&gt; Do I, as a user of the OS gain anything, or is it just easier for the kernel developers to not have to care about that?<p>Even if you don&#x27;t gain anything directly you still gain significantly indirectly. Improvements in the speed and quality of kernel development means end users see new features quicker and bugs fixed sooner. It also makes it easier for CS researchers to try things out and make large advancements that can be easily applied to the OS.