I started with Slackware in the early 1990s, downloaded it over a 2400 baud modem (I skipped downloading X11 stuff at 2400 baud, and just got enough for text terminals and GNU compilers, Emacs, etc. Good times, even with my family almost killing me for tying up our landline telephone for so long while downloading Slackware.
Slackware 15.0
41–50 of 182 posts
Re: Slackware 15.0
#42Slackware was my first Linux too. I remember making the installation floppy disk set. And then it was my first introduction to running a computer others could remotely control. After learning how to dial up AOL from Linux then join an IRC chat room, I was immediately "pwned" by someone in that chat room who guessed my root password and rm -rf /'d my entire hard drive. I was probably 8 or 9 at the time and cried.
[deleted]
Re: Slackware 15.0
#43Daily user for over half my life...
Re: Slackware 15.0
#44My very first linux distro :)
Also my first. Feel like it was included with some book/magazine, but then started buying copies from Walnut Creek software.
Can’t tell you how exhilarating it was to build a new kernel by hand, or how horrifying it was to f-up libc or some other mission critical library.
Re: Slackware 15.0
#45I’ve already seen countless comments about Slackware being a lot of folks first Linux distro. For someone like me who didn’t get into programming until the last 5 years or so, can you guys explain what was it about Slackware, that was so appealing or inviting to new users?
As a primarily Ubuntu user in my time, was part of it that the Linux landscape was much less mature back then? Was it the principals/ ethos that the project stood behind? The community? All of the above? Haha, I’m very curious. I’ve always knew of the distro, but never had a good reason to use it these days. It still clearly has a cult like following, and I don’t know the history of it honestly.
Re: Slackware 15.0
#46I've been using Linux for ~25 and have never tried Slack. I'm now on Slack/Manjaro, should I try it?
what do you have to lose?
Slack is easy to pick up and easy to maintain. You may want to consider trying sbopkg or similar if you find the package manager lacking, but it's worth noting that Slackware comes with a ton of great software in the base system (libraries and daemons)
Re: Slackware 15.0
#47I’ve already seen countless comments about Slackware being a lot of folks first Linux distro. For someone like me who didn’t get into programming until the last 5 years or so, can you guys explain what was it about Slackware, that was so appealing or inviting to new users? As a primarily Ubuntu user in my time, was part of it that the Linux landscape was much less mature back then? Was it the principals/ ethos that t…
Slackware is a no frills distro and arguably the baseline for all linux distros. It’s appealing because of the lack of magic or distro specific customizations. If you want a distro that just lets you do what you need to do without getting in the way, it’s very appealing. If you want a distro that prevents you from shooting yourself in the foot, look elsewhere.
Re: Slackware 15.0
#48I’ve already seen countless comments about Slackware being a lot of folks first Linux distro. For someone like me who didn’t get into programming until the last 5 years or so, can you guys explain what was it about Slackware, that was so appealing or inviting to new users? As a primarily Ubuntu user in my time, was part of it that the Linux landscape was much less mature back then? Was it the principals/ ethos that t…
Initially, back in the early 1990's I think it was the only "distribution" of Linux out there. It was either download Slackware to 3.5" floppies, or else hand-roll your own distribution completely from scratch.
I think RedHat came along in the mid to late 90's. I jumped ship and never looked back, because RPM packages were so much more convenient then Slackware's hodgepodge of configure scripts and makefiles. Ubuntu then came along in the 2000's, around the time that RedHat got bought by IBM and became less cool, and that's been more or less the state of things ever since because Ubuntu-based distros tend to have better hardware detection and support.
Re: Slackware 15.0
#49Slackware was my first linux distribution, and one that I used continuously before moving to Arch. As it happens, I think Arch embodies many of the original Slackware principles, but its focus on more modern hardware led to it growing a larger community - one that includes great documentation.
The Arch Wiki is a treasure, I used it when setting up Slackware on a MacBook Pro because it had the most comprehensive description of the caveats and gotchas for the laptop of anywhere on the WWW.
Re: Slackware 15.0
#50Slackware was my first Linux too. I remember making the installation floppy disk set. And then it was my first introduction to running a computer others could remotely control. After learning how to dial up AOL from Linux then join an IRC chat room, I was immediately "pwned" by someone in that chat room who guessed my root password and rm -rf /'d my entire hard drive. I was probably 8 or 9 at the time and cried.
I love this story only because you must be me. BitchX wasn't the most secure was it?