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[Stop It]

I can't tell if you are being sarcastic, or if NVIDIA support for BSD has come along a lot since I last checked.

When did you last check?

Nvidia have been a lot more on the ball for things that aren't Windows for a while since they started going all in on Tegra. Yes, it's not the best support for gamers but make no mistake, this move to a *nix system would have been under the advice of Nvidia.

Anyone saying this makes Switch more vulnerable is hopelessly wrong. The Wii and WiiU were a mess and far less secure than this will be.

 

[FullMetaltech]

just because something runs Unix-based stuff like FreeBSD doesn't make it susceptible to hackers any more or less than devices on other operating systems.

The same guy who exploited the ps4 posted the pic. Pretty sure hes gonna get to work on it. Im saying it will get exploited somehow from what he seems to be implying.

 

[deriks]

Remember those

Spoiler

memes

updates about the PS4 being stable as fuck? Well, prepare for the same with the Switch.

Spoiler

My console stability is ready

 

[la_briola]

Some facts:

1. The Playstation 3 and 4 didn't get hacked because of FreeBSD
2. This doesn't mean the Switch is gonna get owned
3. This doesn't mean the Switch is secure
4. Not using a web browser does eliminates a big attack surface*

Basically it all depends on Nintendo and NVIDIA.


*since they still have a web applet of some kind for hotel WiFi, I bet they somehow get in that way.

 

[tearsofash]

Isn't it kinda like 99% compatible to Linux software? That was the impression I was getting when dicking around with freebsd. I'm pretty sure the new users guide said that. (Though I'm not 100% fyi)

I mean they run off completely different kernels. So they are very different at the core, not withstanding whatever programs might be available on both machines.

 

[c0de]

I mean they run off completely different kernels. So they are very different at the core, not withstanding whatever programs might be available on both machines.

It is a different ABI - you can't run bsd programs on linux or vice versa.

 

[dracula_x]

Remember those

Spoiler

memes

updates about the PS4 being stable as fuck? Well, prepare for the same with the Switch.

Spoiler

My console stability is ready

and what BSD has to do with that? It's like with every complex OS/App.

also:

 

[GifGafIsTheBestGaf]

nintendo mostly on point this gen, copying almost everything that the competition has been doing right for years

 

[Somnid]

I thought other Nintendo consoles used FreeBSD, at least I remember them having projects with it. I always figured it would run on FreeBSD for that reason.

 

[_Ryo_]

Hmm. I wonder if you can make a ps4 portable that has less power than regular ps4 but runs the same games (on very low settings) kinda working the same way as the Switch.

 

[LordOfChaos]

Nice. PS4 runs FreeBSD, macOS runs FreeBSD, it's a good and underused alternative to Linux. Quite suitable for a game console.

Edit: It's not "just Linux? So what?" folks, OP could serve to add a little more in. BSD is a descendant of Unix. Linux was a clone of Unix. They are similar but not directly connected. FreeBSD is very stable and scalable. I'm quite a fan. May have made a better base for SteamOS, but that had other problems.

 

[@Wreck]

Its gonna be ineveitable well see it hacked soon then.

you gone and said it now

 

[Head.spawn]

Switch hacked in 3...2...

 

[LordOfChaos]

Its gonna be ineveitable well see it hacked soon then.

Switch hacked in 3...2...

That will have more to do with the security chip and software setup, and firmware updates.

The PS4 ran FreeBSD, it was hacked but only on low OS versions. PS3 also took quite a while, also FreeBSD. OS is but a part of it, and FreeBSD shouldn't make it particularly easier or harder than prior Nintendo OSs.

 

[enbred]

Hmm. I wonder if you can make a ps4 portable that has less power than regular ps4 but runs the same games (on very low settings) kinda working the same way as the Switch.

Don't think AMD's mobile hardware is as power efficient as Nvidia's, right? Also your question probably has nothing or little to do with the OS.

 

[c0de]

That will have more to do with the security chip and software setup, and firmware updates.

The PS4 ran FreeBSD, it was hacked but only on low OS versions. PS3 also took quite a while, also FreeBSD. OS is but a part of it, and FreeBSD shouldn't make it particularly easier or harder than prior Nintendo OSs.

Of course it is. It is one thing to get to a privilige level but if you can break out of jails using known methods because the console doesn't run the newest security updates, then it also has to do with the underlying operating system.
It doesn't make it easy but depending on how it is done, can at least make life easier.

 

[LordOfChaos]

Don't think AMD's mobile hardware is as power efficient as Nvidia's, right? Also your question probably has nothing or little to do with the OS.

Polaris on 14nm would be more efficient than Maxwell 2 on 20nm. See 35W Radeon Pro 460 vs 50W 960M. Pascal on 16nm is the most efficient, but that's also not what the Switch is.

Of course it is. It is one thing to get to a privilige level but if you can break out of jails using known methods because the console doesn't run the newest security updates, then it also has to do with the underlying operating system.
It doesn't make it easy but depending on how it is done, can at least make life easier.

I get what you're saying, but I wouldn't particularly think Nintendo was drastically better at OS security than The FreeBSD Project. But of course open vs closed source would make things easier to look at and not a black box.

 

[Devilgunman]

Maybe it will be a bigger deal if the thread title is "Switch does NOT run on Android."

 

[Pagusas]

Weird I thought after the rumors a few years ago it would be running a custom version of android.

 

[Caayn]

That will have more to do with the security chip and software setup, and firmware updates.

The PS4 ran FreeBSD, it was hacked but only on low OS versions. PS3 also took quite a while, also FreeBSD. OS is but a part of it, and FreeBSD shouldn't make it particularly easier or harder than prior Nintendo OSs.

According to the guy who hacked the PS4, they got the same hack working on the Pro model. And that it'd be practically impossible for Sony to patch issue due to how it's part of the OS (Sony's modified version, not BSD).

 

[FyreWulff]

That will have more to do with the security chip and software setup, and firmware updates.

The PS4 ran FreeBSD, it was hacked but only on low OS versions. PS3 also took quite a while, also FreeBSD. OS is but a part of it, and FreeBSD shouldn't make it particularly easier or harder than prior Nintendo OSs.

PS4 is hacked on current firmware.

 

[Blackpuppy]

Weird I thought after the rumors a few years ago it would be running a custom version of android.

No way they would be running Android. It's basically a one size fits all OS that is a jack of many trades and master of none.

In order to ensure that it works over a variety of devices, all apps are executed in a java virtual machine that hinders performance and decreases battery life.

People who claimed Android are people who have no idea what they're talking about.

I was half expecting a port of the 3ds OS, but FreeBSD is a pleasant surprise.

 

[daxgame]

Yes. By the same guy who posted that tweet.

ah, ok. Did a quick search, doesn't seem like there's anything released though so no homebrews, etc.

 

[Justified]

No way they would be running Android. It's basically a one size fits all OS that is a jack of many trades and master of none.

In order to ensure that it works over a variety of devices, all apps are executed in a java virtual machine that hinders performance and decreases battery life.

People who claimed Android are people who have no idea what they're talking about.

I was half expecting a port of the 3ds OS, but FreeBSD is a pleasant surprise.

Since Lollipop (5.0) Android has been using ART, and has dropped Dalvik

 

[spons]

That will have more to do with the security chip and software setup, and firmware updates.

The PS4 ran FreeBSD, it was hacked but only on low OS versions. PS3 also took quite a while, also FreeBSD. OS is but a part of it, and FreeBSD shouldn't make it particularly easier or harder than prior Nintendo OSs.

While true in theory, practice will be different I think. This is a large migration for Nintendo, and knowing Nintendo they'll probably have more holes in this shit than Swiss cheese has.

Any change of software, especially something on the scale of this, needs to be done properly and securely. No way Nintendo has this covered completely.

 

[dracula_x]

Switch hacked in 3...2...

.. years

 

[Blackpuppy]

Since Lollipop (5.0) Android has been using ART, and has dropped Dalvik

I stand corrected... but it's still an additional layer of abstraction.

 

[emag]

Isn't it kinda like 99% compatible to Linux software? That was the impression I was getting when dicking around with freebsd. I'm pretty sure the new users guide said that. (Though I'm not 100% fyi)

UNIX = classic multiuser operating system developed at AT&T's Bell Labs in the early 1970s with ambiguous licensing

BSD = Berkeley Standard Distribution of UNIX, freely available but bogged down in licensing disputes with AT&T in the 1980s

FreeBSD = clone of BSD with liberal licensing; used for PS3, PS4, macOS, iOS, tvOS, Switch, etc.

GNU = knock off of UNIX with viral licensing, missing kernel

Linux = Kernel used with GNU, name also colloquially used to describe complete package based on GNU/Linux/X/etc., also the kernel used for Android

 

[Pokemaniac]

Since Lollipop (5.0) Android has been using ART, and has dropped Dalvik

Nougat (7.0) switched to a more hybrid approach due to the "AOT compile all the things" approach having a couple pretty severe drawbacks.

 

[calavera_jo]

Still doesn't explain why this is a big deal.

Linux? So what?

Unix != Linux

 

[GifGafIsTheBestGaf]

fuck, sorry wrong thread!

 

[Laevateinn]

You just triggered a lot of people. :lol

This right here.