FreeBSD

In the early 90's the first versions of Linux and FreeBSD were the only thing we UNIX fans could opt for on our small computers. Three decades later both Linux and FreeBSD are two titans that no longer have anything to envy to the great UNIX, rather the opposite with the permission of AIX.

Inside me I have always been FreeBSD I admit it, first of all because of the injustice to which it was subjected in the BSD litigation in the early 90's that delayed its development, I always say that if it had not been for this litigation, Linux might not exist. And secondly because Linux is a single kernel, a Linux distribution is a Frankenstein of parts, FreeBSD is a complete operating system fully integrated, better documented and with a community with a more defined direction.

The problem is that the best does not always win, and part of the industry for various reasons opted for Linux. Throughout my professional career I have never stopped using FreeBSD, especially in virtual machines where you have less driver problems and because of its incredible integration with ZFS, the best on the market. But for your personal computer I have always recommended Linux mainly because of the better hardware support, but given the drift that Linux has taken with systemd I think we have reached the tipping point, I no longer know if Linux is the kernel or Linux is systemd.

I think it's time to go back to FreeBSD, Linux has been captured by Microsoft, I'm sorry that many don't understand this and downplay it, in a few years they will see it, although it's been more than evident for a long time now, systemd is Microsoft and their needs, not the users needs.

By the way, I attach some FreeBSD success stories for those who don't know about it:

- WhatsApp infrastructure service is probably the most notable FreeBSD example of adoption on its servers, before switching to Linux after being acquired by Facebook.

- Netflix runs its video-streaming service on FreeBSD servers all over the world.

- Until its 3.0 version, Kylin was using FreeBSD as an operating system project in China.

- Mindbridge, a software company, announced in September 2007 that it had migrated a large number of Windows servers onto a smaller number of Linux servers and a few BSD servers. It claims to have saved "bunches of money."

- Dozen of industrial-products manufacturers, especially towards networks and IT-industries, runs FreeBSD on some of their appliances: Juniper, Cisco, NetApp, Dell, Panasonic.

- FreeBSD is used by Sony as the core of PlayStation console range, for their PS3, PS4, and the PS Vita.

- FreeBSD has been used by Manex Visual Effects for render farms on CGI-images in The Matrix and others films.

- Darwin, the fundamental software base of MacOS and iOS, is based on shared code of XNU, FreeBSD, and Mach kernel, by Avie Tevanian from Carnegie Mellon University.

- In 2024, Italian advisor Stefano Marinelli tells how he migrates major part of its client's servers, IT hosters and services providers, to FreeBSD, NetBSD and OpenBSD, shared with some Linux servers, for reliability.

The Edgio Content Delivery Network (ex Limelight) uses FreeBSD to operate its infrastructure.