Poettering: Revisiting how we put together Linux systems

I think it is a dynamic that exists because it fills a need, it's an equilibrium, and we don't have control over he needs that drive it, but we can change the friction of different implementations to make life easier. Being able to easily run multiple ABIs on a system reduces the friction for upgrading just as much as VMs allow you to hold on to old systems forever.

On desktops as well being able to run older apps on newer systems rather than being force-upgraded because the distro updates and also being able to run other newer apps (and bugfixes) on a cadence faster than what a distro that releases every 6mo or 1yr gives, is a benefit that many seem to be looking for, staying on GNOME2 for example while keeping up with Firefox and LibreOffice updates or whatever. Being able to run multiple userspaces on the same system with low friction allows them to fight it out and compete more directly than dual-booting or VMs, rather than being locked in to what your preferred distro provides.