*BSD News Article 46918


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From: briggs@puma.bevd.blacksburg.va.us (Allen Briggs)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.aux,comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.misc,comp.sys.mac.system
Subject: Re: MacBSD question...
Date: 15 Jul 1995 12:16:28 GMT
Organization: Home, Blacksburg, Virginia
Lines: 62
Message-ID: <3u8bis$4e7@solaris.cc.vt.edu>
References: <trevor-1407950008080001@c18.globalvision.net> <1995Jul14.113427@ail3.montefiore.ulg.ac.be> <3u7kgq$kbl@rebecca.albany.edu>
NNTP-Posting-Host: puma.bevd.blacksburg.va.us
NNTP-Posting-User: briggs

[ Again, comp.unix.bsd was removed in favor of a bunch of new
  newsgroups several months ago.  I'm changing comp.unix.bsd to
  comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.misc in the headers...  ]

In article <3u7kgq$kbl@rebecca.albany.edu>,  <jk7023@CNSVAX.ALBANY.EDU> wrote:
>	I'm currious....  Where could I find MacBSD?

You can find information about NetBSD on http://www.netbsd.org/.  MacBSD
is an old name for what is now NetBSD/mac68k.  Port-specific information
can be found on http://www.netbsd.org/Ports/mac68k/.

>	What kind of problems does it have?

The main problems are: lack of hardware support for newer systems and
for parts of the older systems.  To concentrate on the negatives, we
don't have:
	* Support for 040 boxes with the NCR 53c9X SCSI controllers
	  (all, I think)
	* Support for the LC-series of '030 macs
	* Support for floppy drives, more than simple sound, and a
	  couple of other devices
	* Full support for all nubus video
	* Working ethernet for IIsi/ci
	* Probably some others

BUT!  What we do have:
	* Full BSD 4.4Lite-based OS with source code for everything.
	  (i.e., if it's broken, you can fix it ;-)  With a lot of
	  enhancements--like a current version of ppp that supports
	  compression, lint, tons of POSIX-isms, etc.
	* PPP, sl/ip, nfs, mfs, kernfs, procfs, nullfs, portalfs,
	  unionfs, cd9660fs (ISO 9660 w/ Rockridge), etc.
	* X11R6 (mono only so far, but that's because we're still
	  working on getting NuBus video support up all the way)-:
	* Current development...  ;-)
	* Etc...

I'm posting this from a IIcx w/ 20MB of RAM and two Asante ethernet
controllers.  I'm using my Q700 as a terminal via NCSA telnet over my
internal network and on the net via a 10bT ethernet connection in my
apartment (cf. http://www.bev.net/).  I am running CERN's proxy httpd
so I can run NetScape from my Q700 (my provider won't allow me more
than one ethernet connection/address at the moment, so I'm forced into
a sort of firewall condition ;-).

>	A few months ago, I saw some posts that implied that someone(s) tried
>to make it and then disappeared.  the original release date was said to be
>last February, but this was stated on April 1st.  Oh well....

Actually, I think several groups have started and quit on this.
I don't think it should be too bad to get it at least as far as
NetBSD/mac68k is since the source code for NetBSD is freely available,
as is the Linux/680x0 code (albeit less freely-available ;-).

Probably more than you wanted to know, but I'll elaborate on anything,
if you'd like me to...

-allen

-- 
Allen Briggs - end killing - allen.briggs@bev.net ** MacBSD == NetBSD/mac68k **
   Where does all my time go?  <a href="http://www.netbsd.org/">Guess.</a>