NetBSD: Difference between revisions
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Links, note the GX color conversion, note that mainline Wii-Linux has about-as-good USB |
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{{seealso|https://netbsd.org/ Official NetBSD Website}} | |||
'''NetBSD''' is one of the BSD operating systems, descended from the Berkeley System Distribution. Starting with version 10.0, NetBSD supports the [[Wii]] as a first class platform. | '''NetBSD''' is one of the BSD operating systems, descended from the Berkeley System Distribution. Starting with version 10.0, NetBSD supports the [[Wii]] as a first class platform. | ||
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* USB used to be more stable in NetBSD compared to Wii-Linux, but as of the mainline Wii-Linux kernel's release, USB should be about as stable as NetBSD. | * USB used to be more stable in NetBSD compared to Wii-Linux, but as of the mainline Wii-Linux kernel's release, USB should be about as stable as NetBSD. | ||
* The framebuffer driver in both Wii-Linux and NetBSD emulates RGB colors, so graphical software doesn't have to be rewritten for the Wii's YUYV framebuffer. NetBSD's driver does this via the [[GX]] GPU, using a scratch framebuffer in memory, copying into the EFB (via the CPU) every frame, and then using GX to do the conversion + copy back to the XFB. Linux does this via software math. Both approaches have similar performance. | * The framebuffer driver in both Wii-Linux and NetBSD emulates RGB colors, so graphical software doesn't have to be rewritten for the Wii's YUYV framebuffer. NetBSD's driver does this via the [[Hardware/GX|GX]] GPU, using a scratch framebuffer in memory, copying into the EFB (via the CPU) every frame, and then using GX to do the conversion + copy back to the XFB. Linux does this via software math. Both approaches have similar performance. | ||
* As of May 2025, NetBSD doesn't have drivers for [[GameCube Controller]] or the [[USB Gecko]], and the driver for the internal Wi-Fi adapter is not yet available in release builds. | * As of May 2025, NetBSD doesn't have drivers for [[GameCube Controller]] or the [[USB Gecko]], and the driver for the internal Wi-Fi adapter is not yet available in release builds. | ||
Latest revision as of 13:53, 15 July 2026
- See also: [Official NetBSD Website]
NetBSD is one of the BSD operating systems, descended from the Berkeley System Distribution. Starting with version 10.0, NetBSD supports the Wii as a first class platform.
Comparison with Wii-Linux
[edit | edit source]- Wii-Linux is launched from boot2 via Gumboot or NPLL. While NetBSD has boot2 support in the current branch, as of May 2025, release builds are started via the Homebrew Channel.
- Wii-Linux is able to use part of MEM1 as system RAM, while NetBSD only seems to use MEM2. Hence, a Wii-Linux system has access to more RAM. (This is somewhat mitigated by the NetBSD init system being much simpler than systemd.)
- The Wii-Linux ArchPOWER image has better menu-driven configuration tools. While NetBSD's
sysinstcan be used for tasks like network configuration, it is not as easy to use as tools likenmtuior ConfigMii.
- NetBSD's package manager is not included as part of the base system, and has to be installed using
sysinst.
- USB used to be more stable in NetBSD compared to Wii-Linux, but as of the mainline Wii-Linux kernel's release, USB should be about as stable as NetBSD.
- The framebuffer driver in both Wii-Linux and NetBSD emulates RGB colors, so graphical software doesn't have to be rewritten for the Wii's YUYV framebuffer. NetBSD's driver does this via the GX GPU, using a scratch framebuffer in memory, copying into the EFB (via the CPU) every frame, and then using GX to do the conversion + copy back to the XFB. Linux does this via software math. Both approaches have similar performance.
- As of May 2025, NetBSD doesn't have drivers for GameCube Controller or the USB Gecko, and the driver for the internal Wi-Fi adapter is not yet available in release builds.