Mandrake also has a very good package manager.

But there is another issue here, that no one has mentioned, and I will bet that it is at the heart of OP's problem.

When you first install your distro, you will be given the option to install the development tools. You also will be given the option to do "minimal installs" or more comprehensive installs.

In an era where hard drive space is cheap, you should install pretty much everything. The reason is that you don't know what programs will have what dependency issues, and by installing everything you make sure that everything you might need is there for you. In that case, when you go to compile a tarball, you won't have problems with this package or that package missing.

I don't install gaim from RPMs, I just configure make make install. Everything is there on my system, so it all happens. Rarely, when I do an upgrade, or compile a tarball, I have to upgrade some other package as well, but that can happen anytime. Periodically I send my package manager out on the net to do all the upgrades that my system requires, and the consequence is that I seldom have trouble. Generally I try to stick to RPMs for system stuff and I will often compile tarballs for user stuff and apps.

Which dependency did it fail to find for the autopackage?

Ok, one more post about slackware installation. Calling it "text based" would be a bit inaccurate. Yes, it does run in the text mode, but it is built with dialog interface, which means that it behaves just like any graphical installer, with the exception that instead of using the mouse, you'll be using cursor keys and ENTER. Maybe mr. Volkerding should make it run on framebuffer and then we could call it graphical Although I promise you that it doesn't get any easier no matter how graphical you'd make it... The tricky bit is partitioning your harddisk. You will have to have some basic knowledge about it and the installation program will not do it for you, but you will have to do it yourself using cfdisk (or fdisk if you prefer). If you decide to give slackware a try, it's highly recommendable to read somekind of tutorial on installing before starting the install. It will save you from gray hair and will save you a lot of time.

Here is a step by step install how to for slackware, it has pics too.

http://www.bitbenderforums.com/vb22/...?postid=311808