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Slackware 14.1 is released

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Re: Slackware 14.1 is released

#41

Post by jff »

nknighthb wrote: post #35
jff wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For example, if you would like your system to be mostly stable and unchanging, like Debian or a Red Hat Enterprise Linux clone, but would like access to cutting-edge packages from Arch, Bedrock Linux can provide this simultaneously and transparently. Does... not... compute. If you want your system to be stable and unchanging, why would you care about the most cutting-edge packages? Those are the buggy ones, the reaso…

It would compute If you explored a little further than the front page, or even carefully considered the meaning of "bedrock". http://bedrocklinux.org/introduction.html#what_bedrock_does

"And you thought getting support for your distro was hard now, we've provided n! combinations of software for you"

Re: Slackware 14.1 is released

#42

Post by DallaRosa »

I've passed through a few distributions (Slackware -> Conectiva -> RedHat -> Mandrake -> SuSe -> Debian -> Slackware) till I stuck with Slackware and have been using it for the last 10+ years.

Slackware 3.6, my first distribution was really scary but it's been a few years since I had to do too much of basic configuration by hand. Of course some stuff took me sometime but right now I can use the touchscreen on my laptop, listen to music using my bluetooth headphones, use the HDMI to show video and play audio with THAT much work. If you need some tips checkout my blog http://dallarosa.tumblr.com

For the people complaining about Slackware's package system: I don't what's people's problem with dependency management. Doing everything from existing packages is great while packages exist. When you're out in the wild and can't have proper packages You'll see all kinds of weird stuff. The most interesting problem I had was Debian trying to uninstall the kernel and all basic libs cause I was trying to install a newer version of Qt.

For those calling Slack users arrogant: I think we can talk about arrogant people in any area. But as someone already mentioned, if you take a look at LinuxQuestions, you'll see that people have been nice for the last 10 years or more. I never had a question been answered with arrogance or bad manners. Most people were very helpful.

Slackware is a great distribution and I intend to keep using it for as long as I use a computer :)

Re: Slackware 14.1 is released

#43

Post by minikomi »

recuter wrote: post #10
csmuk wrote: post #2

I genuinely had no idea Slackware was still going! Slackware and Debian were my first Linux experiments in the 90's after spending a few years with commercial UNIX. Debian stuck in the end but was replaced with FreeBSD after a couple of years.

The first rule about Arch linux is that we don't talk about Arch linux.

Better take the wiki down then

Re: Slackware 14.1 is released

#44

Post by barrkel »

devin wrote: post #39
devin wrote: post #37

I ran Slackware many moons ago. It was very bare bones and it took a lot of work, but I was young and it was an immersive experience. As another commenter wrote, people on IRC played up how 1337 they were for running Slack. I disagree slightly with that statement. I spent a lot of time building my Slack system on a PII 266, and I was 12, so it took me a long time with a lot of false starts. I don't think anyone was t…

Also, since package managers seem to be the common gripe. I never used one, and I'm glad I didn't. I learned a lot by not having a proper package manager as a crutch. The creature comforts were never the point for me, inventing creature comforts that fit me was an enlightening experience and one that I think ought to be recognized for what it was: It wasn't "efficient" or "awesome" -- it was the basics. It was nuts a…

Around the tenth time you re-run configure and hope that app picks up those dev libraries you installed for it, you'll get a wee bit jaded.

I'd rather recommend a weekend spent with Linux From Scratch in a VM.

Re: Slackware 14.1 is released

#45

Post by aryastark »

atmosx wrote: post #6

I know that this is no way of judging a distribution - which never had a decent package manager as far as I know - but all the assholes, hacker-wannabes from my early IRC era (1999-2004) were pompously bragging about how elite they were using slackware. I know many of you find that behavior childish but I'm 100% others encountered the same behavior as I did. I never knew if it was the founders/dev's (I think was only…

Never saw Slackware that way. And I started using it in '96 or so.

Those types of people were attracted to Linux in general, not a specific distro that I can recall. The whole reason had to do with the perception of Unix being a "hacker" OS. And as most know, there is the whole cracker vs. hacker misconception. So naturally, Linux was the place to be. But back in those days, there wasn't as much choice in distro. You used Slackware, Red Hat, or Debian (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Linux_Dis...).

Re: Slackware 14.1 is released

#46

Post by busterarm »

DallaRosa wrote: post #42

I've passed through a few distributions (Slackware -> Conectiva -> RedHat -> Mandrake -> SuSe -> Debian -> Slackware) till I stuck with Slackware and have been using it for the last 10+ years. Slackware 3.6, my first distribution was really scary but it's been a few years since I had to do too much of basic configuration by hand. Of course some stuff took me sometime but right now I can use the touchscreen on my lapt…

I had a similar route as you and for a great many years I ran Slackware and Debian before eventually just settling on Slackware.

That was the moment that I finally really started to learn how to run a Linux system properly. I learned how to fix problems on my own, build packages from source while managing dependencies and everything. I got to spend a lot of time tinkering and could finally tinker without breaking anything.

Sadly, work and gaming led me back towards Windows and after a few years break, I just couldn't go back to Slack (I tried). Moreover, it seemed like there was a slight shift in the Slackware community and a lot of folks were now using Arch.

I gave it a try and haven't looked back. I still love and respect Slackware, but Arch is totally kickass-good-to-me.

Re: Slackware 14.1 is released

#47

Post by busterarm »

dsl wrote: post #14
atmosx wrote: post #6

I know that this is no way of judging a distribution - which never had a decent package manager as far as I know - but all the assholes, hacker-wannabes from my early IRC era (1999-2004) were pompously bragging about how elite they were using slackware. I know many of you find that behavior childish but I'm 100% others encountered the same behavior as I did. I never knew if it was the founders/dev's (I think was only…

Slackware actually had, and still has, the best package manager I've ever used. http://www.slackware.com/config/packages.php The "elite"ness of Slackware was a bit valid. It it has no automatic dependencies system, which in itself is a powerful tool that you can do awesome things with. The second fantastic thing (which sort of ties into the first) is that packages are modified as little as possible from the original…

Not only that but if somebody finds the bug/vulnerability in working with the distro, they can very easily contribute the fix upstream.

This is the big plus in favor of Slackware and Arch and something you don't see so much with say Ubuntu.

There's a good reason why the Slackware and Arch communities have generally always had the best documentation of all Linux distributions and even if you're not a user of either, the information is often friendly to solving problems in other distributions.

Re: Slackware 14.1 is released

#48

Post by busterarm »

aryastark wrote: post #45
atmosx wrote: post #6

I know that this is no way of judging a distribution - which never had a decent package manager as far as I know - but all the assholes, hacker-wannabes from my early IRC era (1999-2004) were pompously bragging about how elite they were using slackware. I know many of you find that behavior childish but I'm 100% others encountered the same behavior as I did. I never knew if it was the founders/dev's (I think was only…

Never saw Slackware that way. And I started using it in '96 or so. Those types of people were attracted to Linux in general, not a specific distro that I can recall. The whole reason had to do with the perception of Unix being a "hacker" OS. And as most know, there is the whole cracker vs. hacker misconception. So naturally, Linux was the place to be. But back in those days, there wasn't as much choice in distro. You…

Aye. I think the OP's dates need to be revised slightly as well. All of the elitest jerks definitely started using Gentoo starting in '03ish. That's not a slam on Gentoo or anything...Sabayon is a fantastic project...just that's how I remember things.

Re: Slackware 14.1 is released

#49

Post by busterarm »

stinkytaco wrote: post #22
atmosx wrote: post #6

I know that this is no way of judging a distribution - which never had a decent package manager as far as I know - but all the assholes, hacker-wannabes from my early IRC era (1999-2004) were pompously bragging about how elite they were using slackware. I know many of you find that behavior childish but I'm 100% others encountered the same behavior as I did. I never knew if it was the founders/dev's (I think was only…

As others have pointed out, Slackware does indeed have an excellent package manager and even slackbuilds, a package depository of sorts. The slackware package manager does not do dependency checking, however. I see this as a good thing because I've broken things by compiling from source on Debian. Slackbuilds is quite helpful and provides most needed dependencies for you to compile first. >I never knew if it was the…

I have a similar feeling as you. The few times Pat does speak up end up being about really important issues that have impact for more than just the distro.

I still remember his public dropping of support for GNOME in 2005 to be a really big deal. I feel like it motivated a lot of people into putting in more effort to fix GNOME and got rid of a lot of problems that were plaguing the build process back then.

Re: Slackware 14.1 is released

#50

Post by busterarm »

stinkytaco wrote: post #25
zeeone wrote: post #19

Slackware is irrelevant and outdated. No package manager. No net install. Give me one reason to use it instead of Arch or Debian.

In case you are not trolling: 1. Everything is as close to the upstream package as possible. Debian maintainers sometimes heavily modify their packages and that makes finding help difficult. Slackware rarely changes their packages or only does if necessary. 2. Package manager does not do dependency checking. This makes installing packages from source easier because I don't have to worry about breaking the system when…

I'm not trying to counter your argument because you're totally right, but Arch pretty much exactly matches Slackware on points 1, 3 and 4.
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