Is this something we (as consumers of FreeBSD) need to be aware of?]

[Robert Simmons]

On Wed, Jun 6, 2012 at 3:05 PM, Jerry <jerry at seibercom.net> wrote:
> On Wed, 06 Jun 2012 12:49:53 -0400
> Daniel Staal articulated:
>
>>On 2012-06-05 17:20, Jerry wrote:
>>
>>> The question that I have not seen answered in this thread is what
>>> FreeBSD intents to do. From what I have seen, most FreeBSD users do
>>> not
>>> use the latest versions of most hardware, so it may be a while before
>>> its user base is even effected.
>>
>>I don't believe at this point FreeBSD has any intent one way or
>>another, really.  It's not an immediate problem for any platform
>>supported by the FreeBSD project, at least for a technically-inclined
>>user who's willing to check out their BIOS.  (Even if they are using
>>the latest hardware, the x86-derived platforms aren't going to require
>>this code signing yet.)  So it'll probably be a 'wait and see if it's
>>something the FreeBSD community needs a solution for' at this point.
>>But this is just my impression.
>
> I totally agree with you. Unfortunately that speaks to the sad state of
> affairs that FreeBSD appears to be in. When it comes to supporting the
> latest technologies, it tends to be behind the curve when compared to
> other operating systems. Wireless networking and USB support are only a
> few examples.
>
> I don't know of any user personally who purchased a new PC and then
> threw FreeBSD on it. Most users that I have come into contact with use
> 2+ year old units that have been replaced by shiny new Windows units. I
> don't see that changing anytime soon.

I would have to disagree with you there.  I know of quite a few users
who happen to run one of the world's largest content distribution
networks (accounting for about one third of the internet's traffic; up
there with pornography).  They purchased more than just a handful of
new computers and threw FreeBSD on them:

http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-stable/2012-June/068129.html