``NetBSD

NetBSD's claims to fame aren't its optimization or secure code -- it's
instead known for running on a wider variety of platforms than any other
operating system out there, including Linux. NetBSD's binary releases
include support for an amazing 40 platforms and an additional 12
platforms in the source code. In other words, it runs on everything but
the kitchen sink. NetBSD forked from the 386BSD/4.4 BSD merger in 1993
and continued on its own in parallel to FreeBSD since then, albeit at a
slower pace. It's currently at version 2.6.1, with aggressive testing on
the new NetBSD 2.0 promising fruition by the first half of 2005.

Those familiar with NetBSD swear by it, though its use in serious
environments is limited. It is not secure and device driver support is
paltry at best. NetBSD's true usefulness comes in providing developers
of other operating systems -- such as FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and Linux --
with hardware support to base their own new ports off of. For instance,
much of the code for the PowerPC FreeBSD port comes from NetBSD. OpenBSD
implemented support for AMD64 by means of hefty imports from the NetBSD
source tree, and Linux runs on Motorola's ColdFire processor family
thanks to the work previously for NetBSD's port.

Though it's the unsung hero of the BSD family and Linux, you can safely
ignore NetBSD unless you have old or obscure hardware or are looking to
port your operating system project to new hardware. Its desktop and
production applications are so limited as to be nonexistent and this
isn't likely to change even after NetBSD 2.0 is released.''

http://bsd.slashdot.org/bsd/04/10/19/1753228.shtml?tid=122