Yeah, i knew there was some aspects of decendancy across the different BSDs.
And, I mentioned NetBSD for embedded stuff...but really, i *think* its that NetBsd is simply installed on tons of different hardware....so not only embedded....i kinda remembered that about NetBSD.
But, its the other BSDs - in particular FreeBSD vs OpenBSD - that i always forget the differences...but got it now. Thanks!
freebsd = utility
openbsd = security
netbsd = portability
freebsd: performance, features, drivers, software compat - closest to linux in utility & usability though unlike linux in execution
openbsd: safety for exposed services
netbsd: portable across many cpu & hardware platforms - big-endian powerpc sun, hitachi sh3 jornada, etc, easiest to port to a new arch