5 ms·

How is Slackware doing nowadays? Last release was several years ago, but I need a replacement for Win 10 on my PC.

by dmpk2k 1y ago

hexagonwin 1y ago
It's doing very well. The Slackware 15.0 release is now a few years old, though the packages are still being updated. Slackware-current has latest everything.
immibis 1y ago
Why Slackware specifically? You can install any distribution. I use Gentoo btw - not really a distribution so much as a distribution construction kit. There are other popular distros, notably Arch.
- dmpk2k 1y ago
  I liked Slackware a lot way back when. No deeper reason. Currently leaning towards Debian Testing, but that might depend on my testing of Slackware now. I use Arch daily in WSL, but I've have had enough breakages that I don't want it as my primary OS.
  - Flamingoat 1y ago
    I use Debian 13 (stable). It is very solid. I was using Debian Trixie when it was testing and there was breakage twice. I would make the /boot partition twice the size the installer suggests though as on my laptop I can't upgrade the kernel because the /boot runs out of space. The laptop is used to view old manuals in PDFs while working on my car so I don't really care. TBH any of the major Linux distros that have been around for a while are fine. I don't like Fedora or Ubuntu because they are a bit corporate. I personally wouldn't bother with any of the derivative distros. Typically there isn't a lot different other than they've pre-configured some packages. IME that causes more headaches long term.
    - immibis 1y ago
      Debian is a very solid, stable, but slow-moving distribution.
      - Flamingoat 1y ago
        Yeh. I'm used to using old version of RHEL at work so I ended up learning how to deal with slow moving distros. I use the OS as a base system and most of the stuff that needs to be newer versions can be done by installing the binary to to ~/bin as it is added to your path by ~/.profile if the directory exists on Debian. Stuff like Discord, Slack, Kdenlive, OBS etc. I install using flatpak. Other stuff. Go, Vim (I compile vim from source) and nvim can stuff can be compiled or dropped into /usr/local That covers most stuff IME. However I appreciate this won't work for everyone.
      - happymellon 1y ago
        Remember that Debian uses stable to indicate slow moving and predictable breakage, not "avoids breaking". I would avoid using those two terms together because it implies two different goals when you are in fact repeating yourself. Not everyone would consider avoiding fixing bugs as "stable" if those bugs directly impacts your day to day working.
- Rediscover 1y ago
  > Why Slackware specifically? To me, coming from Unix, it's mostly sane.
- sombragris 1y ago
  In my case, it's my distro since always. I'm not at all one of those h4xx0r types, I'm just a lawyer, translator and theologian (and professor) doing my job with Linux. I started using Linux in May 2000 with a boxed version of Red Hat 6.2, then went to Red Hat 7.1, 7.2, then switched to Mandrake until 9.2 came about, and the dependency hell really irked me. So I searched alternatives. About 2003-2004 (not sure really) I began to use it. It was easy for me to configure it. I always used my Linux on laptops, at that time if I wanted to be online I had to setup a Winmodem, and maybe other hardware. That meant that even on "friendlier" distros such as Red Hat or Mandrake I had to tinker with the command line and config files. Thus, when the time came, upgrading to Slackware came naturally. And I appreciated that it always was fast and lean, consuming much less resources than other distros. Now that's not so crucial, but in the early 2000's it was quite important. Slackware was there at the right time, offering me what I needed, and it was fast and lean. And I like its simple approach to system maintenance; I can get a good grasp of the whole system. Also, at the time Gentoo was just beginning and (again) I was using dialup Internet, paying by the minute, and I really didn't appreciate the prospect of compiling almost everything. Other distros (such as Arch) were also beginning.
- ofalkaed 1y ago
  For me, an OS should be something I never have to think about, slackware gives me that. Very little has changed in all the years I have used it and almost everything I learned all those years ago when I first installed it still applies. The scripts I wrote over a decade ago to setup and install some stuff on a fresh install, still work 100% and the only change I have made is to have it enabled PipeWire, which is one command.
swaits 1y ago
Slackware’s last release was 2.5 years ago. Look at Fedora (if you like RPM distros) if you’re after something pretty nicely put together that stays reasonably well up to date. Very well maintained. Influenced by Red Hat (or “led by” or even “owned by”), which works for some, not for others. CachyOS is trendy these days. EndeavourOS is basically Arch with an installer. There are a few distros targeted at Windows refugees. ZorinOS is well regarded. AnduinOS is a newer entry. But if you’re willing to walk away from a Windows-like UI, skip these.
- Flamingoat 1y ago
  Arch has an installer these days. It works pretty well and you can have a system up and running in about 20 minutes if you have a fast internet connection. For people that want a Windows like UI, I would probably suggest Cinnamon. It works pretty much like Windows 7/10 without all the visual nonsense that KDE typically has.
  - bityard 1y ago
    My experience is that KDE 6 has very little visual nonsense right out of the box. 4 and 5 did have a lot more, but most/all of it could be disabled. Most other Linux DEs don't really let you customize them to your own personal level of nonsense at any rate.
    - Flamingoat 1y ago
      I probably see a lot more than other people since I spent a good few years doing pixel perfect web dev. I am not being hyperbolic when I say that I can see a pixel out of place on a webpage on the other side of the room. https://kde.org/content/home/main.jpg https://kde.org/content/home/main.jpg This is a screenshot from their site. Just in this screenshot I see the following: 1) there is an horrendous text shadow effect on the text under the "Home" desktop icon in the top left. 2) Clock text is too large compared to the rest of the interface, especially the icons next to it. 3) Trash Icon looks like out of place compared to the other icons. 4) Drop shadow effect on the window and the start menu thing. It kinda too dark really. 5) Every single gap between interface elements seems different and off. The icon sizes seem a bit all over the place. 6) There is a gradient on the window title bar and rounded corners. Cinnamon does this as well. I dunno it is very Window XP Luna (which I never liked). 7) The window control icons look off to me and don't fit in with the rest of the interface IMO. A lot of this I appreciate can be probably be changed. But that is how it comes OOTB if it is an official screenshot. It feels like a Windows Vista ripoff. Generally I find KDE lacks "taste". None of the Linux GUIs are that great tbh. People put up fancy screenshots, but I guarantee the moment the windows are arranged in any other way it looks not so great.
sombragris 1y ago
The stable distribution might be a little dated, but the -current development branch is really solid. In my very subjective impression, it is more stable than many distros' stable releases. If you're not afraid of doing some hand-tuning and configuring things the old ways, you should reeally try it, especially with community packages such as Plasma 6, Chromium and LibreOffice (the latest release).
ofalkaed 1y ago
It is doing well, I run both current and 15, rock solid, stable both in use and features. It has never given me anything to complain about, OS stays out of your way and even running current I never have to think about my system or worry about what is going to happen when I update. It all just works and sticks to the slackware way.
mrmlz 1y ago
Slackware-current is pretty current. And sbopkg has quite a lot of packages. I run it on my homeserver (and has been for the last..10-15? years or so). Since everything that I host uses docker its easy as pie to keep it running. ZFS via ZoL etc. As a daily driver i use PopOs! which is very nice since the've packaged nvidiadrivers etc. and I mainly use it to play games.

How is Slackware doing nowadays? Last release was several years ago, but I need a replacement for Win 10 on my PC.

by dmpk2k 1y ago

How is Slackware doing nowadays? Last release was several years ago, but I need a replacement for Win 10 on my PC.

It's doing very well. The Slackware 15.0 release is now a few years old, though the packages are still being updated. Slackware-current has latest everything.

immibis 1y ago

Why Slackware specifically? You can install any distribution. I use Gentoo btw - not really a distribution so much as a distribution construction kit. There are other popular distros, notably Arch.

dmpk2k 1y ago
I liked Slackware a lot way back when. No deeper reason. Currently leaning towards Debian Testing, but that might depend on my testing of Slackware now. I use Arch daily in WSL, but I've have had enough breakages that I don't want it as my primary OS.
- Flamingoat 1y ago
  I use Debian 13 (stable). It is very solid. I was using Debian Trixie when it was testing and there was breakage twice. I would make the /boot partition twice the size the installer suggests though as on my laptop I can't upgrade the kernel because the /boot runs out of space. The laptop is used to view old manuals in PDFs while working on my car so I don't really care. TBH any of the major Linux distros that have been around for a while are fine. I don't like Fedora or Ubuntu because they are a bit corporate. I personally wouldn't bother with any of the derivative distros. Typically there isn't a lot different other than they've pre-configured some packages. IME that causes more headaches long term.
  - immibis 1y ago
    Debian is a very solid, stable, but slow-moving distribution.
    - Flamingoat 1y ago
      Yeh. I'm used to using old version of RHEL at work so I ended up learning how to deal with slow moving distros. I use the OS as a base system and most of the stuff that needs to be newer versions can be done by installing the binary to to ~/bin as it is added to your path by ~/.profile if the directory exists on Debian. Stuff like Discord, Slack, Kdenlive, OBS etc. I install using flatpak. Other stuff. Go, Vim (I compile vim from source) and nvim can stuff can be compiled or dropped into /usr/local That covers most stuff IME. However I appreciate this won't work for everyone.
    - happymellon 1y ago
      Remember that Debian uses stable to indicate slow moving and predictable breakage, not "avoids breaking". I would avoid using those two terms together because it implies two different goals when you are in fact repeating yourself. Not everyone would consider avoiding fixing bugs as "stable" if those bugs directly impacts your day to day working.
Rediscover 1y ago
> Why Slackware specifically? To me, coming from Unix, it's mostly sane.
sombragris 1y ago
In my case, it's my distro since always. I'm not at all one of those h4xx0r types, I'm just a lawyer, translator and theologian (and professor) doing my job with Linux. I started using Linux in May 2000 with a boxed version of Red Hat 6.2, then went to Red Hat 7.1, 7.2, then switched to Mandrake until 9.2 came about, and the dependency hell really irked me. So I searched alternatives. About 2003-2004 (not sure really) I began to use it. It was easy for me to configure it. I always used my Linux on laptops, at that time if I wanted to be online I had to setup a Winmodem, and maybe other hardware. That meant that even on "friendlier" distros such as Red Hat or Mandrake I had to tinker with the command line and config files. Thus, when the time came, upgrading to Slackware came naturally. And I appreciated that it always was fast and lean, consuming much less resources than other distros. Now that's not so crucial, but in the early 2000's it was quite important. Slackware was there at the right time, offering me what I needed, and it was fast and lean. And I like its simple approach to system maintenance; I can get a good grasp of the whole system. Also, at the time Gentoo was just beginning and (again) I was using dialup Internet, paying by the minute, and I really didn't appreciate the prospect of compiling almost everything. Other distros (such as Arch) were also beginning.
ofalkaed 1y ago
For me, an OS should be something I never have to think about, slackware gives me that. Very little has changed in all the years I have used it and almost everything I learned all those years ago when I first installed it still applies. The scripts I wrote over a decade ago to setup and install some stuff on a fresh install, still work 100% and the only change I have made is to have it enabled PipeWire, which is one command.

swaits 1y ago

Slackware’s last release was 2.5 years ago. Look at Fedora (if you like RPM distros) if you’re after something pretty nicely put together that stays reasonably well up to date. Very well maintained. Influenced by Red Hat (or “led by” or even “owned by”), which works for some, not for others. CachyOS is trendy these days. EndeavourOS is basically Arch with an installer. There are a few distros targeted at Windows refugees. ZorinOS is well regarded. AnduinOS is a newer entry. But if you’re willing to walk away from a Windows-like UI, skip these.

Flamingoat 1y ago
Arch has an installer these days. It works pretty well and you can have a system up and running in about 20 minutes if you have a fast internet connection. For people that want a Windows like UI, I would probably suggest Cinnamon. It works pretty much like Windows 7/10 without all the visual nonsense that KDE typically has.
- bityard 1y ago
  My experience is that KDE 6 has very little visual nonsense right out of the box. 4 and 5 did have a lot more, but most/all of it could be disabled. Most other Linux DEs don't really let you customize them to your own personal level of nonsense at any rate.
  - Flamingoat 1y ago
    I probably see a lot more than other people since I spent a good few years doing pixel perfect web dev. I am not being hyperbolic when I say that I can see a pixel out of place on a webpage on the other side of the room. https://kde.org/content/home/main.jpg https://kde.org/content/home/main.jpg This is a screenshot from their site. Just in this screenshot I see the following: 1) there is an horrendous text shadow effect on the text under the "Home" desktop icon in the top left. 2) Clock text is too large compared to the rest of the interface, especially the icons next to it. 3) Trash Icon looks like out of place compared to the other icons. 4) Drop shadow effect on the window and the start menu thing. It kinda too dark really. 5) Every single gap between interface elements seems different and off. The icon sizes seem a bit all over the place. 6) There is a gradient on the window title bar and rounded corners. Cinnamon does this as well. I dunno it is very Window XP Luna (which I never liked). 7) The window control icons look off to me and don't fit in with the rest of the interface IMO. A lot of this I appreciate can be probably be changed. But that is how it comes OOTB if it is an official screenshot. It feels like a Windows Vista ripoff. Generally I find KDE lacks "taste". None of the Linux GUIs are that great tbh. People put up fancy screenshots, but I guarantee the moment the windows are arranged in any other way it looks not so great.

sombragris 1y ago

The stable distribution might be a little dated, but the -current development branch is really solid. In my very subjective impression, it is more stable than many distros' stable releases. If you're not afraid of doing some hand-tuning and configuring things the old ways, you should reeally try it, especially with community packages such as Plasma 6, Chromium and LibreOffice (the latest release).

ofalkaed 1y ago

It is doing well, I run both current and 15, rock solid, stable both in use and features. It has never given me anything to complain about, OS stays out of your way and even running current I never have to think about my system or worry about what is going to happen when I update. It all just works and sticks to the slackware way.

mrmlz 1y ago

Slackware-current is pretty current. And sbopkg has quite a lot of packages. I run it on my homeserver (and has been for the last..10-15? years or so). Since everything that I host uses docker its easy as pie to keep it running. ZFS via ZoL etc. As a daily driver i use PopOs! which is very nice since the've packaged nvidiadrivers etc. and I mainly use it to play games.