Quoting Dave Turner (dave_t_turner@???):

> short answer:
> a boot-loader should boot any hardware I choose to install it on.
> If that means it has to be a complex lump of software - so be it.

  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^     

For my part, you are _absolutely_ welcome to adopt and use a complex
lump of software that is capable of booting 'any hardware you choose to
install it on'. I would not dream of standing in your way of making
your system as complex, overengineered, and utterly byzantine as you
wish it to be, and consider to your taste for whatever reason.

Fortunately, there are multiple bootloaders, quite a number of them even
well-packaged, so _both_ people who insist on extremely complex
bootloaders _and_ people who like ones properly compliant with the Unix
philosophy can both simultaneously be happy.


> Now I am preparing my old iMac for devuan.

Hmm, I haven't actually installed Linux on an iMac in a dog's age.
Maybe someone else has recent experience. I think I used the rEFIt
bootloader, and don't remember any particular problems.