On Mon, 05 Jul 2004 16:52:24 +0200, Rohan Nicholls
<rohan.nicholls@myrealbox.com> wrote:
> 
> I have a question about the ports collection etc.

That would be known as pkgsrc in these parts.  :-)

> I was wondering how the ports worked, and is there variation between the
> different platforms and how I must use the ports for each.  

FreeBSD, NetBSD, and OpenBSD have different package system.  They're not
interchangeable.  The pkgsrc system started out as NetBSD-specific, and
now supports quite a few others (including Linux).  See
http://www.pkgsrc.org/ for more.  

> In my wanderings I have been reading about different types of OSes and
> kernels etc. With the emphasis on portability of netbsd, would it not
> make sense to use a micro or exo kernel?  

I think the answer you'd get here -- the polite one, anyway -- is that the
BSD kernel predates the microkernel "triumph" in academia.  A different
way to look at it is that there's no free microkernel with anywhere near
the support of even the smallest BSD, so "better" in any regard is
theoretical argument.  

You may in interested in Unix as an Application:

http://srl.cs.jhu.edu/courses/600.418/mach3_intro.ps

--jkl