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Slackware 8.1 rc1 Announced
Demerol writes with word that "about 12 hours ago, Patrick announced the that Slackware is now in Release Candidate stage in preparation for the long-awaited 8.1 release. Hundreds of updated to the current tree in the last few months have had all the slackers drooling, and now it is almost upon us. Now, I don't want to hear any more talk of Slackware being dead. Thanks. ;) Here is the ChangeLog
and the Userlocal announcement"
Latest's of every thing I need:
Apache-1.3.24
php-4.2.1,
with all the php packages I have to move over,
MySQL-3.23.49,
LOTS of standard stuff (Nautilus, Mozilla etc.)
I should be able to upgrade my box, install ZendStudio_Server, use the journalling file system to mirror my drives and have the bullet proof system I need to support my Community Wikis.
MSBPodcast.com The opinions expressed here are my own. If you don't like 'em... Think up your own stuff.
Try here for a starters, its Slackware's web page. I'm actually not suprised you haven't heard of it. It isn't that popular anymore. It was one of the first Linux distributions. It was spawned from SLS in like early 1994. I'm ashamed I don't know more, since I've been using it since 1995. :) SLS and Yggdrasil were the first two distros I think. I tried Yggdrasil in 1994/1995 (don't remember which) but I couldn't get it to install correctly. It was probably a driver problem or something.
The Linux distro business model just doesn't work...
Um, last I heard, Slackware has always been profitable. Quit spreading FUD.
$x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
$x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
I agree entirely, but have one thing to add.
Slackware users don't want a packaging system for everyday use.
Try encap. Not really a traditional package manager, but works very well with source.
Basically, instead of "make install", you do "make prefix=/usr/local/encap/(programname-version) install", type "epkg /usr/local/encap/(program-version)", and it symlinks everything to the appropriate /usr/local locations automatically, deleting previous symlinks from old versions beforehand. Yes, you could do symlinks by hand, but that's a pain if the program uses a few hundred different files that can take too much time. Epkg does it in a few seconds.
New version of, say, your favourite email client is misbehaving? "epkg -r /usr/local/encap/(programname-version)" deletes the symlinks. Easy as pie. I love the encap concept since I try lots of bleeding-edge CVS versions of programs. If a new version sucks, I can go back to an older, working version with just a few commands. I don't have to recompile old versions over again.
This is a slackware FAQ.
Patrick won't use bzip2 because it's too resource-hungry for the very low-end that slackware still supports, and also he claims that the difference at gzip -9 vs bzip2 -9 isn't enough to make it worthwhile anyway.
I'm immensely proud of my association with Slackware and with Patrick, but credit where it's due and all that.
--Logan
Having switched from an RPM-based distro (Red Hat) to Slackware, I can honestly say that I don't miss RPMs at all and like having the option of using either source or Slackware packages, which I can actually use together properly...without dependency hell.
The main disadvantage of bzip2 is that it's MUCH slower than gzip.
They that quote Benjamin Franklin on liberty and safety deserve neither.
I've been using Slackware since 3.5 back in 1997, and I continue using it today. In fact, I'm posting this from my Slackware 8-ish box. So why Slackware? It's all about simplicity. Let's get more specific...
The lack of "forced" package dependencies is a good thing. When I know exactly what I want, I don't need to care about "forced" package dependencies. I run a Debian laptop at home, and when package dependencies break (ok so I'm trying out the unstable branch), it can be a real pain to fix that back. And I don't even want to get started on RPM (yes I run a Red Hat box too). But if I know exactly what I want, I can fix everything myself in Slackware. I'm not forced to accept what a package/distro maintainer wants me to install. It's all about control.
Learning Linux/UNIX. Some of you have already mentioned this. If you really want to learn about Linux/UNIX administration/development, Slackware is a great distro for that purpose. Now, people who would just want to use Linux as a desktop (for non-programming purposes) should use another distro. Slack's not for you. However, people who really want to learn will love the DIY-ness of Slackware. When you have to compile stuff yourself, or figure out why a certain library isn't working, you'll learn a whole heap of skills and tricks that will be really useful to you later. For example...
Moving back and forth from/to BSD is a breeze. When I first had to admin an OpenBSD box, I felt right at home. The similar *.tgz-style packages were easy to admin, and so was editing/configuring the system via editing text files. I later had to do some research using FreeBSD boxes, and again, I'm on familiar ground.
There are a whole lot of other reasons too, but I can't spell it out right now due to my current semi-hangover mode...
The downside: Of course, the obvious downside to using Slackware is time. You need to have heaps of time to learn and use it. But once you're done with that phase, you'll find your investment in Slackware will be worth it all. Again, I stress that Slackware is not for everyone. I certainly don't expect some of my less-obsessed-with-UNIX friends to like it. But hey, if you're the adventurous type who loves to learn and tinker around with stuff, go try it out. I think you'll like it.
I think it is quite interesting how slack has different boot kernels for different hardware configs for the install. Thats a pretty unique approach in my opinion. I also think that the installer rocks. Its very easy to use (even if it isn't 'Mandrake-esque') and I love curses programs. I do have a question though (haven't found the answer in the changelog). Does anyone know if there is an installer image with the base ISO that has a kernel supporting USB HID devices? The PS/2 ports on my best machine are fried and I only use USB for keyboard and mouse. I know I can download the image but I also don't have a floppy drive on that machine. Any help would be appreciated.