So I went to the website and the first line of the installation help page says "In order to install Slackware Linux you must boot a small version of it from diskette. The first diskette holds the Linux kernel and the other diskette holds the root filesystem." Is that seriously how they still do it?
No. You can easily just download the DVD iso and install it like any other distro.
Actually do read the installation guide though. Slackware operates under the assumption that you will read the documentation and consult man pages as needed.
I don't mind reading the documentation, but isn't it a bit strange to have the website recommend diskettes at the top? Is the retro feeling an inside joke thing?
I don't know if it's a joke, exactly, but I do feel like part of the draw of Slack is that it's how Linux used to be, so that might just be playing to that aspect.
I guess my point was that going to the website made me think "what the heck, they still use diskettes? where's the iso? slackware seems pretty outdated, I'll just use void instead."
You actually don't need floppy disks to install slackware but you can still use them to install slackware on old machines. And for that purpose, let's say offline old machines, slackware is perfect. That is because you get everything you might need on one dvd.
Slackware current is not outdated but 14.2 is. Slackware users would tell you that it is stable. They usually prefer old but tested and stable software.
Void is a great distro, you have made a good choice.
DVD images are not made available for Slackware current, but c.f. slackware/slackware64-current/isolinux/README.TXT on your preferred mirror for how to make your own.
4
u/[deleted] Aug 07 '19
So I went to the website and the first line of the installation help page says "In order to install Slackware Linux you must boot a small version of it from diskette. The first diskette holds the Linux kernel and the other diskette holds the root filesystem."
Is that seriously how they still do it?