November 2, 2025
Emojis vs Firewalls: pick a side
OpenBSD 7.8 Highlights
OpenBSD 7.8 brings speed boosts and Pi 5 buzz—users debate what it’s really for
TLDR: OpenBSD 7.8 boosts network speed, adds better graphics support, modern dev tools, and early Raspberry Pi 5 backing. The community is split between “it’s a secure network workhorse” and “make it a desktop,” with emoji-in-terminal jokes and Mastodon links fueling the drama.
OpenBSD 7.8 landed with a turbo-charged vibe: the network stack now handles internet traffic in parallel across multiple CPU cores (think: more lanes on the data highway), and folks are buzzing. One camp is cheering the speed and security combo, pointing to firewall and server use; another camp is asking, “So… is this ever going to be a desktop?” The graphics crowd got a win too, with new Qualcomm support via updated drivers, while devs flexed hard about fresh C++ features in the base system. A redesigned profiling tool lets developers measure performance without switching off OpenBSD’s safety locks (features that keep apps from misbehaving), and a new LLDP daemon helps map who’s plugged into what on your network—translation: fewer cable mysteries. Early Raspberry Pi 5 support triggered gadget hype, but the main drama is identity: is OpenBSD a sleek router brain or a daily driver in disguise? The comments went spicy. One user joked that thanks to image library support, emoji in the terminal finally makes AI output readable—because how else do you understand your robot coworker? Another dropped a Mastodon link like it’s the afterparty, while a newcomer asked bluntly: what’s OpenBSD actually for? Cue the eternal tug‑of‑war. For a recap, see undeadly.org for the community’s play-by-play.
Key Points
- •OpenBSD 7.8 introduces softnet threading with up to 8 threads for parallel network input, limited by CPU cores.
- •The TCP stack now processes traffic in parallel across CPUs (up to 8 threads), with each TCP connection bound to a single CPU.
- •Graphics stack updated: DRM synced to Linux 6.12.50 with new qcdrm(4) and qcdpc(4) drivers adding Qualcomm graphics and DisplayPort controller support.
- •Toolchain updated to compiler-rt, libunwind, libcxx, libcxxabi 19.1.7, enabling C++20, C++23, and C++26 features in the base system.
- •A redesigned profiling subsystem works with pledge(), unveil(), privsep, and chroot; OpenBSD also adds lldpd(8) for LLDP discovery using AF_FRAME, and preliminary Raspberry Pi 5 support lands in -current.