Slackware 11.0 review
DownloadSlackware Linux is a complete 32-bit multitasking "UNIX-like" system.i It's currently based around the 2.4 Linux kernel series and th
|
|
Slackware Linux is a complete 32-bit multitasking "UNIX-like" system.i It's currently based around the 2.4 Linux kernel series and the GNU C Library version 2.3.2 (libc6). Slackware contains an easy to use installation program, extensive online documentation, and a menu-driven package system.
A full installation gives you the X Window System, C/C++ development environments, Perl, networking utilities, a mail server, a news server, a web server, an ftp server, the GNU Image Manipulation Program, Netscape Communicator, plus many more programs.
Slackware Linux can run on 486 systems all the way up to the latest x86 machines (but uses -mcpu=i686 optimization for best performance on i686-class machines like the P3, P4, and Duron/Athlon).
The Official Release of Slackware Linux by Patrick Volkerding is an advanced Linux operating system, designed with the twin goals of ease of use and stability as top priorities. Including the latest popular software while retaining a sense of tradition, providing simplicity and ease of use alongside flexibility and power, Slackware brings the best of all worlds to the table.
Originally developed by Linus Torvalds in 1991, the UNIX®-like Linux operating system now benefits from the contributions of millions of users and developers around the world. Slackware Linux provides new and experienced users alike with a fully-featured system, equipped to serve in any capacity from desktop workstation to machine-room server.
Web, ftp, and email servers are ready to go out of the box, as are a wide selection of popular desktop environments. A full range of development tools, editors, and current libraries is included for users who wish to develop or compile additional software.
What's New in This Release:
Runs the 2.4.33.3 version of the Linux kernel from ftp.kernel.org. Special kernels were prepared to support hardware such as SCSI
controllers, SATA controllers, USB keyboards and mice, parallel-port IDE devices, IBM PS/2 machines with the Microchannel bus, and even speech synthesizers providing access to Linux for the visually impaired community. The performance of the 2.4.x kernel series along with Slackware's track record of careful attention to system security make it the perfect choice for running your production servers.
As an alternate choice, Slackware 11.0 includes Linux 2.6.17.13 and 2.6.18 kernel source, kernel modules, and binary packages, along with the mkinitrd tool and instructions on using it to install the new kernel (see /boot/README.initrd). When running a 2.6 kernel, Slackware supports udev. This is a system for creating devices in /dev dynamically, greatly reducing device clutter and making it easy to see what devices are actually present in the system. Udev probes for and enables hardware on the system, much like the hotplug system does for a 2.4 kernel.
System binaries are linked with the GNU C Library, version 2.3.6. This version of glibc also has excellent compatibility with existing binaries.
X11R6.9.0 (same codebase as Modular X.Org 7.0.0). This is the X.Org Foundation's X Window System. The 6.9.0 version includes additional hardware support, functional enhancements, and bug fixes compared with the 6.8.2 release that shipped in Slackware 10.2, and we're added additional support for some recent popular Intel graphics chipsets.
Installs gcc-3.4.6 as the default C, C++, Objective-C, Fortran-77, and Ada 95 compiler.
Support for fully encrypted network connections with OpenSSL, OpenSSH, and GnuPG.
Apache 1.3.37 web server with Dynamic Shared Object (DSO) support, SSL, and PHP.
PCMCIA, CardBus, and APM support for laptops. (pcmcia-cs-3.2.8 and pcmciautils-014). Slackware also now includes hotplug and udev support. This locates and configures most hardware automatically as it is added (or removed) from the system. It also loads the kernel modules required by sound cards and other hardware at boot time.
New development tools, including Perl 5.8.8, Python 2.4.3, Ruby 1.8.4, Subversion 1.4.0, and graphical tools like Qt designer and KDevelop.
Updated versions of the Slackware package management tools make it easy to add, remove, upgrade, and make your own Slackware packages. Package tracking makes it easy to upgrade from Slackware 10.2 to Slackware 11.0 (see UPGRADE.TXT). The slackpkg tool in /extra can also help update from an older version of Slackware to a newer one, and keep your Slackware system up to date. In addition, the slacktrack utility (in extra/) will help you build and maintain your own packages.
Web browsers galore! Includes KDE's Konqueror 3.5.4, SeaMonkey 1.0.5 (this is the new replacement for the Mozilla Suite), and the immensely popular Firefox 1.5.0.7, as well as the Thunderbird 1.5.0.7 email and news client with advanced junk mail filtering.
The complete K Desktop Environment (KDE) version 3.5.4, including the KOffice productivity suite, networking tools, GUI development with KDevelop, multimedia tools (including the amazing Amarok music player), the Konqueror web browser and file manager, dozens of games and utilities, international language support, and more.
A collection of GTK+ based applications including gaim-1.5.0, gimp-2.2.13, gkrellm-2.2.9, gxine-0.5.7, xchat-2.6.6, xsane-0.991, and pan-0.14.2.91.
Large repository of extra software packages compiled and ready to run. This includes various window managers, the K3b CD burning application for KDE, the Java(TM) 2 Software Development Kit Standard Edition, libsafe (advanced buffer overflow protection for additional security), ISDN support, additional 802.11 drivers, and much more (see the /extra directory).
Many more improved and upgraded packages than we can list here. For a complete list of core packages in Slackware 11.0, see this file: ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-11.0/PACKAGES.TXT
Another Slackware exclusive: Slackware's ZipSlack installation option is the fastest, _easiest_ Linux installation ever. ZipSlack provides a basic text-based Linux system as a 70 megabyte ZIP archive. Simply unzip on any FAT or FAT32 partition, edit your boot partition in the LINUX.BAT batch file, and you can be running Linux in less than five minutes. The ZipSlack installation includes everything you need to network with Linux (including Ethernet, token ring, and PPP), and extend the system with additional software packages such as X. A ZipSlack system will even fit on a 250MB Zip(TM) disk, so you can carry a personal Linux system with you to run on any PC with a 250MB Zip(TM) drive.
Slackware 11.0 keywords