Linux Didn't "Leap Ahead" -They Played Catch-Up as Always!
FreeBSD’s networking stack is explicitly described as efficient, low‑latency, and designed for reduced CPU overhead, thanks to features like zero‑copy sockets and a tightly integrated TCP/IP stack. hamradio.my
Linux, by contrast, is optimized for flexibility and modularity (use on toaster, fridge, supercomputer) which can introduce overhead unless tuned. hamradio.my
BSD was probably already operating closer to the efficiency ceiling.
FreeBSD’s network stack is described as delivering lower latency and higher throughput compared to default Linux settings. hamradio.my
Lower latency often correlates with fewer wakeups and less wasted CPU time: i.e., better power efficiency under load.
Notice the LiGNUxers frame the gain as a victory and ignore that Linux may have simply been playing catch-up and this exposed horrible inefficiency.
BSD might have been ahead, but nobody was measuring power.
FreeBSD is a complete OS with unified kernel + userland, not a mix‑and‑match ecosystem. CyberPanel
-This reduces fragmentation and can reduce overhead in areas like syscall paths, network stack transitions, memory allocation, and context switching. These architectural advantages translate into power efficiency without "power patches."
Different licenses, different paradigms, different weaknesses and strengths. There are billion Linux distros in part because it is modular, moldable into whatever someone wants it to be, aka there's an emphasis on freedom. BSD is more focused, more unified, more efficient, less moldable. Of course the license plays a part, personally if I'm doing free work I'm more inclined to give it to someone who can't turn around and profit off of it. They need to do their own proprietary work to get their own income.
Billion Linux Distros -because it's a cult. Not because it's better or more moldable. Configurability of Linux in context used by professionals relates to being used on toasters to supercomputers. The myth has helped perpetuate the many distro nonsense when the big essential difference is the Repositories.
Linux's strength has always been the cult and the opportunism when BSD had its hands tied in a legal issue. -Even Torvald's has admitted to this.
Not fully disagreeing with your point but you said yourself that it's modular, more modular means more flexible or at least more easily flexible. Of course anyone can go in and rewrite code. Also yeah an avid fan base is kinda the reason for everything. Is the raspberry pi particularly amazing? Not really, but it has a huge user base. Are there better SBCs? Most definitely but they don't have the same support or development. Winning over a user base is part of it. Someone could have the best product or service in the entirety of human history but without creating an avid user base it will likely die in obscurity. Aka get that cult going, it's kinda part of the process.