2021 posts

• (148) Dystopian Open Source

This post is about a phenomenon in Open Source that could be described as hostility towards contributions from “less important” projects. Some of that is due to ignorance by a certain type of developers and some due to increasing corporate influence on Open Source. It’s high time to realize the dangers in this and oppose the wrong direction things are currently heading!

• (149) Multi-OS PXE-booting from FreeBSD 12: Introduction (pt. 1)

Part 1 of this mini-series explains why you might want a multi-OS PXE server on FreeBSD, includes an excursion about what PXE is in short and shows how I prepared a test machine to be a gateway and nameserver.

• (150) Multi-OS PXE-booting from FreeBSD 12: Required services (pt. 2)

In part 2 the actual services required for PXE booting are set up. Two options are described for both of the third-party services used (DHCP server and File Server) so the reader can pick from them.

• (151) Multi-OS PXE-booting from FreeBSD 12: PXE menu and *BSD (pt. 3)

Part 3 of the series covers preparing and configuring the NBP and menu (including optional submenus). It also shows how to prepare our machine for serving working installations of all the major BSDs – with the exception for DragonFly BSD that I could not get working without using NFS.

• (152) Multi-OS PXE-booting from FreeBSD 12: Linux, illumos and more (pt. 4)

The mini series ends with examples for adding various Linux and illumos distributions as options to the PXE server. A couple of other Open Source operating systems are also covered.

• (153) Re-learning to type… again! (From Neo to Bone)

This article covers my initial experiences with a new keyboard layout after only practicing it for three days (which was already enough to write about it!)

• (154) Cancelling Richard Stallman?

This post is one that I didn’t think I’d ever write: I’m defending Stallman against defamation by “cancel culture” activists. I also write about the dangers of such movements for today’s society.

• (155) Women… in tech?! (And elsewhere)

After having been accused of only caring about men’s interests, in this article I explain my stance towards women: I’m not indifferent to the very real problems they are facing in society. Here’s why and some proposals that I make.

• (156) FreeBSD router take 2 (pt. 1): OPNsense ZFS-based installation (by converting FreeBSD)

In this first post of my new series, I show how to install OPNsense as a root-on-ZFS system by setting up a FreeBSD system first and then converting that.

• (157) FreeBSD router take 2 (pt. 2): Excursion – FreeBSD and security

This article discusses what I think security means in today’s world – and how FreeBSD performs security-wise.

• (158) FreeBSD router take 2 (pt. 3): Excursion – De-hardening OPNsense for 2022?

Where the previous article discussed the parts where FreeBSD shines when it comes to security, this one is about the bad parts. It also looks at why HardenedBSD is important, why OPNsense leaving it behind still arguably makes sense and why OpenBSD is not an option.

• (159) FreeBSD router take 2 (pt. 4): Demoting my ISP’s router

This article is about using a DSL modem together with OPNsense to replace my ISP’s router (except for telephony). It shows how to configure both.

• (160) FreeBSD package building pt. 1: Introduction and test system

This article discusses the theory of package building: When to do it and which way? What program to use in which case? And how to work with ports after FreeBSD migrated to Git? It also includes the setup for a test system that will be used for demonstrating package building and system updating in the next post(s).

• (161) FreeBSD package building pt. 2: Basic Synth

This article is an introduction to Synth in general. It also shows how to install it and get it building packages. What the various things involved mean and how to deal with repositories is discussed as well.

• (162) FreeBSD package building pt. 3: Intermediate Synth

This article covers Synth’s configuration, using the compiler cache and upgrading the system.

• (163) FreeBSD package building pt. 4: (Slightly) Advanced Synth
• This article is about Synth’s web reports, package sets and serving repositories. We’re taking a look at build problems, too.
• (164) FreeBSD package building pt. 5: Sophisticated Synth

This article is about signing package repositories, make.conf for port options, profiles and using Synth with cron.

• (165) Advance!BSD – thoughts on a not-for-profit project to support *BSD (1/2)

The first part of the article introduces the Advance!BSD project and discusses a bit of background as well as the “why”.

• (166) Advance!BSD – thoughts on a not-for-profit project to support *BSD (2/2)

The second part of this article is about the “what” and the “how” of the project.

• (167) Cross-platform package building: Pkgsrc vs. Ravenports (1/2)

This article introduces the reader to some of the troubles of cross-platform package management. It also briefly covers strategies to solve the problems that come with it.

• (168) Cross-platform package building: Pkgsrc vs. Ravenports (2/2)

The second part of this article features a short introduction of Pkgsrc and Ravenports before discussing how they compare. The scenario is covered as well as the results and a conclusion.