"Slackware is one of the oldest (arguably *the* oldest) Linux distributions still around today. It is the pet project of one Patrick Volkerding who, love him or hate him, has ruled his distribution with an iron fist since the beginning. This is fine if you agree with his choices, but like all dictators, Patrick doesn't always make decisions based on the good of the populace, but rather sheer unmitigated ego. Here is my experience with his latest iteration, Slackware 11." More here.
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Member since:2006-10-28
Member since:2005-07-08
Member since:2005-10-02
Simply put, slackware works as good as your ability to maintain it allows, and that's, imho, what makes it such a wonderful distribution.
How does this ability makes the user's life any better? It's just like to make fire using a stick when there is a lighter at hand.
Plain stupid, bah (all right, mod me down as you wish!)
Member since:2005-07-12
Slackware has always been a distro for people who don't want a nice flashy GUI to do things for them. It makes no excuses for being harder to use, that's the way it's built. It makes my life better as a user because it does what I want it to do. I don't want something to make assumptions about what I'm trying to do. Slackware never pretends to be a distro for your average joe so why bitch about it not being so?
Oh, and I really hate when people say things like "mod me down as you wish". It's a cheap way of getting modded up.
Member since:2005-06-29
Automatic transmission. It makes cars easier to drive right? You only need one hand and one foot, and it works pretty well?
It's also expensive to fix, and it rarely doesn't break within the lifetime of a modern car (200,000 or more miles).
But that's not a big expense, it's worth the cost to drink a cup of coffee while you drive right? Maybe it's not to some people?
Maybe some people prefer to do things themselves, even if they're completely automatable. Surely they must be stupid? Or maybe they're just comfortable with it and picky about it?
I don't think I've ever heard anyone recommend Slackware to someone that wasn't knowledgeable. And if you read about it on any site it's usually prefixed with: "Good for *nix geeks, not you." -- or something to that effect.
The ability of people to stick their nose into someone elses business (which so many are so happy with) and call it completely stupid will never cease to amaze me. If you don't like Slackware, great, _IGNORE IT_.
In your analogy, it's more like making fire using an old zippo even though you have to refill them all the time and change out the wick and maybe the flint. Oh, and they can be dangerous if you don't know what you're doing (although it's probably instinctual that throwing fire in a corner is a bad idea). But a lot of people still use them because they have advantages, and they also have a charm value.
Slackware has charm. To many people, I really think, it's like the old days but with modern software.
Member since:2005-09-10
Funny how you can use "mod me down as you wish" tactics to get your post modded up, regardless of content:
"How does this ability makes the user's life any better?"
This is a rather silly question - need I spell out the benefits of knowing linux? I mean this was the grandparent's original claim: "Simply put, slackware works as good as your ability to maintain it allows..." Well, believe me, if you learn to use slackware, your life as a linux/unix user will become easier.
Member since:2006-01-18
The only thing I found interesting about this article were some insights into Slackware itself. I read the tiny article, and thought "tough cookies".
As a FreeBSD user, I'd say it is no worse than anything I have to do for an initial install. In otherwords, so people like barebones and some don't - that is why there is Ubunto and Windows.
Member since:2005-07-14
This article mainly just shows that the author doesn't have the skills, or patience to develop the skills, to install and maintain such a distribution.
And you came to this conclusion _how_ exactly? He might have the skills. It was not indicated in his rant in any way. Yes, I consider it a rant.
I know how to use the original fdisk, which someone else mentioned, but I prefer cfdisk much more. I can live in the original "sh", but prefer bash. vim over vi, gnome over twm, automatic detection and configuration of connected hardware over manually compiling the kernel and selecting just the required drivers.
If a task is mundane, repetetive and can be done by the computer, it should be done by the computer.
You are right, Slackware is not for everyone, but you are wrong saying people miss skills, based on their not-liking Slackware.
Member since:
2006-10-28
Interesting article, but slackware is, and has always been, a distribution for people who enjoy doing things the raw way. This article mainly just shows that the author doesn't have the skills, or patience to develop the skills, to install and maintain such a distribution.
Simply put, slackware works as good as your ability to maintain it allows, and that's, imho, what makes it such a wonderful distribution.
Edited 2006-10-28 08:36