The story so far

Once, a long time ago, in a Galaxy not sooo far away, there was a young man called Theo de Raadt. Theo had a vision and he was not afraid to defend his vison even in rude statements.

Theo worked for a group called NetBSD-core, a small group of
volunteers writing and commiting the source code to NetBSD a stable and very efficient OS. But Theo's verbage and his way of answering help requests did not fit well with the other NetBSD developers. Some voted to kick Theo out and, eventually, that was what happened.

A man's gotta do...

Theo wandered off, dedicated to create the next generation BSD. A BSD without the fluff, easy to install, highly secure and tailored to the needs of serious users. A BSD so powerful that nobod ever needed anything else. And so he created OpenBSD, the OS that prides itself to be the most secure and most stable OS out there.

So, is it the OS for me?

While this author won't deny or acknowledge this claim, one thing is for sure: OpenBSD is great. Theo's geographical location (Canada) allows him to incorporate more and better encryption into the OS and his staff of volunteers spends hundreds of hours 'auditing' the released code for security holes and other quirks.

What it takes

If you plan to use OpenBSD, you're in for a unique experience. No Linux or Windows will prepare you for what this OS does to your computer. First of all, OpenBSD assumes a certain level of knowledge or at least the willingness to gain this knowledge by reading documentation on http://www.openbsd.org.

OpenBSD installs in less time than any other BSD or Linux I know of, simply by not asking any more questions than needed. The result is a very compact but highly usable system, sporting none of the treats Linux Distributors like to include in their base installs, such as games, toys or thousands of programs
you'll most likely never use.

ports and cvsup

OpenBSD features two, common to BSD but unique otherwise, great enhancements: ports and cvsup. The latter is a fast and convenient way to update not only your operating system in an easy and fast way but also a list of quite a few applications adapted for optimal use under BSD.

ports, on the other hand, are THE way to improve your application base. A directory holds names and short descriptions of literally thousands of applications on the net, installing these applications is as easy as changing in a specific subdirectory and typing make install. All dependencies and, possibly, patches and adaptions are automatically taken care off - is the an easier way to get this job done?

You might have some problems in the beginning understanding the unique OpenBSD paradigm, but I guarantee you - you'll love it in a week.

Recommended: Yes