Hiya!

So I'd like to try Slackware on my netbook (it's the PC I use to test new distros to see if they are worthy/fail), but I've run across a stumbling block for me. I'm ready to write an iso to a USB stick right now, but I have two ISO's, the "ready to go!" one, and the ISO with the source that's nearly a gigabyte larger.

What exactly is the difference, and which should I try to use?

If it helps, I'm coming from Arch and am familiar with compiling stuff from source from a basic perspective (In Arch, it's usually download, tar, makepkg). Is the only real difference between the ISO's something that is precompiled for the average user, and something else that requries careful attention to compiling everything in sight?

Alright I'll try the source ISO. Tomorrow, with coffee.

The only difference should be that the bigger one includes the /source directory of the Slackware File Tree for your version. Use either one, both contain the same installer. However, better check that the one you use comes from here to make sure it's a genuine one.

And preferably use the most recent stable version that is 14.1, 32-bit or 64-bit.

Bear in mind that Slackware is a binary distribution (however the /source directory gathers all that's needed to rebuild the packages), stable and not bleeding edge. To grasp the differences with Arch you could read Get acquainted with Slackware. More generally, SlackDocs intends to be the primary source of documentation about Slackware Linux.

To write the ISO on an USB stick, just use dd as the ISO images for the version 14.1 are already hybrid.

Don't be afraid, using Slackware should be very easy considering your background and welcome to SlackLand.

Thanks!

The source ISO seems to just contain the source and nothing else, but I got the Slackware install started and am sorting out my partitions. You're right; nothing scary yet.