this post was submitted on 09 Jul 2025
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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I totally agree. I used to hate systemd for breaking the traditional Unix philosophy, but the reality is that a tight init and service-tracking integration tool really was required. I work with and appreciate systemd every day now. It certainly didn't make things simplier and easier to debug, but it goes a long way towards making a Linux system predictable and consistent.
Poettering can go fuck himself though - and for PulseAudio too. I suspect half of the hate systemd attracted over the years was really because of this idiot.
I agree on Poettering hate and him being the reason systemd got so much hate.
I still don't use systemd today, but that's a technical choice mostly dictated by my being an old fart and not seeing yet a need for my (limited) use cases.
Still cringe and moan when I see the latest systemd novelties (es homed) but happily understand now that the worst have been simply ignored or discarded by the distros.
Still grateful for Linux ecosystem to have distro like gentoo where you can still not use systemd or use it, as you prefer.
This is the power of Linux.
And while Wayland moved into my systems recently, with satisfaction, systemd is still to be tested. Maybe I will soon test it on my workhorse, and maybe will switch all my systems to it one day.
Its good to have choices.
It's not a technical choice, it's 100% you being an old fart 😃
I know because I am too, and I realized a long time ago that the more you know, the more you tend to reject stuff that puts you out of the comfort zone of what you know. It's not a criticism, it's just human nature: people abhor change.
And so I made it into a habit, every once in a while, to consider something that's been around for a while and that's have a dull feeling I should take a proper look into at some point, and then throw myself recklessly into it, trying to learn as much as possible about it without preconceptions, and kind of "make it my own" so-to-speak. By the time I'm done and I'm comfortable with it, well, I'm in my comfort zone again and I can now use the modern stuff too without fear of flying into a rant like an old fart 😃
I did that with systemd, and I did that too with Wayland quite recently. I mostly like Wayland, but I will say this: considering how old it is, it still missing basic functionalities that make using it for basic things like remoting quite stupidly painful. But by and large, it's okay. It's not better or worse than X, just a different set of stupids.