Slackware features?
 

What kind of stuf comes with slackware?

-the biggest thing i'm worried about is a graphical installer: it better have one!

KDE/Gnome?
Openoffice?
Gimp?
Mozilla?
Lots
Of
Games?
:newbie:

from what i saw installing just it has games, mozilla gnome, gimp

no KDE?!?!?!?!?!? what kind of world is this, where one of the most popular distros has no KDE?!?!?!? AAARGH!

:D :twocents:

sorry, not saying it doesnt have it... they're just the ones i noticed :D

it has all the stuff that u listed and u could check out distrowatch.com to see the packages that comes with it

about the installer , no its not graphical but that doesnt make it hard to install

It's not hard to install but it might take you a couple of attempts. Never mind, this is how you learn.

It comes with these packages

I can't believe there is no Enlightenment. :(

Re: Slackware features?
 

Did you ever install DOOM on the old dos boxes? Thats what its installer looks like.

But its pretty damn easy to be honest. The only difficult part is partitioning, once that's done, you are on your way.

Basically run fdisk set up partitions, run setup start at define swap partition and answer the questions from there. The next semi thinking stage is selecting which kernel to use from the cd [other other media if you have a different one].

It has KDE... It has a ton of stuff to be frank, in fact I just uninstalled 50 pacakges after doing a full install to regain my sanity. One only needs so many multi-media players, editors, audio players, browsers and e-mail clients. And 5 or 6 of each is more than that number.

It has KDE, Gnome, fluxbox, backbox and about 3 or 4 other window managers I do not care to look up right now. It comes with Xorg, it has all the standard GCC pacakges if you program, it coems with some games I have paid no attention to.

The two things kind of irked me, but it is not like I can't go download them and install them after the fact. They are no open office, no grub. Not that I dislike Lilo, I just always used grub and thought if I told it not to install Lilo it would then take me to installing grub. It didn't, it left me without boot loader instead. Heh.....

It's not hard to find out what software Slackware comes with, just look at the homepage of Slackware. But the attitude to ask first and search / think later is one not compatible with Slackware. Configuration of Slackware is a little more diificult then the so called Desktop distributions and will require reading and editting config files.

No openoffice.

Just grab it of a mirror and install it. Very easy procedure.

i wish that linuxpackages.net would make a package of dvd::rip. I've given up trying to install from source (tried everything that's suggested on websites and on forums and still doesn't compile).

that's my one gripe with slackware. otherwise, its great.

Yes, I said its not like you can't download and install it. You can do the same for grub too in fact. ;)

Yeah, I agree. I'm glad Slack doesn't come with OO, because it would just add that much more to what's already a big dl.

Besides, OO is updated frequently, so there's no point in including it with the distro. Also, its generic tar.gz archive installs perfectly on Slack.

Re: Slackware features?
 

Looks like the other stuff is really moot. It does not have a graphical installer. Better shop elsewhere.

Re: Re: Slackware features?
 

Does it come with a box of Crayons? Pretty please?

Re: Re: Re: Slackware features?
 

Dang it, I hate when someone beats me to the punch...


BTW, I like your name! ;>)

Re: Slackware features?
 

Huh, what does this mean??
IF you want a "point and click" install use Mandrake/Fedora,

IF you want to actually Learn something, use Slackware!

denning:
Try lxdvdrip; needs a bunch of dependencies, all listed and linked on the homepage.
Works well.

psssh the slack install IS graphical......just uhhh.....lots of text ontop of those graphics...and the green on blue centered in the screen looks hot. haha

Re: Re: Re: Slackware features?
 

Hey, rusty_slacker, sorry for my pretty arrogant reply above. It's especially arrogant considering I now have exactly two weeks' experience with Slackware. I like pretty installers, too (have you tried Mepis? The installer front-end is a dream, truly). But I don't think you should let Slack's lack of a fancy graphical installation interface keep you from trying what I'm convinced is one of the fastest, most robust, best-community-supported distros out there.

damn right it's arrogant...

anyway, i've used fedora, but it's too slow for my pII, plus i can't even boot into it since i tried to add Suse 9.1.... i have installed Doom on a dos box, but it wasn't hard.... i guess i'll go with slackware, cuz it can't hurt what's busted already :D
but should i go slackware or mandrake ? give your :twocents::cool:

speaking of problems... check out my other thread with shocking developments ....http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...23#post1254123

Mandrake == poopie, I'm sure theres alot of you mandrake users that whould disagreed, But I say its POOPIE!

Slackware == Perfect! Bet all you slackers agree with me here :).

Well I spent countless months downloading ISO files, burning them to disk, and installing. Quite seriously I never learned a damn thing till I tried Slackware. Like trying the next distro was going to turn me into some all knowing uber geek. I was forced to learn command line and the file structure. On the rare occasion I do hose my slackbox beyond repair, I do not have to call mikrosopht and enter 48 #s over the phone.

I concur "Mandrake== poopie" but anyway...Vector is slackware based and run greats on my 550mhz p3 with 160mb sdram.

I found Vector a good way to move into Slackland. It's also a pretty small dl, if I remember right. (Plus, there's a new version 5 RC.)

I was warned that there would be a lot of Distro wars around and the 1337 (or so they think) would brag that they only use command mode or that mine is better than yours. Hmmm

Different strokes for different folkes. So Mandrake is poop is it? Well it's so crap that I managed to install it and get on the internet with everything else configured automatically within 30 minutes. God that's crap. And being a newb who needed something easy to start with I found it really crap because it was so user friendly. I mean who needs something that's easy? It's just plain, what was it, poop?

I hate to pooh pooh another distro. Mandrake makes a good distro for its target audience. They try to make it all as automagic as they possibly can. I think some of the stuff they have done has gone back to improve the apps we all use. In exchange for the gui tools and the auto nature there is a price to pay. That is system overhead and the ability to fine tune your set up. When you have problems it is harder to find the reason because of some of the unseen processes going on. I have met some very knowledgeable developers that work on mandrake. You can learn linux using it, it is just harder to do so. You also have to learn mandrake to know what it is doing that may be effecting what you are tying to do. Anyway, I would of course recommend Slack, but only if you are willing to read and work at things a bit.

For that reason I choose to move to Slack. I wanted to learn Linux but not everyone wants the same and when the 1337 acknowledge that they will be better off for it.

Of the graphical distro's I tried, I'dd take mandrake anyday. Its partition tool absolutely rules. It also looks better IMO for some reason.

I personally think Mandrake has done a great service to the Linux community. Their distro enables newbs to ease into Linux without being confronted by a command line or dozens of config files. Everyone should be praising it for the amount of people that have stuck with Linux as a result of Mandrake, not calling it crap.

But that's just what I think.

The same day I started using Linux I had to install XP on another machine. It took me about 3 hours to completely install it with all the proper drivers and get it on the net. On the other hand Mandrake was up in 30 min. That’s absolutely amazing if you ask me.

i didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings...I just thought that poopie sounded funny.

i just installed Slackware on VMWare virtual pc... and i am a total neewbie.... on linux only from july this year and never looked back since... (must confess i do have winxp on VMWare too... for those things u just cant find on linux.... eg vp6 video codec, yahoo messenger video chatting, Flash MX 2004, etc...)

back to the point... there are many walkthru's for the install even here on LQ... and its really not hard but i recommend having one machine connected to the net while doing the install just in case u run into problems and need help...

i am using mandrake... which i feel isnt as stable as linux is made out to be... but the ease of finding programs for various tasks is what gives it the edge over Slackware for me... urpmi rules... add a few ftp sites to urpmi... most notably Pengiun Liberation Front (PLF)and u can get anything u want... i am connected to FastTrack (Kazaa) network... (most notably)... besides that i have downloaded all the rpms from the mandrake ftp site.. so u can imagine the amount of software i have for mandrake is mind boggling.... till i can figure out how to get this ease of use into another distro i'll be with mandrake... but Slackware is very enticing... and gentoo too...

anyways i'll be going to my parents in a few weeks and will try to resurrect some old boxes and install slackware (due to its fine-tune-ability) or damn small linux (coz its just so damn small) on them... so be sure to hear from me with problems soon...

laterz

No, it doesn't have a graphical installer. But to be honest, the install is easier and quicker than SuSE and RH. And yes I have used all 3 (and then some). Running -current keeps you bleeding edge AND stable - something I could NOT do with SuSE. No dependency checking is actually a blessing (IMHO). I really think people (including me at one time) have been sold a bill of goods on what constitutes a good installer/package management system.

Especially when you consider that most of these systems are GUI front-ends for CLI programs or script/config editors.

Of course, you are entitled to you opinion - no matter how wrong it might be ;)
Check out the home page (and NEW package browser) and see for yourself.

Seriously tho' - try it, you'll like it. If not - no harm done. :D

I must say that as far as text-ish installers go... slackware's is STRIKINGLY easy it just smacks you in the face with its simplicity. go online and read a guide to partitioning and the man page for cfdisk and you're set. this is especially so when you hold it to debian's installer or even the redhat installer... (I wouldn't go so far as to say it was easier than mandrake) but it is perfectly bug-free...whereas I have personally had serious problems regarding keymaps in the redhat installer.
slackware is really rewarding if you have the patience to work with it and keep it maintained.
but I must admit the thing that made slackware(or linux in general) even become a feasible choice is a wonderful thing called cable internet. there's a LOT of fun stuff that simply can't be done on dial-up :)

Depends what you want. It's easier to get a fully-functioning Mandrake system up and runnng from the word go with limited experience. But if you know what you're doing, Slackware is quite a bit more elegant, stable and fast. Both have their strengths.

GO SLACKWARE!!! I've been using slackware for over a month now and its just great. Sure there are going to be problems, but once you fix them, it will probably never happen again. Plus, you know how to fix them if it happens again. Slackware teaches you linux, sorta. I say go for SLACKWARE!!! :D:D:D:D

If you want more information what distribution to choose you might search this forum for "Debian" and "SuSE". There are quite a few threads comparing the pros and cons of these two distributions in great detail.

A big difference between Slackware and other distributions is, eg, the package management. The threads mentioned, covering Debian and SuSE (here, in the Slackware forum!), explain the consequences, and most of the information regarding SuSE would also hold for Mandrake and Red Hat, while Debian and Slackware are different.

There are threads comparing Slackware to Red Hat and/or Mandrake, but less detailed, as far as I can see.

gargamel

probably?!?!?! now thats funnier than the word poopie

I have one main experience with mandrake.

We were replacing a 2003 RC1 server (RC2 was out by now and the realease of 2003 was a week away but anyway) and I said lets setup a slackware server. But low and behold slackware is to hard to use they said. No no no, to much of a headache they said. Thats for "hackers" they said. We need something easier to manage after initial setup they said. You can probably guess what they said next... ( "mandrake" if you didn't figure it out )

So i said ok, thats fine with me. Didn't know much about mandrake at the time. Had only done a single install of it once while i was at home about 6 months before. I didn't have it installed longer than 1 hour but it was nice b/c it detected my samsung laser printer and let me print to it right away.

So their they are setting up mandrake, i wasn't really involved in the process. This was going to be an after 5 job and maybe we'd all go home at 10pm or sooner and come back the next day. Well around 12:30 ( in the morning ) there was a lot of frustration spreading. There was only me left and one other person left ( the one with the say so about what would be installed ) and he was fumbling with webmin ( tool not specific to mandrake ) to get samba working. He still hadn't managed to get the second ethernet device working either. The DHCP wasn't administering IP's. And man I dont know what the deal was with Samba but it was nasty enough to make me mention it a second time here. Finally after sitting on the sidelines making comments about ways to fix things i ask him if he wants me to setup mandrake. He subsides and so I start.

An hour later I managed to get samba working, though not using webmin and I compiled a driver for the second ethernet device. Yet still running drake stuff to setup dhcp server didn't seem to be effective since nothing was receiving IP's. So I did my own dhcp config file and thats worked out fine *shrugs* so i tried to use drake to bridge the the two network connections and that wasn't working. I was very confused, it was late, why was i using drake? it doesn't seem to work. So i suggest, hey you want managability, how about we try Suse.

Yes!!! he exclaims, lets try suse. Do an install of Suse, everything comes up fine ( even that second network card ) and i try to setup the first eth to receive an ip addy from dhcp for inet and the second eth to administer dhcp on LAN. But low an behold suse overwrites the dhcp config file with something special when it acts as a dhcp client which kind of makes it hard to be a dhcp server to the LAN ;)

Looked the issue up and it had some absurd work around. I had to ask how many more absurd work arounds would there be in the future. It was around 4am now, and I said, can you just let me put Slackware on this box so we can go home? He said what the hell, why not.

Everything was up and running by 6am and we went home.

Just give me my Slack

I like ur story man. (y)

Very nice story :)

i installed it , and it was pretty easy. i've got a problem with lilo, so i have to have the boot floppy in the drive if i want to use it. how? plus, i want to use XFCE and Gnome, but i said my default wm was KDE. how do i fix?

oh yeah and i wrote an essay about why i hate microsoft and how they have a monopoly on all of computing. i want to submit it to the Washington Post :D

fuk u microsoft!!!

Nice story sio!
Reminds me a friend, but he stop at suse and got it eventually working. After struggling! He kept on telling me that slack was too complicated, it was for hackers,... blabla. But I won't change my slack for anything! A bit harder in the beginning, but so good when you get your fingers trapped!

re-run liloconfig to sort your lilo stuff.

As for the other stuff, just either run wmconfig or edit your .xinitrc

(or set up gdm/kdm so you get a nice lil drop down menu)

rusty_slacker,
IIRC you can get a boot floppy image here:

http://www.slackware.com/getslack/

but I've forgotten which one it is.

hi there guys just wanted to put my 2cents in.

I first tried linux with mandrake 9.1 cos everyone said it was so easy to learn and they were right it was easy to install and get up and running. and thats when all the hidden gremlins came in to play. firstly i never really knew what was installed or not. then certain hardware refused to work correctly. and trying to find answers quickly led nowhere coz none of the programs i downloaded to help would compile and even many rpms would not install. i still don't understand why. pbbly because the guys at mandrake modify the kernel and programs so heavily. even kernel recompiles never worked.

so i kinda left linux for a while.

then i got slackware 10 and i remebered what guys said about it only being for the guys who were old school and uber hacker types. let me tell you it might be a bitch to configure and finding those config files might mean you gotta read up and research but its the easiest distro i've tried. within a week i had my nvidia driver working, which never worked on mandrake. i've now figure out how to mount my usb flash disk, which never responded in mandrake or suse. let me tell you i ran around for days reading up and trying stuff out but not once did my machine break down or crash and now that it works i feel great.

also because the src code an files are kept standard compiling new programs with dependencies works first time every time. which i love. the feeling of power that slack gives you when it works is awesome.

plain and simple slack works. no ifs ands or buts. and when guys post saying that these are the commands and the outputs you know that you will see that on your slack machine unlike heavily modded distros.

so take the time, load slack, learn the system and the config files. in the end you will not regret it.

I say slack all the way!!!!!

It is interesting, all this. When I took up beekeeping, and sailing and various other activities throughout my life the first thing I would do was go to the library and read up all I could on the subject before ever manhandling a bee or jumping into a boat. I'm sure I am not alone in taking this approach. We are, however, encouraged to view computing quite differently, thanks to the Windows technique of "Just keep pressing buttons until what you want to happen happens - you cannot break anything". Microsoft specifically encourages customers NOT to learn anything, but just to do as they are told - by guess who.

I found Mandrake good after Windows, for precisely this reason. I now find Slackware better because it is simpler to operate and easier to understand - once you take the trouble to 'go to the library'. I am ensuring that my children 'learn' the incredibly complex subject of computing before they fiddle with the incredibly complex and expensive computer. They are being taught to 'learn what you are doing; you CAN break things horribly'.

It does not seem so complex when you look at it like that. It strikes me that Windows has done the world a big favour by bringing computing to we ignorant peasants, but an equal disservice by making us believe that we do not have to trouble to learn about it. Driving a car requires learning; so does computing.

Slackware's installer is fine as it is. I enjoy the clean functional simplicity of the installer.

Most graphical installers of the "fancy" distros like SUSE come up with a 60Hz flickering graphical screen due to having to use the safest settings possible :rolleyes:

This hurts my eyes and sucks a$$.

ncurses all the way for installation !

[SERIOUSLY_OFF-TOPIC]

You keep bees? Me, too. Or, at least, I'm a wannabee beekeeper (my first colony deserted me). If you want to enable PM, I might like to ask your advice. Thanks.

[/SERIOUSLY_OFF-TOPIC]