This seems odd but... did any of you have major problems with many other distros before going to slackware? I have tried suse, fedora and even debian and all of them had major issues such as not even being able to install from the install dvds and constant crashes.

I just find it odd that the supposedly "uber complicated" slackware was actually the most straighforward and problem free distribution I've tried.

I would even buy a copy of it (I like it that much) but I only have paypal, and the slackstore apparently doesn't accept paypal.

Anyways I hope slackware continues into a bright future

I never tried anything else, but on your second statements, it's not complicated it's just not for idiots.

I tried Mandrake on rec of a work buddy. It fscked up my slack install and had to reinstall :/
Thats probably the last time I try any other distro unless on a separate box

From what I saw of it I didn't like it tho

I used mainly Redhat and Mandriva before switching to Slack for a few years. Last year I decided to move back to Mandriva because I did not have time to tinker with Slack.

Been running slack since 8.1, never tried another distro. I was told "oh that'll be waaay too hard for you!" but here I am years later, enjoying every minute of it. Slackware isn't 'hard,' it's just built for those who don't mind getting their hands dirty and, in the process, *gasp* learning something new

SuSE 7.3 -> Mandrake 9.1 -> FC 3 (or 2)-> Slackware 10.0

I'm on Slack since then. I was having lots of trouble compiling programs on the others (and it is a big issue for me). Also I didn't know how and where to configure things. Before the install I wasn't sure if I could manage Slack (I was under the influence of some common wrong opinions) but I immediately discovered that it is so straightforward and logical. The relief was like taking a deep breath of fresh air after spending hours in an airless room .

Given the improved software tools and hardware support today of the "user-friendly" distros I don't think that an average person will have many "issue"s (in the Windows sense) using them, but they will be kept from learning what they could with Slackware. Use Slack and you learn Linux, really.

I tried Debian, but I had too much trouble trying to keep all the dependencies in line and it seemed to run really slow and be really buggy. After a few weeks of that I picked Slack for some reason and despite the steeeeeep learning curve I think I'm on my way. I plan on trying some other distros eventually after I get a good feel of things in Slack because I've heard so many time " .. if you know Slack, you know Linux .. " and plan on fully testing that theory.

I try lots of other distros. My main computer at home boots:
Slackware (Default)
Mandriva
SimplyMEPIS
Vector Linux (Slackware based)
QNX6
DOS6.22
Windows98
WindowsXP

Of all the Linux distros the Slackware is always the fastest from power-on to Desktop. Some Linux distros, I hate to admit, even make Windows look "speedy" *cough* SUSE. I wipe them out when they prove themselves too slow, or unstable. I try to keep an rpm based distro a debian based distro and Slackware on my computer at all times and updated too. It's funny but to me Slackware seems like the easiest to work with.

despite the reputation for "hardness" that slackware has. i've always found it the best one for things to "just work" in terms of stability. it's really so hard to break it. unlike apt,rpm type distros.... broke ubuntu and mepis before....

that said things like wireless are more tricky. but how tricky? it's not a problem...

post 1,000!!!!!! yey! i did it in the slackware forum out of due defference...

Hah! Debian? Buggy?
Yes, if you run Debian Unstable or Debian Experimental you might run into some bugs, but if you run Debian Stable? Debian Stable isn't just stable. It's _rock stable_. It's easily as stable as Slackware.

I honestly have no idea what I was running when I tried Debian out. And "buggy" probably wasn't the best choice of words -- more like "complete user incompetence". It was the first Linux distro that I ever installed (or even used for that matter) so I'm sure I didn't give it a fair shake. I plan on going back and trying to pick it up again eventually.

First distro I ever tried was Slackware 3.1
Was very happy with it, but the mobo on that old system died...

About a year later, I tried Redhat. Not for me, seemed to take too much control away from me.

Put Slackware 10.0, then 10.2 on my laptop and 3 of my desktops...Very happy now, especially since I don't have ANY ATI cards....lol

Setup/config was fairly easy. The learning curve is steep, but I know what is in my system, and can upgrade/add stuff to my system anyway I want, and not be stuck with what the distro wants.

I love the freedom.

If I hadn't found Slackware, I would have given up on Linux. And it is really simple indeed provided that you have a natural curiosity to find out how things work.

Slackware is the best I tried and I'm keeping with it, I keep testing distro's but until now slackware is the best I'm sorry I didn't try it before the "it's too hard for newbies" scared me for long while, after I started rolling with it I found out slackware simpler for me in many ways more than many "newbies distro's".

Hi,

I've been using Slackware since the beginning. I use other distributions (live-cd) to augment my needs. Mostly for diagnostic or repair needs. I use Slackware as my primary OS for everything in my home/lab. Been using UNIX since my early days of computing. So Slackware fits my needs with little effort! A UNIX license is out of the question ($$$).

My one point of response is about the learning curve myth. I think that curve can be steep for someone who has little experience with a OS such as UNIX/Linux. But it can be less of a problem for someone who is willing to read and/or research when need be. The upside of this distribution is that there are people around who are willing to assist someone who needs help. Especially when that person puts some effort on their part. My pet peeve is when someone just tosses out a request for help without even attempting to do some research of their own to assist in the diagnosis of the problem. I guess that is because I come from academia and I would require my students to break a problem down to its' simple form. Therefore the problem is not so overwhelming.

And yes, freedom is indeed a good reason to use this great distribution.