Rant from a former Windows user, thank you Slackware
 

First, I would like to apologize because I think this might be a bit long and second, sometimes, my english isn’t very good and I might end up being gramatically incorrect or repeating myself.

I am not a big time Linux user, I grow up with Windows (from 98 to 8.1) and I think the first distro I tried was some Ubuntu version back in 2007-2008 and I really liked although I never really used a Linux distro full time, I always ended up going to my comfortable zone, Windows. I tested many distros and, if I am not mistaken, Slackware was the second distro I installed (12.0? I don’t know, can’t remember). I might have been a complete noob back then but installing it was pretty easy, just reading tutorials on the internet and reading the installation process. I was with a distrohop fever I could never really be fully happy with one of them, it is not their fault I think it was just me with a biased thinking that Linux is a perfect OS, and every little misbehaviour or unexpected things would annoy me. Yet again, I kept coming back to Windows. That was around 2009-2010, I guess.

Regardless of not being using Linux I was always reading stuff about it because, even if I couldn’t use as my main OS, I kept some admiration for it and the FOSS philosophy. At some time, I even became some radical free software advocate and was considering using distros like Trisquel, completely free distros. Today I see that as a bit of a radical vision and, please, lets leave this discussion for another thread.

At that time, Windows was still my main OS and I kept doing dual-boots with a distro Linux of choice but never staying. I think the maximum I used was something like 3 months using Debian but every little mistake or misbehaviour of a distro would make me come back to Windows. But something changed by the end of 2013, I was using Windows 8.1 and was completely unhappy about it, not the system per si, I have no problems with not having a classical menu, stuff like that. What was keeping me unhappy was that, regardless of having a decent machine, the system was often sluggish. Comparing to other friends that also use Windows 8.1 I think it might be my HD.

Regardless of that, I decided to try Linux once more but this time I decided to use Slackware, rememer I tried it before? Even at that time, being a complete noob I already really liked Slackware and its phylosophy at that point, I wanted to be in control of my machine and I wanted to play around with it, I am a geek after all. I decided that I wouldn’t come back to my comfort zone if I didn’t know something or for any system misbehaviour. That was in November 2013.

I guess that for all the time I distrohopped I wasn’t a complete noob anymore but still a noob in my things, if you check my previous threads you gonna see a lot of nooby questions. In the end, today (by April 2014) all the persistence was rewarded! I am still a noob in many things but today I am able do edit scripts, customize my packages, I understand more how a Linux system works, the directory tree, how a compiler works, I can every once in a while find my own solutions to problems, I can upgrades packages from source myself, create my own scripts, things like that. Even being still on a noob level I feel like I learned a lot in the past 5 months and learning is always awesome!

I think you all know about that somewhat cliché (it might not be that much a of a cliche after all) that states that “If you learn a Linux distro you learn that distro, if you learn Slackware you learn Linux”, although I believe that if you dedicate enough you can learn Linux on about any distro but I am glad that it happened with Slackware and, to be honest, Slackware makes it easier, I feel like I can do whatever I want with it, I can dominate the world! (well not really), the freedom it gives, Slackware is always telling you “Do it youself” and that is something I really like about it. So, I would like to specially thank Patrick Volkerding for working on it for more than 20 years! That is just freaking amazing, thank you man. I would like to thank Alien Bob for all his work, that really helps me. And I would like to thank everyone that uses or contributes with the distribution. It is not like you are less important it is just because Pat is Pat :P and Alien’s Bob work was what helped (and it still helps) me the most. I couldn't thank you enough for such an awesome work.

Thanks for reading :)

I hear what you're saying. Although I have never been a Windows user, I make my living using Macs all day (print industry). I have been using Linux off-and-on since about 1999. I don't use it in any kind of professional capacity, just general usage. But I have found over the years that Slackware is the only distro that doesn't ultimately disappoint me and piss me off in one way or another. Once I set up my system the way I want it, everything works as it should, and stays that way. There are no minor annoyances that agitate my (mild, computer-related only) OCD. If something breaks, it's only because I did something stupid.

I'm in linux for 4-5 years and I started with Ubuntu. After distrohopping period, I've used Debian for 2-3 years until last summer. Then I "discovered" Slackware and fell in love with it :D
I don't like other distros because they update all packages or don't update anything :D
I love this unix-style philosophy "update apps, don't touch system" :)

Another thing I forgot to tell: I love this community, the Slackware community. There is some sense of freedom I feel while using Slackware that I don't get with other systems, it is just great. With time, I left that "perfect OS" way of thinking behind and learned to deal with Linux flaws, and accept them. I too have an OCD about this type of thing, still fighting against it.

Just so you know, deblobbing Slackware is relatively painless (as long as hardware support is there, duh). There is nothing radical about distrusting binary-only code. Blob vendors have been shown time and time again to insert malware, with no repercussions when they get caught, so it's fair to assume they are all doing it now.

I see it as radical because I still can't live without them. I can't find ogg for all the songs I like, I still need Flash to watch youtube and I still need Silverlight (pipelight) to watch Netflix. Other than that, I still have a Windows (original) installed for games. I would like to live in a world that all I use would be free/open software but I would have to private myself off a lot of things I like to do that.

Of course. I am entirely on your side. All I am saying, actually, is that with only a minimal effort, Slackware can be turned into an OS as free as Trisquel, and this is a great option to have at your disposal :cool:

I still didn't made up my mind about that, I do love free/open software, community developed software, stuff like that but often I don't see proprietary software as the devil some people claim but again I still didn't take a side, sometimes I don't even think I have to take one. Anyways, lets keep this discussion to another thread :) Here, the most important part, is how thankful I am for Slackware :D

So - welcome aboard!! (and yes, I _know_ you have been here for a while)
I used to be the archtypical distro-hoe - couldn't wait for the next shiniest toy to come along ...
Then something happened - not suddenly, like - but over a period of - ohhh - probably a couple of years.
Now I just can't be bothered any more - Slackware gives me everything I want (and then some) - my distro-hopping days are well and truly over!

Awesome! I also love this community. I've been with this forum for 10 years. :-)

I'm still a Windows user, but only because I use it for tasks Linux can't at the moment. I also use FreeBSD as well and OmniOS (Illumos). Every OS has it's own niche it's better at than others are, but Linux is an OS that grows on you.