It’s been 10 long years since I started using Linux, though I didn’t start using Linux full time until 1999. Slackware Linux was the first distro I used, and I stuck with it for many years. From Slackware I tried Storm Linux (or Stormix), Mandrake, SUSE, Debian, Xandros, and a number of other distros before I finally settled on Ubuntu.
Oddly enough, I’ve never run Red Hat or Fedora as a desktop distro for more than the time it takes to write a review — just never really got into Red Hat for some reason.
So, it was a fun trip down memory lane to work on the review of Slackware 11 the last few weeks. Check it out on Linux.com if you have a few minutes.
I still have fond memories of Slackware, but I’ve gotten spoiled by the “it just works” factor of Ubuntu, not to mention the fact that I really like APT and having a enormous package repository like Ubuntu Universe. Slackware has a decent package selection, but nothing like Debian or Ubuntu’s.
I am, however, quite glad that Slackware is still alive and kicking. I can’t find the URL right now, but someone wrote an opinion piece last year asking “is Slackware still relevant?” — which is, of course, a stupid question. As long as Slackware has one or two users, it’s relevant to them — which is all that really matters in open source.
