Why do IT pros use long outdated versions of Linux while we're told to keep updating and upgrading?
 

I'm still learning.I've been using Lubuntu forever, but I'm going to try again at learning Slackware. Even the striped down version of Ubuntu is updating daily as bad as Windows. I checked in with my local uni's computer science department and many of their professors were using long outdated versions of linux, one was using Slackware 12.0.
Non of these A**wholes seemed to have the time or energy to answer a few simple questions. This was after hours.

1.So how long can you safely use an older version Slackware.

2.Why are there so many updates from these other linux versions?

Thanks
Wally

Depends on what your uses are and what level of security you want to have. Once a stable version is released, it will likely only see security/bug updates. Once it hits EOL (End Of Life), it is unlikely to see any future updates, but it can still be used.

Because software bugs and vulnerabilities are found and fixed, on top of normal development. More and more software are being included in distros, which means more and more updates.

Some users care deeply about the security. Others care deeply about the latest and greatest. Even some others care about stability. And some just want a working system and to not touch it again. Each users will likely have some balance of each, but you can't have it all. You need to find what works best for you and your workflow.

You can safely use an older version of Slackware if it's still receiving security updates. For example Slackware 14.0 is receiving updates. Older versions are not.

The number of updates isn't a bad thing. The updates provide security patches for vulnerabilities and improved functionality.

It seems you have much to learn.

Firstly, academics at a university can hardly be called "IT Professionals."
Secondly, I don't think anyone would respond positively to being pestered after hours. Ask your questions during normal working hours. Don't expect people to be at your beckoning after hours. They have lives too, you know. Calling them names doesn't help.
It depends upon what you're doing with it. Slackware 12.0 is now a digital antique, and I'd only feel comfortable using it on a machine not connected to the internet. There were some big paradigm shifts in online security which happened in 2014 & 2015 and so it is my opinion that any Operating System from before those years should be avoided at all costs... or at least kept well away from the internet.

Wherever possible, I've upgraded all of my installations to Slackware 15, and regularly check for updates. I'd recommend that you do the same. Don't follow the actions of a luddite academic.
Two reasons:

First and most importantly: Security.

Secondly: Hardware changes.

Thank all of you for your replies.
rkelsen, I use the term A**wholes because it most readily applies. When I say after hours, I mean after class during times that their supposed to be in their offices answering questions! This lazy profs are never teaching. They let unprepared grad students do that. I'm paying more than enough tuition to have a couple of simple questions answered.

I worked in large organizations for many years.

Inertia is one of the most powerful forces in organizational dynamics. I suspect that it's the primary factor in the case of the individuals you mentioned.

On an organizational level, updating the computer structure of even a small organization is an extremely complex process. Sysadmins must manage the process in such a way that the new systems come on line without disrupting the day-to-day functioning of the organization and that, when the new system goes live, system users can continue doing their jobs without interruption. (I have a friend who sysadmins a middle-sized thin-client network in the enterprise. Managing a system upgrade--right now he's doing testing to implement a new server--while keeping the current system working gives him four-star headaches.)

As an aside, I find that Linux updates are in no way nearly so annoying as Windows updates. You can install Linux updates and continue to use your computer to get stuff done, and reboots are rarely needed--only when you get a kernel update.

Just my two cents.

This is partly true, but the answer depends upon what you are using your machine for.

Yes, Slackware 14.0 to 14.2 are still supported with security updates, but all those updates rely on usable updates from upstream providers.

Are you using Firefox on a Slackware 14 system? If so, you might have noticed that it was a long time since you last got a security update of Firefox. This is because newer Firefox versions no longer builds from source with the old libraries of the Slackware 14 versions.

The same applies to kernel updates, when the long time support versions of the Linux kernel that was shipped with a Slackware version gets EOL that Slackware version will no longer get any kernel security updates.

So even if your Slackware version is still supported, some components might have become EOL.

regards Henrik

Depends on how you use it. Also if you want to carelessly use your computer, and want it foolproof, you probably have to be updated all the time. And even completely updated you can have security problems. People who know what they are doing, and are more careful can use outdated software almost forever without security problems.

for example, I've used Win7 daily without any updates in 5 years (after they introduced those combined updates). But I stripped it down (removed every SMB protocol, disabled windows scripting host, both automatic and manually, removed IE engine, etc etc and used an in/out firewall, and mostly disabled scripting in the webbrowser). Plus I'm a little paranoid with software, which helps ;). Never had any issues. Plenty of others who probably do the same.

Most security issues happen with stuff that do things automatically behind your back. the rest is PEBCAK, or a user didn't pay attention with for example attachments, security certificates, etc. ( this can however happen to anyone if working under stress, or being in a hurry or whatever)

Same goes for Linux. And with Slackware there is even less stuff that does stuff behind your back. So if you have a proper firewall, have reasonably sane choices in security setup, then the only problem, security wise, could be with browsing and attachments. I.o.w., you can use it almost forever.

2.
These days Linux distro's consists of many frameworks and applications. Since linux distro's these days contain so many packages, it's normal that if an install consists of many packages, there will always be many updates. If you do a minimal install, there will obviously be less daily updates.

And the profs most likely not paid for teaching, and in most cases taking time out to teach actually impairs their ability to preserve their job let alone get ahead. Getting ahead means documented research and that entails not just the research but the hunt for external funding. Many leave because that combination means at least 90-hour weeks, just to tread water. Check your institution's budget: Your tuition is almost certainly disappearing in pointless administrative costs. Such overhead costs have ballooned for decades during an era when there are no net increases in the number of students. Note also that Windoze licenses (instead of Kerberos + OpenLDAP) and multi-million dollar M$ support contracts add to those ballooning costs. It's a cascade of bad decisions. Throw in a little Cisco (instead of wireguard) and Oracle (instead of postgresql) and you'd quickly be surprised that there is anything left over at all for core activities like libraries and faculty.

Back to the software, as others have mentioned the version in use is less important than the fact that those versions are still getting security updates. In a production environment, especially one as high pressure and fast paced as a university (I assume a university here and not a college) there is no point in constantly fiddling with arbitrary changes. Keeping the same version (and patching it) for as long as possible enables the established work flow to be utilized for the maximum period of time possible. There is little time and they have to choose: chase new versions and waste time getting back to where they were before, or patch an old version and keep working at full speed.

I use ruario's latest-firefox.sh script (for which I am grateful) to download and repackage the binaries that Firefox/Mozilla give out for my 32bit 14.2 Slackware installation. You can of course just download the binaries from Firefox/Mozilla and unpack those - even to your /home/user and run them from there.

Offtopic: speaking as a safely retired teacher, students who come with questions about homework or assignments having done some research, perhaps a literature survey, and who are prepared to show that they have tried a few solutions by themselves are always welcome and helped. Students who simply demand explanations without evidence of any expenditure of time and effort are politely re-directed to the library.

Speaking as a former grad student, demanding answers about my personal tools, when you aren't on my committee would probably get you an equally curt answer. (And even then, my doctoral committee didn't give two craps about what OS I used.) And if they aren't teaching you anything, it might be best to move on to a different department or major.

True. I should have said that you can, generally speaking, safely use Slackware 14.0 on the Internet keeping in mind that some applications may have issues. Having said that I run Slackware64-15.0 and Slackware64-current.

I know this is a Slackware specific question, and I'm not a slack-er. I think the question is really generally related to Linux.

Disclaimer: My oldest currently running OS is probably a year old. But that's not because I'm concerned about security; I just play a lot. So maybe I don't have a dog in this conversation. That doesn't mean I would be concerned about a 4-5 year old OS.

There's no sense being too worried about updates. Doing them daily is certainly overkill. I run updates on my 4 Linux systems about once a month, on no strict schedule. I just sit in my bed and ssh into each from my bed-laptop. Mostly, I only care about security updates, but it's as fast to just update everything. If there's a kernel update, I reboot.

I also don't stress over upgrades. If a new major version of my distro comes out, it'll probably be months before I actually upgrade, giving the devs time to work out the kinks. In the meantime, I just keep clicking away, maintaining my monthly-ish updates as usual.

In my time working in the education sector, many of the IT guys were the Stallman types, content to stay in their closet-offices, with the glow of their monitors, hidden from the rest of society. Working in the private sector now, 20 years later, the types of people I work with are much different, often preferring to cohabitate and be social creatures. I would have assumed the same in education.

I am a newbie at looking under the hood at linux. I thank everyone for their answers. I am just beginning to understand linux by installing Slackware and in the future look forward to asking more substantial questions.
My major isn't compsci. Just taking courses in the field as electives.
Having said that, the purpose of a college or university is to TEACH. If that is too hard for the academics, then maybe they should be doing something else. I think the American people are waking up the uselessness of most colleges and uni's. I know I am. I may have been born at night but, it wasn't last night!

Thank you for your question, beancounterx!.
I have a soft spot for an application beeing under constant development for 20 years, probably programmed on a Linux with a GCC 5.5.0 compiler.
When building this application there is a final "make check" opportunity. A tests suite of 30 calculations will all pass on Slackware 14.2 (GCC 5.5.0) where, on the contrary, several of the tests not will succeede if the application is compiled on a relatively new PC with Slackware 15 installed (GCC 11.2.0).
It may be my own fault missing symlinks or similar - but I would like to ask if it is probable that upgrading to a modern Linux may confuse the compiling of "old" code, even when trying to compensate by setting various CXXFLAGS (like "-std=gnu++=0x" et.c.)?