On Tue, 12 Nov 2002, Riccardo Mottola wrote:

> since I was recently asked the same question, I too liked a "quick" response
> form the more technically oriented guys here!
> I thought that OpenBSD is just a more "secure" and paranoid version of
> NetBSD and that they are binary compatible. At this point the other guy
> asked me: why, is NetBSD unsecure? I told no, but I made a meager figure!

OpenBSD started with an import of then-contemporary NetBSD. A lot of
library audits happened, and a number of other security enhancements went
into OpenBSD. As best I can tell, they are also in NetBSD at this point.
Over the years, a number of security enhancements have gone into both
operating systems, and a good number of those have gone into the other.
A few haven't. Some of that could be that folks haven't seen what the
other has done, and some of it that the improvements don't really seem
like improvements.

Security is important to NetBSD. We however are also interested in other
things too, and try to balance what we do.

> what changes from the user side? I looked at the HW support and it seemed to
> me that they are quite equivalent as mac-68k, PPC and c86 regards.

A lot of drivers migrate between all three BSDs. It makes all of us
better-off.

> And regards FreeBSD? it isn't available of 68k AFAIK, but NetBSD is
> available for x86, so at once pressed with answers I felt my ignorance. I
> just know I like NetBSD.

I've not heard of FreeBSD being released for 68k. It wasn't on their web
site last time I looked.

Take care,

Bill