PolyBSD is ``a "multi"-purpose (hence "poly") framework for building embedded systems based on NetBSD. Essentially, it is a minimal installation of NetBSD 3.0.1 designed to run from a 256MB flash card or USB memory stick. Once the image is written to the target media, a user can simply boot from it and build their own system by using NetBSD's extensive "pkgsrc" collection. The user is only limited by the free space left on the 256MB memory card/stick.''.

PocketSAN is described as ``a complete NAS/SAN implementation based on polyBSD (NetBSD). It runs from a 256MB flash memory card or USB memory stick and can fit in your shirt pocket.''.

While NetBSD makes a fine operating system for many purposes, having application-specific variants like this makes sense in my book - assuming that changes that are not specific to the application are fed back upstream, thus benefitting everyone in the long run.

[Tags: pocketsan, polybsd]