For several years I have been using Slackware 3.5 on all my PCs. It performs well on old hardware and I have been very happy with it (especially after I compiled a customized kernel).
However, it's getting harder and harder to find libc5 binaries (even compiling from source is often tripped up by something lacking in libc5). A similar problem is happening with the 2.0 kernel. Several interesting/ useful utilities are designed for 2.2+ kernels. Moreover the old 2.0 kernels can't access the new filesystems -- not even ext2 (most current distributions format ext2 with sparse-super by default). So, I'm thinking it's time to move to a more up-to-date Slackware. A couple of months ago, I got a Slack81 CDrom and installed it on my best computer, a P166 with 64mb RAM. The installation went OK, but I was disturbed by how sluggish it was. It performed like a 486-40 running Slack35. The kernel was incredibly slow and cumbersome, and my first minimalistic CLI installation topped 100mb. I was feeling quite uncomfortable. I had only just acquired the P166, and all the benchmarks indicated it should be three times faster than my old 486-100. I couldn't believe that Slack81 would weigh it down so much. Things got better when I compiled my own kernel. I was able to remove a lot of junk and it now runs better. I was also able to cut down the size of a minimalistic CLI installation. However, when I tried to install X, I ran into a nasty surprise: a huge monolithic X package. No way to pick and choose just the necessary bits -- you get everything including the kitchen sink. Suddenly my 640mb HD (my largest) was 2/3 full. This was looking bad, very bad. I hadn't even installed Opera and AbiWord yet. My experience with Slack81 has led me to reassess my decision to go from 3.5 to 8.1. Is there perhaps a Slackware between 3.5 and 8.1 that provides glibc2 and a more up-to-date kernel without all the weight of Slack81? I considered them one-by-one: Slackware 4.0 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The first Slackware with a 2.2 kernel. Still libc5. No go. Slackware 7.0 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The next Slackware after 4.0 (the big jump in version was to give it a bigger number than RedHat :-). First Slackware with glibc2. A more mature 2.2 kernel. Not a bad distribution; however, it represents a big library change for Slackware and I'd be more comfortable letting it mature a bit. Slackware 7.1 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ More mature glibc2. More mature 2.2 kernel. Still has the individual X packages. Still uses DOS-friendly (8.3) filenames for the packages. This is as good as it gets. It even has icewm! Slackware 8.0 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The next version after 7.1. The rot starts to set in. A huge monolithic X package. Big jump in size of glibc2 library. Slackware 8.1 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Big glic2 library. Huge kernel (2.4) overhead. Huge monolithic X package. DOS-unfriendly packages. It appears to me that the best choice for an old 486 is Slack71 (I still recommend Slack35 for a 386 or for a 486 with 4mb RAM). Therefore I will be downgrading my own installation from Slack81 to Slack71 and will be using Slack71 for upgrades to BasicLinux. I recommend that anyone with a 486 or low-end Pentium get a copy of Slack71 while it is available. CheapBytes is clearing out their old Slackware 7.1 sets at the bargain price of $1. That's the complete Slack71 (three CDroms!) for just $1. Details here: ------------------------------------------------------- http://cart.cheapbytes.com/cgi-bin/cart/0070010534.html ------------------------------------------------------- Don't wait around on this one. It won't be there for long. I have just ordered two sets myself. Unfortunately, overseas postage is $11, but those of you in North America have a got a real bargain. Cheers, Steven To unsubscribe from SURVPC send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with unsubscribe SURVPC in the body of the message. Also, trim this footer from any quoted replies. More info can be found at; http://www.softcon.com/archives/SURVPC.html
