SlackwareThis Forum is for the discussion of Slackware Linux.
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View Poll Results: Report your Slackware Linux and FLOSS experience
Debian was first announced on 16 August 1993 by Ian Murdock, Debian is only a month younger than Slackware.
You see the difference between an announcement and a stable release? In 1993 Slackware 1.0 was done and released. Debian only existed in the minds of some people, their release was three years later in 1996.
You see the difference between an announcement and a stable release? In 1993 Slackware 1.0 was done and released. Debian only existed in the minds of some people, their release was three years later in 1996.
Ah, yes, it does say that:
"The first ports to other, non-i386 architectures began in 1995, and the first 1.x version of Debian was released in 1996."
I answered the poll with "I usually run the latest stable Slackware version " because thats the closest but I don't always upgrade right away. I've had to delay upgrades at times due to lack of $ for hardware (I usually swap in a new drive) or the intel i810 video issue or the missing tap to clock on the touchpad back around version 11.
So I'll wait a while before upgrading.
I first used GNU/Linux in early 2004, specifically Mandrake 9.2. (I burned the CDs in late 2003.) I then used Fedora Core 2, Mandrakelinux 10.0, Fedora Core 34, Debian GNU/Linux 3.1, Ubuntu 5.10 Breezy9.10 Karmic (including Kubuntu and Xubuntu), and briefly in early 2006, openSUSE. I eventually arrived at Gentoo in December 2009 and Arch in April 2010, both of which I still use concurrently on another box.
My first experience with Slackware was version 13.37 in a VM in early 2012. I checked "I am Slackware newbie since 14.0 or the newer one (2012 or later)" because that is the first version I ran on actual hardware.
I run 32-bit (x86) Slackware with FVWM, xdm, SeaMonkey, Vim/gVim (I am writing this post in gVim), and rxvt-unicode from SBo.
I usually run the stable version, but I have had a few brief goes with -current. Very brief. One-night-stands. At my age, too much excitement can be dangerous.
Well, I was in college (5-6 years ago) and was using Window$ XP on my laptop at the time. I had joined a software forum, just to find some better software to try to keep Window$ from degrading so quickly. Someone on there posted about a free trial of Linspire a version of Linux. I had never heard of Linux before (yes, I suppose I was living under a rock), and so I researched it.
At the time I remember cursing Bill Gates almost constantly for making Window$, and I wanted to make or find something better, or something even decent at doing what it's supposed to. Well, here was my chance to try something else, so I burned some disks, mostly Linspire and Fedora Core 4. My XP install was getting worse with each passing day, more viruses every day, something breaking every day ... I cursed it to hell, every day (I'm not exaggerating that much, it was pretty much every day that it pissed me off with something new).
I dual booted Linspire, but the internet wouldn't work. I posted on their support forums, and they had no clue how to fix it. But, I didn't give up. Soon, my XP install was no longer usable, I had to reinstall, and it was near exam time ... curse it to hell ! So, I decided to install Fedora Core 4, and ... everything worked, and I never looked back I have never installed Window$ on any computer since then, and I never will. All my computers will run only Linux or BSD, and I will not compromise in this.
...
My very first distribution was Linspire (curse it to hell) ... luckily I also had a Fedora Core 4 DVD burned and tried that next, so I would consider that my first working Linux distro was Fedora Core 4. Then I used FC 5, FC 6 (failed miserably, so changed quickly), Ubuntu (very short experience), Debian (short), Gentoo (also quite short after my laptop started overheating from the constant compiling), Zenwalk (longer), Slackware 11.0 - 13.1 (with short period of using slamd64 when I switched to 64-bit). There were others I tried in between, but I don't remember too well which ones, I know I've also tried DSL, Puppy, Feather, Arch, and others.
My first Linux is Mandrake Community 10, I used this distribution in 2004 (one or two months). However, this distribution does not accept me, and I installed off-topic. Then, in 2008, I learned about Slackware and had installed now Slackware 12.1 in dual-boot in 2011. Today I use the Slackware 14 only and I is registered Linux user #557010
I is home owner. Thanks for all who is works on Slackware!
Switched from OS/2 to Slackware 3.0 in 1998, and aside from a foray into FreeBSD in 1999-2000 it's been my only desktop OS. Employers have all been Linux shops too, but with the exception of a couple where I was choosing the infrastructure they weren't using Slackware. Currently using Ubuntu at work for development, but I always bring my Slackware laptop with me for personal use.
Many of my friends use (and like) Linux at work, but have Windows desktops at home. I've asked them why, and they've all given similar reasons -- there are games they like to play, or applications their hobbies depend on (like photography or landscaping apps) which only run under Windows.
My own hobbies either depend on apps well-supported by Linux (emacs, gcc, perl) or on apps I've had to write myself anyway, so there's no need for Windows.
I started my Linux experience via Fedora 8 (which is why a retain a soft spot for it to this day), Eventually I tired of it and moved on to Fedora 16 Gnome; I like it well enough as well, but the lack of a word processor really irritated me. For a while, I drifted back to Windows. Then, somehow, I got back to the straight path, Linux, once again, using Fedora 8. That passed quickly enough however, and I wound up distro hopping. I would be in Ubuntu one day, Fedora, the next, then Windows the next day, then Debian the day after that, and then knoppix, and then Windows, OK, you get the point. Well, a couple of months ago I downloaded Slack, and put it into a virtual machine on a Windows laptop. I then wound up with it fully installed on a Sony VAIO, Ubuntu on a Dell Studio, and Windows on a Toshiba Satellite. At the present: I have Slack on both the VAIO and the Studio, with Windows, (Due to programs that I need) running on the Toshiba. However, the Toshiba has multiple VMs, slack included on it
Slackware was a challange for me, I was an avid distro hopper, and after pouring my heart and soal into my system I do not feel like changing it. I think Slackware quit my distro hopping habit. (a broken hdd help me out a lot too lol)
Distribution: Slackware (personalized Window Maker), Mint (customized MATE)
Posts: 1,309
Original Poster
Rep:
esteeven,
You are the first explicit distro hopper in our poll. So you filled the last gap in the poll. Now each option is selected at least once. Mission accomplished! You can stop distro hopping and stay with Slackware forever.
My problem is that I am lucky enough to have more than one computer. I don't have a "main" workstation and I often wipe a partition and install a different distro on a whim (I removed Slackware the other day and installed Crunchbang - just because I wanted to see how fast it installed! It was very fast and very efficient) - safe in the knowledge that I have access to at least one other stable computer.
I know that I do not need to do this to test a different distro but I hate having more than a single distro on a computer (don't ask. I know --- it's odd. I've given up trying to work out why and I just go with this personality flaw )
Some say I waste too much time doing this but I say that I am always learning and have reached the happy state where I am distro neutral and the most important thing is that I can do my work.
Having said this, I have not installed a version of Windows on one of my own computers for a quite a number of years and I am being drawn to another Slackware install. I can hear the install DVD calling me. I'm not sure I can fight it.
Last edited by esteeven; 04-18-2013 at 11:41 AM.
Reason: typos
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