I just looked up the initial release, it was in August 2001. I don’t remember the first time I used it, but it was probably 20 years ago. Still remains my favourite for the reasons you mentioned.

I use “Feeds”. Click on the menu, then select Feeds, and then Friends. You will still get ads, but it is much better than the default feed.

I think you need to set the execute bit on your service file.

sudo chmod +x <your service file>

Caldera (probably around 1999).

Yes - I have been running IPFire on an old desktop for several years now and I really like it.

Homebrew router?