Slackware Linux

The official Slackware Linux website is hosted on Ubuntu

A few years ago I speculated in the article “Slackware Linux trivia, history, and things you didn’t know” that slackware.com was being hosted on Slackware Linux 12.0. My assumption was based on the host headers returned from the server. Those headers reveal that the webserver is Apache/2.2.22, coincidentally the last Apache patch ever released for Slackware 12.0. However, it turns out that I was very wrong.

Slackware Linux trivia, history, and things you didn't know

In the modern computing era, Slackware might be considered an old relic of a long-forgotten past. The old king may have abdicated the throne, but the embers of past glory still smolder. As we’re on our way towards the release of Slackware 15, allow me to share a few amusing Slackware tales I’ve collected over the years.

KDE Plasma 5.20 arrives in Slackware-current

Slackers rejoice! The dark ages have finally come to an end. Our benevolent dictator for life has spoken, and KDE Plasma 5 has arrived in /testing on Slackware-current. Patrick Volkerding announced the update with his usual lack of fanfare on the Slackware-current changelog:

Your fortune awaits on Slackware Linux

Enjoying a lazy Sunday morning, I decided to boot up my Slackware-current laptop to install yet another batch of kernel updates. To repay my kindness, Slackware gave me what I can only describe as a malicious jumpscare that nearly resulted in a heart attack.

Kerberos added to Slackware-current

Back in 2018, Patrick Volkerding mentioned that he was testing PAM and Kerberos to provide proper support for Active Directory and NFS on Slackware Linux. It seems like Mr. Volkerding has finally reached a decision.

Enterprise support for Slackware

As a managed service provider (MSP) we’re using an off the shelf remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform. Recently, and just for curiosity’s sake, I decided to take a closer look at the Linux agent offered by this platform. I’ll admit to being somewhat shell-shocked when I discovered that the installer had Slackware Linux on the list of supported distributions.

The Slackware Linux Patreon page is officially confirmed

Patrick Volkerding has finally confirmed the authenticity of the Slackware Linux Patreon page in a post over at LinuxQuestions.org.

After the Slackware Patreon page was initially discovered in mid-June 2019, it has been the source of quite a bit of debate regarding its authenticity. Anyhow, with that question out of the way, the bigger question now is whether there is still enough interest in Slackware Linux to make it a sustainable business for Mr. Volkerding.

What does the future hold for Slackware Linux?

Shortly following the distribution’s 25th year anniversary, Slackware maintainer Patrick Volkerding has shared some insight into his current financial situation and the issues he’s facing due to a lack of revenue from the Slackware store. According to Volkerding, the store has not forwarded any founds from sales or donations for the past two years.

Slackware 15.0 will ship Plasma 5

There has been a long and tedious debate among slackers over whether the distribution should stick with KDE4 or move to Plasma 5. According to Slackware’s KDE maintainer Eric Hameleers, a decision has been made and Slackware 15.0 will ship Plasma 5.