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Why Slackware Still Matters

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the stuff-that-matters dept.

An anonymous reader writes "In a rebuttal to the recent opinion column "Does Slackware still matter?" at Linux Watch, cRaig Forrester provides insight into Why Slackware DOES still matter--and not just to "hard-core group of hobbyists" or "highly professional" Linux server administrators--but desktop users and newcomers too."

8 of 313 comments (clear)

  1. It matters to me by Lispy · · Score: 5, Informative

    As an admin of a dozen of boxes that handle almost anything from webserver, Tomcat/SQL Server to mail/OpenXchange Server and since last weekend a Samba Domaincontroller to name a few, I must say I am the most happy Slackware User in the world.

    Stability, flexibility and sanity are the main reasons for me to use Slack.

    Personally I like my uptime in the three digits and a straightforward configuration. This is where Slack delivers for me. Combined with Dropline Gnome it also makes the most lovely Desktop box. ;)

    Keep slackin, Pat!

  2. Slackware matters because... by chipster · · Score: 4, Informative
    • It's quick and easy to install - even for someone who has never installed it before (folks tend to judge Slackware by it's dialog`-based installer right off the bat)
    • Slackware's simple package manager is exactly that - simple (and portable)
    • Longevity and survival (and Slackware has been, and will be around for a very long time - believe me)
    • Light on the patches (Slackware has a philosiphy to keep the packaged software as pristine as possible)
    • Small footprint if you don't need the graphical stuff
    • Slackware is always on top of security
    • Unique, controlled development model which fosters stability (some could argue it's a bad model, but she's still purring!)

    I could go on.

  3. Two points, really quickly... by Noryungi · · Score: 5, Informative
    1. "Alan Canton" is a very well known Usenet troll, who regularly spews nonsense in alt.os.linux.slackware. He seems to think that Slackware is going to die out, because of dwindling market share. Reasoning with him is a waste of time (I know, I have tried).
       
      AFAIK, He seems to think that, because he is some sort of entrepreneur, Patrick Volkerding should abase himself in front of his intelligence and follow his every advice. Since Patrick Volkerding avoids this Usenet newsgroup like the plague, Alan Canton is very unhappy and disses him, and his distro, every chance he gets. In short, he behaves in a very unprofessional and immature manner, criticizing and belittling everyone who disagrees with him.
       
    2. As a simple rebuttal, I am currently working as a system administrator for a small company, managing 16+ servers, almost all of them running Slackware -- from an ancient 7.0 machine, all the way to the latest 10.2 distribution. I could not be happier! Slackware is simple, light and powerful, which makes it ideal for most uses. Even at home, I use Slackware, and I am using it right now to type this message under Firefox.


    As an aside, if you haven't tried Slackware, give it a spin. Its simplicity and power are enough to shame many other well-established distribution...
    --
    The right to offend is far more important than the right not to be offended. (Rowan Atkinson)
  4. I use Slackware... by TCM · · Score: 3, Informative

    I use Slackware tarballs to extract libs needed for Linux compatibility on NetBSD. This way I don't need to install a full-blown Linux tree including rpm tools when I just need some library.

    Yay for .tar.gz!

    --
    Of course it runs NetBSD. BTC: 1NT7QvbetmANwaMzhpVL6
  5. Re:Well, I am still using Arch Linux by G-Licious! · · Score: 4, Informative

    Quote from Arch's wiki:

    Arch Linux is descended from Crux.

  6. Re:Slackware? I'm still using SLS! by tchuladdiass · · Score: 5, Informative

    You do realize that you can use rdev to set the root filesystem on your kernel, don't you? That way, you can copy your "root" floppy contents to a hard drive partition, stick your boot disk in the drive, and "rdev /dev/fd0 /dev/hda1". Now, next time you boot from that floppy, it will mount your hard drive partition as it's root filesystem.
    (ok, I'm really showing my age here :-)

  7. Re:Slackware is the best by Shakrai · · Score: 4, Informative

    Slackware was the first distro I was successful using (had trouble making SLS work) and despite trying 'the big three' (Red Hat, Debian, Mandrake) over the years, I'm still a dedicated Slackware user

    I recall once upon a time when Slackware was considered part of the 'big three', which also included Red hat and Debian. In fact my introduction to Linux came in the form of a $3.99 CD that I purchased that included all three of those distros. Back then they were all small enough to fit on a single CD -- yet large enough that I didn't feel like downloading any one of them on my v.34+ modem :)

    I installed Slackware and never looked back. The few times I've tried forks of the others (tried Conectiva once, Stampede while it lasted, and Fedora) it seems too alien to me. A lot of the fun stuff is hidden behind package managers and I always thought that the boot script layout was a little over complicated.

    To each their own.

    --
    I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
    We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
  8. Re:Slackware is the best by quarkscat · · Score: 4, Informative

    I have to add my kudos to Slackware also.

    While it does not use a slick GUI for installation, and (arguably) does not have the "latest-and-greatest" package manager, it does have A LOT going for it. It installs cleanly. It puts packages where the originators expects them to be -- this means that I can download a source tarball, build it, and have it actually work. I can download the latest kernel directly from "www.kernel.org" and build it without it borking my system. There are no surprises with weird directory structures from one release to the next, and there is no "backporting and patching" shenannigans that have me waiting for the next official (distribution) kernel release. If there were ANY linux distribution that were to be elevated to be the model for "Standard Linux", Slackware would take my vote without question.

    Slackware is the only distribution that I have tried that I could support SCSI||IDE and RAID and XFS using the 2.6 kernel without scrounging around on the net for patches and missing libraries. It just works.

    There are also unofficial ports in ISO format for the UltraSPARC, the Mac PPC, and a real 64-bit version for AMD-64.