[Nottingham] Non-systemd Distros and opinion

[Martin]

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Folks,

For those waiting out the systemd developments/thrashings/controversies...

DistroWatch recently nicely lists the main non-systemd distros and
includes some thoughtful practical comment.


Review: Manjaro OpenRC 0.8.13 - reinventing init without systemd
http://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20150601#manjaro

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As things currently stand, if you're in the pro-systemd camp, you'll
be spoilt for choice since most of the major distros have made the move.

On the other hand, folks in the non-systemd camp have a relatively
lean menu, but that may be changing. Up until now, the solution for
non-systemd geeks has been to simply stick with what they've got and
avoid making any upgrades. That strategy has worked pretty well, but
it's got limited shelf life...

... Among the choices currently available are *PCLinuxOS*,
*Slackware*, *Void* and all the *BSDs*. *Gentoo* has made systemd
optional, offering the OpenRC init system as an alternative...

... And then there is *Manjaro OpenRC*...

... Indeed, it works so well that I've considered sending a thank you
note to the systemd developers for inspiring me to switch distros...

... Manjaro Linux is based on Arch, and was already popular even
before the developers started offering an OpenRC edition. It currently
ranks number 10 on the DistroWatch hit list. It is possible to take a
systemd Manjaro installation and covert it to OpenRC, but most people
will just find it easier to download the OpenRC edition and install it
directly...

... Far too much blood has been shed fighting the systemd civil war,
and Manjaro should be lauded for taking a neutral approach. Offering
both a systemd and OpenRC edition...
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There is also (Slackware based) *VectorLinux* 7.1:
http://distrowatch.com/?newsid=08994

And *Haiku*:
https://www.haiku-os.org/blog/axeld/2015-07-17_introducing_launch_daemon

Any others missed?

Comments?


There are further interesting systemd views with:

Debian, Devuan and systemd
http://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20150601#qa

#####
... What I suspect happened with regards to forking Debian was,
roughly, this: people followed the path of least resistance where
systemd was concerned. People who wanted to use systemd simply
upgraded their operating systems and started running it. People who
did not wish to run systemd probably decided to take one of the
following paths:

*    Did not upgrade their distribution
*    Upgraded and then removed any unwanted software/services
*    Switched to a different operating system or distribution
*    Learned to adapt to the new software

... Since the Popularity Contest numbers suggest there are more than
twice the number of installations of Debian 6 and Debian 7 than there
are installations of Debian 8 (and newer), that leads me to believe a
large portion of the Debian community sees no need to upgrade their
operating system. Put another way, systemd is not a concern for a
majority of the community, at least not yet, because they are happy to
continue running older versions of Debian. In short, there is little
need of a fork since most people are already running systems that work
for them.
#####


A DistroWatch opinion poll intriguingly shows:


http://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20150713#poll

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systemd usage

I use systemd and like it: 			 787 (30%)
I use systemd and dislike it: 			 318 (12%)
I am not using systemd and plan to use it: 	 111 (4%)
I am not using systemd and plan to avoid it: 	1170 (44%)
Other: 						 260 (10%)
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The big question (for me) is which do I move to? (And how soon!! ;-) )

It is all our IT and all our choice! :-)

Cheers,
Martin


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