this post was submitted on 09 Jul 2025
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Linux

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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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[–] procapra@lemmy.ml 14 points 1 week ago (5 children)

I use it because I'm frankly too dumb to use something else, but if that wasnt the case, i dont think id be speaking fondly of it.

I'm a ram usage fetishist, I absolutely disagree with the "unused ram is wasted ram" phrase that has caught on with people.

I see some of these distros running a graphical environment with only 90mb ram usage and i cream myself. All of them run something other than systemd, usually avoid GNU stuff, and...require you basically to be a developer to use them.

I already run a half broken, hacked together system due to my stubborness, I can't imagine how fucked I'd be if I tried one of these cool kid minimalist distros.

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[–] projectmoon@forum.agnos.is 14 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I'm over here still using OpenRC. Mostly because I want to. Some servers I run have systemd on them. systemd is generally nice. OpenRC has finally gained the ability to run user services, which is also very nice.

[–] sxan@midwest.social 9 points 1 week ago

dinit also has the ability to run user services, FWIW.

[–] idriss@lemmy.ml 13 points 1 week ago

I totally agree.

I hate to admit I didn't want anything to do with systemd because it took me forever to get somewhat familiar with some other mainstream init systems.

Then, I didn't care for a while until I developed software that had to keep running using some sort of init system. The obvious choice was whatever the default I had (systemd) and I fell in love with the convenience of systemd (templates, timers, ..). I started shipping sample systemd with the things I provide & yes, you are on your own if you use something else.

[–] paequ2@lemmy.today 12 points 1 week ago (5 children)

I'm in Guix Linux land right now and I miss journald. I'm supposed to wade through all the log files in /var/log myself??

[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 0 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I’m supposed to wade through all the log files in /var/log myself??

You configured your logging. You could have made them all one file.

[–] paequ2@lemmy.today 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Uh, sorry. I don't follow. Is there a way to tell all programs to write to one file in Guix?

[–] MotoAsh@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

Yea, symlink all the files to the same master log file. ... /s

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[–] juipeltje@lemmy.world 12 points 1 week ago

I decided to finally lean into using systemd more while i've been using NixOS, since the OS already relies heavily on it anyway. Created targets for my window managers, starting all my programs with services instead of autostart scripts, etc. And it worked fine for the most part, except for some reason, in qtile the systray widget refuses to load the nm-applet when it's started through systemd. Waybar does not have this problem. I can't help notice that systemd is not just a little slower, which isn't the biggest deal in the world, but it also tends to hang more often when shutting down, which is a bit annoying and reminds me of windows lol. Before NixOS i used Void, and while i never really cared too much about what init system i'm running, i can't help but really appreciate runit for being so simple and fast. I'm thinking of moving back to Void but using the Nix package manager on top. I recently found a solution to the nix driver problem when using it on other distros, so now i should be able to combine the best of both worlds.

[–] dino@discuss.tchncs.de 10 points 1 week ago

Void Linux doesn't use systemd.

[–] LeFantome@programming.dev 9 points 1 week ago

Though I see Systemd as an improvement, I still do not like it.

The Chimera Linux FAQ captures my thoughts quite well:

https://chimera-linux.org/docs/faq#what-is-the-projects-take-on-systemd

[–] alexcleac@szmer.info 4 points 1 week ago

I like systemd overall. The ease of use, uniform interface and nice documentation is awesome.

Though each time I try to run it on outdated hardware (say, my Thinkpad X100e, which is, well, a life choice xD) — it makes whole system much slower. IMO, openrc is not as bad, and in some ways it gives some capabiilties of systemd these days.

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