>For now, I'm pulling out an old '386 and using Linux, as NetBSD is not
>stable enough, in my opinion, for even basic or casual use.

Just my two cents...

I've been experimenting with NetBSD/mac for several months now, and I have
found that every problem I have had has been related to my own ignorance of
one NetBSD nuance or another.  In point of fact, my own business found my
work with NetBSD stable and usable enough to implement it as both an
internet server and as a network router at several of our locations.  It
was far and away the easiest and cheapest solution to our WAN problems, and
it has been stable for awhile.  We've had them up and running for months at
a time now, while I explored other options for our routing systems; I
worried about our mission-critical network connections, and initially would
rather have had MkLinux or maybe even Linux/386 doing the work, but having
tried them all I am convinced that NetBSD was a godsend for our business.
(We deal in used Macs, so it's easiest to work with the hardware you've
got, and IIcx's aren't hard to come by for us these days.  It's amazing
that a IIcx running NetBSD can handle a busy 38400bps connection to the
internet without a hitch for weeks on end when I have several Quadras
(non-Geoport) running MacOS that can't deal with the speed.)

I now have a Centris 650 running a kernel I compiled at home, with Taras'
video_lkm (color X!  woo-hoo!), and from home I can administrate our
network at all our stores.  We haven't had a problem since I got all the
cron jobs spread out (running three or four of my somewhat-intense jobs at
once could hang a process or two on a IIcx with 8MB, but that's just RAM,
I'm sure).

It's up to you, and I don't know exactly how much experience you've had
with Un*x-clones, but I think your problems could be some one specific
thing (ncrscsi driver?  That one bit me a few times).  Maybe you ought to
take a break from NetBSD, and come back in a few months and try it again.
Obviously (based on the feedback to your e-mail), stability hasn't been a
problem for many of us.  It would be a shame to go back to MacOS on those
old machines when you're willing and able to do more with them.

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I                                     I
I Charles Sebold, Pontifex Macintosh  I
I CWW Computers, Inc.                 I
I 2497A Adie Rd.                      I
I St. Louis, MO  63043                I
I WWW:   http://www.macshow.com/      I
I                                     I
I       La compagnie c'est moi.       I
I                                     I
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