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2022-02-12
I don't normally write about my day-to-day technical projects but I thought it might be valuable to new OpenBSD users or those who are vaguely interested in software or unix operating systems.
In January of 2021 I began my journey using OpenBSD for the first time. I wasn't sure what to expect, except that OpenBSD was primarily focused around security - and that it was much harder than Linux to "get into". I decided the challenge rating was worth the risk and plunged headfirst into it.
Here I am a year later, continuing this plunge. Taking that risk was one of the best decisions I ever made because I learned so much about security, unix, and the base OpenBSD system over the course of 2021. Moreover, I found the first operating system I truly loved. I remember initially disregarding any such idea due to my own frustration - "wifi doesn't work!" or "it keeps crashing!" or "OpenBSD has no forums!". But after taking a break, calming myself, and returning to the operating system with an open mind, I found that I was wrong in all instances. In many cases, my own frustrations were self-inflicted by not properly reading the documentation.
Yesterday I took my first leap into the -current branch of OpenBSD. I'm going to be documenting my learning process with OpenBSD (and -current) over the course of the year in the form of semi-regular logs since I find consistent journaling to be helpful for others and valuable for me to track my personal progress. These will be slightly less formal and include more technical specifics. I also track my current system usability in the form of dotfiles which you can find below.
https://github.com/bossley9/dotfiles/tree/openbsd
To anyone who is interested in trying OpenBSD, I have to say this: it is more than worth your time. You will learn so much about technology and security. Who knows? You might even become an OpenBSD developer someday, or dare to call it your favorite operating system like I do.