View Full Version : Slackware!!!?
Laxman_prodigy
November 23rd, 2010, 09:22 PM
It's one distribution that is not talked about much or is it not?
Whatever and whenever I have heard something about it, I have heard good things. However, I haven't used it yet.
How does it compare?
I'mGeorge
November 23rd, 2010, 09:39 PM
slackware it's one of those distros loved by power users, and surely ain't for the faint hearted. It's one of the oldest, if not the oldest distro "in town", and because it assumes compiling everything from source the results after about a week spent only to install it are very satisfactory, especially when it comes to speed.
It's a great way to learn linux in depth, but really it's not one of those distros i would use as a primary OS. If you like to have the latest software available don't go slack as the packages available for it are kinda oldish. Also if you have a lot of auxiliary hardware on your PC to make it all work it will take a while, as everything must be made manually.
I only recommend Slack for those who wanna learn linux and it's principles, so it's good to at least have it installed once, but really it's not one of those distros I would prefer having as a primary OS.
Cheers
3Miro
November 23rd, 2010, 10:10 PM
I tried Slack some time ago, installation was very clean and I was definitely impressed by their KDE build. I also like the fact that they have a clean XFCE, most distribution pollute XFCE with way too much Gnome, making it somewhat impractical.
On the other hand, I found it very rigid. Installing additional software and making customizations is definitely not as clean as Arch or even Gentoo. Overall, I think Slack is for people that want to install a nice and clean system and then use it. If you want to delve into the depths of Linux, Arch and Gentoo are better.
LowSky
November 23rd, 2010, 10:33 PM
I stay away from slackware for one reason:
COMPILING!
Thankfully there is Arch which does the hard work and only makes programs for newer architecture (i686 and AMD64).
boydrice
November 23rd, 2010, 10:38 PM
Slackware is a great distro. There are alot of misconceptions about Slackware floating around, but I have always found it to be a great experience. It is a distro that doesn't assume for you what you want out of it and it doesn't do a lot for you either. What you get in return is a supremely stable and fast system that you have control over. I think it is inaccurate to say that the software in outdated, I have always found to be that perfect balance between cutting edge and tired and true. As far as packages outside of the official repos go with slackbuilds.org and get sbopkg. I suggest checking out this article or downloading the two old Linux Reality podcasts on Slackware for more information.
http://www.linux-mag.com/id/7502
http://slackbuilds.org/
http://www.sbopkg.org/
sandyd
November 23rd, 2010, 10:45 PM
slackware it's one of those distros loved by power users, and surely ain't for the faint hearted. It's one of the oldest, if not the oldest distro "in town", and because it assumes compiling everything from source the results after about a week spent only to install it are very satisfactory, especially when it comes to speed.
It only takes one day to compile gentoo, that is including KDE on a standard core2duo laptop
It's a great way to learn linux in depth, but really it's not one of those distros i would use as a primary OS. If you like to have the latest software available don't go slack as the packages available for it are kinda oldish. Also if you have a lot of auxiliary hardware on your PC to make it all work it will take a while, as everything must be made manually.
I use it (its based on gentoo, so w/e) and its fine as long as you know how to run revdep-rebuild, don't upgrade every day and not unmask testing ebuilds. An advantage is that there is less chance of the packager making a mistake, or incompatible programs because one was compiled against an different version of the library
I only recommend Slack for those who wanna learn linux and it's principles, so it's good to at least have it installed once, but really it's not one of those distros I would prefer having as a primary OS.
Cheers.
Spice Weasel
November 24th, 2010, 12:53 AM
Slackware is the oldest distro still around and it pretty much hasn't changed in the past 17 years except for updated software.
Also - since when was Slack based on Gentoo? It's been here for much longer.
It's very stable, the installer isn't that hard to use, it's source based and includes KDE (optional). That's about all there is to know.
RandomJoe
November 24th, 2010, 03:35 AM
I cut my teeth on Slackware back around 1993-94 (hey, I get to be a 'crotchety old man'! "You young'uns with your Ubuntu, in MY day..." :p ) and used it exclusively for many years. Thanks to it I knew every single nook and cranny of my systems, and was VERY familiar with most of the Linux kernel.
But as the packages I wanted to use got more complex, and started pulling in ever more dependencies, it became insanely difficult to get something new built. The final straw was when some program I wanted required a couple dozen supporting packages, and one refused to successfully compile no matter what I did! That was when I wound up with Ubuntu on the desktop, Synaptic was so doggone easy... I could try new packages very quickly. Faster machines also meant I didn't see nearly the benefit from hand-rolling kernels and carefully selecting package options at compile time.
There is a package manager of sorts for Slack now, it isn't necessary to build everything by hand, but I've since moved to Debian for my servers. Still run Slack on a testbed machine from time to time though.
Dustin2128
November 24th, 2010, 06:45 AM
Contrary to popular opinion, you don't have to compile everything from source. There are these neat little things called tx/gz's :p. I really like it, its stable, fast, and generally awesome. Its not as hard to use as people make it out to be in my opinion, just be prepared to deal with a lack of a unified repository and dependency resolution. Then again, I do tend to be a power user, so take that with a grain of salt.
Iksf
November 24th, 2010, 12:12 PM
Is there any advantage over Gentoo though, seem to be targeting the same users
Spice Weasel
November 24th, 2010, 12:36 PM
It has a DVD installer with lots of software on it.
3Miro
November 24th, 2010, 01:15 PM
Is there any advantage over Gentoo though, seem to be targeting the same users
I wouldn't say the same users. Slack is not a source distro, you don't get to build and customize slack the way you would with Gentoo. The Slack installer is a lot like Ubuntu's alternate installer (or Debian), it takes you step by step all the way to KDE or XFCE and it only installs pre-compiled packages. The source building for Slack comes for some additional packages via slackbuilds.org, however, those are not customizable either (you can edit the scripts yourself, but it is not the same as use flags).
Gentoo users like to customize and tinker with the system itself. Slack is build for users that want to set a stable system and then don't touch it.
smellyman
November 24th, 2010, 01:24 PM
Inspired me....
One of the last distros for me to try. Installing in virtual box now.
boydrice
December 1st, 2010, 09:25 PM
I take it the OP was not convinced to try out Slackware?
czr114
December 1st, 2010, 09:36 PM
There's an old saying that if you learn Redhat you'll understand Redhat, but if you learn Slackware you'll understand GNU/Linux.
The lack of dependency management means you'll have to get your hands dirty.
It's definitely not for the faint of heart, casual desktop users, or even most server administrators.
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