back to article Microsoft has created its own FreeBSD image. Repeat. Microsoft has created its own FreeBSD image

Microsoft has created its own cut of FreeBSD 10.3 in order to make the OS available and supported in Azure. Jason Anderson, principal PM manager at Microsoft's Open Source Technology Center says Redmond “took on the work of building, testing, releasing and maintaining the image” so it could “ensure our customers have an …

  1. Tom 64

    Not sure if I should be happy

    One the one hand, if I'm forced to use Azure, I'll know what to roll out for network facing servers.

    On the other, I'm not sure if I like the idea of Microshaft screwing with an otherwise excellent Operating System.

    1. bazza Silver badge

      Re: Not sure if I should be happy

      I'm fairly sure we can rely on the FreeBSD community to vet MS's contributions. And it sounds like MS are playing nicely anyway (for now at any rate). Amazing!

      I wonder if any of that will filter through to OS X?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        @bazza

        I suppose it is possible some that make it into FreeBSD proper could filter through to OS X & iOS eventually, but since Microsoft is concerned with FreeBSD servers the changes are less likely to be applicable to Macbooks and iPhones.

        1. thames

          Re: @bazza

          @DougS - While Apple OSX and iOS use some parts of FreeBSD, the kernel they use is from Mach, not FreeBSD. It's quite likely that none of what Microsoft has done with FreeBSD (probably mainly just special drivers for running on Hyper-V) will have any relevance to Apple's OS or even be compatible with it.

          1. ziggy

            Re: @bazza

            there is more to the Mac OSX kernel (XNU) than Mach, there is BSD code in there too for POSIX API, security including id and permissions, some of the BSD locking primitives, the virtual file system layer, crypto framework, the bsd flavor of System V IPC, and mandatory access control for kernel objects

            1. Dadmin

              Re: @bazza

              You got closest of all, the name for the Mac OS Unix underpinnings is called Darwin;

              https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin_(operating_system)

              Carry on!

        2. oldcoder

          Re: @bazza

          Only usermode/application stuff could be returned.

          Apple doesn't use the BSD kernel or drivers. Only a "personality" module.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Not sure if I should be happy

        "I wonder if any of that will filter through to OS X?"

        Common misconception - OS/X doesn't use a BSD kernel, it uses Mach which came from Next when Apple bought it. The BSD bits are the surrounding libraries, APIs and some command line tools.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Mach vs FreeBSD

          The article didn't say anything about Microsoft's contributions being limited to the kernel, though if they are limited to only HyperV support and they don't do anything else then obviously there are of no use to Apple and almost no use to the FreeBSD community.

      3. Roland6 Silver badge

        Re: Not sure if I should be happy

        I wonder if any of that will filter through to OS X?

        Probably more relevant to ask whether any of this will filter through to MS's Windows 10 replacement...

      4. oldcoder

        Re: Not sure if I should be happy

        Who said they contributed back? Or anything "contributed" was accepted?

        Neither has to happen.

      5. TVU Silver badge

        Re: Not sure if I should be happy

        "I'm fairly sure we can rely on the FreeBSD community to vet MS's contributions. And it sounds like MS are playing nicely anyway (for now at any rate). Amazing!"

        I think this is yet another example of Satya Nadella's pragmatism and his acceptance (at last) that outside of the desktop environment, it is a multi-polar operating system world out there and that Microsoft has to adapt to that situation in order to survive as a corporate entity.

        Interestingly, and I'm willing to be corrected on this one, this appears to be the first time that Microsoft has ever given back anything significant and meaningful to the open source operating system community - more of the same, please, Microsoft.

        1. Tchou

          Re: ignificant and meaningful to the open source operating system community

          MSFT is a major Linux contributor too.

          1. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. Christian Berger

      Embrace, Extend, Extinguish...

      ... it's a classic Microsoft strategy. FreeBSD is currently still seen as a saner alternative to "modern" GNU/Linux where you don't have that FreeDesktop/systemd stuff. A system that potentially just works.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Embrace, Extend, Extinguish...

        FreeBSD is currently still seen as a saner alternative to "modern" GNU/Linux where you don't have that FreeDesktop/systemd stuff. A system that potentially just works.

        I think the arguments at MS HQ lie more in the direction of not being under GPL and possibly start to acquire enough knowledge to yet again try to copy Apple. Let's not forget, they're rubbish at innovating, but .. no, wait. They're rubbish at copying too. Never mind.

        1. Voland's right hand Silver badge

          Re: Embrace, Extend, Extinguish...

          start to acquire enough knowledge to yet again try to copy Apple

          They already have it and they have done it in the past. If you plot Windows development build TCP stack fingerprints going as far back as Windows 2000 they go through a "this looks exactly like BSD" moment every few years early in their release cycle. This is also the moment when the stack actually starts working too (this was the case with Win2K).

          So what you are suggesting is nothing new, it is however mostly at low levels.

          1. /dev/null

            Re: Embrace, Extend, Extinguish...

            Actually I think a BSD-derived TCP/IP stack first appeared in NT 3.5.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Embrace, Extend, Extinguish...

              God, I feel old now. I can recall installing Wollongong IP stacks on machines with MS DOS..

            2. Voland's right hand Silver badge

              Re: Embrace, Extend, Extinguish...

              Actually I think a BSD-derived TCP/IP stack first appeared in NT 3.5.

              Correct. Then it slowly MSFT-bit-rotted to be refreshed again in the early Win2K development cycle. And a again a few times later. TCP fingerprinting knows no mercy - it shows exactly what you are doing and whose stack did you cut-n-paste when yours was not delivering.

              In the case of BSD it is permitted by license and Windows has always complied with it - if you dig around you can find the relevant "copyrights" and mentioning of BSD in their licensing info.

            3. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

              Re: Embrace, Extend, Extinguish...

              "a BSD-derived TCP/IP stack first appeared in NT 3.5"

              And W95.

              1. Chika

                Re: Embrace, Extend, Extinguish...

                Before W95. I can recall installing it on W3.11 for Workgroups. Mind you, it was a separate install.

      2. Steve Channell

        Re: Embrace, Extend, Extinguish...

        Microsoft Xenix had BSD compounds 30 years ago. For the first 10 years, that Microsoft was doing Hotmail it ran on Freebsd. Microsoft.net was the Built on freebsd and distributed in the Rotar shared source version.

        Suggesting it's about E.E.E, is lazy nonsense.

        1. fishman

          Re: Embrace, Extend, Extinguish...

          "For the first 10 years, that Microsoft was doing Hotmail it ran on Freebsd."

          When Microsoft bought Hotmail, it was already on *BSD. And they had a heck of a time trying to switch it over to their own OS.

        2. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

          Re: Embrace, Extend, Extinguish...

          "Suggesting it's about E.E.E, is lazy nonsense."

          Agreed. It's not as if the FreeBSD team are going to accept kernel code that's licence encumbered. If MS tried that, FreeBSD would just wish them luck with their project and leave them to get on with it by themselves. Anyone is free to fork FreeBSD. You just need to acknowledge any licence holders where relevant. There's no constraints on "giving back" or enforced source code distribution as demonstrated many years ago when MS took the BSD TCP stack and built it into Windows.

        3. Loud Speaker

          Re: Embrace, Extend, Extinguish...

          Personally, I am happy for them to call it UnfreeBSD, but maybe they could revive the name Xenix. Or, perhaps they could base the team at Santa Cruz, and call it SCO all over again.

        4. oldcoder

          Re: Embrace, Extend, Extinguish...

          It was BSD/SunOS... But as soon as MS bought hotmail it started to replace it with Windows. It just took them a LONG time and a lot of expense to do it.

      3. This post has been deleted by its author

      4. Gene Cash Silver badge

        Re: Embrace, Extend, Extinguish...

        Yup, All the systemd hassles in Debian is finally making me look seriously at FreeBSD, and I've been using Linux since 0.99pl13.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Embrace, Extend, Extinguish...

          Slackware is still 'clean' :)

          1. This post has been deleted by its author

        2. Ogi

          Re: Embrace, Extend, Extinguish...

          You could try Devuan. http://devuan.org/ They made a point of never supporting systemd.

          I switched to them when a Debian upgrade on my laptop installed systemd and promptly broke the system (systemd would hang indefinitely at boot) forcing a reinstall.

          Reading about systemd and its design philosophy had already put me off, as it reminded me too much of the mistakes Windows did. Sure it makes it easy for clueless "admins" to manage a machine, but kills the power and flexibility of Unix, and you can't delve down easily when debugging a misbehaving machine (the systemd shell is not a real alternative). All reasons why I left Windows for Linux/Unix in the first place.

          I started the transition with my test VMs, with no problems at all. Now am transitioning my physical Debian machines across to it as upgrade time rolls round. Then I will move over my web/email hosting servers and that will be it.

          I moved my server over to FreeBSD though, ZFS is awesome!

          Between those two operating systems, I will never have to touch systemd, so RedHat and their cheerleaders/minions can have Pottering's latest turd for all I care.

          1. Chika

            Re: Embrace, Extend, Extinguish...

            You could try Devuan. http://devuan.org/ They made a point of never supporting systemd.

            Agreed. I have a VB set up at the moment running Devuan. It seems fine compared with my last openSUSE install pre-systemd (11.4) and all the hype about systemd's abilities to open faster and perform better seems to be belied by Devuan.

            Of course, as I found out on Twitter recently, there are any number of users out there that refuse to accept that just because RedHat have successfully rammed it down the throats of the more mainstream distros and its users, and they are happily dealing with its complexities and breakages, it doesn't necessarily mean that it is right.

            Ah well.

        3. oldcoder

          Re: Embrace, Extend, Extinguish...

          then you should check out the Slackware distribution.

          NO systemd anywhere.

      5. Matt Bryant Silver badge
        Devil

        Re: Christian Berger Re: Embrace, Extend, Extinguish...

        So much fun forwarding articles like this to freetards and watching them go purple ranting on about "The Great Satan in Redmond"!

      6. Mpeler
        Mushroom

        Re: Embrace, Extend, Extinguish...

        Yep. With Micro$oft, NOTHING is free...

        (Insert virtual icon of Bill Gates and/or Satan New Delhi choking a Penguin)...

        1. Mpeler
          Mushroom

          Re: Embrace, Extend, Extinguish...

          To the Micro$luts fanbois - stuff it.

          M$ USED TO BE good. Now it's just the borg.

          Fix it, or shut up.

          That is all.

    3. mr. deadlift
      Joke

      Re: Not sure if I should be happy

      This behavior could incite other vendors leading to anarchy of biblical proportions...

      ...it's in Revelations people!

      K Brockman if you are looking for the quote.

    4. thames

      Re: Not sure if I should be happy

      It's probably mainly just para-virtualization drivers to cut down the virtualization overhead when running on that VM. That's what they did when they added Hyper-V support to Linux. They're just drivers which know they're talking to a VM instead of directly on actual hardware. If you're not running on MS Hyper-V, then you're not using their drivers.

      1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

        Re: Not sure if I should be happy

        "It's probably mainly just para-virtualization drivers to cut down the virtualization overhead when running on that VM."

        "Just" is no problem. It's the "probably mainly" that worries me. However I'm sure the FreeBSD team will be vigilant.

    5. Alan Bourke

      Re: Not sure if I should be happy

      Oh grow up.

      1. Uffish

        Re: Oh grow up.

        "They are at it again" said my wife passing over her laptop. The umpteenth +1 pop-up said "Would you like to do something we know you don't want to do - now, or this evening".

        And you talk about 'growing up'?

    6. MyffyW Silver badge

      Re: Not sure if I should be happy

      All this has happened before. And will happen again.

    7. CompUser

      Re: Not sure if I should be happy

      Microshaft screwing with an otherwise excellent Operating System.....

      I think that says it all.

  2. Tchou
    Mushroom

    "..so anyone who downloads a FreeBSD 10.3 image from the FreeBSD Foundation will get those investments from Microsoft built in to the OS..."

    OUCH!

    1. asdf

      ksh forever

      They can trash FreeBSD all they want but I better not upgrade my OpenBSD someday and find powershell is the new default shell.

    2. Tom 64
      Mushroom

      Re: OUCH!

      Probably means bsdstats gets enabled by default and spaffs data at redmond.

  3. agatum

    Microsoft has created its own FreeBSD. Repeat. Microsoft has created its own FreeBSD

    So what? Repeat. So what?

    Trust is gone.

    1. Version 1.0 Silver badge

      Still, it's nice to see that Microsoft and Apple are both finally moving towards using the same operating system.

      1. Tchou
        Holmes

        the same operating system

        .. Sure if you want to be forever screwed with what you could do with a PERSONAL computer

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Holmes

    Hmm...

    What does /dev/slurp do?

    1. Dan 55 Silver badge

      Re: Hmm...

      Opens a socket to an MS server which can't be overridden by hosts, ignores TCP back-off, sends data from other devices like keyboard, mouse, microphone, and screen automatically and pulls down updates. Just like Windows 10.

    2. Adam 1

      Re: Hmm...

      Oh don't mind that. It's just a temp folder for gwx

    3. Fatman
      Joke

      Re: Hmm...What does /dev/slurp do?

      It will be the equivalent of '/var/log' except that even root will not have ANY permissions. All data stored is sent directly to Microsoft's telemetry servers through a proprietary protocol which is not documented anywhere outside of Redmond's labs. Change one key in the pseudo-registry, and that data is mirrored to the NSA.

  5. kryptylomese

    More than 60% (and growing) of Azure is currently Linux when the option to use FreeBSD was there.

    Of course MS will incentivise using their version but it remains to be seen if businesses want to be tied into a Microsoft version of anything anymore - My guess is not because businesses do not have put all their instances in one cloud i.e. would anyone want to use Microsoft FreeBSD in Amazon?

    1. azaks

      >> More than 60% (and growing) of Azure is currently Linux

      Wrong - its actually around 20%.

      You were presumably so overcome with joy at reading this https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/more-open-source-innovation-azure/ that you missed the subtle but oh so important nuance that the 60% refers to the number of preconfigured Linux VM images available for copying from the image gallery - not the actual number of instances of VMs actually being run (and paid for) by customers.

      Still, why let mere details get in the way of a good yarn...

  6. Mage Silver badge
    Linux

    this is not your father's Microsoft.

    I dunno, I remember installing MS Xenix.

    It was a huge number of disks. Might have been 1987?

    1. Tom 64
      Coat

      Re: this is not your father's Microsoft.

      1987 is indeed a large number of disks!

      1. Loud Speaker

        Re: this is not your father's Microsoft.

        1987 is indeed a large number of disks!They were probably single sided, single density 8" floppies. If you used DS, HD, it was probably only around 600 disks, and since you were unlikely to need the majority of printer drivers (since either the driver or the printer did not work anyway), very few people ever had to install more than 400 disks in any one install procedure.

        1. jake Silver badge

          Re: this is not your father's Microsoft.

          Sane people used tape to install Xenix.

          Come to think of it, sane people used tape to install BSD ;-)

      2. Michael Habel

        Re: this is not your father's Microsoft.

        1987 is indeed a large number of disks!

        kek...

      3. the spectacularly refined chap

        Re: this is not your father's Microsoft.

        Still have the images on my hard drive here. XENIX 86 2.1.3 was 16 360K disks. XENIX 386 2.3.4q was 9 1.44M disks.

    2. jake Silver badge

      Re: this is not your father's Microsoft.

      Xenix is re-badged AT&T UNIX[tm].

      Microsoft never wrote a single line of code when it comes to Xenix.

    3. kmac499

      Re: this is not your father's Microsoft.

      I'll bet they were huge disks as well, possibly even 8 inchers..?

      1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

        Re: this is not your father's Microsoft.

        "I'll bet they were huge disks as well, possibly even 8 inchers..?"

        Yep. I remember having to fold them up to get into the 3 1/2" drives.

    4. Tom 7

      Re: this is not your father's Microsoft.

      I still have it somewhere - a stack of 7 or so bluenotsofloppies.

  7. Mikey

    Just another good example...

    ...Of how those in the Linux community want everyone to join in and contribute to their preferred operating system... except maybe them over there, we don't want them playing with it. And those over in that corner too, we'd rather not let them in. And anyone else that doesn't fit in with the preferred image of what a contributor looks like... What DOES one look like, anyhow?

    This, my friends, is the flipside to open source, namely that anyone can contribute. ANYONE. Wasn't that one of the much flaunted points about the whole deal? And if a big company wants to throw its own, apparently totally reviewable code, into the ring as well... then why not? Isn't this where all those eyeballs reviewing the code (another much shouted about benefit to the whole FOSS thing) should pick up any nasties, and throw them out at that stage? Or will it be very few who bother to look, finding it far easier to just decry the whole things as evil and manipulative?

    It's entirely possible that this could end up being a wonky attempt to take over an existing product, but I would warn against believing that to be the only reason for this. After all, it's not unknown for companies and people to change, even if it's usually glacial in speed. But I fear it's just a knee-jerk reaction to the fact that the main pet target for most of the ranty zealot types is now looking a bit more sympathetic towards the idea of Linux in general, and that irks them.

    But then, how many movies and TV programs have had a supposed bad guy turn good at the last minute? It happens, people. At least respect the effort, even if you don't respect the entity.

    (Cue down votes with no explanation. Or, if you're feeling charitable, provide a solid reason as to why you don't believe this might actually be a good thing!)

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Meh

      Re: Just another good example...

      I totally agree with you.

      I've grown up with Spectrum vs Commodore, then ST vs Amiga, then PC vs Mac, Linux vs Windows and to be honest it's all a bit pathetic.

      I use windows on the desktop, because I like it. I also have a Linux desktop, but don't dabble with it much, because I prefer the software I have on Windows.

      I have a Linux websever, as it's easier to maintain and perfect for the job I want it to do.

      At work I use Windows Servers, Linux servers, propriety black boxes, heck we even have Linux black boxes with windows VM's running on them.

      All have been chosen because they do what they are supposed to, regardless of OS.

      Microsoft are embracing alternative OS's on Azure because it a sound, common sense business choice, not because they are saying "hey our software is crap", it's because if they don't people will go elsewhere.

      If a benefit of this is improvement for everyone, then why reject it?

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

      2. disgruntled yank

        Re: Just another good example...

        It strikes me that maybe Eric Raymond meant to say, "With enough eyeballs, all arguments are shallow."

    2. Tomato42
      Linux

      Re: Just another good example...

      of course it's a take-over attempt

      there's no objective reason to run BSD over Linux. Features, speed, programmers, either Linux has it all, or can simply run BSD stuff

      but BSD doesn't have this pesky GPL business so when they decide it's enough of this OSS lip service, MS can just close it up

      (See also: core Android applications that are no longer developed in AOSP)

      1. Dan 55 Silver badge

        Re: Just another good example...

        How are they going to close FreeBSD up if the licence is more permissive than GPL?

        If you're comparing this to Android, MS don't have a binary blob which is important enough to make people want to use their version of FreeBSD instead of the open version.

        1. Charlie Clark Silver badge

          Re: Just another good example...

          How are they going to close FreeBSD up if the licence is more permissive than GPL?

          Who should want to close it up? FreeBSD? Microsoft? Can't see it appealing to either. The permissive licence allows MS employees to work on the code without a lawyer present as is unfortunately the case with GPL code which counts as "tainted".

          Microsoft has supplied source patches for running FreeBSD on Azure and they've been accepted. It's akin to providing hardware drivers. Really a case of "move along please, nothing to see".

        2. Loud Speaker

          Re: Just another good example...

          MS don't have a binary blob which is important enough to make people want to use their version of FreeBSD

          What about all those NSA backdoors? Only the genuine (TM) MS version will have those.

      2. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

        Re: Just another good example...

        "but BSD doesn't have this pesky GPL business so when they decide it's enough of this OSS lip service, MS can just close it up"

        Yes, this licence stuff is confusing, isn't it?

      3. captain veg Silver badge

        Re: Just another good example...

        > no objective reason to run BSD over Linux

        As I mentioned in the comments to a much older article, I foolishly bought an HP laptop last year that simply won't run any flavour of Linux reliably. I'm pretty sure it is due to a UEFI/ACPI buggarup, especially since they had to issue a firmware update to support Windows 10.

        Last throw of the dice before re-installing Windows was PC-BSD. Runs solidly. No driver for the OE WiFi card (yet), but a supported USB dongle sorts that out.

        -A.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Just another good example...

          Give the MX15 linux distro a try sometime. I've used it on a variety of laptops with no installation or driver issues.

      4. energystar
        Linux

        Re: Just another good example...

        "there's no objective reason to run BSD over Linux."

        MIND INVESTMENT. Whatever you don't have to learn the One and Only Microsoft Way, a BIG plus.

    3. Flocke Kroes Silver badge

      Re: Just another good example...

      The down votes will all be for thinking Linux User = Eadon.

      1. Mikey

        @Flocke

        Mostly they'll be from those who are firmly entrenched in the horrible mind-set of 'Anything Microsoft does is evil'. These are the same kind of people who are akin to those whose religious views are the be-all and end-all of everything, and nothing to the contrary can persuade them otherwise, no sir-ee.

        I figure they're less pro FOSS, and just more for hating on a common target to feel like they're doing something useful. New Age Feminists and SJWs are waaaay behind, these guys have been doing it for decades!

        1. itzman
          Boffin

          Re: @Flocke

          the horrible mind-set of 'Anything Microsoft does is evil'.

          Yes, but how did this mindset arise?

          There is experience, there is discrimination, there is prejudice, and there is bigotry.

          Experience shows you that for general practical purposes and algorithmically compressed statement about experience like 'Microsoft sucks' is for most practical purposes and accurate enough assessment of the code, the approach to marketing, and the general attitude towards a captive customer base. That is discrimination.

          Extending that to future behaviour, that has not happened - 'Microsoft always sucks, and always will' - is perhaps prejudice. You haven't bothered to look further than the brand in order to associate it firmly with past performance. In fact this prejudice too, is probably on balance functional and effective... You don't change the whole culture of large monolithic organisations overnight.

          Bigotry is rather different. Bigotry is not only an algorithmically compressed view of reality, and one which pre-judges it without going to deeply into experience, it is also a dysfunctional view. One that is dangerously at odds with reality.

          This, is bigotry. Or humour. Depending.

          http://vps.templar.co.uk/Cartoons%20and%20Politics/Windowsvistamarketing.jpg

          That Microsoft has engaged in activities which lead people to be enormously suspicious of any moves it makes, is fact. Those suspicions are useful discriminations and they have unfortunately (sic?) led to fully justified prejudice.

          However I would claim that the bigotry is usually the province of the Microsoft Astroturfers.

          Institutionalised bigotry is a powerful and much used marketing technique.

          In fact marketing is by and large the art of getting people to make incorrect prejudicial judgements in the absence of any experience. I.e. Bigotry.

          That reminds me...there's a referendum on isn't there?

        2. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

          Re: @Flocke

          "Mostly they'll be from those who are firmly entrenched in the horrible mind-set of 'Anything Microsoft does is evil'."

          Maybe. Or possibly from the mind-set of 'We've seen some doozies from them where their own name's on the product. How much care will they take when it isn't?'.

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Just another good example...

      What DOES one look like, anyhow?

      Like this, allegedly

      http://vps.templar.co.uk/Cartoons%20and%20Politics/unix.jpg

    5. Arthur the cat Silver badge

      Re: Just another good example...

      how those in the Linux community want everyone to join in and contribute to their preferred operating system... except maybe them over there

      Why are you ranting about the Linux community when the article is about FreeBSD? FreeBSD developers generally have no problem whatsoever with commercial use of FBSD, because they know that either the closed product is so niche it doesn't matter or the company will eventually realise that it's easier to merge their generic changes upstream. For example, Netflix has contributed major efficiency improvements to the networking code, which are now available for everybody.

    6. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      "Captain Avengers Guards the Galaxy from DC Comics" proves nothing about real life

      "But then, how many movies and TV programs have had a supposed bad guy turn good at the last minute? It happens, people."

      I'm sorry, but.... look, I have to tell you. Most of those TV shows and movies... they're fictional. The latest Marvel blockbuster is designed to provide an entertaining and satisfying narrative arc for the viewers over a two hour period, not to prove anything about real life.

      Secondly, as the other guy pointed out, Linux and BSD aren't the same communities and don't share the same approach (see: Endless GPL vs. BSD license holy war discussions).

      Of course, not everything MS has done is bad. But given their repeated bad faith "embrace, extend, extinguish" in the past and well-documented abuse of their power, it's not prejudice or bigotry not to trust them, it's common sense.

      Any time MS tries giving the impression it's changed, it does something to remind you that, no, they haven't, they've just adapted. For example...

      The shameless hypocrisy in running the "Scroogled" campaign (legitimately) attacking Google for violations of privacy, then turning round and releasing Windows 10 which- by default- merrily sends whatever the hell it likes to MS's servers, forces users to tediously check settings to stop this happening and overrides or replaces those settings whenever it feels like it anyway?

      The recent GWX debacle that had even mainstream, non-partisan IT publications comparing it to malware in the way it attempts to actively override, obfuscate and weasel its way around users' explicit and repeatedly-expressed desire *not* to install Windows 10, resubmitting updates that had already been rejected, abusing the "security update" categorisation to hide adverts and nagware for Windows 10 (KB 3139929); the fact that you need third-party software to actively enforce and remove MS's attempts to override your will and force the update upon you?

      I'll be honest; I used to use Linux sometimes, but hadn't touched it much in recent years, sticking with Windows 7 for regular use at home. I've managed to keep MS's actively hostile attempt to force W10 off my machine so far- mainly by turning updates off, and it still occasionally installs things despite the settings explicitly stating otherwise- but it's clearly not trustworthy and, yeah, I'll be looking at Linux, because there's sure as hell no way I'm running W10 on my own machine except where absolutely necessary.

      1. TVU Silver badge

        Re: "Captain Avengers Guards the Galaxy from DC Comics" proves nothing about real life

        "I'll be honest; I used to use Linux sometimes, but hadn't touched it much in recent years, sticking with Windows 7 for regular use at home. I've managed to keep MS's actively hostile attempt to force W10 off my machine so far- mainly by turning updates off, and it still occasionally installs things despite the settings explicitly stating otherwise- but it's clearly not trustworthy and, yeah, I'll be looking at Linux, because there's sure as hell no way I'm running W10 on my own machine except where absolutely necessary."

        If you do decide to go down that route, I'd suggest trying out the Windows-like Linux Mint Cinnamon, Linux Mint Mate and Zorin via live DVD/USB and then installing your favourite alongside Windows 7 in a dual boot configuration to ease the transition to Linux.

  8. Sorry that handle is already taken. Silver badge

    They've done what?!

    This appeared in my RSS feed one line above "McDonalds says bigger fonts cooked up improved profits" and my brain combined them into "McDonalds has created its own FreeBSD." Quelle confusion!

    1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge
      Pint

      Re: They've done what?!

      "my brain combined them"

      You need medication...

      1. Vinyl-Junkie
        Holmes

        Re: You need medication...

        I can't help thinking that the medication might be the problem in the first place! :)

        1. Sorry that handle is already taken. Silver badge
          Pint

          Re: You need medication...

          I can confirm that the ethanol content of my blood was insufficient.

    2. PNGuinn
      Coat

      Re: They've done what?!

      "McDonalds has created its own FreeBSD"

      Would you like some Linux with that Sir?

      Have a nice day ...

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I'd be concerned to use this, seeing as MS have a tendency to get bored of things.

    Or rename them ( Windows 10, no, not the Windows one, the one that was based on FreeBSD ).

  10. Jay 2
    Linux

    On one hand Microsoft are only doing it for themselves, but on the other hand at least they're (allegedly) going to contribute upstream to FreeBSD. Overall I see this as a good thing; FreeBSD gets a few more contributors and Azure gets a friendly FreeBSD. What's not to like?

    Hopefully it won't turn out like Oracle using RedHat source to do their own thing and sod the upstream.

  11. jms222

    They've used FreeBSD for research for a looong time. I remember a talk at the Cambridge lab saying so.

    1. W. Anderson

      The FreeBSD networking stack has been the 'default' infrastructure networking for Microsoft for many years. Think about it, while SMB is Windows only, TCP/IP, NFS, and other networking protocols and technologies are "Internet" (built on UNIX) technologies which rule the world.

      Many Microsoft supporters in USA and elsewhere 'refused' to accept this fact - even as confirmed by Microsoft itself, and only accept pure Microsoft only innovative (yuk) and developed technology, even as such MS technology is broken and/or does not work at all.

      Such is the mentality of Microsoft dupes, gladly eating pure MS crap.

  12. Cem Ayin
    Devil

    MS Takeover? I think not.

    What exactly could MS possibly hope to gain by throwing a fork of FBSD on the OS market?

    This just appears to be an attempt to make Azure more attractive to BSD admins (and, probably more importantly, to Linux admins who are increasingly p****** off by systemd).

    I'm by no means a Microsoft fanboi, but if anything this will give more momentum to FBSD and it is good news.

    Satan chosen for closest Beastie resemblance.

  13. Sil

    Another option for customers

    People seem to see way too much in this new.

    If Microsoft is introducing modules in FreeBSD, could it be that it just wants to ensure that FreeBSD works well in Azure ?

    Could it be that it took an interest in FreeBSD because its customers or potential customers were asking for it in Azure?

  14. Vinyl-Junkie
    Joke

    My first thought...

    was that Microsoft have been supplying me with free BSDs for years....

    1. Nunyabiznes

      Re: My first thought...

      You've been getting yours for free? I must be doing something wrong... :)

      1. Vinyl-Junkie
        Happy

        Re: My first thought...

        To use MS's own terminology it's an "undocumented feature" and therefore something over and above what you have paid for; hence free! :)

  15. Mikel

    Works with HyperV

    Breaks VMWare?

  16. Mark M.

    MS Linux?

    As other commenters have said, MS have been using bits of Linux for years, and using Linux internally for years as well. Guess they know bare-bones Linux servers perform better than Windows servers at high demand sevices.

    This is the first time they've offered a bare-bones Linux distro for servers without all the crud-ware that they pack in Windows. Probably MS will add a Win10-like desktop package to it and flog it as a Linux replacement for Windows 10 for those who hate Real-Win10. Slowly add in crud-ware packages that install themselves by default. Then they'll get Office365 working in Linux so it kills off LibreOffice. Real-Win10 & Win7/8/8.1 gets quietly morphed into Linux-Win10 on existing PCs.

    *Then* MS will start pissing in the Linux pool by messing with standards and wresting control of the kernel from Linus so that all other flavors of Linux have to become clones of whatever MS produces so in a decade's time users have a choice of MS-Linux, MS-Linux or OS-X with bits of MS-Linux in it.

    1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

      Re: MS Linux?

      FreeBSD is not Linux. FreeBSD is a Unix variant. Linux was a Unix-like OS, now rather less Unix-like.

    2. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

      Re: MS Linux?

      "MS will start pissing...and wresting control of the kernel from Linus "

      From Linus? Are you kidding? He'll tell them to fuck off. Probably in more colourful language too.

      Or maybe not since the article is about FreeBSD, not Linux.

    3. W. Anderson

      Re: MS Linux?

      Commenter "mark M" unfortunately represents the many dozens or even hundreds of severely ignorant comments on TheRegister and other tech forum about Linux, FreeBSD and other Free/open Source Software (FOSS) over past several years.

      Most of these false and illogical comments come from Microsoft shills and dupes who accept any position and - genuine MS only - product out of Redmond, no matter how unreliable, insecure and and convoluted the result.

      The USA and international catastrophe of Microsoft offerings have cost the global economies Trillions of $dollars of losses. None of the Microsoft supporting idiots consider this "fact" at all.

    4. azaks

      Re: MS Linux?

      oh dear!

      you don't have a very good understanding of this whole IT thing do you?

  17. This post has been deleted by its author

  18. hplasm
    Devil

    Microsoft announce -

    No charge for Windows 10.

    Free Blue Screen of Death!

  19. This post has been deleted by its author

  20. Cynic_999

    Borg strategy

    If you cannot compete with another system (because it's free), then assimilate instead.

  21. anonymous boring coward Silver badge

    Is it the "Free BSD - Straitjacket Edition"?

    1. W. Anderson

      FreeBSD is same, no matter how uSed, except in Microsoft FreeBSD which should not be allowed to be called FreeBSD or any other Open Sourced licensed operating system (OS).

      Microsoft is mess, except to all blind, deaf, dump (unfortunately not mute) and stupid loyalists.

  22. A Ghost
    Boffin

    "embrace, extend, extinguish"

    So said a fellow commentard above.

    I got burned many years ago learning Java. This was before I went to uni to do a degree. This was me seeing if I could 'hack' it as a programmer.

    First I thought 'no bloody way' will I be able to do that. But it fascinated me and like a moth to the flame it drew me in. Polymorphism, Inheritance, Encapsulation, what strange terms, I wonder what they 'really' mean. I was hooked.

    I read the API for Delphi of a computer world magazine or some such thing. It drew me in further. I couldn't get the IDE set up for it though being a complete novice and fucktard. Someone suggested Java. I had a look, bought a book, and got tucked in.

    I found an IDE that was freely available, also on a computer world magazine. I had a crack at installing it - it worked. So cock-a-hoop was I at this new found technical nirvana, I set to work on my first Hello World. It compiled. You never forget your first Cumpilation! I don't know if it was good for you, but it was bloody fantastic for me. Soon I wasn't just hooked - I was addicted.

    I got up at 10am every morning and worked without a break until 4am in the morning - a straight 18 hour hacking run. I stopped for the obvious things (no I didn't have a piss bottle, but I did consider it - don't say you haven't too). It was like nailing dead jelly to the beach, like kicking dead sand down the beach. I loved it. The harder it got, the more tears I shed (yes I cried with frustration - don't say you haven't too). I was compelled. I had a hard copy of The New Hacker's Dictionary, and by jimminy cricket if I wasn't going to become one too.

    I marveled at Mel the Real Programmer and his optimum and pessimum. I laughed at the fact they called Pascal a bondage and discipline language - what could they possibly mean by that? I read it word for word, back to front, then back again, and still had no bloody idea what any of them were talking about. But still, reading the book was for fun, when I had access to my rich girlfriend's computer, I worked and learned. Computers were rare in those days. A 200MHz pentium cost 3,000 GBP. I even turned down a holiday in Europe with her just so I could have a few weeks over summer, just me and the computer, learning, working. Trying to see if I was made of the right stuff.

    I did this off my own bat. No idea I was going to go to college in a bit to get a degree in this stuff. I was doing it for the hell of it, because I can. And Microsoft 'enabled' me to do that. Thank you Microsoft, from the bottom of my heart. I couldn't have done it without you. Yours was the easiest most available best working IDE to get learning Java with.

    Soon I was flying, hacking bits of other people's code to get applets running (you remember 'applets' don't you). Pretty soon I designed and wrote my first program from the ground up using the Java 1.02 SDK, sorry JDK.

    My program started to take shape, was coming into life. Me, a computer programmer. Who'd a thunk it uh? It was exhilarating, there was the taste of eastern promise, what new worlds were about to unfold before me?

    There was only one slight buzzkill though when I got to this level, or rather, had just got hooked and was just starting to get somewhere with it all - my 'applets' would only work properly in Internet Explorer. That's odd, I said to myself. I must be dong something wrong, dumb noob I am. I'll crack on with the IE all the same coz at least that was working. Thank you Microsoft. I couldn't have done it without you. You really saved my bacon on this one. That shitty Netscape Navigator - amateurs!

    The more complex the program got, the less it worked in Netscape Navigator. I was seriously starting to question this cross-platform write once deploy anywhere paradigm, but silly noob I was, I was sure it was me doing something wrong.

    By the end of it, the program just flat out refused to run in NN and would only work in IE. NN was all the rage back then, but I had a working prototype that I could reuse the code for later. And reuse it I did.

    At college I did it as an assessment, and got a first for it. It utitlised an upgraded JDK API and I remember it being a real pain as they had significantly changed the event handling with the later version. But I got it to work. And I learned. And all was good. And it still wouldn't run anywhere other than bloody Internet fucking Explorer. No one used IE back then if they could help it. Navigator was 'cool'. IE was not. But too late. No going back now.

    The IDE that I had been using - J++ I think it was called - had actually made little changes in the compiler, so that it purposely would not be compatible with Netscape. I seem to recall that a few others got burned with this cross-platform write once deploy anywhere environment. It wasn't Java's fault, it was Microsoft's fault. It certainly wasn't my fucking fault.

    I got so pissed off with this, that I re-wrote the whole program again in Lingo and deployed it via Macromedia Director. I was already getting into Future Splash (Flash before it was bought out by Macromedia iirc). I got a first for that as well. As I got a first for my fully Flash website, graphics, audio, the works. I had abandoned the promise of Java being compatible by then. Though I did deploy it later for server side scripting and got into Tomcat and servlets and apache and whatnot. I never did get my degree.

    So, this is just my little personal experience with the promises that Microsoft make. I certainly can't think of a better example of "embrace, extend, extinguish".

    I never did become a programmer either. But such is life, and for once that wasn't Microsoft's fault.

    J++ however. Very clever. Spot on marketing. They got me good on that one. They had me doubting my own sanity, blaming my own incompetence (and I was incompetent). And over the years, I still went back for more. You think they can change. The more you double down the deeper in you go, and the harder it is to get back out.

    Microsoft know this. It's the whole philosophy behind "embrace, extend, extinguish", and let's be fair, it's certainly worked for them in a big way.

    As for their latest foray? I think I have made my point. I shall not be going near it with a ten-foot pole. I wouldn't touch it with... er, I think I really have made my point, so I'll shut up now.

    Except to say, Microsoft, thank you for the memories! You really were a class act.

  23. g00se
    Linux

    Icon

    Don't you mean http://technojeeves.com/tech/freebsd_logo.png ?

  24. A Ghost
    Terminator

    Try before you buy

    @g00se

    There's a famous graphic doing the rounds of Charlie Steinberg (Steinborg) as a borg. Charlie of Steinberg Cubase fame.

    It doesn't seem to be on the 'available' web. It was included in installers for cracks of Cubase (back when Cubase could be cracked). Maybe Charlie boy had it 'Axle Rosed'?

    It was pretty funny. I think even Charlie once said it gave him a bit of a chuckle. But he had the last chuckle what with Cubase not being cracked since v5. I think it's safe to say the dongle has more than done its job by now.

    It was a play on the Bill Gates borg allusion.

    The funny thing is, Steinberg were just a small(ish) company trying to survive. I think the parallel came as much from the play on words than it did any accusation that they were trying to take over the world, as opposed to just keeping the ship afloat with a few dozen top-class programmers, and a fair few more employees who relied on it to remain so.

    Bill, still isn't satisfied. It just isn't funny any more.

    I must dig out one of those Radium or H20 cracks from yonks back, pretty funny they were.

    Me? I pay for my software. Yes, even Cubase (no choice).

    Maybe you had to be there.

    Coat time.

    Anyway, here's Karl Charlie Steinberg's homepage:

    http://charliesteinberg.com/

    It's a rollicking good read.

    God, even the crackers that can't crack the dongle love Charlie.

    I wonder, can the same be said of Bill or Ballmer or any of the others?

    History is about to be written for the first time, for the last time.

    When we are all finally assimilated, history will cease to exist.

    Maybe then, and only then, they will be happy.

  25. W. Anderson

    Microsost Azure cloud services now more UNIX/Linux (*NIX) than Windows.

    If Microsoft Windows is so 'wonderful' or even very good, as incessantly claimed over years by Microsoft dupes, why has the company developed, first it's own "GNU/Linux as previously officially reported and now FreeBSD - to run inside Microsoft Azure Cloud no less, as a UNIX-like 'on top of' Windows to support who??

    Furthermore the BSD license copyright of FreeBSD would allow Microsoft to fully use and deploy FreeBSD _/"without"/_ having to "_/fork" /_the operating system (OS) at all. Sick approach!

    There are not millions of FreeBSD server workloads that "need" support under Azure, since this and Linux/Azure combinations are overly complex and error prone solutions to problems for which there are significantly better solutions - NIX only - than do not include Windows and Azure at all.

    This convoluted technology approach makes no sense, especially as publicly expressed by highest regarded technology experts in many of largest technology entities - corporations, academia and research institutions in USA and Internationally.

    Most knowledgeable (meaning not limited to Microsoft only) expert technologists will probably puke on hearing the usual diarrhea of the mouth from Redmond slavish minions.

    1. azaks

      Re: Microsost Azure cloud services now more UNIX/Linux (*NIX) than Windows.

      W.Anderson

      You seem horribly confused, so let me help you out.

      Microsoft's interest in offering FreeBSD is to allow companies that use it to migrate to Azure. They pay money for hosting their servers, which makes the company and its shareholders happy.

      If you are going to host an unfamiliar OS, you need to make some changes to make sure it runs well on your platform, integrates with the various management and monitoring pieces, can consume other Azure services etc. Yes, we know... "EEE" and all that fucktardary, but the FreeBSD folk are free to take or leave any code that Microsoft contribute.

      As for why anyone would want to move their FreeBSD workloads into Azure? I imagine capital cost savings, rapid provisioning and scaling, pay for only what you use, access to big fucking network pipes etc would all make the list - but probably the most compelling reason for most businesses is that they wouldn't have to suffer snotty little oiks like you anymore ;-)

      1. W. Anderson

        Re: Microsost Azure cloud services now more UNIX/Linux (*NIX) than Windows.

        Commenter "azaks" is totally ignorant about many of the technical configurations and uses of non-Microsoft Os inside Azure.

        Active Directory, Docker and the NIX Virtualization generally work poorly as a subsystem under Azure, and many other critical NIX Cloud administration functionality does not work at all under Azure.

        If a corporation, government agency or other entity wishes to run FreeBSD based work loads in a Cloud environment, those not Microsoft contract obligated will chose more "reliable", "significantly more secure" and better priced Cloud solutions on Redhat similar robust Openstack based cloud computing services than on Azure, especially for advanced File management and Docker containerization, only 2 examples of required technologies not available from Microsoft.

        Who wants a convoluted Microsoft spaghetti meshup solution for Cloud other than clients with Microsoft hands on purse strings..

        1. azaks

          Re: Microsost Azure cloud services now more UNIX/Linux (*NIX) than Windows.

          That's quite funny - you accuse me of ignorance and yet all you do is hand-wave without providing a single specific that shows you know what you are talking about. At least you had the decency to put quotes around some of your hand-waving, but I think "generally work poorly" and "many other" deserve quotes too.

          Not sure what you mean by "advanced file management" (more hand-waving?) but whatever file systems and tools are available to your distro can be used (and Azure has had Docker for the last 2 years)

          1. W. Anderson

            Re: Microsost Azure cloud services now more UNIX/Linux (*NIX) than Windows.

            ZFS and btrfs file systems for FreeBSD and linux respectively - world better in performance, reliability than Microsoft ResFS file system. Docker "only came to Windows" as native technology in last 10 months, and docker developers themselves state that containerization works significantly better on Linux base than Windows base. Cloud and networking Administration tools for UNIX/Linux do not work well or at all under Microsoft;s tools or Active directory and specific docker container admin tools.

            Check CoreOS business , a major core contributor to Docker for details on how lame Docker is on Windows, or check information sources from Cisco.

            1. azaks

              Re: Microsost Azure cloud services now more UNIX/Linux (*NIX) than Windows.

              FFS - try and understand that you can run native Linux/FreeBSD in Azure. Its a Linux VM - you can install whatever the fuck you want on it. You can install any FS you want, you can use Docker, you can install any management tools you want. There are web and CLI interfaces to manage your Linux VMs - you don't need to use any Windows tools at all if you don't want to. Why do you have so much trouble understanding this - its all on the web if you bother to educate yourself?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Microsost Azure cloud services now more UNIX/Linux (*NIX) than Windows.

      ...because maybe, finally, after all these decades - Microsoft are only now realising that a server doesn't need a fucking desktop.

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

  26. david 12 Silver badge

    this is not your father's Microsoft.

    Dam right. My father's Microsoft was Xenix.

  27. Phil Koenig
    Coat

    Hmmm, what's this NSAKEY thing???

    Best be going now..

  28. tweeks

    M$ Loves (non-GPL) Open Source, Because They Hate to Share

    Old news.. From Windows 2000, on M$ has stole non-GPL source code from the world. The first *I* noticed was the TCP/IP stack win Win2k, as well as tons of other binaries. Just go into any C:\Windows\system32\ dir and do a "findstr 'Berkeley' " and see what you find. It's been there for at least 16yrs.

    So sure, Microsoft loves Open Source. They only hate GPL.. because they love to take, and hate to share.

    Tweeks

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. Vic

      Re: M$ Loves (non-GPL) Open Source, Because They Hate to Share

      From Windows 2000, on M$ has stole non-GPL source code from the world. The first *I* noticed was the TCP/IP stack win Win2k, as well as tons of other binaries. Just go into any C:\Windows\system32\ dir and do a "findstr 'Berkeley' "

      That's not stealing. That's what the BSD licence allows you to do. BSD developers specifically promote this behaviour - it's the root of all the "GPL vs. BSD licence" arguments.

      Vic.

      1. Matt Bryant Silver badge
        Stop

        Re: Vic Re: M$ Loves (non-GPL) Open Source, Because They Hate to Share

        "....That's what the BSD licence....." Yeah, shame that FreeBSD now comes encumbered with that cack called ZFS and its proprietary history. It's why I stopped using FreeNAS after version 7. If it ever becomes commercially successful in any form then Larry Ellison will send his legal eagles out to fund a new yatch. I'm avoiding FreeBSD until a truly open alternative like Hammerv2 or BTRFS is properly integrated.

  29. CompUser

    Cut out the middle person and just install FreeBSD...

    1. azaks

      and host it where?

  30. mediabeing

    I HATE articles that don't spell out the initials and their meaning. You have no heart when it comes to those of us trying to learn from articles. Be happy I'm not your boss.

    Cram all the initialism. Shove your unwillingness to be open and understandable.

    1. Dadmin

      Which acronyms are you referring to? I'll just take a wild stab in the dark and tell you that FreeBSD stands for Freely (available) Berkeley Software Distribution.

      See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_Software_Distribution

      Then https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FreeBSD

      I always have this complaint when I see SMB, or other soft (not software) business term acronyms

  31. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    E_COFFEE_ON_SCREEN

    ...ppffftfTTFFTT!! WHAT??

    This can mean only one thing - Microsoft Engineers will now start (or presumably have started) mucking about with the internals of the awesome FreeBSD kernel, which has so far been free of large corporate meddling (to my non-authoritative knowledge).

    .... PREPARE TO REPEL BOARDERS!

  32. Maelstorm Bronze badge

    No, it's not

    Calm down people. This is not a MS-BSD or a Microsoft version of FreeBSD. It is just Microsoft releasing Azure Cloud Services (ACS) software for the FreeBSD operating system. The same thing was said back a few months ago when they did the same thing for Linux. From what I understand, it's just a few device drivers so FreeBSD will run under Hyper-V, and the ACS software that runs on top of the kernel. They did the same thing with Linux, specifying Debian Linux (although I think Ubuntu has made that list as well) as the tested and endorsed platform.

    So, nothing to see here folks, calm down and move along.

    1. azaks

      Re: No, it's not

      Alas, there isn't much room for facts or reason around here. Still, have an up vote anyway.

  33. JLV
    Joke

    Poor lil mascot. Hope he's got some really warm clothes handy ; - )

    Nice to see BSDs get some cloud love because they seem very suited to that type of use. Hopefully AWS will follow.

    1. Dadmin
      Devil

      Yeah, "follow" HAHA! You're funning me, guy. AWS/EC2 has had FreeBSD on there since 2012!

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Elastic_Compute_Cloud#Operating_systems

      1. JLV

        Ah, my bad. Last I was looking at it, fairly casually, I saw mostly Ubuntus, AMIs and even some Windows stuff. Missed the BSDs :(

        I stand corrected, but still think BSDs have a massive visibility gap in cloud & vm stuff. Vagrant/Chef seems to be mostly about Ubuntu for example. You are right in that it exists, but if you don't know to look for it, it is easy to miss. Azure usage is bound to improve that.

        Take any combination of Googling <tech> ubuntu vs <tech> freebsd. Where tech in chef/vagrant/aws. You'll see 2x-3x the hits, easy, on the ubuntu searches. I assume it would be even worse on a specific Stackoverflow search.

        Anyway, learned something, thx.

  34. earplugs

    Can I boot M$ FreeBSD on Windows 8?

    HyperV might be good for something

  35. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Kill NT and CE

    When are they going to dump NT and switch over to FreeBSD. Harmon.ie Mainsoft has done most of the work for them.

    Classic Mac OS was a usable OS, but Apple switched to Dariwn. The case for Microsoft switching to FreeBSD or other BSD or Unix is much more urgent. Using the WINE approach rather than adding Linux syscalls to NT is the correct approach for addressing Microsoft's unique security problems.

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