well... This is all that I think about using slack or even using linux... the challenge, the twiking and etc. You couldnt said better. :cool:

I knew about Slackware when I was getting pissed off with the damn Mandrake installer. Nothing was working. I wanted something more.

Someone just told me:
"When you know Slackware, you know Linux... when you know Red Hat, all you know is Red Hat." (or any distro that applies)

Then I gave it the try. I just loved it.

Check this out!


Peace :cool:

I use Slackware Linux for years on my workstation, and X is the first thing I configure when I install Slackware Linux. Even "worst", X is the first thing I start when I boot Slackware Linux (sure, it is quite different on a server). Do not get me wrong : I am not afraid to use the console as I am enough skilled in shell programming to work in console.

But honestly, for editing documents, surfing the Web and such daily, office work most people have to do with a workstation, a text console is quite inadequate : X put you in far more comfortable conditions than a text console. By the way, even if many people argue that "the mouse is bad", with well-designed X programs such as IceWM, ROX and Firefox, one can work with the keyboard only : that is how I work with X most of the time ... except when I'm drinking a coffee :)

Slackware Linux is good for people who really wish to learn and understand how a Linux system works, be it with a console or with X. This is because of an important feature of Slackware Linux : it has the least "administrative" customisations, which ones always put a Grand Canyon between a final user and the Knowledge.

--
LiNuCe

I use Slackware Linux for +10 years and, believe it or not, I have never read the Slackware book. Everything I know was learned from HOWTOs, documentation provided with softwares and Web documentations, but nothing from the official documentation. Slackware Linux has so much specificities/customizations that the only documentation it should really need is about the installation :)

--
LiNuCe

It is always good to be specific with the problem you are facing. I did not at all want to use Slackware, at one time. I was a FreeBSD guy. But then, FreeBSD has simply not been able to keep up with Linux.

I tried to install RedHat recently. (I wanted to install Sybase 11.9.2). Somehow it had a complaint with the hardware and didn't boot. (It installed ok). Then Downloaded 7 CDs of Debian (I have no broadband). Debian wouldn't give me sound - but it detected the ESS card ok, (the other ISA PNP creative Vibra 16 was not detected). I am new to Debian I admit, but why would I want to learn debian-specific hacks to get sound to work (my username was added to audio group).

I finally installed slackware. I admit, I myself feel frustrated at Slackware's lack of availability of packages and use of old software like sendmail (when we could have postfix). I have never been able to install mplayer successfully.

still, this is one distro that just works. No bad surprises here.
(yes, it got my ISA PNP card alright).

A better thing to question is about the future of "Future of Slackware" threads that continue to surface here.

I'm not a Slackware expert; I've been using Slack since 10.0. But, I really love Slack. It forces me to learn; the other distros have GUIs for everything. Using Slack makes me more competent on the command line; I'm finally using vim at run level three.
I've used Fedora, BSD, Mandriva, Ubuntu, Red Hat 9, Caldera OpenLinux 2.3, but Slack is my favorite distro.
I recently received a beat up old Pll 266 with 128 MB RAM, 4 GB HD. It had XP Pro on it and tons of spyware. It now happily runs Slackware 10.1 I am very much looking forward to downloading 10.2.
I am a huge fan of Pat's creations! I'm sticking with Slackware!

I'm just reeeeealy waiting to 10.2 release. By anticipations of Slackware addicts this forthcoming distro must be a breakthrough. Can't wait!

Sorry, but telling about sendmail as about "old" software is the same nonsense like telling about Slackware or Debian in the same manner. Sendmail is improving and has matured for years and is still the most used *nix SMTP server in these days. Yes, it would be better to have an option of alternate MTAs like Postfix or qmail, but it would require more maintenance of Slackware team (of Pat, acually).

Well if you never could compile it probably you couldn't do it in other distributions. And if you wanted a precompiled package (like I guess you'll be getting in other distributions), there's one at http://linuxpackages.net that has always worked fine for me.

It will be an effort to do that for the first time. But for subsequent releases, he'd have the build scripts to compile newer versions of Exim or PostFix. Same goes for Firefox vs mozilla/netscape, firebirdSQL/Postgre vs mySQL etc. And haven't most of the people here been saying compiling applications is easiest on a Slack? Who can do it better than the Slack team itself.

It's true, creating SlackBuild scripts is not so hard and compiling newer versions with it is even simpler, but it's not enough. It requires to track security reports, adapt distribution or build script to changes in software development (it may require another library or other version, it may conflict with files from other official package, etc.) and do at least basic functionality checks before release.
I personaly miss much more squid(proxy), openldap(LDAP implementation) and heimdal(network authentication) - there is no alternative in Slackware distribution or is extremly insecure and so unusable(NIS in comparsion to Heimdal).

What? Slackware is left behind? You must be kidding!

Am using 2.6.12.4 (latest at the point of writing-you know how fast those numbers change these days) kernel, gcc4.0, and whatever I like to install.

:)

Slackware is what Linux is all about.

My first Linux distribution was Slackware 2.4. Over the years, generally for professional reasons, I've tried many other distributions. My Centos machine exists because we have some Redhat Enterprise at work. I have Windows XP running on a Suse 9.1 machine using Vmware. My Debian Sarge box exists because I moved my wife to Xandros.

Though Slackware marches to its own drum, it is reliable and works well. Though I might have some quibbles with the lack of sys v initialization routines, the headaches are generally minor. My slackware machines seem to need the least maintenance in order to continue to function flawlessly.

VIVAT apolinski
 

Couldn't have said any better!
You know that some people here on forums calls us, Slack users, the "Slackware Religion"? People think that addiction to Slackware is pure idealistic