This is the conclusion i've come to after starting out in Linux with mandrake. When i started with mandrake I had no idea how anything worked, or how to fix anything. This resulted in several reformats and reinstallations where if i had the need to learn about things i would have known how to fix these problems.

I used Mandrake for about a month, and i never got my alcatel working, I never recompiled a kernel successfully, and I learned next to nothing about Linux. I ended up using XP nearly as much as I did before.

Then I found slack. Slack forced me to learn about Linux, It forced me to spend hours reading or else I would never be able to get it working. Most of all it forced me to delve into the specifics of the system.

I truly beleive if there wasn't this stigma surrounding slacks installation alot more newbies would turn to it. In reality I found slack's installation faster and about as easy as mandrake, it just doesn't look as good. But (hopefully) you will only see this screen one time, so who cares?

Anyone else who thinks that linux newbie's should really start off in slack so they avoid the bad habits and ignorance that other distros create?

slack being difficult to install is a myth. and i think the installation looks better. i hate all that crappy install gui stuff.

When you're learning something new, the key is to dive into something that is straight-forward.
I think Slack's installer is a good indicator of how straight forward Slackware really is.
It's no frills. It does one job, does it well.
You are able to install everything, or choose what you want.
You have options for different filesystems.
A text based installer means no having to fiddle with auto-detection from the beginning.
Less things to go wrong.

All in all, a more workable and pleasant experience.
No, there's no eye candy. But why do you need eye candy when you're installing an operating system?

--Shade

IMO, it depends on the newbie. Some people want something that "just works" (tm) without tinkering around. However, for anyone who wants to LEARN Linux, Slackware is second to none.

OHHH..i want to install and get slack...i really do...but I'm afraid...

been usin' win 98 and guis FOREVER

And just tryin' to read all those damn manuals gets so darn frustrating :\

Don't be discouraged, and don't stop reading.
Honestly the best thing that ever happened to me was having to totally delete windows and become entirely dependent on linux. It forced me to get things working.

It really isn't as hard as it seems. Personally I found slack EASIER than mandrake when it came to everything, because I actually know how the stuff i'm changing works.

When in doubt... RTFM!

I have to say I am inclined to agree. I started a couple of years ago with Mandrake and I don't knock it. However, i do tend to think that the more you are shielded from the workings the more difficult it is to deal with even the slightest thing going wrong, and the more frightened you become of it all - bit of a vicious circle. I plucked up courage one day to install Slack when I picked up a magazine with it on the cover disc, complete with reasonable explanation of how to install, after considering Slack for some while.

I would never look back, but how much confidence I gained from my time with Mandrake is hard to say. If I did it again I would make an intensive study of the basics of Linux first, then go to a simple, straightforward distribution like Slack. (This is, after all, what I did before starting beekeeping and sailing - why should computing be different?). Coming from Windows into Mandrake and expecting to 'pick it up as I went along' was I think a mistake, aided and abetted by the apparent Microsoft philosophy of 'fiddle about with everything and see what happens - you can't break it' as opposed to the 'Learn how to use the damn thing first or you will break it!' as applied to other areas of life. A basic understanding of the underlying system would have stood me in great stead, and probably would have taken a great deal less time than my 'trial and error' did.

I tried a few different distros out before I tried out Slack. None of them were as easy to use and gave me the control over my operating system that I was looking for, except Slack. Stopped trying out other distros. Slacker for life.

End User = I just want it to work without having to do anything = Computer Illiterate = Windows
Power User = I just want it to work the way I want it to work = Computer Savy = Linux

MagicMan

Well you could also throw something else in the mix.

"I need stuff to work, email, spreadsheets, print, web browser."

Install linux for them set it up and they could do what they needed. So if you had a small buisness where some employees needed such it wouldn't be hard to set it up for them. If you were doing the same set up like hardware you could just set one up and maybe do some live install script to format then untar an installation on the disk. But the tools they needed would be there for them and they don't have to think about it. Just get to work.

yup.... slackware......... i started w/ mandrake too and i knew nothing, now I use slack on one box, FreeBSD, Immunix and devil-linux on another, and im almost like a friggin guru lol......


Slackware 9.1 for life!!!!! (or at least until 9.2)

I know I feel like such l337 guy after setting up my slack system so nicely. No way I would feel so confident when using a distro like Red Hat.

I feel..... in control. Its a nice feeling. It's funny, there were some things i could never do in mandrake, like recompile a kernel. It was just so much easier with slack, I didn't have to worry about distro specific crap. It's as close to a pure vanilla linux you can get I think.

I have to agree as well, as I just have got my Slackware 9.1 install up and running and I am loving every thing about it.

Running a custom 2.6.5 kernel
Updated to current using swaret ( fixed dependcy problems with swaret , no problem at all )
And as well as Dropline 2.6 Gnome

I have been trying many different distros for a while not but Slackware 9.1 has been the only distro that I havent and will not give up on. I have spent a lot of time reading and researching any problems I have or any information I need here and on google... i Have dived into it..and the the time spent has rewared me with a very slick OS.

i think u should try and install gentoo...i've been trying for like 3 days now and with each try, i get mor and mor of it working...all i have to do is get xfree86 configured and i'll be done! i tried to install slackware but its an extreme pain in the a$$ with my freekin hardware mann...ima try again tho cuz i like slackware and the live-scripts from the creator of SLAX will let me create my own slackware live cd from scratch

but then again, gentoo might be no problem for you guys who are fluent in linux...i've used it mayb for a year off and on. mandrake 9.0, 9.1, 10, fedora, red hat...all those distro's left me wanting something more and i think customizing the distro to my needs will help alot! but getting to that level is a challenge worth enduring

I tried redhat, and it worked, but I didnt even know what bash was till a couple of months after I had it installed, and trying to compile stuf was a PAIN cause nothing was where it should have been.

Then I installed slack, (after I learned how to use fdisk, it was easy). and everything became clear because there were no frills, it didnt do anything for me, it just did exactly what I told it to.

When I tried debian, had a nice package system, but that was all it had going for it, it tried to do to much for me, I think ill try gentoo soon because HD space and proc power are no longer a concern for me, but I still think ill be coming back to Slack.