UNIX, Linux, and BSD

Linux was created by PC users attempting to use mainframe UNIX. BSD was created by mainframe UNIX users attempting to use a PC.

BSD is what I like to call a “Pedigree UNIX”, meaning that it is a pure blooded descendant of AT&T UNIX. Although all of the original AT&T code has been re-written so a permissive license, the heritage persists.

In contrast to Linux (which shares no original Bell Labs code), BSD was originally all Labs code.

BSD in the wild

BSD style licensing is quite simple to understand compared to the tome that is the GPL. Interpreting it usually goes something like follows:

Do whatever the hell you want with this code, just don’t blame me when it breaks something and don’t claim you wrote it

Permissive licensing means that various companies can put lipstick on the UNIX pig and falsely assert that it’s anything other than lipstick on the UNIX pig. Not that UNIX is a pig, but you cannot disguise a pig with lipstick. Those burdened with the gift of sight and knowledge can spot a UNIX system quite easily.

Apple software is basically stolen BSD

Windows TCP/IP stack (and ftp/rcp/rsh/ssh/scp and other various non-trash networking protocols) is basically stolen BSD

Sony PlayStation is basically stolen BSD

Nintendo switch is basically stolen BSD

a million others that I can’t be bothered to list because they’re either abandonware or are embedded in your e-toaster and internet enabled dishwasher so no one cares

Interacting with BSD guys

Most Linux enthusiasts are missionaries. They are generally helpful and seek to guide the computing neophyte into the inner circle of FSF initiates.

The BSD guys tend to be like hermits. They don’t care if you use their code, they only care that the code works for them. When you ask for help, a typical response will be “did you even read the error logs?” or “did you even RTFM? What about supplemental documentation? We didn’t write TFM just so you could go online and ask something clearly documented in TFM.”

Not all BSD guys are bitter, but you really should consult available resources before asking questions

Forking vs distros

In Linux land, all the distros are basically the same with varying coats of paint. We call these distributions because all “implementations” of linux are nearly identical code bases built with varying compile time options.

In BSD land, distros don’t exist. Free/Net/Open are entirely independent and don’t share a common upstream. They are forks of primordial BSD that run separate kernels, separate userlands, etc. Although code is shared amongst each other, a statically linked binary can’t simply be dumped from one to another and still run as it would in Linux land.

Meta-distos of FreeBSD do exist but they are short lived unless they have corporate backers.

Idiot’s guide to picking a BSD

I want basically Linux desktop out of the box but with a BSD kernel so I can look cool when I post a neofetch screenshot to the /g/ desktop thread!!

Selecting a FreeBSD fork that comes with a desktop is your goto. The currently maintained desktop distros are HelloSystems, GhostBSD, NomadBSD, and MidnightBSD.

I want a viable desktop operating system

FreeBSD with a non-GNOME DE is fairly reliable. I’ve had success with KDE, XFCE, and various tiling window managers. GNOME is too reliant on systemd so the port is janky.

I want something to learn by example with

OpenBSD is a great learning platform. The source code for userland utils is simple, short, and generally free from OS specific function calls. RTFM goes by the wayside when you easily