OpenBSD 4.2 to Appear November 1
The free OpenBSD operating system will be released in line with its regular 6 month schedule November 1; CD presales are already in full sway.
The project has always emphasized the security aspect and proudly points out on the project website that there have been “Only two remote holes in the default install, in more than 10 years!”. On top of the numerous hardware platforms that the system already supports, such as x86, Mac, AMD64 and Zaurus, the developers have announced improved support for Sun’s UltraSparcIII-based servers in the new version.
The developers have mainly concentrated on improving system performance, reworking the network stack, and improving the OpenBSD packet filter, Pf, in the process. Other new feature include support for the FFS2 filesystem. FFS2 is based on the legacy FFS (Berkeley Fast Filesystem) and has been available on the FreeBSD and NetBSD distributions for a fair while. The move to FFS2 promises improved support for larger files and TeraByte-scale partitions. Software packages have also been updated and include OpenSSH 4.7, Gnome 2.18, KDE 3.5.7 and Koffice 1.6.3, OpenOffice.org 2.2.1, Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.6, PostgreSQL 8.2.4 and X.org 7.2.
The project regularly links its software releases with a political message to the developer community, which it wraps in cartoons and songs concerning its mascot, the Puffy the blowfish. The developers again levy criticism both against corporations such as Microsoft and Sun, and against the free operating systems Linux and FreeBSD. The current comic shows the Linux penguin stealing a map off the helpful blowfish in an underwater marathon, and heading off into the distance. The OpenBSD team explains the symbolism on the song text page: "Now rather than seeing us as friends who can cooperatively improve all codebases, we are seen as foes who oppose the GPL." The OpenBSD community sees the Free Software Foundation FSF and its “legal arm”, the Software Freedom Law Center SFLC, as the root cause of the disputes between free developers.
One of the bones of contention between free operating systems in the past few months was a call by the FreeBSD project leader, who took the release of GPLv3 as an opportunity to underline the benefits of BSD compared to Linux (see the separate news item here). OpenBSD developers had previously levied criticism against Linux developers in their OpenBSD 4.1 song. According to makers of OpenBSD, programmers should learn how to think more critically in the development marathon: "Run for yourself, not for their agenda.", they say.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you've found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Linux Kernel Reducing Long-Term Support
LTS support for the Linux kernel is about to undergo some serious changes that will have a considerable impact on the future.
-
Fedora 39 Beta is Now Available for Testing
For fans and users of Fedora Linux, the first beta of release 39 is now available, which is a minor upgrade but does include GNOME 45.
-
Fedora Linux 40 to Drop X11 for KDE Plasma
When Fedora 40 arrives in 2024, there will be a few big changes coming, especially for the KDE Plasma option.
-
Real-Time Ubuntu Available in AWS Marketplace
Anyone looking for a Linux distribution for real-time processing could do a whole lot worse than Real-Time Ubuntu.
-
KSMBD Finally Reaches a Stable State
For those who've been looking forward to the first release of KSMBD, after two years it's no longer considered experimental.
-
Nitrux 3.0.0 Has Been Released
The latest version of Nitrux brings plenty of innovation and fresh apps to the table.
-
Linux From Scratch 12.0 Now Available
If you're looking to roll your own Linux distribution, the latest version of Linux From Scratch is now available with plenty of updates.
-
Linux Kernel 6.5 Has Been Released
The newest Linux kernel, version 6.5, now includes initial support for two very exciting features.
-
UbuntuDDE 23.04 Now Available
A new version of the UbuntuDDE remix has finally arrived with all the updates from the Deepin desktop and everything that comes with the Ubuntu 23.04 base.
-
Star Labs Reveals a New Surface-Like Linux Tablet
If you've ever wanted a tablet that rivals the MS Surface, you're in luck as Star Labs has created such a device.