Slackware 14.0 Arrives 183
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.'"
As long as Slackware keeps being released... (Score:5, Interesting)
Then I know all is well with the world.
Thank you, Patrick!
Re:Installing the new version... (Score:5, Interesting)
You can still install via floppies... In fact looking at the FAQ page it looks like they haven't changed anything in the 16 years since my first install of Slackware. You can install through serial if your heart so desires.
Re:Very Disappointed! (Score:5, Interesting)
If you want pain go and use Windows.
Yeah im using Win7 and the pain is unbearable. Im constantly having to....umm...well, ill think of it later im sure.
Oh yeah and then it is a right pain in the arse having to constantly put up with ...umm....well actually, nothing yet.
hmm having to think hard here...oh yeah, It runs so poorly on all of my ....actually, no it runs fast.
umm....Out of the box after a fresh install i have to always...actually do nothing, it just...umm...works.
and then theres all the obscure configuration of......errr.....well, nothing, it just works...again.
Sorry OP im having a hard time here, what was your point again?
Re:Installing the new version... (Score:5, Interesting)
LOL, I wonder just how many of us have installed it from floppies?
It's only within the last 3-5 years that I threw out the 100 or so Slackware floppies from the very first time I installed Linux way back in '92 or '93 -- a 0.99a kernel, a huge pile of floppies, and the best fun to be had at the time.
Ah ... installing Slackware with X-windows onto a 486-DX33 with 8MB of RAM and 320MB HDD. Good times that was.
Xv for porn^H^H^H^Himages, slip to multi-task on a dialup connection, xdvi to preview output from LaTeX, gcc for coding, netscape for the few wbe sites that existed, usenet, ftp, and all the goodies to go along with it. I still remember the sheer awesome of having that environment.
At one point, my computer had more CPU and RAM than the Sun workstations my friend could access at school ... of course, we had it tough, we only had VT100 access to old VAXen and printers with green-bar paper. And the DOS/Windows machines of the day were largely useless and crashy.
The fact that everything is now mostly three orders of magnitude bigger is kind of amusing in retrospect. But at the time, it was some pretty cool stuff.
Knowing UNIX and C got me my first job out of school. I may need to spool up a VM to put this on, my Ubuntu box is getting a little creaky and I've been hearing some things that make me want to find another distro anyway.
Re:Very Disappointed! (Score:3, Interesting)
The funny thing here is that I'm actually in the process of replacing my iMac with a Slackware system. Is that ironic enough for a hipster?
Why Slackware? (Score:4, Interesting)
What advantage does Slackware have that makes up for its inconveniences?
ahh slackware... (Score:5, Interesting)
at one point I was left with a shitty old laptop, no cd drive, a hard disk with the slackware files on a dos partition, and a copy of "running linux". I learned a LOT over the next few weeks
and would not want to do it again ... but totally suggest that anyone interested in linux does it at least once.
I hate the semantic desktop. (Score:0, Interesting)
I lost my taste for Slackware when they bundled Nepomuk and that other hard drive space hogging semantic desktop application with the stock distribution. My setup requires hundreds of users with all their files on an NFS mount. Yes, I know, terabyte drives are very cheap nowadays but there was a reason I liked the old Slackware: efficiency, control, simple hardware requirements, ease of programming. If Slackware insists I need the latest, fastest and largest server so I can have a semantic desktop then I say, goodbye. I might as well go for a distribution with great package management.
Since we're sharing Slack stories (Score:5, Interesting)
A friend of mine in college gave me my first slack. He built his own computer (very cutting-edge in those days) 486-33. Got slack running on it. And used it for one of the greatest pranks I've ever seen.
Two other friends of ours were roommates. One worked day shift, the other worked night shift. The only communication they had for months on end was a chessboard. First roomie was a chess nut, and quite a good player. Second roomie wasn't so great.
So the Slackbox was devoted to running Gnuchess turned up to max. It would take 10 hours to compute a move. Second roomie would call Slackbox, get his move, and go to work. When he would come home from work he would dial up Slackbox and input First roomie's move.
This went on for months. First roomie had no idea how he was getting his ass handed to him. Was a great laugh when everyone came clean about the prank.
Ah the joys (Score:4, Interesting)