OpenBSD 3.9 is out! ... And supports certain G5s!!!

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OpenBSD 3.9 is out! ... And supports certain G5s!!!

You read it right.

http://www.openbsd.org/macppc.html#hardware

# iMac G5 (PowerMac8,1) (*)
# iMac G5 (Ambient Light Sensor (PowerMac8,2)) (*)

# Power Macintosh G5 (Early 2005, dual 2.0 + 2.3 GHz (PowerMac7,2)) (*)
# Power Macintosh G5 (June 2004, Early 2005, dual 2.7 GHz (PowerMac7,3)) (*)
# Power Macintosh G5 (Late 2004 (PowerMac9,1)) (*)

Why is this a big deal?

Because of this:
http://www.netbsd.org/Ports/macppc/models.html
PPC970 (a.k.a. G5) CPU not supported yet

NetBSD (rightfully) calls their project the "most portable operating system on the planet" but OpenBSD got the jump on the G5 PPC970.

This makes OpenBSD the first of the "Big Three" BSDs to install and run well on G5 Macs. That's kind of a big deal. Even though G5 is now on the way out.

Anyhow, as a self-proclaimed OpenBSD zealot, I still love Tiger as a desktop OS. There's more than enough UNIX under the hood to keep the nerdy power user in me satisfied. However, if you have an old PC or Mac laying around and you're interested in UNIX, I urge you to give the new OpenBSD a try. There are bootable mini-ISO's downloadable from their FTP site, and you can install everything via FTP once booting from that CD (if you have a supported net interface).

If you already use and enjoy OpenBSD, I urge you to help them out and buy an inexpensive 3CD set. It makes installation a lot faster and easier, and you're actually helping to support the developers of OpenBSD and OpenSSH.

Check out http://www.openbsd.org for more information, download instructions, installation guides and online command reference manuals.

Jon
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Joined: Dec 20 2003 - 10:38
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OpenBSD zealot might be a tad

OpenBSD zealot might be a tad understated... What was that that your new boss ( http://www.loneronin.net/ ) said about your license plates? Wink incedentally, I'm a tad suprised he is friends with Murphy Wells...

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