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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"
Have you looked at the package list? It is one of the most up-to-date Linux distributions in fact; just look at the package versions and compare to any other Linux distribution. All this coming from one man, and offering the most stable and understandable Linux distribution is truely amazing.
You can check your email and receive messages from the world wide web! Slackware will help you stay in touch with all your friends by making a buddy list. I know that I instant message my friends all the time. Plus the new Slackware comes with bright shiny buttons, surprising sounds that make you excited about the interweb and being in-touch with folks from around the world who are just like you!!!!!
"Slackware's tech support has been nothing but patient, understanding and helpful!" says grandmother Eunice Haversham.
"It's so easy even I can use it!" says Michigan resident Robert Malda.
The best thing of all about Slackware is the fact that it's FREE !!! Just pick up a copy at McDonalds in their Tux Happy Meal or download it from your favorite website or give us a call at 1-800-LUNIX4U right away and we'll tell you about our other great offers!
Some people may be wondering why someone would use slackware when there are distros like Mandrake which have a graphical configuration utility for everything. There is a very good reason: to learn about Operating Systems and about Linux. To change a configuration in Slackware, you have to edit text files. But that's not really bad, because Slackware has amazing comments in the config files. You are encouraged to learn the filesystem and the config file structure. If you want to learn Linux as opposed to simply use Linux, run Slackware!
A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
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.
Oh, please. As you know, Slackware has its own package management system, the same one it uses to install with. glibc, bash, and so forth *are* installed via binary packages. No need to recompile. Just follow slackware-current.
I upgraded KDE 2.2.1 to KDE 3.0.1 just by downloading the packages and using upgradepkg. I've also upgraded the kernel, a bunch of my X apps, and even X itself. All without compiling.
I should probably point this out--I'm an idiot. I probably shouldn't even be using a Linux system. But someone like me got Slackware Linux up and running and using all my devices. Wasn't hard at all. And now I have no reason to use Windows except to run certain games.
Then again, maybe I'm just ignorant since I haven't used any other distros since I first used Slackware 4.0. I guess I don't need to try the others when I've already got the best. :)
(shameless plug) Slackersguild will always use Slackware... ;)
I'm a happy Slackware user. I've been a Slack user for years - and not just out of "being used to it". I used Slackware in my first job, I built mailservers on it in my second job, I used it to run a complete ISP in my third job, and a complete domain registry in my fourth job (incidentally, I'm still on a heck of a salary and really enjoy my work).
I've actually looked at other distributions to make maintainence easier, but:
- Debian I found was populated by anal freaks who were real religious fanatics - we had a department full of Debian people and I said "ok, let's do Debian then" and two years later I'm finding it hard to work out just where they put everything [1].
- RedHat just had too many problems and decided to SetUID root a load of crap (plus there's the obvious rootkits).
- SuSE fell apart at the seams.
So I went back to Slackware.It's quite funny when someone came along, found a security hole such as the recent OpenSSH hole, and tried to crack a Slack box - it was fairly obvious from the start, because the rootkits failed. Then I built Slack packages for tripwire and stuff.
Pat's got it right, IMHO. It's a good, simple distro with decent ground-up building. And there's a lot of misconception that you have to build stuff on Slack boxes - you don't - you can quite happily build packages.
I now run Slack on my laptop, on the company servers, on my desktop, and loads of other places. It works for me. I'm pleased to see Pat's finally got it together for 8.1 (I've been following the updates for some time).
But one bit of advice: update slackware.com - it's bloody old.
Snogs,
Joel.
[1] Admittedly I haven't got used to it in the same way I got used to Slack, but there's enough people in the company who can get used to Slack. Standardising means getting other people to learn it too.
Smegma.
alt.os.linux.slackware has known that rc1 on was out for a few days now and someone on the group even makes the effort to make current ISOs on a weekly bases. Other innovations mentioned in that group are the ability's to easily install slackware from ftp or DOS.
Ascii artist &
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.