Slackware Linux 10.2 Released 250
excelblue writes "Slackware Linux 10.2 has finally been released. This release comes with Linux 2.4.31, with 2.6.13 available in the testing packages and glibc 2.3.5. This time, they've decided to get up with times and switch to Firefox, Thunderbird, and subversion instead of using the Mozilla suite and cvs from the previous distros. Here are Torrents of ISO images."
Re:Retro Linux - Sweet! (Score:4, Insightful)
and slackware is fully 2.6 ready, to use it just compile it, dropin replace, lilo & it's done.
oh, i forgot that you also have a precompiled one in testing that also should be easy to deploy
Re:Slackware's purpose? (Score:1, Insightful)
I am compelled to use Slackware for religious reasons. Praise "Bob"!
Re:YAY! (Score:5, Insightful)
Basically, if people haven't stopped using Slackware yet, they're not likely to.
Re:Up with the times - ala M$ style? (Score:1, Insightful)
Since I see another post indicating 1.7.11 IS included, that encourages me to consider Slackware in my endless quest for a distro that "does it all" without me having to tweak/twiddle settings past my (admittedly limited) patience and time - been doing that since the Yggdrasil days with a Mitsumi 1x CD ROM drive. Even then Slack on diskettes was fairly straightforward if time-consuming.
I get paid to tweak and twiddle Solaris and various server packages, and don't really enjoy having to continue in that mode on my own time when it gets to be significant. The BSD's look better all the time with their uniform approach and consistent ports packaging. NOw if they could allow installation to logical partitions instead of primary only to allow replacement of an existing linux partition, and get on better terms with JavaOne to keep their Java port up to date...
Is this true for Slackware? (Score:3, Insightful)
Is the snappiest distro out there in terms of overall responsiveness?
True that it is the oldest Linux distro?
If so why does it not seem to have the mind share that Fedora, SuSE, Mandriva and [K]ubuntu appear to enjoy?
Nice one Taco (Score:5, Insightful)
You have no problems pimping ads and subscriptions on /., but you won't link to the store of the oldest linux distro out there.
Re:Retro Linux - Sweet! (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Is this true for Slackware? (Score:4, Insightful)
If you're used to Windows or Mac, it requires you to do more learning of Linux up front.
Re:My (quick) distro of choice (Score:3, Insightful)
Also, the second stage, where you enter your details and devices get configured, sucks, mostly due to poor feedback and how painfully slow it is. Give me a Windows 95 install process anytime over XP install. And then, once you get it going, you still have to configure > 90% of your important hardware because the OS doesn't have adequate drivers for them.
Whereas the slackware install, I can tell it what partitions to use for swap and install. Then tell it what packages (in detail) I want installed, and once it has installed the packages get it to install LILO. And thats about it. Its much faster then an XP install, and lets me choose all what to install.
Once the system reboots, I can actually go about configuring the hardware and network, without a slow or buggy interface in the way.
slackware - upgrade/reinstall? (Score:2, Insightful)
All this talk about going home and reinstalling 10.2 over 10.1
Why not just update your packages or kernel and be done with it
Re:Making me a Slacker again . . . . . (Score:3, Insightful)
I am in charge of a Gentoo server. I've fucked a service up on it, precisely because I was able to carry out a partial upgrade without knowing what I was doing. Now, the former maintainer is on my ass about it, and even after trying everything I know, short of rebuilding the entire box (on an PII, nonetheless), I am going to end up building a copy of the whole mail system on my own (Slackware) system.
Yeah, as usual, I am to blame for my own problems. But at least Slackware doesn't let me fuck up like that. It's not that much extra work for the added protection against myself.
Re:This is nice but... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Nice one Taco (Score:3, Insightful)
I signed up for the Slackware subscription [slackware.com] service to support Pat, not for the CDs which still sit in the shrink-wrapped cases they were mailed in.
Promoting the torrents is probably a good thing. It wasn't an FTP link to slackware.com after all.
Got Slack? The Linux that switched me from Windows (Score:4, Insightful)
It's baffling because with the 8-10 years I've got behind me now...trying and TRYING to get Linux distro's to work for me...so I can leave Windows forever - Slackware is the ONLY Linux that made me switch completely.
Yes... I'm now officially an Slackware Fanboy! But what's wrong with being a fan? I love this distro - it just works!
Back in the heydays when I used Mandrake (now Mandriva) and SuSE
It's possible that a lot of you reading this using (insert-your-favourite-package-here) will go into "flame-shock" and tell me that (your-package-will-do-this-and-that-and-I-dont-kn
That's what I like about Slackware! I'm free here, not "strategically" controlled by a corporate that figures out WHAT to bring me so I can "somewhat" be steered into the direction they want me to take by handicapping me doing stuff/learning on my own!
It's also the only package that made myself completely independant from windows, I can see whatever I want in Slack, configure the heck out of it, because of all the utilities and (smart hints and docs by the man himself) I've learned gradually what Linux is all about...and now I don't need to sit in a user-group and feel like an idiot just because I don't know jack even after 10 years with Linux...simply because Slackware teaches me to do stuff on my own and in fact encourages it.
Got slack?! Yeah - you bet!
Red Hat vs Slackware (Score:3, Insightful)
In the spring of 2003, I decided I was ready for Linux and somehow I ended up with discs for Redhat 9.0. Yes boys and girls, this is in the days before Fedora. A little disc partitioning, a few questions and a half hour of waiting later, and Red Hat was up and running. When it was done, I had a fully working Linux system....almost. I couldn't listen to my vast mp3 collection, but I know my audio card worked because I could play the random
Rewind a few months to when I was investigating the various Distros. I looked at Suse, Mandrake, Red Hat, Slackware, Gentoo, Debian, and probably some others. For whatever reason, I remember thinking that Slack's site just looked right. My impression of Linux at the time made me feel like it shouldn't be a product of a big company, but rather the efforts of a dedicated person(s). This notion ruled out Suse and Mandrake. At the same time, Gentoo and Debian seemed too hardcore. I'm not sure why I didn't go with Slack to begin with, but after the failed RH attempt, I went for it. Oddly enough, I reached this conclusion the day after Slack 9.1 dropped. Add to that the fact that I discovered the forums at LinuxQuestions.org right around this same time (if you're a linux newb, these _are_ the forums you need), and I had a shiny new distro, and a community of people working through the same kinks I was.
The Slack install was definitely more involved than RH, at least so much as to require a lot more input from me. By the time it was over, I already felt like I knew more, and little did I know what was waiting for me. When the install was done, I had a linux system which worked, but instead of staring at a highly customized KDE, I was looking at the command line (gasp!!). Bring on the fun...While I still didn't know how to config X, how to chose a window manager, how to set up ALSA or countless other things I needed to do, I also knew that I had to find out. RH did it for me and kept me ignorant - it took decisions out of my hands, which is one of the things I don't like about M$. Slack made me do it and in the process, learn it.
I've been on Slack ever since (except for my job and the wife's PC, where switching isn't an option) and although some things were a challenge, I couldn't be happier.
The point of this story is that Slack is a worthwhile distro and IS accessible to newb's.
I'll bite (Score:2, Insightful)
"And as a bonus, your not bogged down with dependancies.... oh wait you want cyclical dependancies???"
apt-get resolves cyclical dependancies. Dependancy handling only fails in cases where humans would have trouble too: incorrect package information, or impossible situations.
None of the other three points interest me. I don't care of my distro is behind (obviously, since I'm comparing Slack with Debian). I don't care if it's hard for other people to use (I'm not them). I don't care if the leader is Our Lord Satan. As long as it's Free Software, the leader's quirks are immaterial.
But the one thing a distribution SHOULD do is integrate packages in a way that does something for its users. Slackware does not compete in this regard. The only rational reason to use Slack is that it's what you're used to.
Re:Red Hat vs Slackware (Score:1, Insightful)
This box started as a 10.0 install in apr'04, upgraded to 10.1 and now 10.2. Yes, upgrade, NOT re-install.
Still running nicely.
As a newb, Slack is simple, clean, reliable. You learn how to use the apps as they were built by the developers, not so much how to use the distro and how the apps have been changed to fit in it like other distros.
Slacking for a while (Score:1, Insightful)
Stable packages, sane file layouts, easy package management, trouble-free source compilation for 99% of programs, great performance without sacrificing stability...I like it a lot.
Oh, and if you want a good Slackware packages repository for when you can't be arsed compiling something and want it to 'just work'; check out www.linuxpackages.net