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64-Bit Slackware Is Alive
t0mg writes with this news from the top of Slackware.org "from the Slackware64-current changelog: [tap tap tap]... Is this thing on? ;-) Ready or not, Slackware has now gone 64-bit with an official x86_64 port being maintained in-sync with the regular x86 -current branch. DVDs will be available for purchase from the Slackware store when Slackware 13.0 is released. Many thanks go out to the Slackware team for their help with this branch and a special thank you to Eric Hameleers who did the real heavy lifting re-compiling everything for this architecture, testing, re-testing, and staying in-sync with -current. We've been developing and testing Slackware64 for quite a while. Most of the team is already using Slackware64 on their personal machines, and things are working well enough that it is time to let the community check our work. We'd like to thank the unofficial 64 bit projects for taking up the slack for us for so long so that we could take our time getting everything just right. Without those alternatives, we would have been pressured to get things out before they were really ready."
I wonder if it's too much to ask that the DVD have both i386 and x86_64 on them. I also wonder if they'll support upgrading from i386 to x86_64. I wonder when 13 will be released.
I wonder a lot of things really.
"I use a Mac because I'm just better than you are."
If you want a linux engineer to fix things up for you pick a Slackware user not an Ubuntu one.
http://ebgp.net/ccc/
But it is great when you have servers up to your ears.
Slackware is a beautiful server distro, but I used to use it as my primary desktop distro until comparatively recently. The only reason why I stopped was because of a long hiatus in the maintenance of the Dropline Gnome distribution. I just don't have time to build all that stuff myself, and it used to be so good. (And no, Gentoo just does not fill that gap.) Now I am mostly using Arch Linux which is similar in the important ways to Slackware (sweet!) but with the advantage of more current package builds.
Yeah, unless it's Ubuntu which needs fixing. Slackware is being very conservative, and it's core system hasn't changed a lot in recent years - which is much different from Ubuntu or Fedora. Things like booting process, sound subsystem or package management are totally different now.
I loved slackware but got sick and tired of compiling everything myself... and switched to gentoo where ebuilds were. Then switched to OpenSuse... and finally I am Ubuntu user, quite happy one (not too but still).
I havn't used Slackware in years, but I owe my knowledge of the nitty-gritty workings on Linux to it. It's a great environment for learning how to compile your own kernel.
I'm not a Slackware user. It has been many years. I think 2004 was when my server finally stopped running Slack. It was a time thing. I wanted to have the same distro on my desktop and server so I only had to keep track of one way of doin things. That said, I really do like that Slackware is still around. Slackware is basically a story about one guy and his distro. And its nice to know something like that still exists in the Linux world. Its a statement of individualism and simplicity that is sometimes lost in a world of sophisticated integrated products.
And to be honest, the simplicity of Slackware has its definite payouts. It means the system you end up with has a simple and relatively easy to maintain architecture, without much fluff. If you want a machine to do one thing, and do it well... I think Slack is a very excellent choice and still worth considering. Congrats on going 64 bit!
Your point appears to imply that Slackware is somehow archaic. Why is that? It cannot be the kernel or the applications as these are as up to date as any other.
If the lack of a GUI installer or package dependency management is the basis for your criticism then that's really a reflection on your particular skill set, not on Slackware.
There are many fine Linux distributions out there (and BSD's too). The more of these you are comfortable using the more effective you are when choosing a platform for your particular needs at any given time.
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Also my first distro, ill never leave as long as its maintained! LONG LIVE BOB!
Most of the team is already using Slackware64 on their personal machines, and things are working well enough
From personal experience "well enough" for the Slackware folks is far beyond anything others consider "fabulous."
It's getting hard to buy a new machine that ISN'T 64 bit, and Slackware's just now releasing for x86_64? Why does Debian get all the shit for slow release cycles?
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
From the distro notes:
"IMPORTANT: People making their own copies of the CDs for redistribution to colleagues etc. are reminded that cDs can not be made double-sided with a hole punch"
AT&ROFLMAO
Really?
Putting my sysadmin cap on, the first thing that comes to mind when seeing a Slackware, or for that matter Gentoo, box is "Oh God no, a tweaker".
I'm in the ChangeLog/copyright notices where appropriate. All my published work on Slamd64 is free software; I don't care what's done as long as the licenses are followed.
This is probably a good time to say why I made slamd64 again:
I wanted a 64-bit Slackware. I didn't want to be a distro lead, or anything like that. I like Slackware, and I needed a 64-bit distro. I made it for my own use, and uploaded it in case anyone else wanted to use it. Now there's a 64-bit Slackware, that reason's gone.
Slamd64 will be continued in some form for the foreseeable future, but possibly as something slightly different.
A true Slackware64 is better for you too:
"When you know Slack', you know Linux."
May the Maths Be with you!
Putting my sysadmin cap on, the first thing that comes to mind when seeing a Slackware, or for that matter Gentoo, box is "Oh God no, a tweaker".
If you have to administer a slackware user's box, it probably means they have died. To all my fellow slackers, don't forget to put the root password and some documentation in your will.