Hi,

Very hard to decide. I am on holidays now and wish to switch distro. I'm currently using Mandrake 8.1.

My friend said slackware is soo bad and old and i should choose Debian. Also i heard that debian's got a very good software package manager.

Can you guys list some quick points to help me with the decision?

Thanks for your help la

Hi there!
Slackware is by no means old.
Its in fact more up to date than whats in included in the 'stable' tree of debian.
Good Luck!!
RefriedBean

I heard that slackware is very bare but also very configurable.

I believe there are advantages in using Debian. WHat are they? (over slackware)?

Thank you

I consider the package management of Debian to be it's greates advantage.
apt-get install bitchx - installs bitchx
apt-get update && apt-get upgrade - updates all your files.

I can't compare these two because I have never used Slack, but I can say that Debian is great atleast.

Slacks packages aren't that old and neither are debian's if you're using woody or sid.

Debian - Easy to update and maintain.Good for people that want a clean and stable system without worrying about dependencies.

Slackware - Takes abit more work to setup and tune to your likings but software is compiled and optimized for your system.

Both have its pros and cons,but I personally prefer debian because I didn't want to spend my time searching for package dependencies and compiling programs.You could just try them both out and see which one suits you more.

mmmmm IF i'm going to try both......which one should i try first lol?
It takes time to setup u know.

Also, is it ok for me to create 3 partitions, one for swap, one for /home and one for / ?

Third thing, i read from the Debian's home page that sound devices are not supported by default???

well... i'd say if you're in it for an educational trip, try slack. there's no package management system. BSD style init scripts. etc etc. you get to learn a lot from it.

if you're in it for usability alone, well any linux distro man. probably one with a package management system. gets things going more easily. debian has arguably the best package management system in the house...

Well debian supports soundcards, you just have to install the module for your soundcard in the kernel (it will ask you in the installer) and then you have to add your user to the audio group.
For myself i use a "awe64 Gold ISA" which works perfect.

I use both slack and debian and like them equally. With new slack 8.1, it looks newer.

If your idea of fun is finding out ways to get things to work and exploring the inner workings of Linux then get Slack. Personally I love that, its like a hobby. If that doesnt sound like fun to you then it might not be the distro you're looking for.

Slackware supports sound right? by default? DO i have to compile to kernel to get sound working?

I might give slackware a try first ^_^

no you don't have to compile to kernel. you can enable the sound module for your card in one of the start up scripts. can't remember which one offhand. i'm not at my box...

or you could do a simple modprobe *your sound card module* to enable it.

Making your sound works under Slackware is not really hard
modprobe "module-of-your-sound-card"

if you want it to be done every boot, uncomment the line that contain this modules in /etc/rc.modules

that's all
Choose the flexibility, choose Slackware