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Slackware 14.0 Arrives

Posted by timothy on from the significant-digits dept.

First time accepted submitter SgtKeeling writes "After 5 release candidates, a new version of Slackware has been released. From the website: 'Yes, it is that time again! After well over a year of planning, development, and testing, the Slackware Linux Project is proud to announce the latest stable release of the longest running distribution of the Linux operating system, Slackware version 14.0! We are sure you'll enjoy the many improvements. We've done our best to bring the latest technology to Slackware while still maintaining the stability and security that you have come to expect. Slackware is well known for its simplicity and the fact that we try to bring software to you in the condition that the authors intended. We will be setting up BitTorrent downloads for the official ISO images. Stay tuned to http://slackware.com/ for the latest updates.'"

183 comments

  1. Torrents are up now by SgtKeeling · · Score: 5, Informative

    Torrent files are now available here: http://www.slackware.com/getslack/torrents.php

    1. Re:Torrents are up now by staticsafe · · Score: 1, Informative

      Torrent files are now available here: http://www.slackware.com/getslack/torrents.php

      Thanks, put both 32 and 64 bit DVD ISOs up to seed on the 100mbit box.

    2. Re:Torrents are up now by epyT-R · · Score: 4, Funny

      torrents? you filthy pirate!

    3. Re:Torrents are up now by fibonacci8 · · Score: 5, Funny

      The trouble with torrents for Slackware is having to switch floppies so often.

      --
      Inheritance is the sincerest form of nepotism.
    4. Re:Torrents are up now by fustakrakich · · Score: 5, Funny

      Shhh, don't tell Google. Their bots will block it.

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    5. Re:Torrents are up now by legojenn · · Score: 4, Funny

      Thanks but I won't bother. I'll just find my 2000-era CDs of Slackware 7 and install it twice.

      --
      I make a reasonable middle-class wage by going to work and not spamming blogs with scams.
    6. Re:Torrents are up now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Soooooooooooooooo many floppies.

    7. Re:Torrents are up now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      According to my math, the 2410528768 B install disk for the 64-bit version would take 1654 floppy disks.

    8. Re:Torrents are up now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      This is was SO much easier to download and install... I remember the nightmare that was installing Slackware 1.0 RC 2, and how sore my fingers were afterwards...

      "Okay, let's see... I have to start with the boot loader... dit dit dah dit dah dah dit dit dah dit dit dah dah...

      Aw crap! That last dah was supposed to be a dit! Ah well, guess I'll start over...

      By the time I got it all keyed in and running, Slackware 2.1 was released, and I felt like a fool for wasting all that time installing V1. I know when they went away from punched cards to paper tape for 3.0 it made everybody's lives SO much better. Paper tape is like, WAY faster. The transition to a stack of 25 single sided, single density 180kB, 5.25" floppy disks was mind blowing, and helped gather many fans to Slackware at its pivotal 4.0 release.

      Here's to you, Pat!

    9. Re:Torrents are up now by Cinder6 · · Score: 2

      According to my math, the 2410528768 B install disk for the 64-bit version would take 1654 floppy disks.

      So, things haven't changed much, despite the intervening years...

      --
      If you can't convince them, convict them.
    10. Re:Torrents are up now by Anarchduke · · Score: 1

      I remember the floppies

      --
      who prays for Satan? Who in 18 centuries has had the humanity to pray for the 1 sinner that needed it most? ~Mark Twain
    11. Re:Torrents are up now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I remember the floppies

      boot and root

    12. Re:Torrents are up now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I remember the floppies

      I remember when floppies were floppy.

    13. Re:Torrents are up now by kh31d4r · · Score: 1

      ahh, you are using those new floppies...

    14. Re:Torrents are up now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Remember, remember the Slackware of November, the CDROM installation and pot.
      I see no reason why Slackware of the season
      Should ever be forgot.

    15. Re:Torrents are up now by X0563511 · · Score: 1

      Site's been down for a while, so I can't get to the torrents.

      Can anyone share the torrent files with us? You don't need the site up to get to the files, that's (supposed to) be the point of a torrent.

      --
      For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
    16. Re:Torrents are up now by NikeHerc · · Score: 1

      "Okay, let's see... I have to start with the boot loader... dit dit dah dit dah dah dit dit dah dit dit dah dah...

      You kids had it so easy with Morse code! We had to use smoke signals. The bit rate was abysmal!

      --
      Circle the wagons and fire inward. Entropy increases without bounds.
  2. As long as Slackware keeps being released... by Mr+Foobar · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Then I know all is well with the world.

    Thank you, Patrick!

    --
    -> I dislike sigs...
  3. Installing the new version... by Empiric · · Score: 1

    Can I still use my "boot" and "root" floppies...?

    Though I've moved... not "up", really, but more "over" to Ubuntu, you're the source of many fond memories.

    Here's to hopefully many more fine releases to come. And, to be clear, I switched to another distro about the same time Patrick announced his intended "retirement", so it wasn't due to a lack of well-earned loyalty...

    --
    ~ Whence do you come, slayer of men, or where are you going, conqueror of space?
    1. Re:Installing the new version... by yellowcord · · Score: 5, Interesting

      You can still install via floppies... In fact looking at the FAQ page it looks like they haven't changed anything in the 16 years since my first install of Slackware. You can install through serial if your heart so desires.

    2. Re:Installing the new version... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Patrick never suggested he was retiring. When he was sick, he maintained the distro best he could, until he went to the hospital, and then he let trusted individuals do security releases. This is when the announcement came.

      Although I do admit, at the time it did not look good, and it could have meant he had to let the project go. But the guy did all he could to pull through it quickly. The project has continued to excel since then.

    3. Re:Installing the new version... by gstoddart · · Score: 4, Interesting

      You can still install via floppies

      LOL, I wonder just how many of us have installed it from floppies?

      It's only within the last 3-5 years that I threw out the 100 or so Slackware floppies from the very first time I installed Linux way back in '92 or '93 -- a 0.99a kernel, a huge pile of floppies, and the best fun to be had at the time.

      Ah ... installing Slackware with X-windows onto a 486-DX33 with 8MB of RAM and 320MB HDD. Good times that was.

      Xv for porn^H^H^H^Himages, slip to multi-task on a dialup connection, xdvi to preview output from LaTeX, gcc for coding, netscape for the few wbe sites that existed, usenet, ftp, and all the goodies to go along with it. I still remember the sheer awesome of having that environment.

      At one point, my computer had more CPU and RAM than the Sun workstations my friend could access at school ... of course, we had it tough, we only had VT100 access to old VAXen and printers with green-bar paper. And the DOS/Windows machines of the day were largely useless and crashy.

      The fact that everything is now mostly three orders of magnitude bigger is kind of amusing in retrospect. But at the time, it was some pretty cool stuff.

      Knowing UNIX and C got me my first job out of school. I may need to spool up a VM to put this on, my Ubuntu box is getting a little creaky and I've been hearing some things that make me want to find another distro anyway.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    4. Re:Installing the new version... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh lordy, I'm getting the shakes over here.

      I recall all the time spent swapping floppies and trying to get a dial-up connection working. If I remember correctly, I was kicking around with Red Hat at the time too (this was before fedora, I'm sure). Even when they did release cd images, you couldn't reliably boot from CD, depending on the machine's bios.

      Fun stuff. Well, not really... more like war stories.

    5. Re:Installing the new version... by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      I managed the A, N, and D sets and most of X in 120 MB (8MB of which was swap!) on a 386DX25 with 8MB RAM :)

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    6. Re:Installing the new version... by spauldo · · Score: 1

      I switched because I got sick of waiting on glibc. Once Slack 7 came out, Debian's package management had me hooked. Something about Slack 7 just never felt right to me - I was too used to 3.x.

      (Of course, back then I was downloading and compiling the X and GNOME source about once a month, but at least I didn't have to worry about the main system).

      --
      Those who can't do, teach. Those who can't teach either, do tech support.
    7. Re:Installing the new version... by Gothmolly · · Score: 1

      386-16, 4MB of RAM

      I win !

      --
      I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
    8. Re:Installing the new version... by fm6 · · Score: 3, Funny

      The FAQ page also notes that Slackware is Y2K compliant. Good to know, just in case time ever starts moving backwards.

    9. Re:Installing the new version... by jbolden · · Score: 1

      I never did a fully Linux install from floppies but I did use distributions like Debian which required floppy boot. So you got the CD and that contained disk images you had to burn to 2 floppies to get the kernel booted enough to install the rest from CD.

    10. Re:Installing the new version... by GaryOlson · · Score: 1

      You can still install via floppies...

      I installed OS/2 first, pulled the distro from a BBS, then installed Slackware from boot floppies and the FAT partition where I downloaded the distro. If I remember correctly, this required significantly fewer floppies. And the 9600 baud modem could spend all night pulling down the distro for the next morning.

      What a nightmare

      --
      Every mans' island needs an ocean; choose your ocean carefully.
    11. Re:Installing the new version... by Cinder6 · · Score: 1

      Who really knows what will really happen when we hit December 21 this year?

      --
      If you can't convince them, convict them.
    12. Re:Installing the new version... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, you can't. The linux kernel will no longer fit on a floppy with the rest of /boot. If you want to install from physical media, you must use an optical disk or a usb drive. Failing that, PXE.

    13. Re:Installing the new version... by fm6 · · Score: 4, Funny

      So you're saying that Slackware is Mayan Calendar Rollover compliant?

    14. Re:Installing the new version... by Anarchduke · · Score: 1

      LMAO

      --
      who prays for Satan? Who in 18 centuries has had the humanity to pray for the 1 sinner that needed it most? ~Mark Twain
    15. Re:Installing the new version... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      LOL, I wonder just how many of us have installed it from floppies?

      My first Slackware install was by floppy to a non-networked 386dx33, 16MB ram, transferring the floppy images down from a networked Sparc 2. I started off at the install at 5:00 pm one night, with 16 working floppies, by 3:00am next morning this had reduced to 4 functional disks (Sparc 2 floppy drive was a right disk killer)..security guys on their nightly rounds found me half-sleeping slouched over the desk in front of the 386 holding a floppy at sometime around the 4:00am mark...got the piss taken out of me by the buggers for weeks after that...
      Great fun.

      I'd just configured a new firewall box this morning using 13.37 as the base before spotting this announcement, looks like it's going to be a boring day, so maybe I'll consider downloading and using 14 now instead.

    16. Re:Installing the new version... by ClaraBow · · Score: 1

      oh, lordy, I loved the sound of floppies grinding away, and it was heaven when the the floppy ejected successfully and I was asked to insert another! Oh, lordy indeed!

    17. Re:Installing the new version... by McDutchie · · Score: 1

      You can still install via floppies...

      No, you can't. The kernel hasn't even fit on a floppy for many years now.

    18. Re:Installing the new version... by X0563511 · · Score: 1

      Slackbuilds may sweeten the deal, too. Chances are if you want something that's not part of Slackware, someone's already done up a build script for it.

      --
      For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
    19. Re:Installing the new version... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      http://store.slackware.com/cgi-bin/store/slacktee-mayan?id=LM8CgLHg&mv_pc=29

      See the new Slackware 14 T-Shirt for proof.

    20. Re:Installing the new version... by omarius · · Score: 1

      I remember taking up a row of the 24-hour computer lab at school at 2am or so (to have an available row); I'd clear all the chairs out but one, log in to each PC, and then start downloading--FTP'ing directly to A:--like the carriage in a typewriter. By the time I had started the disk on the rightmost computer, the one on the leftmost machine would be finished downloading. Rollll to the left, repeat! Good memories.

    21. Re:Installing the new version... by RockDoctor · · Score: 1

      You can still install via floppies

      LOL, I wonder just how many of us have installed it from floppies?

      I tried, and what a pain it was. I kept on getting read errors. So I ended up getting a CD drive that could actually boot on my system (some weird VL-Bus thing with those early IDE controllers) to avoid the pile of floppies.

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
  4. Sing it by kelemvor4 · · Score: 5, Funny

    For slack's a jolly good distro...

    For slack's a jolly good distro...

    For slack's a jolly good diiiiistrooo...

    Which nobody can deny!

  5. Wh00t Ch00 Ch00 by NSN+A392-99-964-5927 · · Score: 1

    I love slack; but there again my favorites are Slack, Debian, NetBSD, FreeBSD

    --
    All cows eat grass!
  6. Very Disappointed! by AntEater · · Score: 5, Funny

    I downloaded and installed it onto my system from DVD. The system booted up. It found my network card and configured itself via DHCP. I didn't edit xorg.conf but startx loaded up the KDE desktop using the full resolution of my monitor. Plugged in a USB stick and it opened up a file manager with it's contents loaded. I used the system for quite a while and I only had to fire up the terminal to edit /etc/inittab to change the default runlevel to 4 so KDM would load at boot time. Fully an hour into this and I only had to edit one text file?!? What is this? I wanted Slackware, not Yoobuntoo or some other watered down, hand-holding, pick-out-my-clothes-for-me distro! Where's the pain? Where's the challenge? How can I project my true alpha-geek status by casually mentioning that I run Slackware if it's going to be this easy?? If this keeps up I'm going to have to switch to one of the BSDs or Linux from scratch. With my luck, they'll probably automate that process with shell scripts or something as well.

    --
    Alex, I'll take keybindings not used by Emacs for $400....
    1. Re:Very Disappointed! by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      Download the source and compile from scratch...

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    2. Re:Very Disappointed! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      All jokes aside automated Linux from scratch has been around for years...

    3. Re:Very Disappointed! by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 1

      Bummer, I guess the *nix hipsters will have to migrate to BSD.

      --

      "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

    4. Re:Very Disappointed! by diego.viola · · Score: 4, Funny

      If you want pain go and use Windows.

    5. Re:Very Disappointed! by fredgiblet · · Score: 4, Informative

      Install Gentoo

    6. Re:Very Disappointed! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nah, I migrated to OS X instead but I guess that's sort of BSDish.

    7. Re:Very Disappointed! by ThePeices · · Score: 4, Interesting

      If you want pain go and use Windows.

      Yeah im using Win7 and the pain is unbearable. Im constantly having to....umm...well, ill think of it later im sure.

      Oh yeah and then it is a right pain in the arse having to constantly put up with ...umm....well actually, nothing yet.

      hmm having to think hard here...oh yeah, It runs so poorly on all of my ....actually, no it runs fast.

      umm....Out of the box after a fresh install i have to always...actually do nothing, it just...umm...works.

      and then theres all the obscure configuration of......errr.....well, nothing, it just works...again.

      Sorry OP im having a hard time here, what was your point again?

    8. Re:Very Disappointed! by AntEater · · Score: 5, Funny

      If you want pain go and use Windows.

      Sorry OP im having a hard time here, what was your point again?

      The point is that using Windows is painful. Your post reminded me of this thing I read about... I think it was called Stockholdm syndrome.

      --
      Alex, I'll take keybindings not used by Emacs for $400....
    9. Re:Very Disappointed! by AntEater · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The funny thing here is that I'm actually in the process of replacing my iMac with a Slackware system. Is that ironic enough for a hipster?

      --
      Alex, I'll take keybindings not used by Emacs for $400....
    10. Re:Very Disappointed! by diego.viola · · Score: 1, Troll

      Yeah, well, tell me how it goes again when Windows 8 comes out and annoys all the non-tech savvy peole (read: your 60 years old grandparents, etc).

      I want to see people saying that Windows isn't a PITA when that happens.

      I'll give you some tips:

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4boTbv9_nU
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyc1RVCXvAk

    11. Re:Very Disappointed! by John+Bokma · · Score: 1

      Guess (again) what "Linux from scratch" means....

      --

      Perl Programmer for hire
    12. Re:Very Disappointed! by snikulin · · Score: 1

      Then do it again, in Cygwin.!

      I successfully did it (CLFS x86), BTW.
      The trick is to switch NTFS into case sensitive mode and be patient during all the ./configure scripts (cygwin's fork is like molasses).

    13. Re:Very Disappointed! by MrDoh! · · Score: 1

      Ha! Someone who's used Slackware a lot before I can see!

      --
      Waiting for an amusing sig.
    14. Re:Very Disappointed! by __aaqvdr516 · · Score: 3, Funny

      The people who have problems with Win8 are the same people that have 12:00 flashing on every digital device they own.

    15. Re:Very Disappointed! by diego.viola · · Score: 2

      Not everyone is a computer geek/nerd and have the same inclinations or priorities that you do. Surpise.

    16. Re:Very Disappointed! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Of course. And they then have problems with Win8 and have 12:00 flashing on every digital device they own. Your point?

    17. Re:Very Disappointed! by cykros · · Score: 1

      Err, it's SLACKware. The idea has ALWAYS been that it was to be user-friendly, and not involve unnecessary work. They just never joined the camp that decided to mangle a good vanilla Linux install with all sorts of upstream changes.

      If you really want l33t points, for every package you want to install, write your own slackbuild script. For those more geared toward efficiency, however, there's checkinstall.

      Oh, and of course, in the meantime, I wouldn't worry too much about not seeming l33t by using slackware. That it's an ncurses based installation process is l33t enough to frighten off most noobs these days, who've been spoiled by GUI livecd's with a single-click to "install". Arch seems to be the only other mainstream distro whose primary installation method is non-GUI...even Gentoo has a livecd these days.

    18. Re:Very Disappointed! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      To install Linux from scratch, you must first install the universe...

    19. Re:Very Disappointed! by rubycodez · · Score: 1, Troll

      And then the rug gets pulled out from you with windows 8 which is crapware, just like Vista was. with linux if I find I don't like the UI in latest version of my distro I can change it with a single command. And of course Microsot sells variously crippled versions of Windows, from Starter to Home to Premium to Enterprise to Ultimate......changing my Linux from a "starter" to an Ultmate is just loading packages. software updates never take control and tell me they will reboot in 5 minutes. there is no activation process or Genuine Advantage check if I change my machine in a major way. Everythiing I need to do is covered by 25,000+ available packages.

    20. Re:Very Disappointed! by DecimalMan · · Score: 1

      Gentoo may well be the last bastion of mandatory text editing. Hopefully they never aim for "elegant" package management, because the current way is great. And so help me, if I can update Qt painlessly, I'm switching to LFS.

    21. Re:Very Disappointed! by Type44Q · · Score: 1

      If this keeps up I'm going to have to switch to one of the BSDs or Linux from scratch.

      That's nothing; you should try playing FarmVille with Lynx.

    22. Re:Very Disappointed! by corychristison · · Score: 1

      +1. Install gentoo if you want to edit files and play with the terminal.

      I think there is a GUI installer on the LiveDVD :-/. Download the minimal CD instead (also works as a pretty competent rescue disc if you don't have SystemRescueCD kicking around).

    23. Re:Very Disappointed! by diego.viola · · Score: 1, Troll

      My point is that Windows 8 will be a disaster, and it'll be painful for the non-tech savvy crowd.

    24. Re:Very Disappointed! by corychristison · · Score: 1

      I lied... Gentoo minimal CD is only ~150MB depending on architecture.

    25. Re:Very Disappointed! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Then what the fuck are they doing on slashdot?!?!?!

    26. Re:Very Disappointed! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The people who have problems with Win8 are the same people that have 12:00 flashing on every digital device they own.

      Everybody?

    27. Re:Very Disappointed! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How many of those 25,000 packages are 10 overlapping projects, each with a different focus, none fully featured?

    28. Re:Very Disappointed! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Alpha-geek status? lulz
      List of things most Ubuntu users wouldn't know/have heard of:
      startx, xorg.conf, runlevels

      I think you overestimate the average Ubuntu user.

    29. Re:Very Disappointed! by Anarchduke · · Score: 1

      Not anymore, most of my digital devices automatically synchronize with time servers and the ones that don't ... ah crap ... are flashing 12:00

      --
      who prays for Satan? Who in 18 centuries has had the humanity to pray for the 1 sinner that needed it most? ~Mark Twain
    30. Re:Very Disappointed! by tsa · · Score: 1

      That's interesting. I used Slackware between 1995 and 2006 or so (you know, the days when next year was the year of Linux on the desktop), and then I bought a Mac and never looked back. Yes I tried Ubuntu and some other distros before doing my bold move but they also needed a lot of tinkering back then to get them to do what I wanted, and I was getting sick of having to do that all the time. Now that Apple is, how shall I put it, behaving strangely, I might go back to Linux one day or another. It's good to hear that my favorite distro is so user-friendly now.

      --

      -- Cheers!

    31. Re:Very Disappointed! by mvdwege · · Score: 2

      I have a lab full of PC's that I just reinstalled this week that disagrees with you about having to do nothing on a fresh install.

      It was the good old Windows-not-recognising-anything, find-and-download-drivers dance. Windows has gotten better, but it still is a piece of crap.

      Never mind the complete absurdity when I first mistakenly downloaded the Win7Pro ISO instead of the SP1 ISO. That one didn't even recognise a SATA CDROM at boot. How old was SATA when Win7 was released?

      (And before someone whines about the download, that was a download from the official Microsoft Licensing site. We have a volume license).

      --
      "I know I will be modded down for this": where's the option '-1, Asking for it'?
    32. Re:Very Disappointed! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can still run gentoo.

    33. Re:Very Disappointed! by kokoko1 · · Score: 1

      You are not kidding right? things has been changed Slackware should be changing to make things easier.

      --
      http://askaralikhan.blogspot.com/
    34. Re:Very Disappointed! by a_n_d_e_r_s · · Score: 1

      It's your own fault. Have not people been telling you to stop downloading software from untrusted sites ?

      You will get viruses and such if you insist of downloading from sites of disreputable companies
      who many times has been found guilty of intellectual property theft in courts.

      It's asking for trouble. Do what most people do - use a torrent!

      --
      Just saying it like it are.
    35. Re:Very Disappointed! by AntEater · · Score: 2

      The people who have problems with Win8 are the same people that have 12:00 flashing on every digital device they own.

      I thought that was their core market?

      --
      Alex, I'll take keybindings not used by Emacs for $400....
    36. Re:Very Disappointed! by rubycodez · · Score: 1

      about a tenth the amount of those with same issue on Windows, I'd say

    37. Re:Very Disappointed! by celle · · Score: 1

      "Sorry OP im having a hard time here, what was your point again?"

            You forgot about the three days of updating and rebooting after a fresh install. At least that was how long it took the last time I did it 6 months ago when I needed windows for a short stint of work.

    38. Re:Very Disappointed! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's a joke, chief. Just like the standard "year of the linux desktop" joke, except this one is about windows.

      * Nevertheless, windows IS painful to use for linux users, and in all probability, mac users too.

    39. Re:Very Disappointed! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      SystemRescueCD is Gentoo, anyway.

  7. BSD by nurb432 · · Score: 2

    Hate to break it to you but us in the BSD camp haven't been hand editing much lately either to get the basics going. I haven't edited a xorg.conf in years, or ttys to get x/kdm to run..

    Many ports even add themselves to rc.conf to auto start....

    --
    ---- Booth was a patriot ----
    1. Re:BSD by NSN+A392-99-964-5927 · · Score: 1

      Hate to break it to you but us in the BSD camp haven't been hand editing much lately either to get the basics going. I haven't edited a xorg.conf in years, or ttys to get x/kdm to run..

      Many ports even add themselves to rc.conf to auto start....

      Leave those Gentoo stealing BSD ports alone.

      --
      All cows eat grass!
    2. Re:BSD by nurb432 · · Score: 1

      You do realize we had ports before Linux even existed, right?

      --
      ---- Booth was a patriot ----
    3. Re:BSD by mark-t · · Score: 1
      Uh....

      No.

      Linux started up in 1991. Personally, I started using in '92.

      ports began in '94.

      Linux predated ports by 3 years.

      --
      File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
    4. Re:BSD by nurb432 · · Score: 1

      Uh...

      Yes.

      End of discussion.

      --
      ---- Booth was a patriot ----
    5. Re:BSD by mark-t · · Score: 1

      If you have some factual data that contradicts the dates above, that i mentioned, please supply them.

      Because simply blindly (completely, no less) contradicting allegedly factual information without actually supplying any additional information which might controvert the supplied data is a pretty good way to make oneself look like someone who has no idea what they are talking about.

      To reiterate: Linux was first released in September '91, and ports in August of '94, the origins of which started with the FreeBSD project, which itself was released in mid 1993.

      So please explain to me how it is that ports is alleged to have existed before Linux, exactly

      --
      File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
    6. Re:BSD by Zenin · · Score: 1

      The "release" of "Linux" you're referring to from Sep '91 was nothing more then the first draft a kernel project that itself had only started earlier that same year. Slackware was the first distribution that could reasonably be called an OS, in '93.

      FreeBSD on the other hand, was built upon a linage of work first released in 1977, with internal versions dating to the early '70s, itself built upon AT&T code from even earlier. And unlike Linux we're not talking about a "release" of a draft kernel, but rather a full fledged OS.

      And ports dates back to August '93, not '94.

      Still, as wildly off the mark as your history in fact is, you are correct on the larger point: Linux did come before Ports (albeit just barely).

      --
      My /. uid is better then your /. uid
    7. Re:BSD by mark-t · · Score: 1

      I realize those are the dates that wikipedia is reporting for Slackware, but I know from direct personal experience that they are wrong.

      The wiki page reports it as having been first released in July of '93, whereas I had been using it for some months previous to that point. I started with the MCC distribution of Linux in early 1992, and I remember migrating to SLS in the summer of that year, and I also remember doing my first Slackware install during Christmas break. I did a major move at the end of May in 1993, particularly memorable for me, since it was I was moving away from the city where I had lived my whole life, about a quarter of the way across the country for a new job, and had already been using Slackware Linux for some months at the time. I was even recommending it as a preferred installation over SLS to some friends of mine by that time (of the few that I could even convince that Linux had any sort of viable future). I honestly have no explanation for why the wiki says that it started up in July of 1993 when I was using it in '92.

      --
      File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
    8. Re:BSD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      BSD ports predates Gentoo itself by at least 6 years. The original design of Gentoo's portage system was in fact based on FreeBSD ports.

    9. Re:BSD by Zenin · · Score: 1

      Your memory may not be faulty, the first beta release of Slackware was in April 1993.

      --
      My /. uid is better then your /. uid
  8. Network Manager by armanox · · Score: 1

    I was surprised to see Network Manager added to Slackware. I think I might be moving my laptop back to Slackware.

    --
    I'm starting to think GNU is the problem with "GNU/Linux" these days.
    1. Re:Network Manager by UnresolvedExternal · · Score: 1

      Hmm - not too sure I will take the plunge - might just run it as a virtual machine on my OS/2 Warp box

  9. I like slackware because by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    It's version numbers are not increasing as fast as the national debt.

    you know were fucked right?

  10. Pat and Slackware by IceNinjaNine · · Score: 5, Insightful

    My system at work: Redhat Enterprise 6.

    My primary system at home for the last sixteen years: Slackware.

    If you use it, and you love it, please buy a DVD or contribute if you can. I do.

    Remember, Patrick isn't some big conglomerate screwing everybody out of money; he's just a good guy putting out an old school yet quality distro and trying to make a living. He's got a family too.

    1. Re:Pat and Slackware by fm6 · · Score: 1

      So, why do you love it?

    2. Re:Pat and Slackware by FrankDrebin · · Score: 3, Funny

      My primary system at home for the last sixteen years: Slackware.

      All that and a /. id in the 2 millions. Presumably Slackware just got internet support.

      --
      Anybody want a peanut?
    3. Re:Pat and Slackware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My system at work: Redhat Enterprise 6.

      My primary system at home for the last sixteen years: Slackware.

      If you use it, and you love it, please buy a DVD or contribute if you can. I do.

      Remember, Patrick isn't some big conglomerate screwing everybody out of money; he's just a good guy putting out an old school yet quality distro and trying to make a living. He's got a family too.

      ^This. Slackware at home for over a decade. Some older boxes serving up media servers and the like just keep running, and unless Serviio has issues, I don't bother upgrading Slack on those.
      Thanks again Pat!

    4. Re:Pat and Slackware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He's trying to make a living at someone anyone can get for free.

      Sounds like a liberal arts major.

    5. Re:Pat and Slackware by IceNinjaNine · · Score: 1

      Simplicity, efficiency, and longevity. Slack hasn't changed all that much and gets the job done for some of us. That being said, it is definitely not for everybody. If somebody's really in the "I wanna learn Linux" mode, Linux From Scratch might be a better choice.

    6. Re:Pat and Slackware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, why do you love it?

      Because of all the Linux distributions I've tried: Fedora, Ubuntu, Debian, Gentoo, and DSL, Slackware is the most BSD-like. My production-servers/heavy-lifters are all FreeBSD, and my workstations are all Slackware.

      CAPTCHA: pedigree

    7. Re:Pat and Slackware by fm6 · · Score: 1

      Well, that was a simple and efficient summary. Longevity remains to be seen.

    8. Re:Pat and Slackware by fikx · · Score: 1

      Easiest to change.
      not adding software or anything, but if I don't like how something works , Slackware is still easiest (at least for me) to figure out how to alter to do what I want...be it automating something at start-up, to changing how X works, to moving something or changing layout, I'm more likely to be able to manage what ever weird idea I have for my PC in Slackware than other distros. Slack has everything put together with screws and bolts instead of welds. When I'm done changing something in Slackware, I have less chance of breaking something (or at least better chance of fixing what I messed up).

      --
      AB HOC POSSUM VIDERE DOMUM TUUM
    9. Re:Pat and Slackware by fm6 · · Score: 1

      So, briefly, Slackware is the most hackable.

    10. Re:Pat and Slackware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Longevity remains to be seen.

      Longest surviving distro in the world... How long do you want?

    11. Re:Pat and Slackware by cos(0) · · Score: 1

      Only a liberal arts major would suggest that "anyone" can make a good, usable Linux distribution. Time is not free, you know.

  11. WTF again, slashdot? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You may like to read:Torvalds Uses Profanity To Lambaste Romney Remarks

    /.how is this relevant to this story? Oh, yeah. your on your way to corporate insignificance/.?

  12. The Only Distro by apharmdq · · Score: 2

    I've been waiting for this one for a while. Running Slack on my PC, my netbook, and my 10 year old laptop. I even managed to sneak it onto my work computer! Here's hoping Slackware keeps going for a long time . . .

  13. Why Slackware? by INowRegretThesePosts · · Score: 3, Interesting

    What advantage does Slackware have that makes up for its inconveniences?

    1. Re:Why Slackware? by MrDoh! · · Score: 4, Informative

      Good question. For me, purity, everything being in the 'right' place. After using SCO Unix for so many years (pre-crazyness), slackware felt right. The install was the same, it put things pretty much in the same place, tons of scripts/code I had just worked right off, and when they didn't, it was intuitive to fix. Also used to keep up to date with linux kernels more actively than others (probably because it assumed it's users were more techy and wouldn't have a problem editing what's needed). As to why to use it today compared to more friendly distros? Hmm, tough call. I'm not aware of anything it does that others don't do these days (though it's been a few years since I've used it in anger, probably a VM laying around somewhere with it). I'll download it, set it up in a VM (always useful to have for various reasons), and get back to the thread!

      --
      Waiting for an amusing sig.
    2. Re:Why Slackware? by Seeteufel · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Tradition, Slackware is the real thing. Nostalgic. It is the oldest distribution out there. It is ported to S/390. It follows the unix principles.

    3. Re:Why Slackware? by ArchieBunker · · Score: 2

      Because its more of a barebones distro. You add only the parts you need and maybe learn a bit in the process as well. Today I don't think you could even begin to configure Ubuntu using only a text editor. On a normal day do you even use 10% of the bundled programs on Ubuntu?

      --
      Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
    4. Re:Why Slackware? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Stability. Not stability of the applications, that should be more or less the same as elsewhere unless you choose to run alpha software. The distribution simply does not change much from release to release. Do an upgrade once every year or two, find out nothing really changed, then just use it as before. Sometimes you'll wonder why you bothered to update at all. Of course, you get newer versions of libraries and compilers which you'll need eventually.

      (Speaking as an XFCE user. GNOME users and KDE users saw some excitement in the last decade.)

    5. Re:Why Slackware? by INowRegretThesePosts · · Score: 2

      Because its more of a barebones distro. You add only the parts you need and maybe learn a bit in the process as well. Today I don't think you could even begin to configure Ubuntu using only a text editor. On a normal day do you even use 10% of the bundled programs on Ubuntu?

      Some bloat is the price for ease to use. And think Ubuntu runs fine even on lousy hardware (not counting very old hardware, but then you have Xubuntu or Lubuntu).

      I used to run Gentoo myself, for the fun and the speed-freakery (although throughput was nothing special; only boot time and load times were smaller than a normal distribution). But then I decided to go back to Ubuntu, to help it achieve critical mass.

      The Linux market is already very small, and fragmentation makes it worse.

    6. Re:Why Slackware? by fm6 · · Score: 2

      So, you like it because of EBCDIC support?

    7. Re:Why Slackware? by jbolden · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Well Slackware was in the 2nd generation of distributions before even Debian and RedHat baed on SLS. So an Ubuntu user can't really complain about Slackware causing fragmentation.

    8. Re:Why Slackware? by DecimalMan · · Score: 1

      It doesn't suck. How many other distros can that be said of?

      Expecting the user to know what they're doing doesn't make it inconvenient. My experience with Slack has been that if you know what's going on, it's easier to manage than anything else out there.

    9. Re:Why Slackware? by apharmdq · · Score: 5, Informative

      The Slackware documentation has a summary on what makes it stand out:
      http://docs.slackware.com/slackware:philosophy

      In other words, it really doesn't have a lot of inconveniences after all. I think the biggest reason I moved to Slackware in the first place was the glut of dependencies that were installed whenever I installed a package in Ubuntu. With Slackware, you start out with a good portion of the packages you need, and manage the rest when you do third party installs. And while that may seem challenging, it ends up being fairly easy, since once you have your install set up and customized the way you like it, you can run it for years without having to make any drastic changes.

      Also, the packages are all plain vanilla software, with very few distro-specific patches. While this tends to make the distribution seem less "uniform" out of the box, you also end up with more stability.

      Full version upgrades also tend to be easier and more stable overall. Granted there's more work done under the hood, and there's always a chance you can mess up, but I've found that every time I've made a mistake, I've been able to rectify it using some simple method.

      And that brings about the most important aspect of Slackware. It's the distro that puts you the closest to working with Linux, without having to delve through layers of "convenience" UI. It may seem harder at first, but after a bit of learning, you'll know Linux better than just about any other distro. (Excluding Linux from Scratch.)

      That said, Slackware isn't for everyone. If you just want a distribution that takes the minimum effort to get going, you're probably better off with some of the other big names. But if you have the time and a bit of spare hard drive space, I recommend giving it a try nonetheless. Just be patient.

    10. Re:Why Slackware? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The satisfaction of accomplishment.

    11. Re:Why Slackware? by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 1

      debootstrap won't even install a kernel until it ask it to. That's pretty bare bones.

    12. Re:Why Slackware? by echogen · · Score: 1

      What advantage does Slackware have that makes up for its inconveniences?

      A motorcycle has loads of features not available in a bicycle, yet many of us would choose to buy a bicycle.

      --
      mmmmm.....
    13. Re:Why Slackware? by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      And debootstrap is how I tend to install Ubuntu...

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    14. Re:Why Slackware? by Riddler+Sensei · · Score: 1

      It may seem harder at first, but after a bit of learning, you'll know Linux better than just about any other distro. (Excluding Linux from Scratch.)

      You know, it's interesting you bring this up. I had started my experience with Linux on Slackware in 2004 but haven't used it for about a year now (Windows 7 for the day to day desktop I'm typing this on and CentOS for my server). I had recently (last month) considered giving LFS a crack and started flipping through my VMs to see which distro I wanted to use as a host for putting it together. I was largely disappointed and ended up thinking that Debian would be my preferred choice. I got a little disenfranchised (coupled with having to move) and ended up putting off LFS. With Slack 14.0 out I think I may have just what I wanted and jump back into reading the LFS Book.

    15. Re:Why Slackware? by evilviper · · Score: 3, Informative

      Slackware packages always include full devel libs and headers, and you never have to work-around the package manager fighting you about missing dependencies (which you compiled from source). Plus, the startup scripts are vastly simpler than those used in other distros, though not as simple as the BSDs.

      In short, Slackware is probably the friendliest distro to learn with, and has many of the features that people like about BSD, while still being Linux. I wouldn't deploy it to 50 machines I have to maintain, but it's a great choice for your one Linux desktop.

      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    16. Re:Why Slackware? by melikamp · · Score: 1

      What inconveniences? Slackware is not for everyone. It can be used by everyone, of course, but it's meant to be set up and maintained by people who understand the basics of UNIX OS administration. If you are willing to (1) read the bloody manual and (2) edit plain text files in an editor of you choice, then you will find that Slackware is one of the most convenient distributions around.

    17. Re:Why Slackware? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      What inconveniences? Not having adds from Amzon flashing on your desktop?

    18. Re:Why Slackware? by INowRegretThesePosts · · Score: 1

      What inconveniences?

      Pardon my ignorance, but don't you have to manually keep track of package dependencies on Slackware?

      How exactly do you install (say) Emacs on Slackware?

    19. Re:Why Slackware? by McDutchie · · Score: 1

      Simplicity and long-term convenience. The complications caused by those "conveniences" of other distros have a way of getting in the way at unexpected moments and making life very inconvenient. Doing the configuration right the first time by learning to understand what you're actually doing may take extra effort but pays off in the long run.

    20. Re:Why Slackware? by Lawrence_Bird · · Score: 1

      As a very early adopter of Slak and one who used it for 15 years before moving to BSD I can say the primary attraction to me was it was the most 'unix' like of the distros. I put things where they should go, they looked like they should and it never got much involved in package management sticking with zipped tars (though it did have scripts to 'manage' those if you wanted). With slackware you could do a lot more on your own and with less fear of breaking something.

      When I upgraded my last aging slackware mini-server I decided to give the BSDs a try and am now on FreeBSD and like it very much. Were I to move back to linux for my own use it would only be to slackware.

    21. Re:Why Slackware? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How exactly do you install (say) Emacs on Slackware?

      If you didn't do a full install (and if not, why not?) then:

      # installpkg /path/to/slackware-14.0/slackware/e/*.t?z

    22. Re:Why Slackware? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes. For the most part, it's not difficult. You could install emacs--`installpkg emacs-[version]-[arch]-build.txz`--and when you're done you could execute this:

      ldd -v `which emacs` | grep "not found"

      If the result is something like "/usr/lib/libX11.so: not found", that's a subtle hint that you haven't installed X11 yet.

      If you're slightly desperate, you can compile emacs using the emacs.SlackBuild script from the Slackware source directory for emacs. If you're completely desperate (or of independent spirit), you can go the `./configure; make; make install` route, and emacs will either compile with missing features or not compile at all...at which point you'll need to install more packages.

      There's your package management for you. There's supposed to be a file-list lookup method for determining where a missing file is found, but I haven't used it. There's also some kind of slackpkg tool that's supposed to do more in the way of finding the correct packages, but I haven't used that, either. I haven't seen a need for it.

      When working with source, I've found that many so-called "dependencies" are not hard dependencies, merely a reflection of how the rest of the system was compiled.

    23. Re:Why Slackware? by melikamp · · Score: 1

      Emacs is included, as is the build script. From my experience, the build scripts often work with higher versions, so upgrading to the bleeding edge is straightforward: get the source and run the script.

      Thanks to sbopkg, slackbuilds.org, and the collections of build queue files, installing almost everything else is extremely painless and can be achieved in a simple menu-driven interface.

      As for dependencies, no one tracks them except for the slackbuild maintainers. This may sound insane to people who tasted apt, but this turns out to be an incredible blessing. You can install or uninstall any individual package with surgical precision, without wrecking the rest of the system. With a bit of fiddling, you can have multiple versions of the same package co-existing peacefully, but that of course is package-dependent. For a personal computer this boils down to not caring about dependencies ever: you make a full install, then build the extra apps with sbopkg, make sure everything works, and then sit back and relax. For a more structured deployment, like in a corporate setting, you do need to get into the dependency resolution, but then you get paid for it, right?

    24. Re:Why Slackware? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What advantage does Slackware have that makes up for its inconveniences?

      Slackware IS the advantage.

    25. Re:Why Slackware? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I strongly recommend Slackware for a host system if you're doing Linux From Scratch. Slackware is what I used some 6 (or more) years ago when I started building my own system, initially based on LFS, but now unique. I haven't used a "distribution" in years, and I have the latest kernel, gcc etc. It takes time to maintain, but you can't find a more customized and educational route if you are really interested in Linux. A bit of advise though - become familiar with software packaging. To start with you might want to adopt Slackware's pkgtools so you can update software on the system later on without major hassles, later you can switch to whatever strikes your fancy (or write your own, like I did). Also, you can learn a lot by studying the Slackware build scripts to get a better understanding of certain complicated system components, how they're configured at compile time and why.

      Good luck.

    26. Re:Why Slackware? by FreonTrip · · Score: 1

      Among other things, Slackware's the only distro I ran into that compiled Seismic Unix out of the box, without the need to install any dependencies. I'll grant that the lack of dependency resolution's kind of irritating, but it's knock-on-wood reliable, stable as hell, usually more current than Debian Stable, and is a terrific base for a workstation or server without a lot of fluff. Slackbuilds is a godsend too, and the community's second-to-none.

  14. I'm happy to see you alive and well... by VXneko · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm sorry I left you for that whore Redhat but she was much easier (she came with the book). I went around the block a few times and am happy with Arch now... I'm sure you wanted to know that. I still think of you and your floppies from time to time...

  15. ahh slackware... by Osgeld · · Score: 4, Interesting

    at one point I was left with a shitty old laptop, no cd drive, a hard disk with the slackware files on a dos partition, and a copy of "running linux". I learned a LOT over the next few weeks

    and would not want to do it again ... but totally suggest that anyone interested in linux does it at least once.

    1. Re:ahh slackware... by omarius · · Score: 1

      This.

      I would not have the career I have today if it weren't for Slack, _Running Linux_, my 486SX/33, and the friends I was blessed with those fine days.

  16. I hate the semantic desktop. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Interesting

    I lost my taste for Slackware when they bundled Nepomuk and that other hard drive space hogging semantic desktop application with the stock distribution. My setup requires hundreds of users with all their files on an NFS mount. Yes, I know, terabyte drives are very cheap nowadays but there was a reason I liked the old Slackware: efficiency, control, simple hardware requirements, ease of programming. If Slackware insists I need the latest, fastest and largest server so I can have a semantic desktop then I say, goodbye. I might as well go for a distribution with great package management.

    1. Re:I hate the semantic desktop. by apharmdq · · Score: 4, Informative

      This only matters if you use KDE. (In which case you're going to get Nepomuk no matter what distro you use.) Also, Nepomuk is easy enough to disable,
      If you prefer not to use KDE, Slackware comes with several other DEs and WMs, like XFCE and Fluxbox, out of the box. In fact, you don't even need to install KDE when you install Slackware. And if you're a Gnome user, there are several Gnome slackbuilds available. This is really a non-issue.

    2. Re:I hate the semantic desktop. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And Gnome's got tracker which is a similar metadata collector. Also quite I/O hungry and equally easy to disable.

      I think both tools are wonderful and more people should find out about them. There's great potential.

      Yet with a 4200 rpm laptop hdd, it's rather painful to use them.

    3. Re:I hate the semantic desktop. by bergelin · · Score: 1

      Not true. Using Gentoo, it's possible having a working KDE with semantic desktop disabled and therefore without Nepomuk and the all the PIM shit pulled in. However, some KDE packages do require having kdelibs compiled with semantic-desktop support (like Korganizer and others I don't use anyway).

    4. Re:I hate the semantic desktop. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      USE="-semantic-desktop" on Gentoo installs KDE without nepomuk.

      In fact, at boot my KDE desktop only uses about 300mb of ram (and would be smaller if I also didn't start apache, mysql, etc).

  17. Since we're sharing Slack stories by Weaselmancer · · Score: 5, Interesting

    A friend of mine in college gave me my first slack. He built his own computer (very cutting-edge in those days) 486-33. Got slack running on it. And used it for one of the greatest pranks I've ever seen.

    Two other friends of ours were roommates. One worked day shift, the other worked night shift. The only communication they had for months on end was a chessboard. First roomie was a chess nut, and quite a good player. Second roomie wasn't so great.

    So the Slackbox was devoted to running Gnuchess turned up to max. It would take 10 hours to compute a move. Second roomie would call Slackbox, get his move, and go to work. When he would come home from work he would dial up Slackbox and input First roomie's move.

    This went on for months. First roomie had no idea how he was getting his ass handed to him. Was a great laugh when everyone came clean about the prank.

    --
    Weaselmancer
    rediculous.
  18. Keep on Slackin' by Indigo · · Score: 1

    Congratulations Patrick and crew on another fine release of my first and still favorite Linux distro. Thanks to you guys I never lack Slack. Proud user since... ehmm... 1995... ish.

  19. Just a little FYI by TheRealMindChild · · Score: 1

    Slackware is the only distro that supports my HP NetServer. It may seem trivial, but there is an "old driver" and a "new driver" for the drive controller, and the new one doesn't work. Slackware is the only distro I have found that can boot the "old" (functional) driver. It saves me multitudes of issues

    --

    "When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
    1. Re:Just a little FYI by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      If you're happy with Slack then whatever, but I think I would have built my own Debian kernel by now.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    2. Re:Just a little FYI by TheRealMindChild · · Score: 2

      Especially with Slackware, I always recompile my kernel. But I need an up and running system first. If I have no disk I can write to from start, it doesn't do me a whole lot of good

      --

      "When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
    3. Re:Just a little FYI by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Especially with Slackware, I always recompile my kernel. But I need an up and running system first. If I have no disk I can write to from start, it doesn't do me a whole lot of good

      Is that odd monolith really your only computer? You can cross-compile from another system that's not even running Linux, if you have to.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    4. Re:Just a little FYI by FreonTrip · · Score: 1

      If it works for him without requiring him to cross-compile, then what's the issue? It makes him happy. Why henpeck?

  20. Ah the joys by santax · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Slackware, you came on a more floppies than wing commander 2 did. And those where a lot of single sided floppies... I liked you, didn't understand much of you but I was young. You thought me well. Then I got a job working for SuSE and so I switched. During me work I discovered that apt-get was a little better than yast. So I switched to Debian. I went on to other employers, sometimes forcing me to use Windows. I still love Debian and use it, but I am typing this on Windows. Because I played a game before checking slashdot. Slackware, you thought me. You got me fired up for linux. And despite being a Debian-man now, I still think about you every so often. I hope you will see version 20. But please, on less floppies.

    1. Re:Ah the joys by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      So Yoda was Irish afterall... and he uses Debian now.

  21. You're cooler than every other Linux user. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What advantage does Slackware have that makes up for its inconveniences?

    By using Slackware, you'd be the coolest and toughest Linux user at your local LUG. When you walk in, you hear wispers, "He uses Slackware - and INSTALLS it!"

    *GASPS*

    You're so cool, when there's a problem with a Linux box, you walk over, and just hit with your fist and it works! Like Fonzi on the old Happy Days tv show!

    "Ayyyyyyyyyy!"

    The other LUG members try to be cool too, but they fail. While they're arguing about their desktop, you sniff and just say, "Bare XFree for me!"

    *more gasps*

    You them put your collar on your leather jacket up, go to your bike, kick start it, put a chick on the back, and say "later nerds!" and off you go.

  22. LILO vs GRUB2 by somethingtoremember · · Score: 0

    Does anybody know what inspired the architectural choice of LILO as a bootloader as opposed to GRUB2, in a nutshell?

    I am neutral as far as any political choice between my two favorite bootloader candidates are concerned, but I am a little weary of a bootloader I haven't elected to use within the past 4 years.

    Should I be afraid of LILO?

    1. Re:LILO vs GRUB2 by apharmdq · · Score: 2

      Lilo tends to be easier to get working with less effort. It's simple and does its job well, which follows the concept of using a Unix style environment. I've also found that saving your system from a disaster tends to take less fiddling when using Lilo. The configuration is very straightforward.
      However, there are some things that Grub2 can do that Lilo can't. Fancier boot screens, more advanced command line arguments, etc. But if you aren't using those in the first place, then there's really no reason to use Grub2.
      That said, Slackware does come with Grub2 in the extra packages directory of the install cd, so it's easy enough to use instead of Lilo.

    2. Re:LILO vs GRUB2 by gmhowell · · Score: 1

      Your question is backwards. IIRC, LILO was first. LILO was the standard. So what does GRUB2 add that LILO didn't that inspired others to make the switch?

      --
      Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
  23. Installation Disc Size by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I noticed the size of the DVD disc image has been chopped in half, from ~4GB to about 2.3GB. Anyone know what happened? Did a bunch of packages get removed from the installation disc? A switch to a much better compression format? I didn't see anything about this. I thought Slack changed to .xz compression several versions ago, so if anything, the reduction in size I would think should have occurred a while ago, not now. Unless they changed the packages in the repository, but delayed the packages on the disc for whatever reason (but that wouldn't make much sense).

    1. Re:Installation Disc Size by corychristison · · Score: 1

      Just the first thought that popped in my head (without checking), but it's possible they are using squashfs or similar. Very efficient and designed for this type of situation. Gentoo uses it for their LiveDVD and it's pretty similar in size.

  24. Slackware means simplicity and trust. by kusmin · · Score: 1

    For me, Slackware means simplicity and trust. You see, Debian, and Arch and Freebsd are probably great. But trusting a "community" sounds a bit odd for me. I can trust a person. I can't trust community, it's too impersonal. After all, it's always a question of trust. And you can't trust something undefined. Hard to explain, but I guess everyone knows this: once you know someone, and you trust him/her - you feel safe.

    1. Re:Slackware means simplicity and trust. by Xtifr · · Score: 1

      You do realize that Patrick didn't write all that software, yes? So you're trusting a whole community in any case. And trusting one man's ability to integrate a bunch of different pieces that aren't necessarily designed to work together smoothly, created by people who may or may not be in communication with each other. Of course, the actuality is that Slack isn't really a one-man show even if you ignore the fact that he didn't write the code. Slackware has a community, and members of that community contribute, just as they do with other distros.

      Like it or not, you're trusting communities all the time.

      Still, if you like the fact that Patrick puts his stamp on the whole thing, and blesses it, that's cool. I completely understand. Just don't assume it means more than it does.

    2. Re:Slackware means simplicity and trust. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bill Gates didn't write all of windows software either.

  25. the sources not included ? by kusmin · · Score: 1

    I guess the sources are no longer included by default.

    1. Re: the sources not included ? by UltraZelda64 · · Score: 1

      Hmmm... actually, that's probably it. I just checked and the source DVD is over 3 gigs alone. The full package set with sources would require a dual-layer DVD just to fit. Seems like to fit on DVD it was probably a required split.

  26. Congratulations Slackware by felixdzerzhinsky · · Score: 2

    I am a Debian user. I have experimented with Slackware. Most recently I installed Slackware 13.37. But after a month I went back to Debian simply because I prefer to work with apt-get. I am personally more efficient with Debian. Having said that Slackware has been around for a long time. People who use it don't just like it...they love it. Slackware must be doing something right. My personal experience is that the community support on IRC #slackware is outstanding and must be one of the reasons for the distro's longevity. So Congratulations to the Slackware community!

    --
    "Flags are bits of colored cloth that governments use first to shrink-wrap people's brains..."
    1. Re:Congratulations Slackware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thanks Pat. I will re-subscribe. Sorry for not doing it sooner. Thanks for taking the time to argue with me with the stupidity of including PAM back in 1999 via email. You are a stand up guy! Here is to many more releases in the future.

  27. Installing onto a virtualbox machine now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    slackware owns.
    Thanks slackware bros for making a non-shitty linux distro!

  28. resolv.conf by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It allows easy management of your DNS settings by editing /etc/resolv.conf. *buntu has replaced that with a mess.

  29. Thank you, Patrick by yanyan · · Score: 2

    Thank you, Patrick. Slackware changed my life. :-)

  30. After reading the comments here.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I see why the year of Linux will always be next year.

  31. Looks like you're in a world of HURD by unixisc · · Score: 1

    You might want to try out Debian or Arch Hurd! I'm sure you won't be disappointed. Heck, if you could replace GNU Mach 3.0 w/ Minix 3.0, you'd be off to the races. Oh, and learn how to live only in emacs, and learn Lisp. You'll be all set!

  32. All Hail Patrick by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I first used slackware back in my university days around 94. Then after 15 years of software dev on windows i saw the light and went back to linux. Slackware works and works well and things are still where i left them. If it isn't broken don't try to fix it or otherwise you will get a linux version of windows8. Well done slackware guys.

  33. Re Mod parent up! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Those videos show you why removing the start button is bad. Metro is very confusing and intuitiveness for users. Why is this such flamebait that he got modded down to 0.

    Seriously?

  34. Re:slackware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    cackware

  35. Comes with proprietary software, caveat emptor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The kernel is the standard Linux containing binary blobs. And a proprietary image viewer xv in included.

    Maybe Slackware 15.0 will fix these issues...

    1. Re:Comes with proprietary software, caveat emptor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you're expecting a Slackware release without xv, then you're in for a loooooong wait.

  36. My journey by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hmm. Let's see:

    S.u.S.E. 6.1 (still spelled with the dots, out of Nuremberg ;-) ), SuSE 6.2, SuSE 6.3, SuSE 7.0, SuSE 7.2, Debian potato, Debian woody, LFS, Debian lenny, Debian etch, Debian squeeze, Debian wheezy, Slackware 14.0

    Sounds ironic. Want to know why I got to Slack? Because of GNOME3, because I still configure networking with ifconfig (ip nowadays... don't get me started on NetworkManager, pulseaudio, systemd and a few other "great inventions", thanks...) and because Debian on a DE has become creeping depencency hell (btw: never! ever! install the desktop-task on Debian if you plan on keeping your system slim and trim. Do a base system install and add package by package.)

  37. thank you Patrick by kokoko1 · · Score: 1

    Just read the news of Slackware 14.0 release want to thank you Slackware/Patrick for teaching me Linux. I started with slack 9.1 and used it for many years as my primary desktop os and also as server for proxies, firewalls, monitoring systems.

    --
    http://askaralikhan.blogspot.com/
  38. I installed Slackware 1.02 from floppies in 1994 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "LOL, I wonder just how many of us have installed it from floppies?" - by gstoddart (321705) on Friday September 28, @09:19PM (#41495967) Homepage

    It was a combination of both floppies & 3 CD's for me, since I had to do a "rawrite" bootfloppy, for Slackware 1.02 back in 1994...

    * Linux has gotten WORLDS BETTER since those "halycyon days of yore" though.

    I tried it again in 1999 with Redhat 6.x iirc after the above in 1994 with Slackware 1.02...

    Then again most recently in KUbuntu 10.x for ALL of Summer 2010 for me on a Laptop while travelling Europe... it was pretty damned good too, to be honest about it!

    (& later still, I helped a former roommate of mine I rented to install + use KUbuntu 12.04 VERY recently, which he decided to go back to Windows since it was what he was used to using (which made me realize that THAT was the "biggest uphill battle" Linux faces - what folks usually start using & growing used to first, is Windows)).

    I am back on Windows again, via Windows 7, but was impressed by Linux KUbuntu distros.

    APK

    P.S.=> For me, it sucked, since I had a Diamond Stealth 24 ISA "Windows Accelerator" & thus, I had no "X" @ the time & was stuck in "pure TTY term mode" only, but it was an excuse to learn to operate THAT way first again, rather than via GUI (which for the most part I prefer by FAR)...

    ... apk

  39. Slackware /.ed? by fast+turtle · · Score: 2

    Posted 14 hours ago and I still can't reach the main page for slackware. Pretty big slashdotting this time around. At least the distrowatch link to the torrent works

    --
    Mod me up/Mod me down: I wont frown as I've no crown
  40. Uia, Uia !! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    UP the SLaCKers !!