Re: Definition of NetBSD users

["Jeremy C. Reed" <reed%reedmedia.net@localhost>]

On Fri, 26 Mar 2010, Jonathan Schleifer wrote:

> > I am not sure how FreeBSD exceeds NetBSD for desktop systems. Please 
> > explain and share examples.
> 
> They have working, stable, performant 3D drivers for NVidia cards. 3D
> on NetBSD is limited to the opensource AMD drivers, which still lack a
> lot.

Proprietary drivers. See today's announcement from Nvidia: 
http://lists.freedesktop.org/archives/xorg/2010-March/049749.html.
The latest FreeBSD driver license is at:
http://www.nvidia.com/content/DriverDownload-March2009/licence.php?lang=us

- Can't have multiple backups.
- May not be used concurrently on different computers.
- Linux version allows redistribution, but FreeBSD is NOT Linux!
- No reverse engineering.
- You must use all components (can't separate or exclude).
- Can't rent out your system.

This ties into the other comments in this thread that I agree with: 
"proprietary technologies shouldn't even be thought about in this 
context".

> For a modern desktop, you really need 3D acceleration, as users
> expect stuff like Compiz etc.

I guess I don't fully understand and realize what I am missing :)

What exactly is this feature or benefit that users "expect"? I assume 
that something very noticable but I don't notice myself when watching 
videos or using my desktop without 3D acceleration. Note I don't watch 
videos often nor do I play any 3D games, so maybe I am not a good 
example of what to expect regarding this. I don't have anything to 
compare with to realize what I am missing. Examples would be great.