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I'll probably get interested in using Wine again when the people who maintain the slackbuild for it are interested in supporting it for 64-bit Linux.

That and the fact that ever even thinking of having to use something like Wine to run Minecraft on Linux fails on so many different levels that I have no words for it.

It's not supported in Slackware

Linux packages is now gone, but there is http://slackbuilds.org/ today!

yes, FUD ! trying to show the worst case possible as a normal, everyday thing is FUD.

1- you CAN compile anything... but that doesn't mean that anyone must do it. Again, only people that really want to do it (developers and gentoo users) will ever do it. Most ubuntu users dont even know what compile is and they use a linux system just fine.

2- a) i'm a slackware user since 1995 and slackware DO have repositories! You have the main ftp for distro packages, you have alienbob packages, you have the slacky repository, rlworkman repository, linuxpackages.net and finally, the slackbuilds repository, where you have build scripts for many softwares (but yes, you can still compile manually if you like!)
  b) if you have a package that need a different lib version that you are using, then you are doing it wrong! binary packages are build for one distro/version, should be used on that distro/version. Trying to mix distros or version packages is a great way to have a broken system. Please note that i'm not saying that it doesn't work, most of the time it works fine, but one should ALWAYS prefer distro+correct version packages, and if not available, a source compiled. The above repositories for slackware have many programs compiled for the correct slackaware versions and if not, have the slackbuild ready to quickly compile things.
Downloading a random binary from the internet and trying to use it on a random distro is the "windows way", not the "linux way".
ps: if you are talking about gnome, forget it, that is a dependency hell... on slackware you need to use a gnome repository (like GSB or dropline) to have matching libs. For other distros its the same thing... binary packages build for set of libraries. NO MIXING... if you mix versions, its a user problem, not distro nor linux problem

3- Linux have 2 "clipboards", that work in different ways... if you dont understand then, its better to install some clipboard management, like klipper, glipper, parcellite, etc and enable the clipboards sync. It will make copy&paste more useful and consistent, specially for windows users. If you are talking about feel and use consistency, try to use the same platform for all apps (kde, gnome, xfce, etc), but as linux have more GUI libraries and no central management, the GUI is more fragment than on windows and mac... but those systems also have different GUI frameworks and so, the exact same problem . For some people that is a problem, for others is a good (promotes competition)

While I understand it's possible to get Wine working on 64-bit Linux, it's my experience that it's not really supported on a pure-64 bit system... at least not on Slackbuilds.org

Slackbuilds may sweeten the deal, too. Chances are if you want something that's not part of Slackware, someone's already done up a build script for it.

Updates to -current happen in spurts after much internal testing by the core team. Updates to stable happen only if there is a security problem with a packages. The Moz updates are due to security fixes in their releases. Also Slackware itself doesn't have that many packages comparative to distros like Debian. So what you see isn't bad at all and largely expected.

It may come as as shock to you if you use a distro that is forced on a regular release cycle and hence ships with lots of broken packages because it will need constant updates just to get it working. This isn't the same with Slackware. It is stable so needs very few updates, pretty much security only. That is one of Slackware's primary benefits. Your problem appears to be ignorance.

LibreOffice is not included in Slackware's official repositories, so you are just talking crap there. The most popular third party repository is SlackBuilds It has the latest version: http://slackbuilds.org/repository/13.37/office/libreoffice/

I have comments all over this discussion, so I can't mod you way up.

As for adding outside stuff to Slackware, that has gotten a lot easier over the past couple years, thanks to SlackBuilds.org and its nice TUI add-on, sbopkg.

There is a slackbuild for chrome here.

I've run Slackware in production plenty of times for years at a time with no issues, maybe you just don't how to configure it for your purposes? You don't HAVE to pick every package you want, but it does give you that option. It sounds more like you're not familiar enough with the installer to manage a successful installation to end up having only the tools needed for the function said production machine is going to require.

That said, I've not had much of a problem with package management for Slackware, maybe you should check out /var/log/packages, learn to use grep, put together a few simple scripts, and check out slackbuilds.org.

I'll admit this does require more working than just slamming a distro because it doesn't take 3days+ to install or doesn't have a nice pretty GUI that's point'n'click easy. But what I do know? I just want stable/secure servers that aren't that difficult to patch, to me Slackware covers all that once you get through the learning curve.

You can use ipchains instead since iptables is deprecated. Also, slackware package manager is not the best, and I'm a slackware big fan, if you're intrested in packages for slack, you should check http://slackbuilds.org/ and http://packages.slackware.it/ and http://www.linuxpackages.net/.
in the first one you compile the stuff yourself and only download a configuration to create the package, in the other 2 you just download pre-made packages (like rpm) - it's okay once you get used to it (with packagetools, upgradepkg, installpkg,removepkg) but it's still not as good as debian based package manager (apt-get) or gentoo repository.
I find myself compile lots of stuff that other Linux users don't even use (or know how to compile if he/she is Ubuntu users).
But the OS do exactly what I want it to do! nothing more, nothing less! and that's what Slackware is all about.
If you want to compile your own kernel, easy, exactly the same kind of easiness from other distros, but I don't know, I just felt inlove with Slackware!.

About your iptables problem, do this :


Looks like you didn't enable iptables in the kernel. I think you need to have the ipchains module enabled.
Try enabling these, and the other boxes listed below them.
Networking>Network Packet Filtering>Core Netfilter>Netfilter Xtable support
Networking>Network Packet Filtering>IP Netfilter>IP Tables Support


(from http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=278456)

Goodluck,
Zuk.

To those who use slackware, the lack of dependency-checking is considered a feature of slackware package management. You may disagree with this, but there are plenty who recognize and prefer it. The simplicity (basically dealing with gzipped tar archives) is also considered a feature. It's hard to understand why until you start compiling your own slackbuilds for software which isn't in the main distribution.

The philosophy of "vanilla-ism" is the foundation of slackware. This means keeping things simple and unix-like whenever possible, avoiding unnecessary (and possibly troublesome) patches to third-party code. There is a very good reason why slackware is the longest surviving linux distribution.

Binary blobs are NOT fine -- not so much because of the freedom issue (although that certainly counts), but because they are like ugly warts that refuse to cooperate. They shit all over the standard conventions and try to do things in their own WRONG way. They require special attention, like the kid in pre-school who ignores the teacher and runs around trying to fart on the other kids' heads. They insist on arbitrarily breaking conventions everywhere they go.

I'm not enough of an idealist to refuse all binary blobs. I do use them when necessary, such as my embedded ATI graphics which don't yet have a free alternative driver. (Thank the lord for slackbuilds which keep them on a short leash). But believe me, the second I have the chance to ditch them I will, and yes, my system will be cleaner as a result.

1. Slackware for trhe Linux distribution.
2. Fluxbox for the GUI.
3. Then, you can use either the Gnome Slackbuild or the Slackbuilds files to compile Mono on your Slackware machine.

Don't forget http://www.slackbuilds.org/ !

They provide tested scripts to roll your own packages. So you know what you're getting into and that it will work with your individual Slackware installation. They've worked very hard to prepare for Slackware 12. I think they were the first, in fact, to be ready for Slack 12.

Slackware was the first linux distro that I used in depth. As with eveyone who uses Slackware, the lessons I learned about software and Linux itself I will take with me to every distro I try. The philosophy of Slackware Package Management is that nothing gets installed behind your back. You control every single aspect of the package build/install process. You control exactly what is installed and with what options. The SlackBuild Scripts help automate the compilation of a single package and keep consitency in the system. One important project that everyone should know about is slackbuilds.org. This site is run by several regulars of ##slackware on freenode, and is a repository of quality SlackBuild Scripts. Anyone can submit a script, but each is tested before it is posted for quality assurance. I have since moved on to Gentoo for the more automated build process, but I am glad I spent time learning the basics with Slackware.