Provoked by a toot from @jamesoff I made the experiments with the #2k38 time boundary on #OpenBSD (bigger screendump) and #NetBSD as illustrated.
Both survived ;) of course.
NetBSD however seems to accept a date as UTC and then translates it to my local CET. OpenBSD seems to trot happily on in CET.
This means that in 12 years, when I'll be 92 years old, I won't have to worry about any time apocalypse.
I'll sleep as quietly as ever on that night. Nice to know.

James' sticker are fun anyway ;)

Alt...

Playing with y2k38 on openbsd

Alt...

Playing with y2k38 on netbsd

Testing a Chimera package update to virt-manager. Figured it was a good time to try a more modern NetBSD install. :-)

#NetBSD

Alt...

Screenshot of NetBSD with glxgears, xclock, xconsole, xeyes, xload, and xterm running.

Dipende da cosa intendi per "libera".

Un tempo ti avrei detto Debian senza indugi, ed a tutt'oggi dal punto di vista legale, tutti i software contenuti nei repository free sono distribuite con licenze libere.
Il problema di #Debian è appunto politico (e dunque tecnico): le scelte del progetto, pur attenendosi alle #DFSG si preoccupano sempre meno della effettiva libertà degli utenti, anteponendovi altri valori.

Comunque, se ci limitiamo ad una libertà minima, formale, ci sono le distro elencate dalla #FSF https://www.gnu.org/distros/free-distros.en.html

Di queste, mi sembra promettente #Hyperbola, soprattutto per l'impegno a sostituire il kernel #Linux con un hard fork di #OpenBSD https://www.hyperbola.info/

Il problema comunque è l'effettiva esercitabilità di tutte e quattro le libertà, a fronte di una complessità insostenibile dei software distribuiti.

Avere #Firefox sotto MPL o #Chromium sotto MIT non garantisce davvero a tutti la libertà di studiarne completamente il codice: solo chi può investire mesi di studio (tipicamente pagati da qualche azienda) può veramente esercitare la libertà di studio. E ogni libertà esercitabile esclusivamente da un'élite smette di essere libertà e diventa, di fatto, privilegio.

Purtroppo Linux stesso (il kernel) ha una complessità esorbitante, misurabile in milioni di righe di codice, anche escludendo i blob non liberi.

Ne consegue che, ad oggi, chi vuole poter esercitare davvero le 4 libertà deve cercarle altrove.

I #BSD sono un po' migliori da questo punto di vista: ricordo una settimana passata a leggere il kernel di #NetBSD anni fa senza grandi problemi. Ancora meglio da questo punto di vista sono i #plan9 come #9front che in un paio di settimane può essere studiato da capo a piedi.

Il problema fondamentale però è più profondo di quanto non suggeriscano queste possibili soluzioni.

Quando #Stallman concepì il software libero, il maggior limite alle libertà degli utilizzatori (che erano anche programmatori) era di natura legale. Il #copyleft o le #DFSG erano strumenti legali (il primo) o comunitari (il secondo) progettati per evitare questo limite.

Oggi a limitare la libertà degli utenti troviamo invece vincoli tecnici (#SaaS, complessità del software) e culturali (standard intenzionalmente complicati da implementare ed una sostanziale separazione fra la figura professionale del programmatore ed il ruolo di utente).

Questi vincoli sono superabili con leggi ed investimenti in educazione e istruzione, ma difficilmente tali azioni possono essere proposte da politici ignoranti eletti cittadini mantenuti nell'ignoranza cibernetica.

D'altro canto produrre stack alternativi è difficile, non foss'altro che per l'assenza di risorse e coordinamento (nonché spesso di una visione architetturale coerente con l'obiettivo politico di massimizzare la libertà).

@dajelinux@mastodon.uno @lorenzodm@mastodon.uno

I’m not an expert on e-mail. I barely understand how it works. This is just part of my path to learn NetBSD.

Advertisement: We are happy to welcome our new sponsor at #BoxyBSD: ST-Hosting.com

ST-Hosting.com stands for performance, stability, and pragmatic solutions and hosting like:

- LXC & KVM servers on AMD EPYC, Ryzen, Intel Xeon systems
- Fair pricing and direct support from Germany
- Hosting made in Germany

We’re excited to have https://st-hosting.com on board! You can immediately start to provision your BSD based boxes (like #FreeBSD, #OpenBSD, #NetBSD,...) at BoxyBSD in our new location in Germany, Nuremberg. Also, stay tuned for #Fosdem ;) Thanks a lot!

cc: @gyptazy
#RUNBSD #BSD #OpenSource #Hosting

Should You Run FreeBSD in 2026? Maybe, Maybe Not https://lowendbox.com/blog/should-you-run-freebsd-in-2026-maybe-maybe-not/ #LowEndVirtual #bsdjails #freebsd #openbsd #debian #docker #netbsd #ubuntu #jails #rocky #alma #BSD

@radhitya I just wanted to try another #BSD to see how the things done in it and how much it differs from #FreeBSD

The choice was between OpenBSD and #NetBSD — the second attracted me with wide range of supported devices and processor architectures. This is rare enough in the modern IT where the words "this is obsolete" and "this project wasn't updated for N days — looks like it is abandonen" became a new norm. So I decided to invest my time in NetBSD and setup it on my home server. With idea to use it in some old laptop in the future, in my mind.

For me, it fits well — it works in machine with 2 Gb of RAM, it has all necessary things for selfhosting in the binary repositories (fail2ban, Nginx, PostgreSQL, etc) and it has the same spirit of good old Unix as FreeBSD has.

@jas

My first suspect for a #login not supporting -- would be something with a 1980s history pre-dating standard #getopt, such as Solaris, which is ironic given that #inetutils has its only -- present in conditionally compiled code targetting Solaris.

#FreeBSD, #NetBSD, and #OpenBSD login all use getopt(), pervasive in these worlds for decades, as do the util-linux login (used by Debian et al.), and the #Illumos and #BusyBox logins.

#suckless login supports -- via ARGBEGIN.

@ska @cazabon

Hot off the press, bob v0.6.0 is out.

Loads of changes and improvements over the past 12 days:

https://github.com/jperkin/bob/blob/main/CHANGES.md

There are some breaking changes to config.lua, and updates to the build scripts. I would recommend performing a fresh:

$ bob init /path/to/config/dir

and migrating any changes over manually. I will try and keep breaking changes to a minimum in the run up to version 1.0 when all will be set in stone.

Thanks for all your feedback so far, keep it coming!

#pkgsrc #bob #netbsd

I've just blocked ICMP packets from fail2banned hosts, and blocked IPv6 completely, since it doesn't used in my network, lol

Orange graph is for netstat -s | grep 'bad connection attempts' for TCP section.

Possibly, the bad bots, who are using IPv6, had access to the my box all the time and abused it violently to find the way in

#networking #NetBSD #firewall

Alt...

Netstat graph from Munin. The graph for failed connections has a lot of spikes in the left side of the graph and completely zero on the right side.

@wezm It was one of the flat panel Sun ones, I think 19"? I'm front left in this screen grab from our opscam around that time. The Sony Vaio on my right was my #NetBSD laptop.

I used to be able to read tiny fonts. Time has caught up with me... ;-)

Alt...

BBC Internet Services "OpsCam", 15th October 2001.

@wezm I love old screenshots. Nearly 25 years ago I was building NetBSD 1.5Y from my Solaris 8 desktop at the BBC. Fun times.

#solaris #netbsd #evilwm

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Screenshot of a Solaris 8 desktop running various terminals, chat programs, a very early Firefox, and compiling NetBSD.

this weekend i enabled gfortran in base netbsd for all our platforms. it had been missing since the g77 -> gfortran switch a long time ago.
#netbsd #fortran

Oh and here's a photo from 2001 showing a NetBSD crash. The first UNIX-like OS I ran on my own hardware was NetBSD in 2001 on a cobbled together PC with a Cyrix 6x86 CPU and some memory from who knows where. It would crash under heavy load, here extracting the pkgsrc tarball, due to bad RAM or the CPU getting too hot, I can't remember.

#NetBSD

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A photo of a rounded CRT screen showing a uvm_fault in green text. kernel: page fault trap, code=0 Stopped in tar at vn_stat+0x51: addb %cl,0x568ba045(%ebx)

As I continue to trawl through old backups please enjoy this screenshot of a NetBSD system dated Feb 2005. Not sure what I was up to, or what the system running it was.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobalt_Qube

#NetBSD #twm

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A twm desktop with several xterms, xload, and xclock.

@scribblesonnapkins It has an A2-class micro SD card, which has a write cache. I didn’t even know about that until I read @jmcwhatever@mastodon.sdf.org’s post about a good card for #NetBSD on the Nintendo Wii U. The speedy card really does make it feel like it has an SSD.

It didn’t go very far in to swap, since I had hardly anything else running on it while compiling.

@scribblesonnapkins This machine is a first generation Raspberry Pi Zero, not the Zero 2 (or is it 2 Zero?)

Its purpose is to compile #NetBSD #pkgsrc binaries for earmv4. Because there are earmv4 instructions that aren’t in earmv7 and aarch64, I need a real earmv6 CPU, which rules out running on anything newer / faster.

A chroot on a fast aarch64 system would be nice, but nobody has written instruction trap handlers for those missing earmv4 instructions.

Since it’s a single core, the temps never get anywhere close to hot. The hottest it’s ever gotten is 51.92º. I mean just look at that cool copper heat sink :)

Alt...

This is an animated GIF from Rick and Morty of the robot that Rick created that has as its only purpose to pass the butter. Here it's asking what its purpose is.

It took six days and eight hours for a #NetBSD Raspberry Pi Zero W to compile gcc 14.3.0 for earmv4.

Now I’m curious how long each version of gcc would take compared to each other…

Please don’t go down that rabbit hole, I keep telling myself.

Alt...

This is a picture of a Raspberry Pi Zero W in a jar with a battery backup and a USB-ethernet adapter.

@Em0nM4stodon It’s a PineBook - not Pro, but the original - but the one with the high res 1920x1080 screen. It’s small, runs forever on batteries, can stay charged from any USB port, and it runs #NetBSD awesomely.

@lfa No problem, I'm using even vi while tinkering something on my #NetBSD server

#vi

I'm copying my pinned post from Twitter which reminds me of fun times with lovely people. I'd just left an AsiaBSDCon dinner with everyone in Tokyo:

#FreeBSD, #NetBSD, #OpenBSD? :'D

Do you want to go to EuroBSDCon https://2026.eurobsdcon.org/ but need support to do so?

Or do you know someone in that situation? Apply for Paul Schenkeveld Travel Grant before February 1st, 2026!

https://eurobsdconfoundation.org/travel-grant.html

#eurobsdcon #netbsd #openbsd #freebsd #conference #travelgrant

Latest 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 - 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲/𝟬𝟭/𝟭𝟵 (Valuable News - 2026/01/19) available.

https://vermaden.wordpress.com/2026/01/19/valuable-news-2026-01-19/

Past releases: https://vermaden.wordpress.com/news/

#verblog #vernews #news #bsd #freebsd #openbsd #netbsd #linux #unix #zfs #opnsense #ghostbsd #solaris #vermadenday

Latest 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 - 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲/𝟬𝟭/𝟭𝟵 (Valuable News - 2026/01/19) available.

https://vermaden.wordpress.com/2026/01/19/valuable-news-2026-01-19/

Past releases: https://vermaden.wordpress.com/news/

#verblog #vernews #news #bsd #freebsd #openbsd #netbsd #linux #unix #zfs #opnsense #ghostbsd #solaris #vermadenday

If I ever managed to find a #DECstation 3100 from 1989, what'd be the overall likelihood that I could get modern #Linux of some kind running on what was at one point the world's fastest MIPS-powered #Unix workstation (for all of a few months iirc)? Because I think brute-forcing some sort of #Slackware installation would go great in place of #Ultrix or alongside it.

I know #NetBSD supports the device, so I imagine Linux support exists for this specific machine too, right?

Alt...

A photo I found online of a DECstation 3100, complete with keyboard, mouse, and monitor. For a time, this was the world's fastest Unix workstation upon release in 1989, though it was quickly outdone a few months later by the first SPARCstation model from Sun Microsystems if memory serves me correct. This machine ran Ultrix, DEC's own proprietary Unix OS, based on BSD. Though Ultrix is long discontinued, NetBSD continues to support it, and potentially also Linux, that topic being the subject of the post to which this image and alt text are attached.

Let's assume that I follow these #hashtags: #unix, #bsd, #netbsd etc. Then for the sake of argument I filter #freebsd. Now if a #toot contains the hashtags #netbsd and #freebsd should I see it in my timeline or not see it? Is there a #mastodon rule or is it a #client-rule?

Hướng dẫn cài đặt NetBSD trên Wii U: khám phá cách biến máy chơi game thành nền tảng Unix mạnh mẽ, hỗ trợ phát triển phần mềm và tận hưởng môi trường mã nguồn mở. #NetBSD #WiiU #Linux #OpenSource #CôngNghệ #Programming #Technology

https://mail-index.netbsd.org/port-powerpc/2026/01/10/msg003724.html

Also amazing that this thing did not OOM-kill processes all over the place; even before I started compiling I did a pkgin upgrade on the poor box, which took .. a few hours. I'm all outta swap, real low on RAM, and yet it somehow got through this .. #NetBSD for the win, I guess.

Says top:

Memory: 56M Act, 27M Inact, 11M Wired, 15M Exec, 820K File, 2076K Free
Swap: 128M Total, 128M Used, 4K Free / Pools: 23M Used / Network: 23K In, 34K Out

I have it on good authority that there are a number of new names on the @bsdcan CFP list. Here is the link if you would like to join the list in these remaining hours:

https://www.bsdcan.org/2026/papers.html#main

#runbsd #netbsd #freebsd #openbsd #dragonflybsd #sysadmin

Also, surprisingly, the best browser on #NetBSD today is ... Chromium! Works really well if you can get it to build.

Finally installed XFCE on my gaming PC running #NetBSD. (Well, it dual-boots, so it's either gaming or NetBSD.)

Damn, XFCE looks beautiful in HiDPI.

Only one day left to submit for BSDCan 2026!

Deadline January 17, 2026, see https://www.bsdcan.org/2026/papers.html

About the BSD conferences: https://nxdomain.no/~peter/what_is_bsd_come_to_a_conference_to_find_out.html

#bsdcan #OpenBSD #NetBSD #FreeBSD #conference #development #networking #security @bsdcan

2 more days!

BSDCan 2026 is now accepting submissions for the June 2026 conference, see https://www.
bsdcan.org/2026/papers.html and links therein for instructions.

Submissions deadline is January 17, 2026, the conference runs tutorials June 17-18, talks June 19-20.

#bsdcan #conference #freebsd #netbsd #openbsd #bsd #development #networking #freesoftware #libresoftware

Belated Introductory Post:
I'm a Bay Area SRE, with specializations in Security, Unix Internals and Virtualization/Containerization.

I've been running Linux for 25 years, and have been playing with #NetBSD more in the last few years as it's resparking what I have always loved about computers.

I will mostly stick to computer nerdery here, but I may post race pictures at some point.

I don't have mastodon on my phone, so I may take multiple days to see your toot. I like the slower pace though.

3 days left to get your talk added to North America's biggest *BSD conference @bsdcan ! Join your friends in Canada to discuss the state of the *BSDs. Previous talks have included utilities you can't live without, new ways using familiar tools, and *BSD-powered refrigerators!

https://www.bsdcan.org/2026/papers.html#main

#runbsd #netbsd #freebsd #openbsd #dragonflybsd #sysadmin

@neil Back in the (good old) days when schools were very likely to (Exchange or a #NetBSD solution as we provided), a very popular educational ISP blocked port 25 even on their leased lines. Seemingly purely so they could still you a metered SMTP service. AFAIK they still do, it's just less of an impact now

3 more days!

BSDCan 2026 is now accepting submissions for the June 2026 conference, see https://www.bsdcan.org/2026/papers.html and links therein for instructions.

Submissions deadline is January 17, 2026, the conference runs tutorials June 17-18, talks June 19-20.

#bsdcan #conference #freebsd #netbsd #openbsd #bsd #development #networking #freesoftware #libresoftware

Do you want to come to #ottawa and tell a bunch of #BSD geeks about what you enjoy doing?

Submit to BSDCan 2026!

Our submissions deadline is January 17, 2026, see https://www.bsdcan.org/2026/papers.html

Tutorials: June 17-18, 2026
Conference: June 19-20, 2026

More about the BSD conferences: https://nxdomain.no/~peter/what_is_bsd_come_to_a_conference_to_find_out.html

#freebsd #netbsd #openbsd #conference #development #sysadmin

NetBSD и NVIDIA Optimus

Чтобы задать уровень выдаваемой дичи сразу на весь 2026 год вперед, я написал эту замечательную статью.

https://habr.com/ru/articles/984894/

#netbsd #acpi #gpu #optimus #nvidia #kernel #kernel_module #kernel_development

Judging by the number of #NetBSD bugreports, i386 gets 3x as many reports as eg. arm:

Category             critical  serious non-crit  TOTAL           Median TTC
port-arm                    8       36        7       51      2m 28d 20:02:56
port-i386                  34      105       52      191      7m  6d 15:28:21

I don't think this says #i386 is 3x as problematic as arm, but may have a lot to do with the size of the userbase.

FreeBSD soft-ditched i386, Debian is hard-ditching it, OpenBSD has too few people to work on ports... Yet the stats seem to indicate demand.

Not quite dead yet.

#RUNBSD #retrocomputing

5 days left to get your @bsdcan talk submitted! Join your friends in Canada to discuss the state of the *BSDs. See talks by leaders of our industry, parents of the Internet, and that person you've been seeing on mailing lists for years!:

https://www.bsdcan.org/2026/papers.html#main

#runbsd #netbsd #freebsd #openbsd #dragonflybsd #sysadmin

NetBSD: вторая жизнь Nintendo Wii. Как и зачем я установил эту ОС на игровую консоль

Привет, Хабр! Мое плотное знакомство с консолями Nintendo началось с Wii U. Так уж получилось, что лучшей серией слешеров я считаю Bayonetta. А поскольку вторая часть вышла как эксклюзив для Wii U, мне пришлось приобрести приставку. Потом заодно познакомился с The Legend of Zelda — и понеслось. Примерно то же самое случилось и с выходом Bayonetta 3 — обзавелся Nintendo Switch. Что самое интересное, у меня никогда не было обычной Wii. Волей случая мне в руки попался замечательный экземпляр, но на него я решил посмотреть с точки зрения железа. Внутри меня ждал любопытный конфиг из PowerPC процессора IBM Broadway + SoC производства ATI, который отвечает за графику, а также устройств ввода-вывода.

https://habr.com/ru/companies/ru_mts/articles/984492/

#NetBSD #софт #гаджеты #Nintendo_Wii #Homebrew #ретрожелезо #PowerPC_750CL #lighttpd #bsdfetch