> From: Ariz Jacinto <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > the first gnu/linux distro that i've owned was Slackware 3.x. > it was part of the book entitled "Linux Networks" by > Volkerding (?) that i've used in college. but i never got a > chance to install it, hehehe. maybe i got envious when > my classmates start installing RH 5.x. coz their only problem > with RH was to specify the partition while i have to figure out > everything on slack. FreeBSD was even easier to install than > slack back then.
When I tried out RH, it was clear there's a lot of stuff added to make it easier for the user. But the (essentially) forced use of rpm made moving to a newer version of X - which had to be compiled 'coz the rpm was not yet available - a living nightmare. I probably spent at least the same amount of time figuring out how to get the dependencies working (never got them to) rather than actually figuring out how to compile X. RH immediately lost cachet in my eyes - it was clear that the system which was supposed to help users ended up hindering them. If I hadn't tried to compile X myself, I probably would never have realized how artificial the help rpm gives really is. With Slack's packaging system, I have a very clear and simple picture of my system in my mind. This set of files for this functionality and nothing else. Reminds me of the DOS days where you know that after deleting certain directories and perhaps files, you have cleanly removed all traces of a certain program and its side effects. The good old simple days before all this Windows registry and shortcuts nonsense came along. > Mandrake is for my desktop/multimedia machine I've had good success using Slackware for multimedia. Almost all the functionality is taken care of by KDE's arTs server. I just figure out which few lines to uncomment in rc.modules (to enable the devices) and the very kewl arTs server automatically does the rest. I like the fact that under Slackware you are required to have at least a token understanding of what's going on vs. just clicking on a GUI to enable certain devices. This gives you a very clear view of where the kernel's responsibilites lie, which jobs X does, and where KDE takes over. Once you figure those out, you'll be pleasantly surprised at how clean the design exposed by Slackware really is, how easy it is to tweak and how much a GUI-based setup actually slows you down, most especially during the times when something is not working and you need to figure out why. I see the niceties that other distros provide as similar to bike training wheels. Once you know how to ride a bike, you're better off without them as they actually end up being impediments. I'm not someone who's fond of complexity for its own sake. I don't like Emacs, would rather not have to use vim, think that bash is a monstrosity, and consider Windows to be more ergonomically designed than Linux in certain important ways. Yet I never find myself wishing for additional user-friendly GUI stuff in Slackware. The packaging tools in Slackware that already work on the command line have the best flexibility/usability ratio in my book. You put those on a GUI and it may seem to make them easier at first, but you might lose a lot of flexibility in the process. _ Philippine Linux Users Group. Web site and archives at http://plug.linux.org.ph To leave: send "unsubscribe" in the body to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fully Searchable Archives With Friendly Web Interface at http://marc.free.net.ph To subscribe to the Linux Newbies' List: send "subscribe" in the body to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
