I should note too, Sou, that there "are" GUI-based tools in Slackware, many of which are parts of the KDE desktop (just an example, as that's what I use) such as KUser, Xscreensaver, Control-Center, Kinfocenter, and many others, which allow you do do a number of configuration tasks from a GUI. However, that said, one still often must use a text editor, or sometimes the commandline, to get a task done efficiently and in better detail or fine-tuning, than the "GUI"-based tool can do.
Some of the tools that Slackware uses, like the default package manager 'pkgtool' use a text-based interface, which is started from a command line. Now, IMO, there's nothing difficult about opening a console and typing 'pkgtool', it's certainly no harder than looking through a menu for your package manager GUI and clicking a mouse button to start it
And
Quote:
This is great, but if you want an 'Automatic' distro out of the box, that does everything the way you like right away, Slackware is a big, powerful, wrong way to go.
Does that says to keep myself away from slackware?
No, of course not, but as an example: I suspect Ubuntu tries to do a decent job of automatically detecting optical media, mounting it in a 'good' location, etc, all by itself. It even mounts UDF formatted CD's correctly (in my experience), HOWEVER, while setting up the way I want Slackware to do these tasks
***, I spent some time editing my fstab file, making symlinks on the commandline so I could access my devices the way I want to, and also installing & configuring code (BASH scripts mainly) that allow me to mount my CD-R/W drive so that I can read AND write to CD's like a floppy disk. The Ubuntu I have here does not do that; maybe no distro does, I don't know.
Anyhow, after spending the time that I have, configuring Slackware the way I like it, it now does A LOT MORE STUFF than the Ubuntu I have here can do, and it does it faster, and IMHO more efficiently.
I have on occasion booted my Ubuntu Live CD as a 'rescue disk', and often found myself stumped as to how exactly to get the silly thing to let me do the operations I required. After fumbling with the GUI's and looking through the menus it offers, I eventually managed to get myself a root command-line, and accomplished what I was trying to do in a matter of seconds.
As mentioned by the folks above, you really should take the time to TRY OUT different distros, and maybe one you will fall in love with, and that will make you MORE INCLINED to spend the lot of time needed to tune it the way you like it.
A distro has to be comfortable to you FIRST. There's no point taking something that you feel is not right for you, and trying to make it right; This is like trying to take a wild Grizzly Bear, and making it into a fuzzy house pet--- it probably will not turn out the way you had planned
*** Note - Slackware 12 has some more 'automatic' stuff build into it, but Ihaven't played with it yet so I can't comment.
