Reflecting on a metaphor I made the other day. There’s a saying, “When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” Thinking about some new users’ experiences with OpenBSD, I think OpenBSD is a lot like a screw, whereas Linux/OS X is a nail. First, they serve roughly the same purpose. They are, from a distance, roughly the same size and shape. You can even drive a screw into wood using a hammer, though it will be a frustrating experience (especially if it’s a machine screw). Once you learn to use the right tools, however, screws are also easy to work with, and maybe a better choice if what you’re looking for is a secure fastener (though I may be biased). OpenBSD generally follows the same POSIX standard as other unix flavors, so lots of things will be similar, but there are differences as well and ignoring them is not recommended.