I just want to say: I love my Slackware! I love the way it is, the way it works.
There are small things I would like to add - but they are all 'addable' (sbo and alien comes to mind).

Please, do not make any big changes anywhere - I love scripting, small innocent-looking scripts that makes it 10 times more powerful than 'clickit'.

If you can't stomach the command-line - find something else!

I want to give you all but _one_ example:
I have about 500 pdf-files of a magazine, stretching over a period of 45 years! They have been downloaded (he,he - using a script!! - cuz they are only available through http so no wildcards) by generating required filenames and then using 'wget' (and yes, I know wget can be used recursively - but there was a lot of 'other gruff' in there as well).

The names where kindof ms-based, but another script renamed them all to something like 'xx-{yyyy}-{mm}.pdf' (where '{yyyy}' and '{mm}' is the year and month-no respectively (obviously, i didn't use 'xx', but it will do for this example)

Whenever I opened one of them - using 'xpdf', I had to increase zoom to 150% and then adjust the size of the xpdf-window - rather tiresome when you have 500 to go through!

With another script, I could pick out a whole year at a time - automagically increase zoom to 150% and go straight to page #3 which had the index (or 'toc'). If I didn't see what I wanted, I 'x'-ed out and was presented with the next issue. If it was interesting, I read the article and then quit - again being presented with the next in line.

The little script goes like this:Now, I'll challenge any point-n-click'er to make this any easier!!

Just my 2c-worth and a hearty "Thank You" to Pat and his crew!!

I prefer mupdf, because it has much better rendering. I did write a script to open mupdf and zoom width because it doesn't have an option for it.

perbh,

I agree. Slackware is awesome.

Hi,

perbh, I too love my Slackware. I am very comfortable using Slack and use it daily. Labeling Slackware by saying UNIX-like does not convey enough. The Slackware community along with PV & Team provide a very stable useful Gnu/Linux distribution. When and if a problems comes up the community responds as a Open Source community should respond. We do have some elitist but those members also provide necessary involvement within the community.

I have been comfortable with Slackware from the start and will continue. As I have said before "Slackware is not a hold your hand distribution. Thankfully will never be!"As a community we do help those that will help themselves or at least show some initiative to do so.

Spoon feeding never helps the user but showing someone the way to solve an issue(s) by personal involvement does. I do like to point to possible clues/links to aid the individuals so they will hopefully lead to a solution which that user learns to get to his/her solution so that needs can be solved/resolved by diagnosis by that user.

Troubleshooting is a art that can be learned. 'KISS' is very important, so a user should learn to break issue(S) down into simple terms so that the solution or problem can be resolved/diagnosed.

I think that a new user can learn Slackware over time. Sadly, most want to know everything instantly. Wax on, Wax off!

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+1 on that. Learning by doing, and indeed demonstration of a willingness to learn new things, is a skill that can be applied to more than just using Slackware. Life itself has many lessons that are best learned by the hands-on method, and the will to take on new challenges. A life lived to the full can be achieved no other way.

It's like the old saying goes: Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. Slackware is but one application of this old tried-but-true principle.

I'd also wish Slackware would keep KISS and original Unix philosophy (not necessary technologies) proven by decades as long as possible.

We'll see if and how Open Source around GNU/Linux would resist pressure put by commercial vendors and embedded devices business which are trying to bend this ecosystem to their needs, often in contradiction to usual server and/or desktop deployment & use. I won't judge whether recent fundamental changes in init and basic system services, artifical dependencies ie. analogy to forced vendor lock-in are good or bad in a specific case. Just observing how vulnerable is freedom and independence of free software, development only partially funded by companies profiting from it.

I'm so glad Slackware is driven by a benevolent dictator for life (ie. enlightened dictator) then some seemingly rightful system like a voted committee (hooked by populism and hypocrisy). If you've watched in depth decision making of Debian's TC, you have to vindicate. Reducing decisions only on technical aspects is a manifestation of narrow-mind and can lead to bad results or suboptimal at best in the long run.

The UNIX philosophy and principles have held up well for Slackware, and have allowed Slackware to become a powerful desktop, laptop, server, embedded, and educational OS for people all over the world.

The only changes ever made to Slackware, such as the move to udev from devfs, were done only out of sheer necessity rather than trying to be like distribution XYZ. The BSD/SysVinit system has more than proven it's worth, and has even become a great educational insight for our B/LFS Runit work in script formulation.

Slackware does not have to keep up with SuSE, Red Hat, Debian, or Ubuntu. They should be trying to keep up with Slackware. Slackware isn't the oldest surviving distribution for any special reason. It's alive because it's simple, functional, and works, and has one of the strongest communities.

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--Henry V - Brian Shakespeare (William's younger, more talented brother)

1 members found this post helpful.

I don't want to get into bashing how the Debian project or other distros operate, but there is a lot to be said for a distribution, which has one person in the driving seat.

It means that the distribution is not purely driven by populism. "Too many cooks spoil the broth"

Indeed. We have been well served by the BDFL. Praise Bob. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Not going to beat a dead cow but latest *big* voting of technical committee speaks for itself:
Debian init case pt. 1
Debian init case pt. 2
Debian's bug #727708: Removal of Ian Jackson from TC