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Slackware 12.1 Released
Posted by
ScuttleMonkey
on Friday May 02, @11:33PM
from the old-timers dept.
from the old-timers dept.
SlackFan writes "Slackware 12.1 has been released, with kernel 2.6.24-5. 'Among the many program updates and distribution enhancements, you'll find better support for RAID, LVM, and cryptsetup; a network capable (FTP and HTTP, not only NFS) installer; and two of the most advanced desktop environments available today: Xfce 4.4.2, a fast, lightweight, and visually appealing desktop environment, and KDE 3.5.9, the latest 3.x version of the full-featured K Desktop Environment.'"
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ok and? (Score:5, Insightful)
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excellent question (Score:5, Interesting)
But of course I was standing on the shoulder's of giants. Someone created the look and feel of that and made all the config files work. But how much of that is what goes into a distro and how much is pretty much set by the packages them selves. e.g. choose gnome and is basically the look and feel set?
these days everything seems like it comes down to four looks, KDE or gnome in user interface and redhatish or debianish in directory layout and packages.
THe only distro I've played with that felt amazingly original in every aspect is Damn Small where everything is different and very tight. (never tried Puppy).
So what exactly goes on to make a "distro". What makes say ubuntu different than one of the four chioices (kde,gnome, debian, redhat)
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Re:excellent question (Score:5, Informative)
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Re:excellent question (Score:4, Informative)
Making a distro is quite an involved software integration exercise.
It's not just about selecting a bunch of packages. It's about selecting the right versions of the source, configuring, compiling, testing, debugging, patching, testing, packaging, installing, testing, testing and more testing.
A lot of bugs in core utilities get found in this way, and obviously they have to be fixed. Whether that's the disto maintainer, the developers or random community members depends on the individual circumstances.
Bugs pertaining to architecture (big- vs. little-endiam, 32- vs. 64-bit etc.) get found. Bugs in shiny new cutting-edge versions of applications, obscure kernel bugs caused by very particular combinations of configuration parameters, you name it.
As the complexity of GNU/Linux and unix systems increases, it's an ever-increasingly difficult job. That's why large, diverse communities of testers and developers are important.
As for Slackware, it's simple, conservative, very high quality and very useful/usable.
It's a shape Pat hasn't done an official AMD64 version. I've moved to SLAMD64 for my newest machine now. I should really make a donation to Fred.
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Re:ok and? (Score:5, Funny)
slackware:linux::Rolling Stones:Rock&Roll
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What makes Slackware different... (Score:5, Funny)
* Notes: Not to be used as a flotation device. May stick to certain types of skin. Do not taunt Slackware.
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Re:ok and? (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:ok and? (Score:4, Funny)
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Que pasa? Nada. (Score:4, Funny)
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Re:Que pasa? Nada. (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:Que pasa? Nada. (Score:5, Insightful)
You never know, one day next year (around March 15th or so) you will find that you have the perfect application for the use of Slackware. All of a sudden, it will seem like a cool OS for that application and you will have a moment of de ja vu and silently thank me for this moment.
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Hooray for slack! (Score:5, Insightful)
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Fix URL, please - s/org/com/ (Score:5, Informative)
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All hail Pat and the Slackware Team (Score:3, Insightful)
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Bittorrents ... (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.slackware.org/getslack/torrents.php [slackware.org]
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Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Bittorrents ... (Score:4, Insightful)
Obscure referential sig? Check. Can't say. I disable sigs like many here. Who cares?
(yes, I fed the troll. Got my Irish up...)
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Re:Difference in .org and .com (Score:3, Informative)
I thought this was news for nerds.... (Score:4, Insightful)
If you learn Slackware, you know Linux! Why is that you ask?
Because Slackware does not come with a bunch of highly modified packages, Slackware is build using tested and known to be working code. Configuration and partition is done by hand. Slackware does not crash if setup properly, it is a perfect OS for any server or Desktop.... if you know what you are doing but it is not for you grandma. It is an Operating System for "real" nerds
With all the bitching about lack of features in Slackware, it may be time for you "nerds" to go and load up Vista for the ultimate hand holding experience.
You all remind me of that computer technician we have at work, he thinks he is the freaking king but knows nothing about computers. He fixes issues by running every GUI tool on his thumb drive and hoping that one of them sticks. When I ask him how he fixed it, he has no clue and says that "Tool xyz" fixed it. When I ask him to run "regedit" his eyes open wide and he starts to sweat.... cold sweat.
Dude you are not a computer tech, geek, nerd, hacker
Same goes for Slackware, use it, learn it, know Linux or use openSuSE and stop the bitching.
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Re:I thought this was news for nerds.... (Score:4, Insightful)
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System Requirements (Score:5, Interesting)
* 486 processor
* 16MB RAM (32MB suggested)
* 100-500 megabytes of hard disk space for a minimal and around 3.5GB for full install
* 3.5" floppy drive
Does one really need a floppy drive to install it? Of my two desktops and single laptop, none have a floppy drive anymore.
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Re:So tell me... (Score:5, Informative)
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Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Xfce ? (Score:4, Informative)
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"sudo apt-get build-essential"... (Score:4, Informative)
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