Happy 25th Birthday, Slackware

storkus · 07-18-2018, 05:21 AM

I read the changelog around a half hour ago and posted a comment on opensource.com article, but it really needs to be here.

I've been using Slackware since...well, I actually don't remember the release but I remember the kernel was .9x. I had a 386SX later upgraded to a a packard-hell 486DX2-50 (hard to believe I remember that) in '95 or so? Even bought it used at some white-box computer sore (remember those?). I was introduced to UNIX in college and since Slackware maintained several BSD-isms (even to this day) I found it fairly easy to configure and use on a generic PC with no special hardware.

Another thing about Slackware is that it will install on computers that nothing else will, especially laptops. Many laptops I've had will not only not install the BSDs (wouldn't even get past the bootloader) but even Ubuntu and Debian have trouble (though at least they booted).

While I use Android for my smartphone and a specialty distro for my Rpi-based Zumspot, and am forced to use winblows at work (where I'm writing this), all my other machines run Slackware--always have and likely always will as long as it remains around! It's reasonably secure (especially these days) and RELIABLE, and runs fine on older hardware.

Speaking of which, I'm not rich and run primarily older PC hardware, but I've been on the CD/DVD list for many years now and buy shirts and stuff. I can't afford to support most projects, but this is one I make sure to.

Finally I want to put a shout out to Pat(*), Eric, and everyone else who works on Slackware. Thank you all for it and here's to another 25 years!

Mike

*I met Pat at I think the 1st or 2nd LinuxCon in San Jose, I think in 1998! There was an absolute doppleganger impersonator of Bill Gates on stage that fooled almost everyone before Linus himself came out that year!

TheTKS · 07-18-2018, 10:24 AM

Happy birthday to Slackware and many thanks to Pat, Erik, Robby and the others who have made this such an enjoyable and stable distro to use!

Slackware is my favourite distro, as a home user who likes to tinker - and Slackware gives you the freedom to learn a little or a lot, as you prefer. Started with easy-for-noobs Linuxes late 2016, intimidated by Slackware at first, did a lot of distro hopping (and still keep an eye on developments), but I’ve found my favourite few Linux distros and BSDs, and Slackware is at the top of the list. I intend to keep using Slackware until I or it expire.

TKS

nobodino · 07-22-2018, 08:45 AM

I would lie if I'd said Slackware isn't my favourite distro.
I like it so much I decided to build it from scratch some time ago (for those who follow my experiences).
It has been my first distro for such a long time, a time when there was not much internet, 1994 or 1995 I don't remember exactly when, there were only diskettes.
Forty diskettes it costs to me, a buddy allowed me to copy the distro he had. It was rather difficult for me at that time, I was'nt born with computers.
But with this distro, the learning curve was harsh, it took some time before I could say I understood it a little bit.
As many people on that forum, I experienced many other distros like Redhat, Mandrake, Debian, Zenwalk, Ubuntu, Linux Mint.., some BSD like TrueBSD, some MacOS (more Hackintosh than real MacOS), and LFS which made me come back to my very first and ultimate distro Slackware.
All my machines are multiboot machines with Slackware, Linux Mint (for my wife and my children it's what they use at school so they keep the same environment).
My own machine has all sorts of Slackware versions (current and 14.2): x86, x86_64, SFS, mini-slackware without x, mini-slackware with x..., nearly 25 partitions on multiple disks.

Thanks to all those who made me happy with linux, happy with Slackware.

Long life to slackware in this harsh time.

Lysander666 · 07-22-2018, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nobodino

But with this distro, the learning curve was harsh

Here here. I think of it as a 5/1 gradient, it was with me, at least. Very interesting to read about what it was like back in the early 90s. It must have taken some patience to get the thing installed from 40 disks. And how interesting that you built it from scratch as well. Fascinating.

Jeebizz · 07-22-2018, 09:56 AM

My introduction to Slackware was in '99; and the machine I had was a triple boot system:

Windows98-SE
WindowsNT4.0 Workstation
Slackware7.0

LILO was not the primary boot loader either. It was NTLDR, that gave me the option to go into either of the listed OS.

Unfortunately at that time, I hardly paid much attention to Slackware it was just there. I didn't really go full Slack until around '04 with Slackware 10.

chess · 07-24-2018, 04:10 PM

Slackware turned 25 and I'm about to turn 50. Both still truckin along. ;-)

Been using it since late 90's/early 2000's and I love that it hasn't really changed all that much.

gus3 · 07-24-2018, 10:09 PM

Slackware turned 25, and as it turns out, none of the freely-available, official *BSD variants are any older. It's just a matter of a few months, but all the *BSD's are a few weeks younger than Slackware. Plus, the first Debian release was in that time frame.

Slackware, NetBSD, Debian, Open&FreeBSD. That isn't chronological, but c'mon, FIVE freely available versions of Unix+Linux? I give you a visual depiction of this philosophical singularity:

Code:

/usr/libexec/xscreensaver/galaxy -count 5

Look at those 5 entities drawing together, then exploding themselves into the cosmos. (It might take a few tries, but you'll see it eventually.) That's how the Unix philosophy invaded the new modern computing: by using the right tools, both simple and complicated, we can get this machine to work the way WE want it to work.

Sometimes, it's the "editorial 'we'" that really means just me. And sometimes, it's the "we" as in "we at Samsung" or "we at $CABLE_MODEM_MANUFACTURER" or "we at TiVo" or "we at Cyanogenmod". The pieces and parts get replaced here & there, but somehow the Unix philosophy of connecting tools to get things done has pushed back against systemic hegemony & dependency.

The recent, turbulent past in both sides has left Microsoft desperate to get a foothold in modern embedded systems. Their only hope now is to put Windows 10 on any Raspberry Pi... which is only barely working. The majority of Raspberry Pi hackers prefer Raspbian Linux, or embedded, or a RTOS.

The VMS (later Microsoft) hope for total dominance has failed. Different people want different things. The Unix way is what brings it to them.

Go big? Go small? Slackware did, at the best possible time.

Alvin Chey · 02-12-2019, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lysander666

On 17th July, 1993, Patrick Volkerding announced Slackware 1.0. Now, 25 years later, it's still here and still going strong, as is its BDFL.

EDIT: some articles:

https://opensource.com/article/18/7/...-linux-distro/

The article above is not found in the website, but article is found in pg 81 of the Opensource.com Yearbook 2018 PDF

https://opensource.com/article/19/2/...-download-now/

slackerDude · 02-12-2019, 11:49 PM

Yet another long-time user. Started in 1993 or 1994. Needed Linux to run at home - had SunOS/Solaris at school, previous experience with AIX and SCO Unix and needed to work from home!

I first got the Transameritech CD, I believe, so I guess Slackware 1.1 was my first? Just kept going from there. Went to RedHat 7.3 at one point (we used it at work) for a few months, tried Suse for a week or something and couldn't make heads or tails of it.. Always came back to Slackware.

Dual-booted windows for a good long time, but for the last 5-7 years, just Slackware as my primary home desktop (we use Red Hat / CentOS at work).

Thanks Patrick, and all the other people over the years who have helped!

Lysander666 · 02-13-2019, 03:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alvin Chey

The article above is not found in the website, but article is found in pg 81 of the Opensource.com Yearbook 2018 PDF

https://opensource.com/article/19/2/...-download-now/

A nice touch of that article is starting off the first sentence with PV's name, ensuring it's emboldened. That's an effective writing trick and a way to get PV a little more attention and recognition.

EDIT: it is still up, but the URL has changed:

https://opensource.com/article/18/7/stackware-turns-25

EDIT2: There's an interesting article on first-time installations. Here is the subsection for Slackware on pages 15-16 for those who are averse to digging for it before their second cup of coffee [the numbers don't relate to the ages of the participants, but the article references]:

Quote:

Slackware

Tony McCormick [19] writes:

It was exciting to be able to use a Unix like OS at home
so I could run Perl and Bash scripts. During the installation,
there were lots of 3 1/2” floppy drives and flipping through
the Yggdrasil Linux book to figure out how to compile things.
Getting dial-up working so I could login at to the office was
fun too, but great.

Peter Czanik [20] writes:

My first Linux kernel version was 0.99.11 or 0.99.13. Of
course, I don’t remember by heart, but it was Slackware, and
it was not yet kernel 1.0. It was a pretty basic installation, as
my machine did not have much RAM. It was good enough
for a text console and to learn the basics: bash, init scripts,
server applications, reading tons of man pages. My first Linux
install involved many floppy disks. And, I actually had to
reinstall it a couple of times as DR-DOS (the other OS on
the machine) and rearrange partition numbers on each boot.

Steve Morris [21] writes:

I was another of those early Slackware users; I picked it up
at a local Comdex show in Vancouver. I rushed home and
proceeded to install the 24 or so floppy disks on my PC.
After what seemed like hours later, I was left with a command-line
shell. All I could remember about that first experience is, “Now what do I
do?” It lasted on the machine
for about three months before it was mothballed and I
purchased a copy of Red Hat Linux 5.0 on CD.

Kevin Cole [22] writes:

I started with an ancient Slackware distribution sold by a
company called Trans-America. I cannot recall the kernel but
the era was circa 1993-1994. The thing I remember most
was that halfway through the install, I had to switch CDs and
when I did, it said: “What’s a CD?” (It could no longer find the
driver.) Thankfully, even back then, there was an online community
willing to help and someone lent me to a floppy that
would allow me to continue. That first install was... “OMG,
I’ve got a friggin’ mainframe on my desk!” I wrote more about
that adventure in this article [23].

Andy Thornton [24] writes:

Pre-version 2, I remember the buzz around a new 2.0 kernel
coming out! I installed Slackware because I had met a mate
in Boston who showed me around it, and I had to build a box
when I got home. I used it entirely from the shell and it went on
to be a MUD server I hosted out of my bedroom. I had a script
to dial my internet provider during off-peak hours to save on bills
(this was in the UK). I spent an entire weekend downloading the
equivalent of 80 floppy disks on a 54k modem, and once I had it
all down, I transferred it to a Jazz drive from Iomega so I had a
copy. I would pray no one rang the house during the download
as it would break and I would have to recover it or start all over
again. I will admit, it was a fun weekend.

Daniel Oh [25] writes:

My first install was Slackware, and it took a lot of time for
me to stand up Linux. I got used to doing hands-on stuff
with Windows, but it was so exciting to try out open source
technology. There were many floppy drives involved with my
first installation, and I had to use a few Linux books to learn
how to build, install, and configure all matters of the OS programs.
It took a lot of time but it was really fun for me.

mlangdn · 02-13-2019, 06:14 AM

Happy Birthday Slackware!