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I've been pretty happy with Swaret http://www.swaret.org/ for package management on Slackware. It takes care of regular security updates for many of my servers, and does not ask for any personal information like up2date did.

Swaret works nicely for Slackware.

There are package management systems out there for slack that even check dependencies. I recommend checking out swaret or slapt-get

I want the same stability that people want in a server on my desktop. If there are a few programs that are missing, usually a trip over to Linux Packages is enough. If not, take the time to learn about compiling (however use 'checkinstall' rather than just installing the compiled program--makes it much easier to maintain a clean system). Package management tools such as Swaret and slaptget have made it easier than ever to maintain an up to date system (with options to update to the latest security fixes in the specified version (say 10.0) or to the -current tree.

Slack on!

Yeah, and don't forget Swaret which is a really good app for Slackware users, so you can update, check dependiencies and stuff, just with a few commands...

Don't forget about Slackware!! It's an awesome distro!

Let swaret handle all your downloading and updating of your slackware packages - it even has dependency checking (but no forced dependency installs => no dependency hell). I've kept my initial 9.1 install updated to -current for the past six months and it's worked flawlessly, and now I've just upgraded to 10.0 using swaret. Check it out!

BTW, I just upgraded from 9.1 to 10 on my Thinkpad T41 by running swaret --update && swaret --upgrade. Well, my original Slackware installation wasn't quite "out of the box", but I grabbed a good bag of tricks

Also, you can print to any windows printer, just use RedMon and CUPS.

Get yourself Swaret and you're set.

You're not alone. I did the same thing not more than four days ago.

It seems like this swaret.org thing might be the way to go, though.

I don't even know what you're talking about-- slackware has had easy removal of packages nearly forever! Incredibly, it's called 'removepkg', but like any tool, you can shoot yourself in the foot if you're not careful. =) With the addition of Swaret to the mix, managing packages on slackware is too easy.

Yeah, the upgrade system for Slack either wasn't thought out very well or is a bare bones solution waiting for something better. Swaret is what I use as the upgrading and dependency finding solution. Happy Slacking!

I wanted a new slackware-current system, but all I had were the 9.1 release cd's, from last year! What was I to do? I could download it from an ftp server and try to make a bootable iso inside Windows (all I had available), or try something else...

I installed slackware linux 9.1 with the packages I wanted. Then I installed SWARET by downloading a tarball and using "installpkg". I edited swaret.conf to change the version of slackware from 9.1 to current, then I typed "swaret --update" to update the package database. "swaret --upgrade" downloaded all the new versions of the packages I installed in 9.1 from the closest mirror, installed them, and it was done.

This didn't take months, it took 2 hours. Sorry *BSD, you smell bad.

You should get it when it shows up on swaret --list -u Usually anything of interest is available within 2-3 days of its release. & if you don't have swaret, you need to get it.

Is apt-get the only reason that caused you to switch? You can do similar security updates and software upgrades with swaret.

I really want to know what other things does Debian offer which Slackware doesn't? (as I use solely Slackware at home and at work now)

And in my experience security fixes from Slackware are pretty quick, most of the time coming out earlier than, say, RedHat.

its an excellent distro for even veterans of Linux who would rather spend time coding, or tweeking important performance settings instead of mucking about setting up printers or searching for "boot images" just to support year old hardware or file systems other then EXT2/3.

Excuse me my good man/woman. But I use Slackware and I love tweaking and coding around in it and I don't worry about setting up printers or searching for boot images. Just like who MDK uses graphical installs and flashy colors to help with the Linux experience, some distros like Slack like have multiple boot images to save space and time, it's all flava! Any how I'm glad slack has swaret now I have now problem keeping my package current!

Plus what I don't like about MDK is every time I install a new version or the same on again something different goes work with it. I can install Slack five time and have the same results. What worries me is that getting more not so technical people to use Linux for money will create a force no person has realized can truly influence the path of Linux in a different direction.

Slackware has it's own automatable update mechanism also, swaret. It even lets you update from other sources, such as linuxpackages.net or random sites from the mirror list (or of course to just use the official slackware ftp site if you prefer.)

Wouldn't that give you Slackware-current instead(9.1 for the momeny) ;)?

Anyway, that tool looks really cool - I'm going to give it a try.

Swaret