LinuxQuestions.org - is Slackware user-friendly?

- Slackware (https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/slackware-14/)

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Not user friendly at the begining. You can make it very user friendly with "set of wrenches" and patience

Quote:

Originally posted by joshknape
This is what I was afraid of. I have the ability, but no longer the time or patience to go through a Slackware installation as you describe it. I I were still fourteen and playing the DOS command line like a pianist plays a concert grand (disregarding that DOS is not Slackware--I won't insult your intelligence by suggesting that), I would gleefully jump into the Slackware fray. Unfortunately, I am now a college student one year away from graduate school, and am fairly burned out on computers--I think I've been building up to that ever since my first Windows computer "disappeared" my entire year of notes from AP History seven years ago. Even if I weren't, I'll have too many more pressing things to do than manipulate Slackware. Question answered.

I don't think Slackware needs to be too stressful. I try to approach Slackware as a journey, that is, enjoy the ride. Take the time to learn and don't get upset if it doesn't work the first time, it took me several attempts to get Slack installed. However if you have a basic understanding of the command line and can take the time to read documentation you'll get it.
I started in Linux with Caldera OpenLinux 2.3 and Red Hat 9, good beginning distros.
Also, you might want to install Slack on a test machine to start with so that you're still able to use your main computer to do your work. Slack is possibly the most robust, stable distro out there and will run on many PCs. I'm enjoying Linux again, I'm learning new things. The rpm distros do everything for you. It's good to get under the hood and tinker. I'm a slack beginner and love it. I've got Slack running on my Pll 266. Slack works.:D

Installing Slackware on an experimental computer is a good idea. Just tinker in you spare time, you do not need to spend time on it if you do not think that the time is better spent doing something else.

I began to investigate Linux for use at work six years ago. Linux was my first exposure to any Unix or Unix-like operating systems, so I was obviusly a very new user.

Over a period of several months I experimented with all of the major distrbutions on the scene in late 1998 and up through mid 1999. That included Caldera, Debian, the first Mandrake releases, RedHat, SuSE and Turbo-Linux.

Slackware was the one distribution that would install and run on the majority of the collection of old 386, 486 and 1st gen Pentiums I assembled to experiment with various network configurations prior to rolling out a production deployment at work.

In general, Slackware was no more difficult to configure after installation than any of the others, and the fact that it would install where others often would not, was a major "user friendly" factor.

I suppose if you're looking for a single purpose distribution, something like Linspire for home desktops, Clark Connect for firewalls, and CentOS for production servers might be easier to use.

But when you have to administer everything from X terminals to webservers, I think Slackware, as a "general purpose" distribution, is more user friendly that the plethora of more specialized and "auto-magic" distributions available.

So the question, "Is Slackware user-friendly?" can only be answered by defining who the user is, and what his or her needs are.

well, my life is at the non stress free stage. And I got slackware (installed first time) and I love it. Now, I am no linux n00b or even computer n00b- I program, I like the CLI, and I don't mind reading SOME (not all- some) documentation. That said, I'm definitly not a Linux Expert- my programs suck, (my best language is html sigh), I havn't written my own drivers, compiled my own kernel or even gotten the hang of debian. Slackware doesn't FORCE you to learn like LFS, but it LETS you learn, unlike *fill in blank with Gui distro of choice, RH, ubuntu etc*. If you want it to- it will just putter away. It won't die for no reason (only if YOU break it.) so don't break it if you're busy.

Having multiple computers helps.

good luck, and at least give slack a try on your summer break. (or any other linux, for that matter)

titanium_geek