> "Once you get used to Linux updates happening without restarting or freezing your computer, you'll never want to go back."

I suppose those "System Restart Required" messages on the console from Ubuntu Server after updates are just imaginary then? /s

Ubuntu is turning more and more Windows-like it seems. I was on PCLinuxOS for a while, and updates were user-initiated, iirc. Most wouldn't require a reboot, unless there was a kernel update. You could do those updates and happily not reboot for days, only getting the new kernel when you did. Now I'll get icons and messages indicating that I have security updates available, and after a while I'll be told that I need to reboot (since it apparently did them for me instead of waiting on me to do it myself). Then it would bug me more and more often to reboot until it just left the message on the screen. I'm running simulations, I'll do it when they finish. At least it hasn't progressed to the stage of just rebooting at an inconvenient time, which seems to be the norm in windows.

Still, it's inoffensive enough that I haven't bothered tracking down how to make it act sane again.

As far as I know, Ubuntu is still the only one that can livepatch the kernel in the background without bringing down the whole system. (Maybe RHEL 8 can now too?) I think the “system restart required” message means that something was running that it updated, and the only way to guarantee that it stops and restarts is for the user to restart the whole system.

I just assumed that they installed the new kernel in a different directory and pointed there via grub or whatever when rebooted. I wasn't thinking about live-patching the active kernel. That's pretty nifty if they can pull that off.

I just want them to not do anything, even security updates, without my explicit permission despite their fears over the security of my system. I have reasons I'm not updating right now. It comes down to the question "who's damn system is it, anyway?"

The update might happen but any running programs won't pick up the updated libs and will still be vulnerable until you actually reboot (or restart the programs).

This isn't true. I have to restart my Linux desktop all the time. On Manjaro, sometimes I won't even be able to get the next batch of updates for some reason until I do a restart.

I'm sure that there are ways to avoid ever restarting, but none of the major Linux desktops have figured it out as far as I can see.

My Manjaro install always ends up in a weird state after software updates. The issues don't clear up until a reboot.