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Upgrades Software Linux

Slackware 9.1 Released 241

Posted by CowboyNeal from the hitting-the-streets dept.
ThatComputerGuy writes "Slackware 9.1 is now officially released. This is another great release, featuring GCC 3.2.3, GNOME 2.4.0, KDE 3.1.4, ALSA, and Kernel 2.4.22. Check the official announcement for the full feature list. Note that ftp.slackware.com will not allow ISO downloads starting with this release; instead, the first distribution of the ISOs will be via BitTorrent."
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Slackware 9.1 Released More

Slackware 9.1 Released

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  • 9.1 Release (Score:5, Informative)

    by Accipiter ( 8228 ) on Saturday September 27, 2003 @08:07AM (#7071486)
    ISOs for 9.1 won't be available via the main Slackware FTP site due to bandwidth limitations, so BitTorrents have been set up to distribute the load.

    Torrent for Disc 1 [slackware.com]
    Torrent for Disc 2 [slackware.com]

    The 9.1 4-disc CD set is also available from the Slackware Store [slackware.com]. I usually place my order for the CD set and download the ISOs so I can have it available to me immediately until the nice disc set arrives in the mail.

  • slackware ISO: a tip (Score:5, Informative)

    by lanswitch ( 705539 ) on Saturday September 27, 2003 @08:09AM (#7071499)
    Note that ftp.slackware.com will not allow ISO downloads starting with this release; instead, the first distribution of the ISOs will be via BitTorrent."

    1)download an old ISO (8.1 or 9.0 are just fine)

    2) install and run swaret (see freshmeat)

    3) you now have a Slackware 9.1 box.

  • Slackware rules! (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 27, 2003 @08:09AM (#7071504)
    Been following -current and the 9.1 betas and RCs. Stable, ultra fast and simple as ever, with stacks of the latest software. The addition of two fully-fledged package management tools (Swaret and Slackpkg) is the icing on the cake; there's little to fault here (although GNOME 2.4.0 doesn't seem totally rock-solid yet).

    Then again, Dropline GNOME for Slack provides one of the best and most attractive GNOME installations out there, and they'll update to GNOME 2.4.1, 2.4.2 etc.

    If you're tired of all the frills in Red Hat, Mandrake and SuSE et al (good as those distros are), and want something clean, speedy and stable as hell, give this Slack a go.

    • Very timely (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Evil Pete ( 73279 )

      I remember starting on Slackware in 1995. Not hard to install, well it was fun so I guess I didn't mind the effort ... but X let me down cos I was using some weirdo video card that must have been handcrafted by a bunch of orcs. Ahem, anyways, I've been using Redhat since 4.2 with the occassional digression to Mandrake ... and you know ... the more bells and whistles the harder it seems to be to do anything constructive. I just spent way too much time trying to figure out how to customize the menus ... I gav

  • I just got started with Slackware. 8.1, I got from the back of a magazine. Been having a blast...for about 2 weeks, now 9.1 is out. Accursed upgrade cycle! On the other hand...Long live Slack!
    • If you're having a blast, then why curse the upgrade? 8.1 will continue to work for as long as you want it to, so don't upgrade until you feel like it.
      • Agreed, or run Swaret and have you system updated to 9.1. (or run Gentoo and always be up to date) Sorry, it had to be said!

        CB
        • Gentoo is actually so *bleeding* edge that they managed to stuff a broken GCC in their release-stream a few weeks back... It'll be some time before slackware does the same ;-)
        • 9/23/2003 19:14 : Gentoo: openssh Multiple PAM vulnerabilities
          - Portable OpenSSH versions 3.7p1 and 3.7.1p1 contain multiple vulnerabilities in the new PAM code. At least one of these bugs is remotely exploitable (under a non-standard configuration, with privsep disabled).

          9/17/2003 21:56 : Gentoo: sendmail Buffer overflow vulnerabilities
          - Fix a buffer overflow in address parsing. Fix a potential buffer overflow in ruleset parsing. This problem is not exploitable in the default sendmail configuration.

          9/16/
  • I, for one, welcome our new Slackware 9.1 using overlords.
  • Ive put the ISO's online at ftp.oranged.to

    disk 2 was corrupt so its still on its way but if you want the discs go for it.

  • Benefits of Slackware? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Giant Ape Skeleton ( 638834 ) on Saturday September 27, 2003 @08:16AM (#7071526) Homepage
    Before I go and grab the ISO, Can somebody give me a general idea of what sets Slackware apart from other distros?

    I've tried just about all of them except for Slackware, and am wondering if it offers a significantly different experience than, say, Debian

    or Gentoo - from an administrative as well as end-user perspective. Thanks!

    • Re:Benefits of Slackware? (Score:5, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 27, 2003 @08:20AM (#7071541)
      Slackware is solid and well-tested. Gentoo is fun for the bleeding-edge, but if you want an ultra-reliable, secure and simple system, Slack is the way to go.

      Most Slack stuff is compiled with -march=i486 -mcpu=i686, so it's optimised for more recent boxes. Equally, that article not long ago showing that Mandrake and Debian were faster than Gentoo says a lot; I like that Slack uses sane optimisation options to keep things zippy but retaining stability.
    • Slackware is more BSD-like... or that's what I've heard.

      I use it myself, so I should know :)

    • Re:Benefits of Slackware? (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 27, 2003 @08:42AM (#7071622)
      slackware is faster and tighter.

      I can make a slack install that fit's in 8 meg or take a full 5 gig....

      you CANT do that with redhat. (you cant install redhat without installing X either)

      you have ultimate control over your install... Gentoo is very close to slack except that I am up an running in 20 minutes after inserting the CD for install, Gentoo REQUIRES a broadband connection to install it, slackware can be installed without a connection to the internet.

      Slackware is the only "correct" linux as far as software installed where it belongs. they dont do stupid things like install apache somplace else.. everything is installed where the app want's to be by default.

      making upgrading to the latest a snap... redhat or debian you HAVE to wait for someone to make a package
      • > (you cant install redhat without installing X either) Sure you can. The dependancies make it a pain, but it's quite possible. Also, in RH9, you can simply choose "minimal".

      • Gentoo is very close to slack except that I am up an running in 20 minutes after inserting the CD for install, Gentoo REQUIRES a broadband connection to install it, slackware can be installed without a connection to the internet.

        That is incorrect. As of Gentoo 1.4, GRP allows you to install a complete Gentoo install with only the ISOs, just like any other distro with an ISO-based install:

        Note: A complete Gentoo Linux 2-CD set contains the Gentoo Reference Platform, which is a complete pre-built Gento

    • Slackware gives you a lot of power, since it doesn't fuck with much.

      Although there are occasionally packages that are patched, you can find out what the patches are and change them. If you order the source CD, you don't get the patches sources. You get the original sources and the patches. If you need to administer a system and ever need to customize something, that can be a life-saver.

      Also, stuff is installed as it wants to be. That means you can compile anything from source and it will work right. (Okay
      • Amen. Slackware is great. I like the "BSD-style" init scripts, I like how most packages are standard, as if you had built them yourself from source, as opposed to being heavily modified, with distro-specific default configs, etc.
    • I've tried the others and I keep coming back to Slackware. The advantages are:
      1) Speed
      2) Speed
      3) Standard setups for most things.
      4) Simplicity (Well, simple for a potentially >2G Linux installation.)
      5) Source tarballs almost always install with nothing more complex than "./configure; make; make install"
      6) RPMs can usually be installed using rpm2tgz if you need binary packages.

      The disadvantages are:
      1) Most configuring is done by editing configuration files.
      2) The included software list is shor
    • I find it more up to date than the stable version of Debian and it has a smaller release cycle, so you don't have to wait 2 years. I'm not even going to compare it to other RPM based distros like RedHat, SuSE or Mandrake. Very fast, very simple init scripts, although it doesn't have i686 optimizations (which can sometimes lead to malfunctioning programs) like Gentoo and the like. It has always worked for me. I'm using debian/testing now and I'm seriosly considering a move to 9.1 now that slack finally has t

  • The reason Slackware has been around so long... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Rooktoven ( 263454 ) on Saturday September 27, 2003 @08:17AM (#7071531) Homepage
    Is that Pat keeps it simple. Slack has made adminning my boxen so much easier than Red Hat, Suse, etc.

    I advise anyone searching for a distro to try Slackware out, once I found it a few years ago, it's all I run-- including on my home pc.

    Thanks again, Pat, for making my life easier.

  • What makes Slack different or special? (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 27, 2003 @08:29AM (#7071564)
    A lot of folks in here have been asking why Slack still has suck a cult following. It's a fair question; Slack doesn't get a great deal of exposure with the mainstream distros taking all the column inches now.

    In a nutshell, Slack delivers Linux as it should be. Whereas distros like Red Hat and Mandrake deliver an "experience" (which is certainly good for newcomers), Slack says "Here's lots of great Linux stuff, packaged up and guaranteed to work out the box. Now make yourself a cool system!".

    Slack's focus is on stability and simplicity. Instead of massively-patched packages, complicated init scripts and wizards galore, Slack goes all out for an easy to administer installation. It's very reliable; 99% of the time, only tested and stable releases are included.

    Additionally, Slack's bootup time is half that of Red Hat 9. In general use it's much snappier too.

    Above all, Slack isn't ideal for newcomers but if you've got some Linux experience under your belt, and want a system you feel YOU'RE in control of, download and give it a try.
    • The best example I could give was the one that was given at the last LUG meeting here....

      Redhat and Mandrake are like a top of the line Caddilac... all the features, a dream to drive, comfort everywhere and the dealer gives you excellent service and instant oil changes.

      Slackware is like a ricer car. you can make the install from a small economy box that will run on anything easily, or a luxury Sedan with all the options, all the way up to the every option, powerhouse that will blow everything else away o
      • Sorry, but you're on my foes list for comparing slackware to a riceburner. HOW FREAKING DARE YOU!!!!

        Slackware needs very little tuning to set up a basic box. Installing a simple web server is a matter of installing, double-checking inetd.conf to make sure you're not running anything you don't need, and copying over your content. It comes with sane defaults, and most server programs come with a default config to work from.

        Now Gentoo... there's a riceburner. The whole "cooler than you" thing, the "l33t" fac
      • There is nothing that is as stable as slackware. After all, it has been around since the dawn of linux.

        If you compare the crash statistics between say RH and Slackware, you'll see the difference. After all, crashes=downtime, and downtime=lost money if you're a company. If you're a private person, crashes=cursing, and cursing=CHA penalty, and that means higher barter prices.
    • Actually, Slack is often great for Newbies (gimme a second to explain).

      I started on SuSE, then Mandrake, then Redhat, then went to Slack. All in the span of two months. Why? I have a tendency to break systems. I like to do whatever the hell I want with them, and all those other ones seemed to expect some sort of default behavior. Mandrake's common menu system was so difficult to make work Exactly as I wanted that I pitched the Distro (no, that wasn't the only problem).

      In general, if you are just starting
    • There'e enough to learn and use in Linux without getting bogged down in learning about a particular distributions proprietary packaging scheme.

      I've tried and used several releases of all the major RPM-based distributions (RedHat, SuSe, Mandrake), installed Debian more than a few times, spent a l-o-t of time on Gentoo installs.

      What has caused me the biggest headaches in each of these distributions? Problems with their packaging systems. Every blasted one of them has managed to put my machines in a broken

  • The Only Distro (Score:5, Insightful)

    by GNUALMAFUERTE ( 697061 ) <almafuerte@gmail.cUMLAUTom minus punct> on Saturday September 27, 2003 @08:53AM (#7071656)
    Slackware is a distro that has been made by just one developer, and you can notice that (for good).
    We you should use Slackware:

    1) Free Beer: You can just download it.
    2) Free Speech: Run Only GNU.
    3) Free Mind: Many Distros install the software and then install themselves!!, Slackware install the software and then you can forgot you are running it, 'cause it won't get on the middle. You can use your GNU System without stupid modifcations or distro-specific bullshit automagic config tools. (But if you want them, they are just there, and they are the best).

    I Think an important concept in Slackware is this:
    Slackware config tools are basic. They do a minimal setup; if you need a config tool, you will be happy with them; some people think that just making a front end to configure a config file just wrapping the options from the Option=Value Format to the input/check/click/etc format; and that is just stupid. If someone doesn't know what an option means, he won't be able to configure it, doesn't matter if it has colors and graphics all around.
    So Slackware keep it simple. Their config tools asks you for the minimal. That is enough for people who require a config tool. And if you need to go further, I think you will be more confortable using vi.

    I think the only thing missing in Slack is ports and other kernels (It would be nice to run Slackhurd ; )

    • Re:The Only Distro (Score:3, Insightful)

      by melonman ( 608440 )

      I'm getting a bit bored with this "my distos is cooler than yours" discussion every week, but I can't resist taking you up on the graphical tools thing.

      I can do that stuff from the command line, and sometimes I do, but there are occasions where a graphical interface makes more sense, even if all it does is prepare and execute a command. GUIs are generally good for picking from a large and possibly dynamic list of options for example. Command line is good for tasks with a richer syntax, and it's good to hav

  • It all sounds very cool, but aren't the Slackware lot overdoing it a bit on 'stability', when they still include Apache 1.3 in the base install when 2 has been stable for what, two years now? Arguably, 2 is more secure now than 1.3. Even if the 1.3 branch is still supported and patched, 2 has been the focus of most developers for a long time now.
    • Perhaps, but...

      How many websites do you see running on 2.x as opposed to 1.3.x?

      It's inertia. People aren't wanting to fsck with what works yet.
      • It's something I've noticed a lot lately, which is that more and more, Linux users seem to fear change. Which is interesting considering they're using an alternative operating system.
    • The reason that I still use apache 1.3.x is because of mod_perl. mod_perl for apache 2.0 is still under development, though it is fairly stable right now.

      I continue using apache 1.3/mod_perl 1.0 because it just works and I guess that inertia plays a role as well :)

  • Slackware versus the rest (Score:5, Interesting)

    by mst76 ( 629405 ) on Saturday September 27, 2003 @09:13AM (#7071749)
    Slackware is above all a very focussed distribution. It aims to give you a fairly complete, simple and stable operating system for 486+ computers, that can be easily customized by yourself. In the past, there were also Alpha and Sparc versions, but now I think only Intel is officially supported. Slackware does not attempt to include every open source software package under the sun. There is sendmail, but not postfix, qmail, exim etc. There is mysql but not postgre, firebird, etc. There are a few window managers, as opposed to dozens. It does include the usual development tools and the most common libraries. If you want something not provided in the default distribution, you are expected to download and compile/install it yourself. The result is that the complete distribution can more or less be managed by a single person. Of all the major distributions, Slackware has probably the smallest development team. If the Mandrake or Gentoo company (yes folks, Gentoo is not a non-profit org like Debian!) were to fold next month, it is not easy to continue the distributions, because they need a reasonable amount of supporting infrastructure and developers. If Patrick Volkerding quits next month, I can maintain my own Slackware tree reasonably well, because I have a reasonable overview of how the entire distribution works.

  • Volkerding (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    What happens to slack if Pat dies?

    IIRC slack is Pat's HD image
    • I have no doubt at all that the honourable post would be heavily conteseted for should that be the case. Not like there aren't any slack users that don't know how to maintain the distro.
  • It's nice to hear that Slackware is still going strong with the 9.1 release. (I started out running (GNU/)Linux with Slackware 3.2 in 1995-ish, so they've always had a special place in my heart -sniff-.)

    Now I mostly use RedHat, which reminds me... does anyone have any idea (roughly) when *RedHat* 9.1 is due out?

    Going to have to start upgrading some of these RedHat boxen before support dries up after New Years :-(

  • I have never used slackware but I have read a lot about it. One problem that this distro seems to have is that you have to download a completely new ISO every time a new one comes out, similar to the RPM distrobutions. This is very ineffecient IMO. Most slack users I know and have read about just reinstall and than add all their old configs and such like .bash_config. Maybe I have been reading the wrong info, but this a major flaw in any distro that is to be considered for widescale deployment. Please don't
    • Where on Earth did you get the idea you need to get a new ISO to update your system?

      Suffice to say, you don't. If you're online you can download not only rpm packages and slack packages but debian packages, source ....

      For the record, my first ever Linux install was a painful download of some fifteen Slackware floppy disks. The install itself however was about as comfortable as a floppy install can be. The point is, I didn't have then, nor now do I have to download a whole ISO at any time, though one co

    • Actually you don't even need swaret-- though it makes things easier I'm sure. Just download everything you need from slackware-current, and
      upgradepkg --install-new *.tgz (the install-new gets packages that you may not have earlier versions of installed.)

      Voila-- you're done, and you have a totally current system. And done more easily than any of the rpm based systems, IMO.

      Remember, the version number in Slackware is just a snapshot in time. Unlike Redhat where the rpm version names of different progra
  • Shouldn't all you guys who talked about getting the LAST release already have slack and just need to upgrade?

    It seems every release the same people claim to be downloading the iso. Shouldn't you guys already have 9.0 and just need to upgrade to 9.1??

    I know this is a troll but I've always wondered how every release, the same people rush to say they are dling yet they said that the last week. I just simply upgrade freebsd when a new version comes out, I don't have to download the whole iso.

    Anyway, flame on
    • I agree, but it's nice to occasionally cough up a little dough to support the effort.

      And if you _do_ decide to upgrade hardware or something, you have less downloading to do.
  • I've had trouble getting NVidia's driver to install on Slackware versions 8.0 and 8.1. Has anyone gotten this to work with a more recent version?
  • I maintain a few dozen slackware boxes at work, and quite a few of our staff run slack at home,
    so I've been using rsync to maintain a copy of the latest rev + slackware-current. The problem is, SF
    seems to have stopped offerring rsync, and there are no rsync mirrors listed on the getslack page
    anymore. The main site is way too busy for reliable rsync, so i'd rather use a mirror...

    Anyone have any suggestions?

    And if you're reading this Patrick, thanks.

  • Slackware needs something akin to Kudzu or HardDrake. Automatic hardware detection would be a HUGE benefit to Slackware.

    I first tried Slackware with version 7.1, it was clean, fast, wonderfully stable and streamlined, but it took me far too long to set up the hardware that Mandrake recognized right after installation. The setup for X windows was a bit trickier than Mandrake's as well.

    I started off with Linux using Redhat 4.2, I was a big Redhat fan until I tried Mandrake 6.0, I've been a Mandrake loyalist
  • Perhaps Microsoft will catch on and release official torrents for Windows from now on :)

    That would make it a lot faster for us.
  • It's just a copy of the 9.0 announcement, witty comments and all, with all the version numbers changed (most incremented by 0.0.1) and a couple sentences added mentioning new features.

    I will now go download this and install it over the top of FreeBSD.

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