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Slackware 11.0 Almost Done
Posted by
Zonk
on Tue Aug 15, 2006 12:03 PM
from the is-it-worth-the-wait dept.
from the is-it-worth-the-wait dept.
linuxbeta writes "DistroWatch reports that the development process for Slackware Linux 11.0 is almost over. OSDir has some sweet shots of Slackware 11.0 RC1 in the Slackware 11.0 RC1 Screenshot Tour." From the article: "'There are still a few changes yet to happen, but let's call this Slackware 11.0 release candidate 1.' Other recent changes include upgrade to stable kernel 2.4.33; upgrade to udev 097, and rebuild of glibc 2.3.6 for both 2.4.33 and 2.6.16.27 kernels. The new release will ship with X.Org 6.9.0 and KDE 3.5.4, and will provide SeaMonkey instead of Mozilla."
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Technology: Slackware 11 is Coming 115 comments
ejd3 writes "In the slackware-current changelog Pat has stated that 'Although there's still quite a bit in the TODO queue here I'm making my steps carefully as -current is very stable, and I think it should ship as a stable 11.0 soon so that we can get back to the business of breaking things in -current. :-)' How much longer will the slackers have to wait?"
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Slackware 11 Has Been Released 220 comments
CCFreak2K writes "Slackware 11 has been officially released, just over a year after Slackware 10.2 became available. Software available with Slackware 11 includes KDE 3.5, Mozilla Seamonkey 1.0.5 and X11R6 6.9. As usual, ISOs are available through BitTorrent and FTPs, packages can be synced through FTPs, and you can always buy a copy."
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Stone Age (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't understand why it still uses xorg 6.9. Maybe the reason is that nobody has the time to make so many packages for xorg7? IIRC that was the reason why there is no full GNOME in Slackware.
Kernel 2.4 - OK, as long as it is 2.6 ready (and it is).
But guys... what's the point to use so old software? If you don't want to put new desktop stuff, then just remove all desktop packages from distro.
Re:Stone Age (Score:5, Informative)
Xorg 6.9 and Xorg 7.0 are functionally the same. The only difference is installation methods in that 7.0 is modular, puts things in
I'm not going to detail the other things people have done, but I will also state, that slackware has supported 2.6 for a long time now. Not only that, I've been running it with 2.5/2.6 since about 2003.
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Slackware Screen Shots (Score:5, Funny)
All hail... (Score:5, Insightful)
Many Kudos! (Score:5, Insightful)
This is the oldest existing Linux Distro! Possibly one of the most stable as well. It retains the Unix philosophy that it does a few things really, really well, and gives you the tools to add on to it. It's tanj simple to maintain and update, no "RPM Hell". And it's one person's vision, which gives it a consistancy that is lacking in other "art by committee" Distros.
And I am biased...I moved to Slackware from Soft Landing Systems (SLS) Linux, and although I have tried many different Distros over the years, I keep on comming back to Slackware...and not just for religious reasons, either!
Thanx you Patrick and Co for keeping the vision!
ttyl
Farrell
Re:Many Kudos! (Score:5, Interesting)
Hear! Hear!
Slackware is still my distro of choice. It's utterly stable, and it just works. I actually like the text-based install: it's the right technology for what it does. What more do you need? Besides, it really will run on anything.
Slackware is one of the few distros that realizes that it's OK for a Linux box to look and feel like Unix. And, yes, I have used real Unix, back in my VAX days. I still have a Solaris box in my cubicle, and I do real work with it.
Keep up the good work, Patrick. Thank you.
...laura, typing this on a Slackware 10.2 box
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Are you sure this is Slackware? (Score:3, Funny)
Gotta love Slackware... (Score:5, Informative)
Semi-automatic package management has taken awhile to evolve, but for some time now it has been very good indeed. There are several good PM clients; I think slapt-get has the edge right now. And if you can't find what you need in the distro, there are several sites (such as http://www.linuxpackages.net/ [linuxpackages.net]) that offer lots of additional packages and goodies.
Patrick, maybe the time's come (Score:5, Interesting)
However, with great trepidation, I must say that perhaps some changes are in order.
Slackware has had a dedicated following for a long time because the distribution filled an industry need. The need for a truly rock solid stable distro that was a fairly easy transition for those coming from a pure Unix world. It seems now that those days are, for the most part, gone. The majority of the engineers out there now days have been brought up on other Linux distros, and many have never touched an actual Unix system. (No need to start any "What is Unix really?" flame wars).
While I do still prefer the structure and stability of Slackware, I do think it's time to make certain changes. I'm not saying it's time to jump on the "Latest and Greatest Everything" bandwagon. I think it's time for the distro to be re-focused. Possibly into a pure Server OS, with a strong focus on commercial grade clustering & virtualization. All of the other distros that have done this (i.e. RedHat, SUSE, etc.), did not have the right base for it. They were based on bleeding edge, sometimes alpha code, and everything had to be stabilized (which hasn't seemed to work out very well). Slackware does have the right, truly stable base for a dedicated server OS. If Patrick were to shift things to this direction, build in the right set of truly enterprise-class server features, I think he may very well see a new found following.
The other area that I believe a re-focused version of slack could be very successful is the embedded systems market. Slack is known for is lean, fast, optimized code. I think it would fit well into this segment.
I think either of these markets are perfect for Slack. Neither is looking for the latest, most newfangled, gui-based, anything. They want lean, fast, stable code, & steady release cycles. Just my $.02.
Re:Patrick, maybe the time's come (Score:5, Interesting)
If you want bleeding edge out of a Slack-based distro, btw, you should check out Zenwalk (http://www.zenwalk.org/). Slack packages are compatible, though they have their own package manager and custom-compiled packages that support dependency checking )while still maintaining compatibility with pkgtool and install/removepkg). The real advantage is when Zen doesn't have a package for what you're looking for... then you can just pop over to slackware.com and grab Pat's version, or over to linuxpackages.net and grab one of theirs.
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Re:Patrick, maybe the time's come (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm a long-time Slack user. One of the reasons I love Slack and use it everywhere I can is because of it's versitility. I can have a super stable server and a super stable desktop with the same version of the same OS. As it stands, Slack is quick to install, lean, stable, and it just works. Patrick's whole philosophy is Keep It Simple Stupid. Moving in the direction of enterprise-class servers would not be KISS. Also, the people behind Slack consist of Patrick and... well, pretty much just Patrick. How would one person maintain a distro aimed at the enterprise market? I like the fact that one person is behind the distro. Patrick makes the decisions, and that's it. There's no need to fear a split with the maintainers or delays in releases due to arguments about what should or shouldn't be included. I fully agree that Slackware makes a great server OS, but I would be really sad if Patrick re-focused Slack's direction and made it a pure server OS aimed at the enterprise market.
That's my $0.02
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Re:2.4 kernel? WTF (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:2.4 kernel? WTF (Score:4, Funny)
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Re:2.4 kernel? WTF (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:2.4 kernel? WTF (Score:5, Informative)
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Re:2.4 kernel? WTF (Score:5, Informative)
Even DSL uses 2.4. I still use 2.4 on my old PIIs and newer hardware myself.
Slack aims to run on as many types of hardware as possible. Besides, you can always compile your own 2.6 kernel into your slack system.
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Re:2.4 kernel? WTF (Score:5, Insightful)
Patrick aims at the most stable distro...not the latest, flashiest distro. That is why it is used on a large variety of servers...in fact, it has the probably more server installs than any other Distro still built by one person, and his wife. Debian is probably closest, but it is now a large team that works on it.
Slackware just works...and works...and works...it's sort of the Energizer Bunny of Distros!
ttyl
Farrell
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Re:2.4 kernel? WTF (Score:3, Insightful)
I love Slackware, it runs all of my servers, but man... I wish 2.6 was the default. 2.6 has some things that 2.4 doesn't, so sometimes I have to upgrade, which is a PITA. What does 2.4 have that 2.6 doesn't?
Re:Screenshots? (Score:5, Funny)
Well, besides that its KDE, I dont think so.
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Re:Screenshots? (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:99% ready == *not* ready (Score:3, Funny)
Re:wonderful screen shots... (Score:3, Funny)
Turn on Xgl. Seriously. I run it on every one of my workstations now, and I've gotten so use to the enhanced interface I feel like I'll get eye cancer if I use a 'non Xgl'd' system for more than five minutes.
Re:Seamonkey vs. Mozilla? (Score:4, Insightful)
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seamonkey [wikipedia.org]
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Re:Sweet Shots (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:2000 called, they what their kernel back (Score:4, Informative)
Nothing is wrong with 2.6, but for some of us having the 2.4 option is essential. For example, certain applications built for 2.4 LinuxThreads will tend to be very unstable running on the new POSIX threads in 2.6.
People are looking at this the wrong way. It's not that Slackware doen't included the 2.6 kernel (it does), it offers the versatility to run either 2.4 or 2.6 which is a major advantage over other distros. Especially for us poor bastards who have to run expensive closed-source proprietary software at work.
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