Hello Slackers:

I am returning to GNU Linux after about a decade away. I want to do some software development and Video stuff. And of course anything else that comes to mind - lol. I have a relatively brand new hotrod PC with Windows 7 Ultimate on one 1TB HD and now OpenSUSE on a 2nd 1TB HD. I wish to keep Windows for gaming mostly and maybe change to slackware on the other.

Can someone point me to some information about what exactly differentiates the different flavors of GNU Linux? And/or tell me what about Slackware differentiates it from the rest?

As always, any help is greatly appreciated...

Best Regards,

Bill Melater

Hi,
well, this is relatively easy to answer. You can try out any distribution and find out if it is the best for you. But once you've used Slackware, you'll always come back to Slackware. It's the most simple distribution around and very stable and reliable.

Markus

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Just to add to what @markush said, Slackware is the most un-fooled-around-with distribution I've found: no branding, no messing with Firefox, Thunderbird or anything else (you get what the developers did, not what somebody added or took away).

My servers (both 32- and 64-bit) typically run months at a time; the only reason I would reboot one of them is if the power goes off long enough for the UPS battery to go flat (I live in the boonies, it happens) or if a security or other update recommends doing so (not often, but once in a while).

I place great value on stability and reliability, don't give a hoot about eye-candy, fancy-schmancy video nonsense. I want rock-solid, every minute, every day -- I get that with Slackware -- just do an "install everything" and you're good to go. It doesn't come with the kitchen sink; e.g., no LibreOffice or OpenOffice installed (and messed with), but, if you want it you can get it quickly and easily at http://slackbuilds.org -- all sorts of usable, reliable applications, libraries and utilities that are there for the downloading checked and approved by Slackware developers installed as Slackware packages from source. Need special stuff? That's the first place to look.

Hope this helps some.

3 members found this post helpful.

That is precisely the thing I like the most about Slackware. Specifically, you can go to http://slackbuilds.org and find software for Video edition, music production, and everything your mind fancies... I have been running Slackware 13.37 in a machine dedicated to scientific simulations and audio production, and I have never ever got any problems or limitations (beyond the capacity of my machine, of course). Really happy so far. (BTW Pat and team, if by any chance you see this post, using Slackware64-13.37-multilib for this past year has been a real exquisite experience. Thanks a lot to all of you)

And another tip, you can use a virtual machine (VM) for the Windows gaming thing, so not sacrifice at all. I installed a VM in Slackware and got Windows running within Linux, without any previous experience whatsoever, in just 25 min... ehemmm that was the time for the installer to finish Windows installation. Games run almost identically as in the "real" Windows (in my machine at least).

Cheers,

1 members found this post helpful.

Hi,

Welcome to LQ!
Look at: So you want to be a Slacker! What do I do next?

Since you have used a Gnu/Linux in the past it will require you to relearn a bit.
Two good references Slackware® Essentials & Slackware® Basics.

Another useful resource would be 'Slackware-Links'. More than just Slackware® links!
Slackware sections;
You will find the following How-To useful;
Dugan's Slackware® How-To <- How To Properly Set Up Slackware® Linux

If you want to go multilib then Multilib Slackware for x86_64.

Few more Alien_Bob's links that you will find VERY useful;

Quote:

Alien's Blog Alien's Homepage Easy Firewall Generator Alien's SlackBuild generator Alien's SlackBuilds

This post may seem as a potpourri but just culls from the Sticky, Threads & 'Slackware-Links'.

You should have some fun & Happy Slacking!

"Knowledge is of two kinds. We Know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it."- Samuel Johnson

4 members found this post helpful.

What differentiates Slackware?
Lack of GUI installer.
Lack of dependency tracking.
No GNOME desktop.
No development team to improve branding and coding from upstream sources.
Only boots to CLI upon install.
Expects users to read and understand documentation.
A single BDFL who does not respond to every nitpick.
A distribution website that actually experiences some downtime.
Security mailing list that is occasionally tardy.
Documentation that can be dated.
No official precompiled binary software repository.
No inclusion of closed source binaries.

Exactly why Slackware is the oldest surviving distribution with many derivatives and a dedicated following seems to be a matter of personal preference. Perhaps it appeals to those who have free and open source software as an ideal and want to enjoy stable computing close to the bleeding edge while still being able to experiment and learn?

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It gives you a very well-tested default install and makes it as easy as possible to change it.

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Maybe not the best, or exactly accurate but it may help a little as a starting point: Distrowatch's Top Ten Distributions

Hopefully you'll end up being a Slacker eventually.

1 members found this post helpful.

Good list allend, but why all the negativity?

Those all looked like features to me, so I would list them this way:

Flexible, intelligent installer, not restricted by GUI-only choices.
Package management system unencumbered by dependency tracking.
More useful choice of default WMs/DMs, others available after install.
Development team focused on performance, stability, security - not marketing.
Completely configurable boot options, defaults to text login for complete control.
Knowledge enabled platform - learn more, use more, without arbitrary restrictions.
Proven project leader, ~20 years of continuity, constancy, dependability and technical excellence!
Flash-free, no-nonsense distribution web site, many mirrors - always available.
Mailing list for security issues never exploited for marketing reminders.
Extensive documentation resources covering all releases, archival and current.
Simple yet powerful build system eliminates dependence on pre-compiled binary repositories.
Not tainted by proprietary binary blobs.

3 members found this post helpful.

The negativity was deliberate, meaning to reflect the often repeated criticisms of Slackware. The underlying theme of the list is simplicity in all facets of the distribution. The KISS philosophy allows the flexibility that I appreciate and so I have always used Slackware with just a few brief flirtations with other distributions. There was a one night stand with Ubuntu to see what the fuss was about. There was also a more extended dalliance with a Debian derivative at a time when there was no 64bit Slackware.

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I thought as much! Yep, most people's criticisms of Slackware are features to me!

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You want to be hackers, code crackers, Slackers? It's all about the pentiums, baby.

Even Weird Al knows that Slackware is 1337.

So you missed 2003 the Year of the Linux desktop, 2004 the Year of the Linux desktop, 2005 the Year of the Linux desktop, 2006 the Year of the Linux desktop...

I won't go over the Slackware stuff again, other than to say that, wherever I wander, I always come back to the the simple elegance of Slackware, but, since you said you are interested in video stuff, you might find Klaatu's Slackermedia site interesting:

http://slackermedia.info/

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You might be interested in knowing why we stick to Slackware.

Let's start by stating that my opinion is that the differences between Linux distributions is somewhat over represented in the community. Nevertheless, when choices are available, some go for the defaults; say Ubuntu or Mint, others prefer to mess around with Slackware, Debian, Arch or Gentoo. Slackers tend to be of the enquisitive type that need a solid base that can support their tweaking. Slackware is easier to understand than its direct competitors, that's why Slackers keep coming back. How can one tell how apt-get really works without going through its code? It is far easier to understand how slackware's pkgtools work. There is far less magic on Slackware than any other distribution I have used.

Nevertheless do not expect Slackware to be what you would like out-of-the-box. It is by no means a perfect distribution. Working your way around should be easy as we have a helpful community here and whatever you try, generally someone had tried and succeeded before you. Google is your friend. Start with defaults and go slow.

I read that you have installed OpenSUSE. I consider that a good choice as well, so your decision will not be easy. The starting point might be if you can handle fdisk/cfdisk and vi. You will need to partition your hard disk during the installation and the default text editor on Slackware is elvis. You will need it to get to some configuration files for visudo, etc.

If you enjoy such challenges than welcome to Slackware. Else, OpenSUSE is a good choice.

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