Should I Slack?
 

Hi,

It's been a few years since I last used *nix systems to any great extent - I had a Linux PC at University, and the Uni network was Unix, both of which I liked. Sadly, I waved goodbye to both after graduating.

But I'm determined to get myself a working Linux system on my new PC, because Windows keeps crashing and I have a fond recollection of a computer that ran for months between reboots...

Tried a Red Hat distro I had lying around and wasn't impressed (keeps locking up), so I've done some looking around for better distros.

Slack seems a good system, because I want to learn how Linux works, rather than just being capable of using it via a GUI and a few command-line commands.

So, a (hopefully) simple question: Do I stand a reasonably good chance of getting it installed and working?

I don't care if the answer is "Yes, but it'll take you a while" as I still have a working computer to use until I can get Linux up & running on the new one. I just want to make sure the answer isn't "No, you don't have a chance, get Mandrake or Suse instead"

Don't know you so can't say but if I can run Slack then most anybody can. :D Go for it!

go ahead and put slack in ur pc oneandoneis2 ... u'll never regret it :D

besides, the people in this forum will help and support u if u find any difficulties while exploring slack :)

If you are clever enough to end up in a uni and graduate you will have no problem installing slackware either. Besides you always have this site if you get stuck >D

I haven't much Linux experience, but I recently installed Slackware without much trouble. The book on the Slackware site is really helpfull, and after asking a few questions I got Slackware running. For me Slackware is about as userfriendly as Mandrake and RedHat wich I also used.
I'll guess if you already have some Linux experience, you should be able to handle it quite easily.

I have the same experience.

Dabbled with the big distro's like Mandrake and Suse with some success, but it was too easy for the system to do it all for me and I wasn't really learning anything.

So, I took the plunge in to Slackware. It isn't easy, but as already mentioned on this this thread, you will have more than enough gray cells to make it work and have some satisfaction at the end of it. You of course also have this wonderful forum to help you through.

I have managed to get Slackware 9.1 up and running on my Shuttle SN41G2. Not the easiest machine because of the messing about with nVidia drivers, etc but I got it working. This machine now acts as my general fine and MP3 server.

Projects that lie ahead include:
- Intranet
- LDAP for central names and addresses
- Using Network Masquerading and Routing

I was a TOTAL n00b when i started slack. it was hard, but if you read alot, and ask in the forum's for help when it's something you dont get, it'll all work out fine.

Thanks people, that's what I was hoping to hear!

Just as soon as they get our Broadband connection sorted out, I know what I'll be downloading!

Cheers!

Good luck :)

I echo the general sentiments here. I too dabbled in Mandrake but found I wasn't really learning anything as the GUI was doing everything. Last week I decided to take the plunge.


So far I have learned a lot and have a lot more to go, however, I feel confident that by using slack I will get there... something that never happened with Mandrake.

So, in short, go for it.

Yeah stay away from the RH bloatware....I switched to Slack and had no idea my old laptop could be so quick! Like others have said, check out the "book" on http://www.slackware.com - it is a bit outdated, so it isn't EXACTLY what you will see, but it is definitely helpful. Especially the formatting part, since you have to do that by hand. Just follow their directions for that, and you'll be up-and-running in no time!

hello there all
just 2say that i have switched 2slack from suse 8.2 and am finding it bit strange.
had everyting controlled under suse as it does everyting 4u.
so hope the help here is as good as i hear
will have lots of questions
2days on slack and can now finally get online
just 1question
is there a graphical update of all the system or do i do it by packages

If you don't succeed with the slackware install, you may want to try either of the derivatives of slackware to get the hang of how things are configured. Vector 4.0 and College Linux are both based on slackware. Vector is the most up-to-date of the two and has some configuration ui's that will help you out and will do some of the configuring for you. Once you get it figured out you will surely be able to install slack9.1 or you could probably use swaret and upgrade Vector to slack stable or current.

Slackware users seem to use SWARET. See the manpages for more information.

Swaret is a good tool for what it does. But always be cautious letting a program just install and update stuff willy nilly. You can watch the change logs as they come out at userlocal.org and then download and upgrade packages when necessary.