Unless you're using something like LivePatch, it's a misnomer that Linux (especially Linux on the desktop) doesn't need to reboot--or need to restart so many co

Unless you're using something like LivePatch, it's a misnomer that Linux (especially Linux on the desktop) doesn't need to reboot--or need to restart so many components that the system might as well reboot--for updates to take effect. Linux can install most updates without rebooting but updated components won't be used until they are restarted. E.g. if Firefox is updated while it is running, Firefox will need to be restarted (indeed, FF will force you to restart it) for the new version to come into effect. When low-level components (e.g. kernel, libc) are updated, the system must be restarted for these updates to take effect. Running Linux without periodically rebooting after installing updates is little different from never installing updates at all.