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Slackware 9.1 Released
ThatComputerGuy writes "Slackware 9.1 is now officially released. This is another great release, featuring GCC 3.2.3, GNOME 2.4.0, KDE 3.1.4, ALSA, and Kernel 2.4.22. Check the official announcement for the full feature list. Note that ftp.slackware.com will not allow ISO downloads starting with this release; instead, the first distribution of the ISOs will be via BitTorrent."
ISOs for 9.1 won't be available via the main Slackware FTP site due to bandwidth limitations, so BitTorrents have been set up to distribute the load.
Torrent for Disc 1
Torrent for Disc 2
The 9.1 4-disc CD set is also available from the Slackware Store. I usually place my order for the CD set and download the ISOs so I can have it available to me immediately until the nice disc set arrives in the mail.
-- Give him Head? Be a Beacon? :P)
(If you can't figure out how to E-Mail me, Don't.
1)download an old ISO (8.1 or 9.0 are just fine)
2) install and run swaret (see freshmeat)
3) you now have a Slackware 9.1 box.
Been following -current and the 9.1 betas and RCs. Stable, ultra fast and simple as ever, with stacks of the latest software. The addition of two fully-fledged package management tools (Swaret and Slackpkg) is the icing on the cake; there's little to fault here (although GNOME 2.4.0 doesn't seem totally rock-solid yet).
Then again, Dropline GNOME for Slack provides one of the best and most attractive GNOME installations out there, and they'll update to GNOME 2.4.1, 2.4.2 etc.
If you're tired of all the frills in Red Hat, Mandrake and SuSE et al (good as those distros are), and want something clean, speedy and stable as hell, give this Slack a go.
Slackware is solid and well-tested. Gentoo is fun for the bleeding-edge, but if you want an ultra-reliable, secure and simple system, Slack is the way to go.
Most Slack stuff is compiled with -march=i486 -mcpu=i686, so it's optimised for more recent boxes. Equally, that article not long ago showing that Mandrake and Debian were faster than Gentoo says a lot; I like that Slack uses sane optimisation options to keep things zippy but retaining stability.
A lot of folks in here have been asking why Slack still has suck a cult following. It's a fair question; Slack doesn't get a great deal of exposure with the mainstream distros taking all the column inches now.
In a nutshell, Slack delivers Linux as it should be. Whereas distros like Red Hat and Mandrake deliver an "experience" (which is certainly good for newcomers), Slack says "Here's lots of great Linux stuff, packaged up and guaranteed to work out the box. Now make yourself a cool system!".
Slack's focus is on stability and simplicity. Instead of massively-patched packages, complicated init scripts and wizards galore, Slack goes all out for an easy to administer installation. It's very reliable; 99% of the time, only tested and stable releases are included.
Additionally, Slack's bootup time is half that of Red Hat 9. In general use it's much snappier too.
Above all, Slack isn't ideal for newcomers but if you've got some Linux experience under your belt, and want a system you feel YOU'RE in control of, download and give it a try.
Slackware is a distro that has been made by just one developer, and you can notice that (for good).
We you should use Slackware:
1) Free Beer: You can just download it.
2) Free Speech: Run Only GNU.
3) Free Mind: Many Distros install the software and then install themselves!!, Slackware install the software and then you can forgot you are running it, 'cause it won't get on the middle. You can use your GNU System without stupid modifcations or distro-specific bullshit automagic config tools. (But if you want them, they are just there, and they are the best).
I Think an important concept in Slackware is this:
Slackware config tools are basic. They do a minimal setup; if you need a config tool, you will be happy with them; some people think that just making a front end to configure a config file just wrapping the options from the Option=Value Format to the input/check/click/etc format; and that is just stupid. If someone doesn't know what an option means, he won't be able to configure it, doesn't matter if it has colors and graphics all around.
So Slackware keep it simple. Their config tools asks you for the minimal. That is enough for people who require a config tool. And if you need to go further, I think you will be more confortable using vi.
I think the only thing missing in Slack is ports and other kernels (It would be nice to run Slackhurd ; )
WTF am I doing replying to an AC at 5 A.M on a Friday night?
Slackware is above all a very focussed distribution. It aims to give you a fairly complete, simple and stable operating system for 486+ computers, that can be easily customized by yourself. In the past, there were also Alpha and Sparc versions, but now I think only Intel is officially supported. Slackware does not attempt to include every open source software package under the sun. There is sendmail, but not postfix, qmail, exim etc. There is mysql but not postgre, firebird, etc. There are a few window managers, as opposed to dozens. It does include the usual development tools and the most common libraries. If you want something not provided in the default distribution, you are expected to download and compile/install it yourself. The result is that the complete distribution can more or less be managed by a single person. Of all the major distributions, Slackware has probably the smallest development team. If the Mandrake or Gentoo company (yes folks, Gentoo is not a non-profit org like Debian!) were to fold next month, it is not easy to continue the distributions, because they need a reasonable amount of supporting infrastructure and developers. If Patrick Volkerding quits next month, I can maintain my own Slackware tree reasonably well, because I have a reasonable overview of how the entire distribution works.