My slackware 12 review
 

Since they dont have a slackware 12 review option on the review part I wrote my own. http://deadfool.wordpress.com/2007/0...re-120-review/ What do you guys think about it? Was i too hard or easy on it. Any feed back is welcome.

Nice review. Didn't understand the sentence:

A 'years' missing there I think. Anyway good review but grammar and typos should be checked a bit more :)

just a little bit biased ;)

thanks I must have overlooked that and a few others. Thanks for the heads up, it makes me look less foolish

little bit of a bias, but can't say where :D

also, Slackware 12 might not have Beryl, but it does have Compiz (and they're merging into Compiz Fusion )

Not sure how this is the fault of Slackware. Nvidia's drivers are closed source and that is down to Nvidia themselves, not Pat.

oh its not slacks fault at all. I just thought that it would be nicer if it would be in by default. but i dont think it can be done legally.

It seems a limited review in that it mostly centers around apps, packages. And, sometimes the rating is done on the basis of which package(s) "should" be shipped with Slackware.

It must be a review that is targeted for those of us who already know the direction that Slackware takes?

A very good job that you did of the package/app reviews.

I've not yet time to install 12.0. But, I will soon, though.

I've not yet tried 12.0. But, on the basis of "Slackware being Slackware" or, IOW, (with release version 12.0) "how well are we keeping up with the Slackware tradition?"

On this, that latter, I rate Slackware 12.0 as an eleven points out of a possible ten points.

Is there a vision and/or mission/purpose statement somewhere that proclaims and/or declares Slackware's purpose or what it is that Slackware is all about?

I *might* call Slackware as being more than just a Linux distro. Slackware is a direction, a wise one I think, for those who either already know or are willing to learn the Linux way.

It's **so** easy for me to customize Slackware to my own liking. Slackware build scripts exist all over the place available for free. And they work so reliably well.

I await the day that I get more around to its so that I've sufficient enough time to learn how to make my own Slackware package, say, using makepkg

From this eaze of customizability aspect, there's no sense for the overhead of maintaining x number of apps to fall upon those who release Slackware 12.0. So, instead, let them do the important stuff (of which I'm absolutely certain that they have done).

Not that packages aren't important. They are. But (whatever the wizards did) ie upgrade/update the 12.0 tool chain, latest Xorg ver., add_the_rest_here.

I called them Wizards because to me they are. The keenest of developers. Nothing less. I can write a script kid bash or Perl script once in a while. But such development as what those who have released Slackware 12.0 have accomplished -- this sort of a development is a staggering thing to me. It's like "abra cadabra" how did they do that. I can only comment that it must've taken copious amounts of elbow grease not to mention the amount of computer science programming experience and knowlege also needed.

The eaze of customizability of Slackware could be seen/rated as a positive attribute. (unless one doesn't already know this and also is not interested in learning it).

As I understand it, Slack "is" because Slack does. IOW Slackware leaves you with more Slack time to spend however you want "because Slackware is so dauntless, runs forever". IOW I admin the Slack box not because I want to spend time working on it but because I have users of whom I want them to use it. And, use it they do. And, use it they do. And, admin it I not.

Slackware deserves the "Slack" in Slackware. Once set up, then very little admin. Run run run. Long time.

Well, my 11.0 Slackware box runs so well. Soon I'll try 12.0.

--
Alan.

I wrote my own biased review, geared toward the things I like ;) and it showed up on the review page yesterday, but not today! I put it in the LQ "Review" section. It isn't really a review for the masses, but hey, I'm not the masses! Two thumbs up for being biased! But the word "full" does imply that all others are considered.
ta0kira

review and slack12 problems
 

Like the review, however, i did have problems compiling the nvidia drivers (version 100.14.11)on a fresh - standard install...(standard in that i used the generic 2.6 kernel supplied.

The error generated by the nvidia installer related to the fact that the modules where actually for the smp kernel.

It was pretty easy (and time consuming) to re-compile the kernel modules from the old-config and install them in place of the ones that where there.


cd /usr/src/linux/
make mrproper
copy your current kernel config from /boot into /usr/src/linux as .config
make oldconfig
make modules
make modules_install

I am just a bit dissapointed that a problem like this could make it through to a release iso.

I downloaded the DVD a little while ago so that may be part the problem, and perhaps it has been rectified by now.

In the end, i found it to be more of an inconvenience than anything else, and the distro still "ROCKS". I guess allot of slack users end up re-compiling their kernel anyhows!

Cheers Greg

Whewwwwww!
 

If you are installing Slackware 12 and doing your first boot and the bootup hangs, it's probably because the kernel they are using is the one-size-fits-all brand. Just so happens I had a 2.6.21.3 kernel ready to go and was able to setup a /test directory and make adjustments to the lilo.conf file to point to the customized vmlinux kernel.

In your case, I'm not sure what to recommend other than try to either compile a stripped down kernel to use or find a bare 2.6.21.3 kernel or something similiar.

Have a great day

- perry

Well said:
 

Thats about it.

- perry