I use it and it does the job, but the problem is that it doesn’t adhere to Unix philosophy of pluggable components that do one thing. In fact, the systemd suite does dozens of things:
My Philips MG7930 has a USB-A to “shaver plug” cable, which means you at least don’t have to travel with a charger. I charge it from USB-A port in my laptop.
It does the work, but I don’t like power button placement/feel (I often press it by accident) and quality overall is mid.
What made me choose it is that despite it being cheap, there are some replacement parts available (combs, blade, cable) and if you’re good with electronics/soldering you can replace the battery inside as well. With minor repairs it should last a decade or more.
Are these still made in Europe? I bought MG7930, which is a series 7 multi-groom (not a shaver, I know) in 2025 and it says “Made in Indonesia”.
Deep Work by Cal Newport. I’m trying to add blocks of distraction free time to each day and it’s a big challenge, hopefully this book will give me some fresh ideas regarding the implementation.
systemd init scripts are more ergonomic than sysvinit scripts. I agree.
Does systemd work? Yes. Can I live with it? Yes. I’ve embraced it since it became a de facto standard.
The thing I somewhat dislike is that you cannot easily replace individual systemd components. The systemd-logind and systemd-journald for example have to be compiled from the exact same systemd version (e.g. both v234). There are way more gotchas like that if you try to replace them for non-systemd alternatives.
If you’re solely interested in having a working OS then it’s all good. If you like to tinker and learn, and want to fully embrace Unix modularity mindset then systemd made your life a little more difficult in that aspect.
Also I’m glad that distributions like Void Linux, Guix or Devuan from this post title exist that try another approach. I hope one day I’ll have enough time to daily drive them!