Posted by
CmdrTaco
on from the duck-and-cover dept.
tiny69 noted that Slackware has
announced 7.1 is out of beta and now officially the Real Deal.
Here's the ChangeLog and a mirror. 2.2.16 Kernel, Gnome 1.2, and others. Remember back when everyone ran Slack 'cuz thats all there really was?
In February, i *finally* obtained a box to play with Linux on - an old 486/50 with a 1.2GB hdd. The big thing that finally make me go with Slackware is the the size of the installation. The default Red Hat installation would have completely crammed my hdd. With slackware, though, they put together a package of really good, useful software, and fit it into a ~600mb installation. For running on low-end hardware, it was awefully nice to get such a powerful yet efficently assembled distro.
Plus, i mean, "Slackware"... that just sounds cool. =^) -legolas
i've looked at love from both sides now. from win and lose, and still somehow...
It's a great time for a new version!
by
Tumbleweed
·
· Score: 3
Now is a great time for it - get a nice stable version out there before all hell breaks loose. Also, I believe Patrick is working on a new installer, etc, for the next major revision of Slackware, so there's a lot more that'll be new in v8 (or whatever version it is) than 'just' a new kernel. At least, that's the impression I get.
Better than yet another distribution, I find the Linux from Scratch project quite interesting...
It is appropriate to hold off on 2.4 kernel
by
goingware
·
· Score: 4
A lot of people are griping about how SlackWare 7.1 is being released just before kernel 2.4.0 is.
I think it is important to understand that a widely used distribution should not use a kernel until it has been used in widespread production for several months.
Anyone who knows what they are doing can download the kernel source and compile it themselves. I've been using the kernel 2.4.0-testX-acX series on my Slackware 7 installation for some time now, and it works well.
But there is a huge number of combinations of configurations out in the world, and there really is no way that the kernel can be adequately tested by the people who presently are testing it.
Once the 2.4.0 final kernel is released a lot more people will download and compile it than have been using it yet, and guess what? Bugs will be found.
That's why we have minor releases.
But a commercial distribution gets used by a lot of people who do not want to be testers, or would not be competent to diagnose their own systems if there was a problem.
You may say that Slackware is for the hardcore sorts (does that make me one? Gee, but I write MacOS GUI code for a living!.) but the fact is a lot of people will get Slackware for their very first experience with Linux just because they see it on a store shelf somewhere and decide to try it out.
Give Patrick a break.
And remember some wisdom a customer passed to me when I was working tech support in a bygone era: Don't buy version 1.0 of anything.
For those wanting to use linux on their system at home or at work where they (think) they don't have to worry about software licences, use redhat or corel linux. For anybody who wants to learn linux, they start with slackware. Read manpages, join irc channels and ask questions, avoid the installpkg command whenever possible... compile everything yourself. Don't know how? Read the manpages.
Rules to Live By:
Have an hour free? rm -rf/* as root to see what it does.
Oops, did that hurt the system? Go through the installation again. Familliarize yourself with the purpose of all the packages.
If it can be done in windows, it can be done better in linux. Do it. Prove to the world there is hope after microsoft.
freshmeat.net is your friend
It dosen't matter if you need to or not, just do it. It's perfectly normal to have several unfinished projects going at any given time.
Compile it your own damn self.
Good things come with time. I installed slackware using floppy disks made on a windows system with a 28.8 modem.
The real benefit of running a slackware system is that the system you are running is yours. There is no generic install, you can take pride in your accomplishments. One thing that slackware has accidentally taught me over the years is how to solve problems as they arise... a real life skill. Cheers to Patrick for keeping slackware the distro it was meant to be. =)
I used slack from version 2 to 3, then switched to debian because someone where I was working recommended it. I've not looked back.
If you use packaging systems, debian is better, however, if you want to make everything from source, just do a minimal slack install, and make your own distribution.
Slack is a good place to get parts for a distribution, I'd say most slackware users' systems arent too similar to the base install.
"why on earth you would go back to slack is beyond me.. "
The benefits of Slackware Linux are many:
Stable out of the box.
Easy to configure (for the average Unix guy).
Rarely has software which contains security holes.
BSD style init scripts
No RPM locking dependancy. If there's an issue, you can upgrade from source quickly.
You might also want to read about why Kuro5hin.org runs Slackware (article written by me, so this is a bit of self-promotion:)).
If you'd grown up on it, or come from another Unix-alike (such as OpenBSD, etc), you'd find Slackware as comfortable and well fitting as a very nice pair of boxer shorts. Whereas I find something like Red Hat restrictive and holey (like very old briefs which haven't been taken care of). Why anyone would run Red Hat (or derivatives), or even Debian, is "beyond me"...
To each their own. ---
-- -- Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
It's not done uploading - watch this file
by
goingware
·
· Score: 3
If you're wondering where the new version is, watch for the file THIS_ISNT_DONE_UPLOADING at slackware-current to disappear.
There's a note in the file that says it will disappear when the upload is done. Apparently the Slashdot article got posted when the release was announced, but the loading of the files is still in progress!
Slashdot Mirror
Plus, i mean, "Slackware"... that just sounds cool. =^)
-legolas
i've looked at love from both sides now. from win and lose, and still somehow...
Now is a great time for it - get a nice stable version out there before all hell breaks loose. Also, I believe Patrick is working on a new installer, etc, for the next major revision of Slackware, so there's a lot more that'll be new in v8 (or whatever version it is) than 'just' a new kernel. At least, that's the impression I get.
Better than yet another distribution, I find the Linux from Scratch project quite interesting...
I think it is important to understand that a widely used distribution should not use a kernel until it has been used in widespread production for several months.
Anyone who knows what they are doing can download the kernel source and compile it themselves. I've been using the kernel 2.4.0-testX-acX series on my Slackware 7 installation for some time now, and it works well.
But there is a huge number of combinations of configurations out in the world, and there really is no way that the kernel can be adequately tested by the people who presently are testing it.
Once the 2.4.0 final kernel is released a lot more people will download and compile it than have been using it yet, and guess what? Bugs will be found.
That's why we have minor releases.
But a commercial distribution gets used by a lot of people who do not want to be testers, or would not be competent to diagnose their own systems if there was a problem.
You may say that Slackware is for the hardcore sorts (does that make me one? Gee, but I write MacOS GUI code for a living!.) but the fact is a lot of people will get Slackware for their very first experience with Linux just because they see it on a store shelf somewhere and decide to try it out.
Give Patrick a break.
And remember some wisdom a customer passed to me when I was working tech support in a bygone era: Don't buy version 1.0 of anything.
-- Could you use my software consulting serv
Rules to Live By:
- Have an hour free? rm -rf
/* as root to see what it does. - Oops, did that hurt the system? Go through the installation again. Familliarize yourself with the purpose of all the packages.
- If it can be done in windows, it can be done better in linux. Do it. Prove to the world there is hope after microsoft.
- freshmeat.net is your friend
- It dosen't matter if you need to or not, just do it. It's perfectly normal to have several unfinished projects going at any given time.
- Compile it your own damn self.
- Good things come with time. I installed slackware using floppy disks made on a windows system with a 28.8 modem.
The real benefit of running a slackware system is that the system you are running is yours. There is no generic install, you can take pride in your accomplishments. One thing that slackware has accidentally taught me over the years is how to solve problems as they arise... a real life skill. Cheers to Patrick for keeping slackware the distro it was meant to be. =)I used slack from version 2 to 3, then switched to debian because someone where I was working recommended it. I've not looked back.
If you use packaging systems, debian is better, however, if you want to make everything from source, just do a minimal slack install, and make your own distribution.
Slack is a good place to get parts for a distribution, I'd say most slackware users' systems arent too similar to the base install.
-Yarn - Rio Karma: Excellent
The benefits of Slackware Linux are many:
You might also want to read about why Kuro5hin.org runs Slackware (article written by me, so this is a bit of self-promotion
If you'd grown up on it, or come from another Unix-alike (such as OpenBSD, etc), you'd find Slackware as comfortable and well fitting as a very nice pair of boxer shorts. Whereas I find something like Red Hat restrictive and holey (like very old briefs which haven't been taken care of). Why anyone would run Red Hat (or derivatives), or even Debian, is "beyond me"...
To each their own.
---
--
Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
There's a note in the file that says it will disappear when the upload is done. Apparently the Slashdot article got posted when the release was announced, but the loading of the files is still in progress!
Eagerly,
-- Could you use my software consulting serv