

My inaugural article for the BSD Journal is slated for publication - it will be released Monday morning.

The first authors are already being granted their accounts to contribute new, engaging content - by the community, for the community.

Stay tuned!

#BSDJournal #BSDCafe #StayTuned #RunBSD #FreeBSD #NetBSD #OpenBSD

#unix #NetBSD

Alt...

Picture of NetBSD X11 desktop with htop(1) and hot-babe CPU monitor.

And whilst I am on the subject:

Command-line flags to that init program to signal distinct "emergency" and "rescue" modes would be very welcome, too. #NetBSD would leapfrog past #FreeBSD on that score.

It is not my idea, by the way. Nor systemd's, if you thought such.

It dates back to 1995, and in my experience of using it in emergencies, it is a good one.

http://jdebp.info/FGA/emergency-and-rescue-mode-bootstrap.html

Dear #NetBSD people:

It would be good if there were some sort of kernel command-line option that told it what program image file to run as process #1, that could be overridden from the boot prompt on the fly.

#Debian has had a switchable symbolic link for over a decade; #Linux itself has an init= kernel command line option; and #FreeBSD has the easy enough init_path setting in loader.conf.

Happy #WorldEmojiDay!
Of course it runs NetBSD... on all of them.
💻 🖥️ 🍞 🎮 🚀 🛰️ 🗄️

How would you describe your #NetBSD setup using only emoji? => 🚩 ⚙️ 💻
#NetBSD #Portability #BSD #Unix

NEW VIDEO - FreeBSD User tries NetBSD! Is it much Different?

#FreeBSD #NetBSD #Unix #opensource #garyhtech

https://youtu.be/_uKJuk9Lojo?si=C3OgsSdu8_ZDbf1J via @YouTube

Program published for EuroBSDCon 2025 conference - Zagreb, Croatia; September 25-28, 2025 #FreeBSD #OpenBSD #NetBSD #BSD https://events.eurobsdcon.org/2025/schedule/

EuroBSDcon 2025 Scedule published: https://events.eurobsdcon.org/2025/schedule/

Register at https://tickets.eurobsdcon.org/eurobsdcon/zagreb/

General info: https://2025.eurobsdcon.org/

Where + when : Zagreb, Croatia; September 25-28, 2025

#eurobsdcon #conference #freebsd #openbsd #netbsd #unix #development #devops #freesoftware #libresoftware

(again for the ones in the back or in far flung time zones or vacation mode which turns out the same)

The good news is that I now have functional Debian 12 and NetBSD 10 machines with #nosh service/system management, various #djbwares services running in addition the basic ones, and with user-space virtual terminals on the attached display and keyboards/mice in place of the kernel virtual terminals.

There are a couple of niggles that need sorting. I also need to re-test that the #NetBSD/#Debian #Linux work hasn't broken #FreeBSD, too.

But I can sit at the machines and do regular TUI stuff.

Trying #NetBSD 10.1 on a #RaspberryPi Zero.

@jbowen @maxleibman
No #NetBSD, if it had an operating system, likely called Espressirix, but AFAIK, no software at all.

Quite impressive that, even under a relatively large workload, #NetBSD's memory usage has never exceeded 240MB in the console environment. Most times, it's around 220MB or so.

And I'm talking a complex workload despite no X11, with tmux, multiple windows with lots of panes each running TUI applications, some as Python apps with a lot of overhead, browser with many tabs open, and even an ebook open to be read.

Yet, I'm not even close to the 512MB limit offered by this Pi1 Model B. This *is* impressive.

#oldcomputerchallenge2025

And now I can also do it from the #toot client!

#netbsd #raspberrypi

@JohnMashey @maxleibman
I love that so much! Does it run #NetBSD?

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Dear friends of the BSD Cafe,

This idea has been in my mind since the very beginning of this adventure, almost two years ago. Over time, several people have suggested it. But until recently, I felt the timing just wasn’t right - for many reasons. Today, I believe it finally is.

So I’m happy to announce a new service:
The BSD Cafe Journal - https://journal.bsd.cafe

At first, I thought I’d use BSSG for it (I even added multi-author support with this in mind), but in the end, it didn’t feel like the right tool for the job.

The idea is to create a multi-author space, with content published on a fairly regular basis. A reference point for news, updates, tutorials, technical articles - a place to inform and connect.
Just like people in Italy used to stop by cafes to read the newspaper and chat about the day’s news, the BSD Cafe Journal aims to be a space for reading, sharing, and staying informed - all in the spirit of the BSD Cafe.

What it’s not:
It’s not here to replace personal blogs, or excellent newsletters like @vermaden 's. And it’s not an aggregator.

What it is:
A place where authors can write original content, share links to posts on their own blogs or elsewhere, publish guides, offer insights, or dive into technical explanations.

The guiding principles are the same as always: positivity, constructive discussion, promoting BSDs and open source in general. No hype (sharing a cool new service is fine, posting non-stop about the latest trend is not), no drama, no politics. The goal is to bring people together, not divide them. To inform, not inflame.
Respect, tolerance, and inclusivity are key. Everyone should feel welcome reading the BSD Cafe Journal - never judged, offended, or excluded.

The platform I’ve chosen is WordPress, for several reasons: it’s portable (runs well on all BSDs), has great built-in role management (contributors, authors, etc.), and - last but not least - supports ActivityPub.
This means every author will have their own identity in the Fediverse (like: @stefano@journal.bsd.cafe ) and can be followed directly, and it’ll also be possible to follow the whole Journal.

Original and educational content is encouraged, but it’s also perfectly fine to link to existing articles elsewhere. Personally, I’ll link my technical posts from ITNotes whenever I publish them there.

The goal is simple: a news-oriented site, rich in content, ad-free, respectful of privacy - all under the BSD Cafe umbrella.

Content coordination will happen in a dedicated Matrix room for authors. There’ll also be a public room for discussing ideas, giving feedback, and sharing suggestions.

Of course, I can’t do this alone. A journal with no content is just an empty shell.
So here’s my call for action:
Who’s ready to lend a hand? If you enjoy writing, explaining, sharing your knowledge - the Journal is waiting for you.

#BSDCafe #BSDCafeServices #BSDCafeUpdates #BSDCafeAnnouncements #RunBSD #FreeBSD #NetBSD #OpenBSD #illumos #Linux #OSS #OpenSource #BCJournal #BSDCafeJournal

I dunno who can read this, but here's me saying hello from my dandy RPi Model B with #NETBSD with the #nanotodon minimalist client!

Resurrecting a Sun SPARC station for day to day computing.
#oldcomputerchallenge #sparc #netbsd
https://retrobsd.ddns.net/nvdh7j.htm

@ptribble

That's why it's sad for #NetBSD. Much of the rest of the world has been at 32, larger still on Linux-based operating systems, for a long time.

#OpenBSD switched to 32, after briefly flirting with 33, a quarter of a century ago. GNU libc on Linux first defined the relevant constant a couple of years later but went for 256.

@ptribble

What's the effective limit on usernames, now?

#NetBSD, quite sadly, has a limit of 16 characters in its useradd, which bears no relation to either its utmp or its utmpx.

#Illumos #Tribblix

On repart de 0 ? #virtualisation avec #NetBSD et #NVMM, épqide 7, tout de suite sur https://twitch.tv/ahp_nils ! #sysadmin #devops #twitchfr #twitchstreamer #TwitchStreamers #BSD #qemu

Yesterday, I experienced two disappointments, and in such cases, a bit of my enthusiasm tends to wane. It's been a long and winding week.
The fortunate thing, though, is that these very disappointments cause me to "withdraw" a bit into my own world. And this often means some cool "nerd" experiments. Plus, in the afternoon, some relaxation. And my wife is happy because she sees me doing my "nerd" things with a smile, and afterward, I have that sense of well-being to dedicate to doing some nice activities with her.

Currently, I have two PCEngines APUs (retired from client workloads but still in full form and energy). One with OpenBSD, the other with NetBSD, added to the FreeBSD one that's already been running since yesterday evening.

#RunBSD #FreeBSD #NetBSD #OpenBSD

My local change for pkgsrc/lang/gcc14 under NetBSD/i386 9 works fine. #pkgsrc #NetBSD

@ajn142 @nuintari @dan

I think that we need to start the Internet rumour that BSD was invented by Arthur C. Clarke and xe explicitly denied that you take "A", "I", "X" and add 1 to each letter.

And for those that believe it, there's then "z/OS" turning into "apt".

(-:

#IBM #HAL #2001ASpaceOdyssey #ArthurCClarke #FreeBSD #NetBSD #OpenBSD #dadjokes #Debian #SciFi

@kzimmermann

What does "control chars get printed" mean?

Because it could be two different things with two very different adjustments to make.

If it means control characters actually being printed as glyphs on the screen, taking it at face value, that's a /etc/wscons.conf and screen emulation settings thing; but if it is line editing not working then that's a TERM=netbsd6 and /etc/ttys affair.

#NetBSD #wscons #terminfo

In my warmup for #OldComputerChallenge 25, I dusted off ol' pal #RaspberryPi model B and burned #NetBSD 10 on an SD card to set it up.

It all went well (slow, but hey) but one thing that I still can't get around (that I didn't experience so much last time I tried it) is the console. Control chars get printed instead of arrow and home/end keys, no colors, etc. Hate to say it, but all in all, it feels backwards compared to a modern, full-fledged console environment of #FreeBSD or Linux. And it's starting to wear me out.

But I have a feeling that this is somehow my fault for not configuring the console properly or using the right output or something. I never had to deal with this before, so anybody knows how I can configure this so I can have a modern env in NetBSD?

#unix #askunix

When I complain that some software (or its dependencies) doesn't work on *BSD but requires Linux, I'm not criticizing Linux. For me, it's not an OS battle, but a matter of freedom and avoiding a dangerous and rampant computing monoculture. And when people reply to me with "well, just use it on Linux" - while they're giving me sensible advice - they're missing the crucial point: if it ONLY runs on Linux, it's not Linux's fault, but we are, precisely, creating a dangerous monoculture.

#Linux #SysAdmin #OSS #RunBSD #BSD #FreeBSD #NetBSD #OpenBSD #illumos

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