"If some software doesn't support systemd, you have the choice to either avoid that particular piece of software or submit a patch to support your preferred sta

"If some software doesn't support systemd, you have the choice to either avoid that particular piece of software or submit a patch to support your preferred stack." Qualified agreement. In Debian Testing/Jessie, a simple wm on top of Xorg can be made init diagnostic http://sohcahtoa.org.uk/osd.html http://sohcahtoa.org.uk/osd.html Something a little richer that is still init agnostic requires some management. Using --no-install-recommends when installing xfce4 for instance results in a functional desktop with nice fonts and compositing, but dbus insinuates itself but can't function, and there is no automounting of drives (I use pmount) and one is left to fall back on wpa_supplicant and roaming.conf. Depends on what you need in a desktop PS: my 'production' laptop will run a rich desktop but my carry-round laptop for wasting time in cafes will be some kind of debian-sysvinit frankenbox just for the lutz.