Slackware on CD?!?!? That's the _NEW_ method!!! :-)<br><br>I have tossed my older-than-dirt Slackware _floppies_ downloaded over a 1200b modem line connected to Prodigy several years back. 7 floppies to get kernel, base system and networking installed. Another handful for X. Another handful for gcc. I recall a number of "21" or "27" as the total image count for the entire distro.<br>
<br>Ah, the joys of having _no_ tools to do image checking on DOS before writing to the floppy and trying the install only to discover the image was crap or the floppy was crap.<br><br>Since I only had one hard drive it was reinstall MSDOS and Prodigy, download another image (which took all night) and try again later.<br>
<br>Once Walnut Creek started making CD sets of everything Linux on the pre-'net I ordered the subscription immediately and the first set of 2 CD's arrived before I had the funds scraped to buy a CD drive! That was an agonizing 2 weeks!!<br>
<br>Slackware is still amazing. <br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Jun 2, 2010 at 4:40 PM, Paul Cartwright <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:ale@pcartwright.com">ale@pcartwright.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
I must admit I have my very first slackware CD's still..<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/spotlight-linux-slackware-linux-13?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed" target="_blank">http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/spotlight-linux-slackware-linux-13?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed</a>:<br>
+linuxjournalcom+(Linux+Journal+-+The+Original+Magazine+of+the+Linux+Community)<br>
<br>
Spotlight on Linux: Slackware Linux 13.1<br>
Jun 01, 2010 By Susan Linton<br>
indistributions Slackware<br>
<br>
People sometimes ask which distribution to try if they want to learn how Linux<br>
works. Common answers are Gentoo, Arch, or Debian. However, I disagree. Each<br>
of these distros teach users their particular brand of Linux. There's only<br>
one truly pure Linux, and that is Slackware.<br>
<br>
Slackware is the oldest surviving Linux distribution. In its early years,<br>
Patrick Volkerdin rolled up a kernel, init, libraries, desktop, and<br>
applications to make Linux easier for users. And that's still what he is<br>
doing today. He doesn't change anything, he doesn't customize anything. Every<br>
component is exactly how the original developers intended. For example, users<br>
get a vanilla kernel and default desktop configuration.<br>
<br>
Version 13.1 was released May 25 with Linux 2.6.33.4 and KDE 4.4.3. Slackware<br>
ships with other desktop options, such as Xfce 4.6.1, and lots of handy<br>
software. As expected, it comes with Web browsers, office applications,<br>
multimedia software, personal communication tools, image management, and<br>
more. Slack usually includes Java, but most other browser plugins and<br>
multimedia codecs are left to the user to install. 13.1 still uses HAL and<br>
udev in order to grant users access to removable media without root<br>
privileges or sudo. Along those same lines, this release also brings<br>
ConsoleKit and PolicyKit to allow even more convenience in running the system<br>
without elevated permissions. This release should be easy to use for users of<br>
any experience.<br>
<br>
Slackware's original package management system - or software installer and<br>
uninstaller - neither resolves dependencies nor downloads from online<br>
repositories. However, some third-party attempts came along to address this<br>
and one, slackpkg, has recently been added to Slackware to bring the same<br>
capabilities as APT on Debian and Debian-based distributions. However, if you<br>
install the full range of packages on the Slackware install DVD, there isn't<br>
much extra on official mirrors. That's why some recommend the community<br>
repository hosted by <a href="http://slackbuilds.org" target="_blank">slackbuilds.org</a>. Between slackpkg and slackbuilds,<br>
Slackware has moved into the 21st century of software management.<br>
<br>
Once upon a time Slackware was a favorite because of its hardware<br>
configuration method. In the tradition of keeping it simple, it had one file<br>
that users needed to edit (for most purposes). Most drivers were listed and<br>
users just uncommented whichever was used by their hardware. But even that<br>
isn't necessary anymore. Just like any other distro today, most hardware is<br>
automagically detected and configured.<br>
<br>
Finally, the installer is another area of Slackware that gets some negative<br>
comments from time to time. It isn't very pretty by today's standards and it<br>
is keyboard driven, but it isn't difficult to use. It asks a few questions<br>
during the process in a similar manner as other Linux installers. Perhaps the<br>
most difficult aspect is the need to partition your disk prior to beginning<br>
the install setup. The installer disk comes with fdisk and cfdisk for this<br>
purpose.<br>
<br>
So, all in all, besides the partitioning requirement and the lack of<br>
multimedia support, Slackware is just as up-to-date and easy-to-use as any<br>
Linux distribution. Like a split personality, today's Slackware is steeped in<br>
tradition yet surprisingly modern.<br>
<br>
Advantages:<br>
1. True Linux experience<br>
2. High Performance<br>
3. Extremely stable<br>
<br>
Disadvantages:<br>
1. Off-putting partitioning and installer<br>
2. No live CD/DVD<br>
3. Still uses Lilo for boot management<br>
4. Lacks multimedia codecs<br>
<br>
--<br>
Paul Cartwright<br>
Registered Linux user # 367800<br>
Registered Ubuntu User #12459<br>
<a href="http://usdebtclock.org/" target="_blank">http://usdebtclock.org/</a><br>
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</blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>-- <br>James P. Kinney III<br>Actively in pursuit of Life, Liberty and Happiness <br>Doing pretty well on all 3 pursuits <br><br>