Slackware 14.0 Arrives

First time accepted submitter SgtKeeling writes "After 5 release candidates, a new version of Slackware has been released. From the website: 'Yes, it is that time again! After well over a year of planning, development, and testing, the Slackware Linux Project is proud to announce the latest stable release of the longest running distribution of the Linux operating system, Slackware version 14.0! We are sure you'll enjoy the many improvements. We've done our best to bring the latest technology to Slackware while still maintaining the stability and security that you have come to expect. Slackware is well known for its simplicity and the fact that we try to bring software to you in the condition that the authors intended. We will be setting up BitTorrent downloads for the official ISO images. Stay tuned to http://slackware.com/ for the latest updates.'"

Torrents are up now

[SgtKeeling]

Torrent files are now available here: http://www.slackware.com/getslack/torrents.php [slackware.com]

Re:Torrents are up now

[staticsafe]

Torrent files are now available here: http://www.slackware.com/getslack/torrents.php [slackware.com]

Thanks, put both 32 and 64 bit DVD ISOs up to seed on the 100mbit box.

Re:Very Disappointed!

[fredgiblet]

Install Gentoo

Re:Why Slackware?

[MrDoh!]

Good question. For me, purity, everything being in the 'right' place. After using SCO Unix for so many years (pre-crazyness), slackware felt right. The install was the same, it put things pretty much in the same place, tons of scripts/code I had just worked right off, and when they didn't, it was intuitive to fix. Also used to keep up to date with linux kernels more actively than others (probably because it assumed it's users were more techy and wouldn't have a problem editing what's needed). As to why to use it today compared to more friendly distros? Hmm, tough call. I'm not aware of anything it does that others don't do these days (though it's been a few years since I've used it in anger, probably a VM laying around somewhere with it). I'll download it, set it up in a VM (always useful to have for various reasons), and get back to the thread!

Re:I hate the semantic desktop.

[apharmdq]

This only matters if you use KDE. (In which case you're going to get Nepomuk no matter what distro you use.) Also, Nepomuk is easy enough to disable,
If you prefer not to use KDE, Slackware comes with several other DEs and WMs, like XFCE and Fluxbox, out of the box. In fact, you don't even need to install KDE when you install Slackware. And if you're a Gnome user, there are several Gnome slackbuilds available. This is really a non-issue.

Re:Why Slackware?

[apharmdq]

The Slackware documentation has a summary on what makes it stand out:
http://docs.slackware.com/slackware:philosophy [slackware.com]

In other words, it really doesn't have a lot of inconveniences after all. I think the biggest reason I moved to Slackware in the first place was the glut of dependencies that were installed whenever I installed a package in Ubuntu. With Slackware, you start out with a good portion of the packages you need, and manage the rest when you do third party installs. And while that may seem challenging, it ends up being fairly easy, since once you have your install set up and customized the way you like it, you can run it for years without having to make any drastic changes.

Also, the packages are all plain vanilla software, with very few distro-specific patches. While this tends to make the distribution seem less "uniform" out of the box, you also end up with more stability.

Full version upgrades also tend to be easier and more stable overall. Granted there's more work done under the hood, and there's always a chance you can mess up, but I've found that every time I've made a mistake, I've been able to rectify it using some simple method.

And that brings about the most important aspect of Slackware. It's the distro that puts you the closest to working with Linux, without having to delve through layers of "convenience" UI. It may seem harder at first, but after a bit of learning, you'll know Linux better than just about any other distro. (Excluding Linux from Scratch.)

That said, Slackware isn't for everyone. If you just want a distribution that takes the minimum effort to get going, you're probably better off with some of the other big names. But if you have the time and a bit of spare hard drive space, I recommend giving it a try nonetheless. Just be patient.

Re:Why Slackware?

[evilviper]

Slackware packages always include full devel libs and headers, and you never have to work-around the package manager fighting you about missing dependencies (which you compiled from source). Plus, the startup scripts are vastly simpler than those used in other distros, though not as simple as the BSDs.

In short, Slackware is probably the friendliest distro to learn with, and has many of the features that people like about BSD, while still being Linux. I wouldn't deploy it to 50 machines I have to maintain, but it's a great choice for your one Linux desktop.