sorry I couldn't resist....

If slackers thought that ubuntu makes people braindead they had better look at this site: http://xibex.blogspot.com/, be sure to have the flash plugin enabled but don't make me responsible if there's any kind of resulting system damage by the act of browsing that site.

eh? What are we supposed to be looking at? Didn't see anything interesting. I think I must have missed the point.

I am a Slacker but I know both. I got a friend into linux via Kubuntu. I understand this completely. When his system plays poorly, I can usually fix what's going on via ssh and determine what the GUIs are doing to the configs. It's through this method I can instruct him and teach myself how to use the GUIs. Backwards, but effective.

Scrooge Mc'Duck once said to work smarter not harder.

To the original poster of this thread.

Take a lesson from your buddy. Install Ubuntu and spend more time studying the basics of Computer Science. It will come in more handy than learning about Acpi Scripts and configuration commands for xorg.conf, wpa_supplicant.conf, and lilo.

Well, damn, what have I been thinking??

If Scrooge McDuck thinks I should use Ubuntu, I guess I'll start downloading now.

of course, because you will never need to know how configure xorg.conf in ubuntu because it never breaks or anything

Old Scrooge was right. It's all depends on you.
O.K. So we are back to square one, use whatever fits you best.

Ubombtu break something, that can't be right, that's inhumane!!

Incorrect.
Take an old monitor that can't be configured automatically (horizontal/vertical refresh rates), and you'll have to edit xorg.conf manually, even on Ubuntu.

for me the site loads really slow, and I don't use adobe flash, I use gnash, and when opening that site my computer suddenly lost responsiveness due to the site spawning like more than five gnash instances, sorta like a ddos

In the end all paths lead back to Slack.

I was being sarcastic in case you didn't noticed

And this elevates Ubuntu above Slackware...how? Using Adobe Flash, it loads and works fine in Firefox and Opera in Slackware 12.1, and I suspect it would work fine in Ubuntu as well using Adobe Flash. Gnash is good from a philosophical standpoint, but it's not ready to handle every page yet (and that's why most people still use Adobe Flash). If you're implying that using gnash in Slackware while browsing that site is worse than using gnash in Ubuntu while browsing that site, I'd take a look at how you built gnash in Slackware instead of looking at Slackware as a whole. But hey, what do I know?

This is an interesting thread.

Several days ago I posted a question asking for opinions about using Slackware as a base operating system in a consulting business. That is, using Slackware as a base free/libre operating system for clients/customers.

Although my thread has gone quiet, I have not been quiet with respect to my original question. Slackware is well known for providing only a base operating system and not a full-fledged system. End-users are expected to massage Slackware into the type of system they want. I have been preparing a web page addressing many issues that a consultant would need to consider if using Slackware as a base operating system.

Typical computer users cannot do this. I defined a typical user in my original thread. These people lack the knowledge, experience, and motivation to build Slackware beyond the original installation. They want to treat a computer as an appliance, not a hobby or profession. They have no desire or inclination to become computer equivalents of Saturday "motorheads."

Although I am progressing with my web page, there is a lot of work involved to build additional packages and customize the base Slackware to create an operating system that could be used by typical users. Two areas remain problematic: 1) a significant lack of prebuilt packages and 2) a lack of automated hardware detection and configuration tools.

Typical users can learn to use a package manager. Yet if the package they want is unavailable then the operating system has failed them. Slackware does not have the repository depth of other distros. An experienced Slacker can build a repository for customers, but that is a lot of work and expense. Customers are unlikely to pay to download custom-built packages when other distros provide this for free.

Similarly, if a person decides to install and support free/libre operating systems for customers, reliable detection and auto-configuration tools are necessary or the person will lose money trying to manually configure every conceivable hardware system that might come along. Typical users are not going to install an operating system. The consultant will do this but needs to work efficiently to keep putting beans on the table. A hobbyist can tinker all afternoon trying to build a package or configure xorg.conf, but a business person cannot. A consultant must be willing to work hard but there is a point of diminishing returns with how much time can be spent trying to configure a box.

Along comes Ubuntu intended to resolve those two issues. Ubuntu is hardly perfect. For Slackers, Ubuntu is obsessively designed to prevent users from tinkering too deep into the system. The Ubuntu phenomenon has standardized the sudo command. (I'm sick of reading how-tos telling me to sudo this and sudo that.) Nonetheless, the Ubuntu community is attempting to resolve certain problematic issues. I am uncertain Slackware can resolve these issues as easily.

In the end, typical users will choose Ubuntu. They want to point-and-click and there is no way to change that. No more than typical people have no desire to change the engine oil on their cars.

I like Slackware. I use Slackware as my primary operating system. Yet as I asked in my original thread, is Slackware a good choice for a person wanting to run a business installing free/libre software? I have my doubts without resolving those two problems I mentioned. That means learning a new distro. Not necessarily Ubuntu, but perhaps OpenSuse or Fedora. OpenSuse or Fedora also have the advantage of absorbing improvements from their business version siblings. A Slacker possesses sufficient knowledge and experience to adapt to those operating systems, but that means Slackware is out of the picture as a core system for the consulting business.

Slackware is a good system to learn how things work. For people who have no desire to open the hood, Ubuntu and other systems make more sense. There is no "right" or "wrong" decision with selecting a free/libre operating system. Each person must define his or her own happiness. If tinkering with computers is fun then consider Slackware. If not, then consider Ubuntu, OpenSuse, or Fedora.

It totally depends on the users (and especially, the one who maintains the machines...).
I'm not a professional, just a hobbyist, so I don't know how it would be in a business environment, but I'll share my experience, although they're all desktops we're talking about (all but one maintained by me).
I installed four distro's on other people's machines (all part of the family, or friends), let's call them A, B, C and D.

A was (and still is) a complete noob, fed up with the hassle and sluggishness of Windows and so I installed Ubuntu (dualboot Ubuntu - WXP). I thought he would learn how to update and maintain the system, which is quite simple on Ubuntu. Reality shows that he doesn't maintain his pc, so when I'm over there, I always update the computer, which takes a lot of time (ever ran Ubuntu? ).
I still regret the installation of Ubuntu, it turns out I have to maintain the machine, which would be a lot easier and faster on Slackware.

B was a noob, but willing to learn, so I installed Ubuntu. He learned. And learned. And so, after a while, he got rid of Ubuntu and installed Zenwalk (recommended by me). He is very happy with he speed and snappiness of Zenwalk (his frustration with Ubuntu was the slowness -he runs an old machine).
I would have recommended Slackware, but his English is very poor (so Slackware won't fit him).

C is an elder person, complete noob. I installed Slackware and when I'm over there, I update the pc with slackpkg and sbopkg, within 15 minutes.
Never any problems, everything works fine.

D is also a complete noob and he's not willing to learn, but also was fed up with Windows and so I installed Slackware (dualboot SW - WXP). He still doesn't know anything about computers (and he doesn't care), but Slack runs fine and he's happy with it. When there are updates, I e-mail him with precise instructions. No problems.