fozid

I use steam with no issues with runit on void. Plays all the games just as performantly as my previous arch build did.

After over a decade using systemd in arch and Debian, I never had any direct issues with it. However, I never truly got my head around it or got comfortable with how it functioned. I recently swapped arch for void which uses runit, and after over a month using it I to an amazed both how clean and simple it is, how everything just works, how easy to interact and use runit is and am blown away by boot and shutdown times. My arch / systemd setup was heavily optimised for boot, and I thought was quick, but runit starts in about 4 seconds and shutdown is about 2 seconds.

You don’t need separate disks for this to work. I have my main distro and a recovery one all in the same disk in different partitions, and no grub. It is called efi stub and it’s really easy to set up and use. You can have as many boot options as you want.

I don’t think there is a problem with it. It’s a piece of software that people can choose to use if it fits their specific use case. It has a long list of features and abilities, and lots of people find it sufficient for what they want. There are also a lot of people that don’t find it suitable for what they want and they can choose to not use systemd and use some other options. I personally don’t use systemd. I have used it for a while, originally I used sys v for a long time, then arch adopted systemd, I tried to get used to it and understand it but never felt comfortable with it, so I moved to void Linux which uses runit plus other items to replace systemd, and I feel a lot more comfortable and happy with this. You do your research and testing and find what fits your use case.

I’ve been using Linux 20+ years as my main os. Most of that time I’ve been an arch user. I moved to void Linux 2 weeks ago. I’m very much a start from scratch and build to my liking sorry of person, so I just extracted the rootfs base system to a fresh partition, configured everything through a chroot, and booted the new system. Took me 2 days to get to a point I was happy with. I really like void Linux. It boots faster, the init system is much simpler and I feel I understand it better than systemd already. The package manager is really good, and easy to use. I have no complaints. For yourself, void Linux offers an xfce ready made live version, so everything is already configured and your can test it out in a live setup first with no permanent install. I didn’t test the installer as did a manual install, however it is not a gui installer.

That's why after almost 20 years on arch Linux I just moved to void Linux, mostly for the idea of a proper init, and nice simple and much faster booting. I've heard of nobara, rocky and slackware, never used any of them, never even heard of the other ones you have mentioned.

I started using Linux around 2006, did lots of hopping from the first attempt and eventually landed on arch Linux which ran on my main pc laptop until march 2026 when I decided to switch to void Linux. I also have a 2nd laptop which is more just for family and retro gaming, which is Debian. I also have a raspberry pi4 with Debian based raspberry pi os, as well as a mini pc server running Debian. As you can tell, I don't like derivatives. I am really fussy with my setup and prefer to build my own system from scratch to some extent, even if I end up with something more similar to one of the derivatives. Nobody can really give you advice what to use though, it's a very personal thing. All the distros offer different features and solutions for different use cases and problems. For people to recommend a distro, you would have to outline everything you want and expect from the distro, what you like and don't like etc.

cool, i use sway / wayland. really happy with how it all runs, although only been on it a couple of weeks after over a decade on arch.

Good read. Although I recently moved to void Linux as I prefer rolling release instead of a major upgrade every few years.

My exact concern too. Don’t see it as an imminent problem, but would like some sort of succession plan or even to develop some sort of framework to ensure the kernel endures after Linus stops being involved.

You just setup with the traditional partitioning scheme, so / and /home on separate partitions. You can have as many / partitions as you like with different distros on sharing the same /home partition. You still need to install all the packages you use in each distro, but your setup, personal and config file are consistent and preserved across all the distros.

The only real solution to do it faster is to use faster internet or compress it further. Then alternatives are chunk it or deal with a long maybe even 24 hour upload.

That was a bit off piste wasn’t it!

Ah, I have internet that can reach alllll around the world 😁

I wouldn’t say arch and arch-based are the same thing. If someone specifically asks about arch, I’d be inclined to advise them it’s not suitable for people not interested in reading and learning a bit. But I also agree arch-based are pretty solid and much more beginner friendly.

there is around 193 countries in the world. i dont think every single one will make it s legal requirement.

Nah computing as a service will be for the masses and mainstream user who doesn’t care, and they will have age verification and all the “security” measures included. The custom build and DIY setups won’t change at all. Any Linux / BSD distro can just be hosted in a territory that doesn’t require these “security” measures, then anybody who knows how to use them will be able to continue unaffected.