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NetBSD 11.0 Released (blog.netbsd.org)
87 points by jaypatelani 1 hour ago
5 comments

As someone reading this fresh, they are almost apologetic for a release with open issues. But presumably the release closes off many more than it creates. I could see any other author/org approaching the messaging very differently!
> CD-ROM media

Wow, I just learned that I can still buy a pack of new CD-RW discs. This is an almost 30 year old format that is still published for!

Long live ATAPI!

Seriously though, why still publish CD formats when a usb-stick is far more ubiquitous and much easier to actually write. Are there systems that can boot CD-ROM interfaces that don't have USB boot capability still?

> Are there systems that can boot CD-ROM interfaces that don't have USB boot capability still?

New x64 systems? Probably not. But since it still supports x86 and a whole slew of other architectures[1] still that don't always, it probably wouldn't make sense to stop.

[1]https://www.netbsd.org/ports/

NetBSD supposedly supports 486, I don't think you're going to have much luck with USB there.
Some higher-end 486 boards[1] were made with PCI slots, so retrofitting them with an USB controller shouldn't be difficult? You'll still need a boot floppy to actually boot from an USB drive, I think?

1. https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/asus-pvi-486sp3

I am guessing, but many of us still use CDs / DVDs (/BluRays?) to make backups. It's cheap. Lasts long.
Write once has some security benefits as well!
>Are there systems that can boot CD-ROM interfaces that don't have USB boot capability still?

Old Systems. I have one such system that will is in line to move to 11.0 from 9.3. To do that I will boot from CDROM. It does not have any USB ports.

NetBSD is probably the only UN*X Type OS that can run on many of these 32 bit systems. Plus the NetBSD team is doing their best to support these old systems.

That saves me $ and helps the environment a little bit :)

> That saves me $ and helps the environment a little bit :)

Seems like a tradeoff with power though. Even emulating hardware from that era is more power efficient than actually running it. Of course, if you have custom ISA cards or something then you are likely stuck :)

Blit the iso to a usb stick and boot it. If your PC is recent (made in the past 15-20 years or so), it'll understand it just fine.
> If you are using flash-based media (e.g. a USB drive), please use the .img files rather than the .iso images.

I have done that in the past but there are already .img files specifically for USB. Seems redundant.

Just finished upgrading, went easy. Because I am using cgd(4) I find it much easier to use sysupgrade(8) from pkgsrc.

I was running the R/Cs without any issues, so I am sure 11.0 will be very stable.

NetBSD feels like a high quality, ancient relic from the University of California, Berkeley, from the 1970s, made for munks, secret FBI databases and special military operations.
Very nice, wonder what's the state of using NetBSD as a daily driver?
Does it have Bluetooth, because OpenBSD still doesn't.
Desktop use is probably the best option for daily driver, since almost everything on the motherboard has support, most likely.
Nowhere near as Linux, some can be better than others.