OpenRC [1], the replacement for Gentoo's current services system (known as 
baselayout), will be stabilized on May 8. It replaces the previous 
bash-only rc system in baselayout with an rc system that has a C-based 
core and uses only POSIX-compliant shell code.

You will see an update for sys-apps/baselayout to 2.x and a new package, 
sys-apps/openrc. It is recommended that you perform this update as soon 
as possible.

After these packages are emerged, it is absolutely critical that you 
immediately update your configuration files with dispatch-conf, 
etc-update or a similar tool [2] then follow the steps in the OpenRC 
Migration Guide [3].

Failure to follow all of these steps will result in an unbootable 
system. If that happens, you will need to boot from a LiveCD or LiveDVD, 
mount your root filesystem, chroot into that environment [4] and follow the 
above steps.


1. http://roy.marples.name/openrc
2. http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-amd64.xml?part=3&chap=4
3. http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/openrc-migration.xml
4. http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-amd64.xml?part=1&chap=6#doc_chap1

(Christian Faulhammer and William Hubbs contributed this announcement.)

-- 
Thanks,
Donnie

Donnie Berkholz
Sr. Developer, Gentoo Linux
Blog: http://dberkholz.com