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FreeBSD has offered Linux ABI compatibility almost as long as the FreeBSD project has been around, ie when it essentially broke off from William and Lynne Jolitz's stagnating 386BSD. When I started using in 1996 or 97, it offered fairly good Linux userland ABI compatibility then. That didn't mean that FreeBSD doesn't have its own ABI, it does. It just means that when the FreeBSD encounters a Linux executable file, it can pretend to be Linux so that it can run that executable. This normally doesn't impact the "BSD" part of FreeBSD at all, it's just a little extra source code. In fact, people were often bragging about how much more efficiently Linux-compiled programs ran on FreeBSD back in 1997. Both OS's have evolved quite a bit since then.

There's been some tinkering that could make it possible to use some Linux drivers with FreeBSD. Technically, that's a different problem entirely because graphics drivers usually don't live in "userland". But FreeBSD already provides kernel modules that allow you to use Windows network card drivers. It's just another option available to you if FreeBSD doesn't yet offer native support for some of your hardware.

I guess my point is why bother. I have paid my penance years ago searching hours on the Internet ad nauseam for Linux drivers for my hardware only to find out that “it doesn't work as promised.” Even though the drivers may be cross compatible there is always some issue so why mess with it.

On the other hand, if I am a tech software type, I might enjoy it. But I am not.

Anyway, Linux is finally in its prime and an excellent free OS. Just as long as they don't mess with it which it appears they are doing. I hate the latest version of Ubuntu.

That is just my two cents.