"The first RC build for the FreeBSD-9.0 release cycle is now available. ISO images for the architectures amd64, i386, ia64, powerpc, powerpc64, and sparc64 are available on most of our FreeBSD mirror sites. One of the many new features in 9.0 we would like to be tested is the new installer, so we encourage our users to do fresh installation on test systems. Alternatively, users upgrading existing systems may now do so using the freebsd-update(8) utility."
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Member since:2006-07-14
Member since:2006-03-29
@DOSguy, that sounds plausible. I was also thinking it may be the case that since the kernel API's have stabilized since 7.0 that the team is being more diligent about MFC's and the features are simply more spread out between point and major releases now. It is hard to be certain since it is purely subjective.
@jefro/@celt, you both missed the point. New features do not necessarily a great product make, but they have traditionally been a pretty good indicator as to how rich the labor and intellectual economy of a given open source project is.
@laffer1, knowing how much work it is simply to keep up with the modern age wrt drivers and third party software support, I do not envy you guys. That said, I would love to see more collaboration between our respective projects, though I am not sure how exactly one goes about putting a foot forward in that regard. There are a number of us who are effectively red-headed stepchildren of the BSD community after all. It couldn't hurt to establish a dialogue to see if there are ways in which our work can overlap beyond periodically porting and sync'ing code.
@joekiser, I know a large number of FreeBSD developers and users that left the project for greener pastures (Linux, typically) during the SMPng/5.x development cycle. That timeframe I can certainly comment on. I haven't really kept a well-tuned ear to the FreeBSD community since sometime in the 6.x development cycle, which is why I raise the question. I am really genuinely curious if there has been some exodus of developers (did Apple hire them all?) or if things have otherwise slowed down, or if it is simply my mistaken impression. Despite what a couple have said in this thread, I am certain that at least _ideas_ for new features and improvements are not lacking.
Member since:2005-07-06
I'm not sure what I was down-moderated even though I gave the list he was looking for.
And I still assert that I'm quite impressed by the FreeBSD9 features (DTrace, Capsicum, etc).
Let's look at Linux 3.1, what's are the interesting new feature?
The support of OpenRISC, a RISC CPU implemented currently only in FPGA? Bleah.
It's not the same project, not the same release process, but still..
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!
The day has finally come! Jolla has finally announced the launch device for its Sailfish operating system - and by god this is a looker. It's decidedly different from other phones out there, but it has good specifications and carries a relatively reasonably price tag - EUR 399, and it's up for pre-order today, shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.Nokia has posted its quarterly results for the first quarter of 2013, and just like the quarters that came before, there's not a whole lot of good news in there. The rise in Lumia sales still can't even dream of making up for the sales drop in Symbian phones, and when broken down in versions, the sales figures for Windows Phone 8 Lumias in particular are very disappointing. In North America, Nokia is getting slaughtered.
Member since:
2005-07-06
Capsicum, DTrace.. it's just you.
See http://ivoras.net/freebsd/freebsd9.html