Hi all,

So I saw online that Slackware supports its versions going back to 13.0, although when glancing at the Security advisories, it says a new package for some Firefox vulnerabilities have been issued for 14.1. Do versions like 13.0 or 13.1 have full security support and get things like Firefox upgrades, like how other distros support their versions until EOL?

Grazia!

Yes. To check, register to the Slackware-security mailing list: http://www.slackware.com/lists/

See also the ChangeLog for Slackware64 13.0, as an example: http://slackware.mirrors.ovh.net/ftp.../ChangeLog.txt

It doesn't seem Firefox has been changed since 2012 since 3.6 was EOL'd. Do they update Firefox once the version an old release originally came with hits EOL?

If updates won't compile on an old version, then that version doesn't get updates. I'd say support is complete for 14.x.

We're considering an EOL date for 13.x (maybe April 1st?)

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Good to know putting the system on 13.x would likely result in my needing to upgrade the system in a few months. Many thanks!

Scratches head.

Why would you install 13.x on a new system in 2016? Are you upgrading from 12.x or something? Some third-party thing that requires a 2.6.x kernel?

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I have a 2005 Dell system, and running things even with XFCE can be a little clunky. Linux from 2009/2010 ran considerable better on it than stuff does now, due to natural bloat.

That's wrong... Linux is not 'heavier' than before, the only thing that can be heavier is your web browser...

The "heaviness" is more usage which tend to use more memory and more process at the same time... If you have an old computer, Slackware 14.2 should be as fast as 13.*... In itself... Of course if you use KDE you might need more resource, if you absolutely want to use firefox that's the same (and blame web developpers who build websites which consumes always more memory)...

Linux in itself, as a kernel, and all the GNU userspace doesn't "spend more resources" than 10 years ago... "cat" command doesn't take more process time.

If you want Slackware to be "fast" on a old machine, simply avoid launching "heavy" processes (such as KDE or firefox)...

I'm regularly installing Slackware on legacy hardware, and my Xfce-based desktop is as fast on 13.37 as it is on -current. No noticeable differences.

It might be a good idea to check what services you have running and eliminate those you either don't want at all or only "on demand" since "natural bloat" is NOT natural on Slackware. Lets be specific, upon installation you are given a choice of what services you'd prefer up and running upon each boot. Perhaps you didn't know hat you wanted and checked many or even all and if you have clunkiness this could be why. Also check your favorite app that displays what is chewing up RAM and CPU cycles.

FWIW I have an ancient Sony laptop featuring a PII 433MHz (yup...."M" ! ) and maxed out at 256 MB RAM. It boots exceedingly slow with any OpSys but once up Slack 13.37 runs smoothly and not at all painful once I trimmed out non-essentials.

Well, I've got two Dell Dimension 8400s that date from 2004 that work just fine with Slackware 14.1 (and, by the way, with Firefox). The only thing I've done with them is install 4G RAM in each; didn't and won't bother with extended RAM, don't really need it.

The Slackware installation is "install everything" and I keep them up to date with security and performance patches as they become available.

Compared to my "work" machine, a Dell Optiplex 780, a 64-bit box with 16G RAM, they're not speed demons but they're not slouches either. There' is also a Dell Inspiron 1750 laptop that performs just about in the middle between the 88400s and the 780 (laptops just ain't speed demons either in the range I have).

I do run Xfce on all of them, don't care much for KDEs eye candy (and its overhead) and the 8400s are sitting in a closet mumbling to themselves being data base servers, been running since '04, will keep running until they die and get replaced with something new but they will always be full install Slackware whenever a new release comes along.

Hope this helps some.

You probably don't want to run a current KDE on old hardware, but Linux itself seems to run as well on older hardware as it ever has. My family's 11 year old Athlon has been running Slackware 14.1 quite nicely, even with Firefox as the browser, but we use XFCE as the default desktop.

I too am curious as to what you have running or are trying to run. I just "upgraded" to a core2 duo from a pentiumD (circa2006) and my usual desktop of mate, fluxbox, a browser etc ran just as fast on the pentiumD as on the core2 machine.

This big difference is the core2 machine has 8 gigs of ram instead of 4, later versions of firefox eat a lot of ram and my old pentiumD machine would sometimes run out and start swapping, which does seem painfully slow. Running the latest current.

2008 vintage Thinkpad X61s with BIOS set to run just one core and with a single 512Mb RAM card in as a test.

Runs XFCE4 DE OK with some swapping (a few Mb) when using Firefox. Responsiveness can be increased by using custom entries to the 'hosts' file to cut out some of the more intrusive remotely served animated adverts found on many Web pages. Installing the 'noscript' plug in can further increase responsiveness. I just 'allow' Web sites that I visit regularly (e.g. BBC).

Other applications seem to run fine unless doing something ambitious with huge files.

While I heartily agree that Slackware is in no way "heavier" even with vast improvements KDE 4 is considerably more complicated and heavier than KDE 3. I do not subscribe to the FUD that "KDE has gone to hell in a handbasket" but I frankly do wish v3 was still available. I'd give up all the improvements made since 3, including Dolphin over Konqueror, just to have that simpler . far more intuitive Desktop. Smartphones are a wonder unto themselves but they surely did compromise PCs.