Slackware Linux is 20 years old!

Slackware Linux is 20 years old! Slackware Linux 1.00 (16 July 1993)    From: Patrick J. Volkerding (bf703@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)    Subject: ANNOUNCE: Slackware Linux 1.00    Newsgroups: comp.os.linux    Date: 1993-07-16 17:21:20 PST  The Slackware Linux distribution (v. 1.00) is now available for  anonymous FTP. This is a complete installation system designed for  systems with a 3.5" boot floppy. It has been tested extensively with  a 386/IDE system. The standard kernel included does not support SCSI,  but if there's a great demand, I might be persuaded to compile a few  custom kernels to put up for FTP.  This release is based largely on the SLS system, but has been enhanced and  modified substantially. There are two main disk series, A (13 disks) and  X (11 disks). Some of the features:    Series A:    About what you'd expect from SLS series A, B, and C. Plus:    Source for the Linux DOS emulator version 0.49.    The FAQ for kernel level 99pl10.    Kernel source and image at .99pl11 Alpha.      [compiled with these options: math emulation support, normal hard drive      support, TCP/IP, System V IPC, -m486, minix fs, ext2 fs, msdos fs, nfs,      proc support, and PS/2 style mouse support. You may need to recompile if      you have some other type of busmouse. The kernel was compiled with libc      4.4.1, g++ 2.4.5]    The new keytable utilities.    The NET-2 networking package, preconfigured to use loopback.    A public domain version of ksh, and tcsh 6.04 (with the bugs worked out)    GNU gcc, g++, and Objective-C at versions 2.4.5    Includes and libraries at version 4.4.1    mailx, quota utilities, experimental winapi source, sound drivers.    The TCL toolkit and samples.    In addition, the installation program has been improved to offer more    information about the packages (and the installation procedure itself)    as you install.    The install program can also automatically install LILO, configuring it    to boot either from your master boot record or from OS/2's Boot Manager.  Series X:    Also, all the packages you would get in the SLS X series, plus:    XFree-86 version 1.3.    Open Look Virtual Window Manager made the default window manager.    XS3 server offers support for S3 based video cards.    XV 3.00 Image viewer is included.    PEX files from the XFree-86 distribution are included.  Although TEX support is not included in the Slackware release, the you may  install the SLS T series from the install program.  At this point, the install disk itself is running .99pl8. I'm working on it :^)  Also, installation from other than a 3.5" floppy has not been tested, but might  work. 5.25" floppy will not work because of file sizes. At this point, I have  no plans to support a 5.25" version.  How to get the Slackware(tm) release:  The Slackware release may be obtained be anonymous FTP from  mhd3.moorhead.msus.edu in directory /pub/linux/slackware. At least initially,  this release will be in the form of 3.5" disk images which should be copied  to floppies using the RAWRITE.EXE program, or dd under Linux.  Please note that our FTP software does not support limiting the number of  concurrent anonymous logins. PLEASE try to go easy on this machine. If things  get out of hand, access may be restricted.  Other sites are, of course, welcome to help out with the load by mirroring  the distribution.  If you find any problems with the distribution, or if you have any suggestions  for improvements, please let me know. If you know of more up-to-date versions  of software in the distribution, I'd like to hear about that, too.  --  Patrick Volkerding  volkerdi@mhd1.moorhead.msus.edu  bf703@cleveland.freenet.edu http://www.slackware.com/announce/1.0.php

Ten reasons to choose Slackware Linux (by Niki Kovacs)

This summer, the Slackware Linux distribution will celebrate its twentieth anniversary. Patrick Volkerding's official release announcement for Slackware 1.0 on July16th 1993 is still online. Read it here. Here's a list of ten reasons why Slackware is still the perfect choice on servers, desktops and workstations. Experience. Slackware is the oldest surviving Linux distribution, it's been around even before Debian and Red Hat. There's a famous Nutella ad in France: Twenty years of experience make all the difference. The same thing applies to Slackware. The odd critic may have been pointing out the fact that Patrick Volkerding's favourite hobby is blindfolded jogging in front of buses. In the meantime, he's managed to avoid them all, and Slackware is here to last. Perennity. The Slackware installer and the collection of basic administration tools remain the same proven tools that have been shipping over the years. Which means that if you're a system administrator, you won't have to relearn your basic skills from scratch every time a distributor decides on a whim to switch init systems like he would change his underwear. Changes to the distribution only happen in small incremental steps and without drama, like the addition of slackpkg to Slackware 12.2. Some folks like to complain that Slackware tools like the installer or the package management tools are bone-headed dinosaurs. Remind them curtly that it still takes a meteor strike to wipe them.  Stability. Only proven and tested software gets added to a release. One thing you'll never find in Slackware is the unholy collection of half-assed technology previews sported by the more popular distributions, which tend to make your admin's life a misery. Flexibility. As an admin, I have a pretty good idea of what I want on a LAN server, on a public server or on a desktop. Unfortunately, no canned distribution ships these configurations out of the box. But Slackware is pretty much the only distribution that doesn't make me jump through burning loops to simply configure things like I want to configure them.  Flexibility (cont'd). If a package is not included in the distribution, I can be pretty sure SlackBuilds.org has a build script for it. Otherwise, I'll just write one myself. Right now I have a collection of about 140 extra packages, and every single one built just fine. No distribution makes building stuff from source so easy. Simplicity. I often install desktops and workstations on old and/or exotic hardware, and Slackware lets me configure the more problematic stuff where the usual suspects among the installers just choke on it. The KISS principle reveals its full strength here, the more so since you won't find any DO NOT EDIT THIS BY HAND nonsense in Slackware. Humanity. I know, this is a word the Ubuntu folks claim for themselves, but one of the things I like about Slackware is its human size. Small distro, not too many packages, but carefully tendered. Folks in the Slackware forum at LinuxQuestions.org are a nice and competent crowd, and I like the general tone and no-bullshit attitude. Plus, the average Slackware user doesn't have the GNU/Linux taliban touch to it, which you see all too often here in France. Last but not least, Ubuntu is an old african word meaning I can't configure Slackware :o) Transparency. This one's obvious, but one less obvious factor is that it makes Slackware a great tool for actually learning Linux. Earlier this year, I've been teaching a class of ten sysadmins, and most of the course was based on Slackware. Efficiency. My Xfce-based desktop runs great on twelve year old hardware, and that's something I could only achieve with Debian or a handful of lightweight distros like Puppy or Slitaz, but not with the mainstream stuff like Ubuntu or openSUSE. Release policy. Slackware Linux pushes out a new release roughly once a year, when it's ready. Every release gets security updates for at least five years. Which makes Slackware perfectly fit for your business.  Source: http://www.kikinovak.net/index.php?post/2013/06/10/Ten-reasons-to-choose-Slackware-Linux