Become A Slacker Today - Part 1

With the recent release of Slackware 10, there has been an upsurge in interest for this great distro. So why should you try Slackware? Because it’s a fast, rock solid, stable distro that is constantly being updated with the latest software releases. But you have heard that Slackware is not for new Linux users? I’ve heard that, too, but being the type who likes to go against the flow, I decided to try it. Guess what? With the right guidance, it’s not too difficult to get Slackware up and running. In this article, I will point you to some of the resources I have found useful in my journey through the world of Slackware. Some of these may have been mentioned before, but I have included them anyway. Enjoy!

The installation process for Slackware is text-based, but it is by no means difficult. Here is an excellent guide found at bitbenderforums. It literally gives you screenshots for every phase of the installation process, even pointing out the choices that would be appropriate for most users. The guide covers a Slackware 9.1 installation but most of the information is applicable to 10.0 as well. Two areas that can sometimes be tricky are configuring the X server and sound. Part 2 of the Stealth Desktop should help you to safely navigate these. Again, the author’s experience is with Slackware 9.1. As far as I can remember, with my install of Slackware 10.0 I did not have to configure X. Simply typing “startx” from the console was all that was necessary. Your experience may be different, so it never hurts to be prepared.

Many complain about the lack of a package manager for Slackware. Well, complain no more. I will highlight three separate tools that you can use. The first is pkgtool and it is actually part of the Slackware distribution. To run package tool you simply type “pkgtool” as root. Pkgtool allows you to “keep track of your installed packages making it easy to upgrade or remove them.” If you find the interface somewhat unappealing, you can get Slackman, a gnome-based frontend for this built-in tool. The second tool is Slapt-get. According to the Web site, it is an “APT-like system for Slackware package management. It allows one to search slackware mirrors and third-party sources for packages, compare them with installed packages, install new packages, or upgrade all installed packages. Great for scripting as well.” I have never used it personally, but I have heard many good things about it and so I have included it here. The third option is Swaret. This is my personal favorite, and it’s the first package I add to my Slackware install. Here is a guide to configuring Swaret. Once you have Swaret up and running, installing, upgrading, or even removing packages is a snap. So what’s my recommendation? Pkgtool is good for basic maintenance, but for a fully-functional package manager use Slapt-get or Swaret.

It was my intention to include all the resources in one article but I decided against it. I think I have provided enough resources to get you started on your adventures into Slack world. Once you have caught up, we will continue on. A call
to all Slackers out there: e-mail me your favorite links. Until next time :-)