On Thu, 28 Apr 2011, Samael wrote:

> i didn't read the links, but what you wrote was interesting.

Just to be clear -- it is an article by Joe Brockmeier and I had nothing 
to do with writing it.

Mike



> On Thu, Apr 28, 2011 at 12:18 PM, Mike Miller <mbmiller+l at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/tale-two-distros-slackware-1337-and-ubuntu-11
>>
>> NetworkWorld.com Community
>> April 28, 2011
>>
>> A tale of two distros: Slackware 13.37 and Ubuntu 11.04 released
>>
>> By Joe Brockmeier
>>
>> After months of development, one of the most important Linux 
>> distributions was released today. Of course I'm talking about Slackware 
>> 13.37 [1]. Oh, and the Ubuntu Project released 11.04 today [2] too " 
>> though by reading the press release you'd never know Ubuntu was 
>> actually a Linux distribution.
>>
>> I kid a bit about Slackware being more important than Ubuntu " but it 
>> deserves a shout-out today just as much (if not more) than the Ubuntu 
>> release. Slackware is the longest-running Linux distribution (beating 
>> Debian by a few months) and was instrumental in putting Linux on the 
>> map. Other distributions may have eclipsed it in popularity " but 
>> without Slackware a lot of people might have missed out on Linux. It 
>> paved the way, and continues to offer Linux for the fun of it [3]. The 
>> consumer-facing release from Canonical doesn't even mention Ubuntu's 
>> heritage " positioning 11.04 as a release of "the Ubuntu operating 
>> system," rather than a Linux distro or giving props to the Debian base 
>> it's built on. It's OK, what's a little secret between friends? Android 
>> changed its name when it left the nest too, and it's doing OK.
>>
>> If you skim through the release notes for Slackware 13.37 [1] or the 
>> press release for Ubuntu 11.04 [2], it might be hard to believe we're 
>> essentially talking about the same operating system. Despite 
>> differences in user interface, management tools, and default 
>> applications Slackware and Ubuntu still share most of the software they 
>> depend on " the Linux kernel, the GNU utilities, X.org, and so on. But 
>> from there, they diverge quite a bit.
>>
>> Whereas Ubuntu 11.04 is going out into the world with a revamped 
>> desktop interface and a lot of features designed to simplify using 
>> Linux, Slackware offers a very similar installer and management tools 
>> that it did in 1993 " which is to say, very minimal tools.
>>
>> This is Linux's weakness and strength. If you could channel all of the 
>> work that goes into various Linux distributions into one project, it 
>> would be unstoppable. It would also be unbelievable, because the nature 
>> of open source means that everybody can (and will) do their own thing. 
>> Some days, it seems like a shame " but the ability to do your own thing 
>> means that Linux can satisfy the needs of the many, and the few. 
>> Slackware Linux may not be for everybody, but neither is Ubuntu [4] " 
>> and it'd be a damn shame if we only had one or the other.
>>
>> It's OK if Canonical wants to distance Ubuntu from Linux when it does 
>> the marketing thing, and try to jazz up the user interface in yet 
>> another attempt to conquer the desktop (and presumably other consumer 
>> devices). Maybe they'll succeed where others (many others) have failed. 
>> Meanwhile, we still have Slackware keeping the faith and providing its 
>> audience with the no-frills Linux experience that the "leet" still 
>> love.
>>
>>
>> Links:
>>
>> [1] http://slackware.com/announce/13.37.php
>>
>> [2] http://www.canonical.com/content/ubuntu-transforms-your-pc-experience
>>
>> [3] https://lwn.net/Articles/434815/
>>
>> [4] http://www.linuxjournal.com/video/unity-3-rants-and-tip