On Sat, Aug 15, 2015 at 02:20:44PM -0500, T.J. Duchene wrote:

>
> Having a specifically defined base makes it easier for third parties to
> ensure that software is going to work without a hitch. It's much more
> attractive from a testing standpoint than the usual Linux hodge-podge. I
> think it is also one of the reasons that Google looks at Gentoo for
> Chrome OS and Apple to FreeBSD. It just simplifies everything:
> testing, development and bug hunting.

THe way I heard the story, in the ncient days when Apple was choosing
the kernel for OS X, they were originally planning to use Linux, but
they changed their mind for copyright reasons. THey didn't want to risk
any of their proprietary software becoming free software because of
GPL contagion.

The BSD licence allowed them to do what they wanted.

-- hendrik