# Sinclair Target runs BSD I'm a macOS user, though in some sense macOS is all BSD under the hood. Like many people, I've not bought a new Macbook in years and I'm thinking about jumping ship. If I do, then odds are I'll end up using something like [FreeBSD]. We have BSD to thank for so many things. There's _vi_, for one. I'm a [devoted Vim guy] and I don't know what I'd do without the development environment that I've been able to tailor for myself. Then there's the TCP/IP stack, the Sockets API, and [OpenSSH]. Using a BSD system is a chance to be a part of that rich heritage. BSD is also supposed to be one of the simplest operating systems out there, in the sense that there are no frills. I think there are huge benefits to running an operating system you can understand. I work at a nonprofit that provides affordable housing in New York City. It is a rewarding job, but the one downside is that the whole organization is deep into the Windows world. So I've had to learn how to develop software on a Windows machine. While there are some nice things about Windows development, I've come to appreciate how suited a Unix-like or Unix-derived system is for writing software. In the Windows world, most Stack Overflow answers involve a series of screenshots telling you which buttons to click. A Unix-like or Unix-derived system, on the other hand, is built around text. There is no hand-holding, but that also means there are no secrets. So if you're thinking about picking up BSD, particularly if you're coming from Windows, then I urge you to give it a go. It will be different, but maybe in a good way. Find me on [Twitter] or my blog, [Two-Bit History]. _[11 Aug 2018](/raw/people/sinclairtarget.md)_ [FreeBSD]: https://www.freebsd.org [Twitter]: https://twitter.com/sinclairtarget [Two-Bit History]: https://twobithistory.org/ [devoted Vim guy]: https://twobithistory.org/2018/08/05/where-vim-came-from.html [OpenSSH]: https://www.openssh.com/