I presently run 2 Slackware partitions:
1. Slackware-current with KDE 3.3.2 and the Linuce-Gnome 2.8.3+ (
http://linuce.free.fr/slackware/10.1/gnome-2.8.3+/) packages. This is , I think, a good solution for those who want the Gnome/GTK2 libs for apps like Bluefish-1.0 or Gnumeric etc. but are using KDE as their desktop environment.
2. Slackware-current with no KDE (because I am unhappy thus far with KDE 3.4) and the Freerock-Gnome-2.10 packages (
http://gsb.sf.net). This is the Gnome setup for those who want to use Gnome as their DE and feel, as I do, that Dropline is not the solution for them.
The LiNuCe Gnome build is very clean and somewhat spartan (apps-wise), but does the trick to enable the successful compiling/installing of you favorite GTK2 or Gnome applications/packages by providing the otherwise missing dependencies. The Freerock-Gnome package set is robust without taking over your Slackware install.
Both play nicely with the 2.4.29 kernel.
Evolution in Freerock is compiled with Ximian connector. Evolution in LiNuCe's Gnome build is not.
Also, a word to the wise - these solutions are best used with a stable installation. Meaning, that you are not upgrading on a regular basis from the -current tree. Upgrades will over-write the libraries and may break things from time to time. Remember, PV is placing many GTK2 and Gnome libs in /l. Every time you upgradepkg from /l you run the risk of overwriting a lib that is reguired by whichever 3rd party Gnome solution you choose. This is not a deal breaker - just some added thought and preparedness required in the maintainance department. PV does not worry about whether his changes to current will screw up 3rd party applications - nor should he.
For the record, I have tried Dropline in the past and was not happy with it for a variety of reasons, but it worked fine - very well in fact. Just a "subjective" descision.
My 2 cents - Happy Slacking!