Posted on 07/18/2018 5:25:34 AM PDT by ShadowAce
For many early Linux users, Slackware was their introduction. One user told me her first Linux install was Slackware—and she had to use a hex editor to fix the partition tables so that Slackware would install. Support for her hardware was added in a later release. Another got his start building the data center that would power one of the first internet-enabled real estate sites. In the mid-1990s, Slackware was one of the easiest distributions to get and didn't require a lot of effort to get IP masquerading to work correctly. A third person mentioned going to sleep while a kernel compile job ran, only to find out it had failed when he woke up.
All of these anecdotes would suggest a hard-to-use operating system. But Slackware fans don't see it that way. The project's website says the two top priorities are "ease of use and stability." For Slackware, "ease of use" means simplicity. Slackware does not include a graphical installer. Its package manager does not perform any dependency resolution. This can be jarring for new users, particularly within the last few years, but it also enables a deeper understanding of the system.
The different take on ease of use isn't the only thing unique about Slackware. It also does not have a public bug tracker, code repository, or well-defined method of community contribution. Volkerding and a small team of contributors maintain the tree in a rolling release called "-current" and publish a release when it meets the feature and stability goals they've set.
As the oldest distro around, Slackware has been very influential. The earliest releases of SUSE Linux were based on Slackware, and distributions such as Arch Linux can be seen as philosophical heirs to Slackware. And while its popularity may have fallen over the years—the slightly younger Debian has 10x the number of subscribers on its sub-Reddit, for example—it remains an active project with a loyal fan base. So happy 25th birthday, Slackware, and here's to 25 more!
I cut my Linux teeth on Slackware, compiling the kernel back in the 0.9 days.
Yup. I tried it out a couple of times before settling on Red Hat in 1994
Patrick Volkerding didn't set out to create a Linux distribution. He just wanted to simplify the process of installing and configuring Softlanding Linux System. But when SLS didn't pick up his improvements, Volkerding decided to release his work as Slackware. On July 17, 1993, he announced version 1.0. A quarter century and 30-plus versions later, Slackware is the oldest actively maintained Linux distribution.
I can remember going out and buying an Adaptec 1540 SCSI disk controller just because it was compatible with Slackware. Now the board is $20 and sold in the refurbished bin.
Well, this year (2018) plus "25 more" takes us to 2043, a few years after the 2038 Epoch boundary.
Is Slackware deployed in any embedded systems where it still uses 32-bit time_t?
Those would be some really ancient embedded systems by 2038.
Scuzzies? They still around?
This is true. Still, the longevity of embedded Unix/Linux systems continues to impress and amaze me.
Anybody remember the Linux wars on FR?
Linux is a cancer and won’t last.
Boy were they wrong...
I still run into SCSI, from time to time, but mostly as CD/DVD towers
I was thinking the Bernoulli drive (I think they were 44meg, which was huge at the time)..
Weren’t they also called ‘Zip’ drives?
I am using VMs both on Winblows and Linux that have phantom Scuzzies..
Mint for less experienced.. Gentoo for those that want a challenge ;^)
Oh.., of course Mint is based on Ubuntu/Debian.. :D
There is still a war going on (with Apple fan-boiz).. well, 1 in particular.. >.<
“Apple can do no wrong.. any information you witness that is negative is a figment of your imagination”... >.<
Well, Apple is a cult and always has been a cult.
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