Slackware unlucky13 with KDE 4.x?

Story: Slackware goes 64-bitTotal Replies: 27
Author Content
vainrveenr

Sep 01, 2009
12:57 AM EDT
Somewhat ironic that Slackware is at its triscadecaphobic 13. See the other LXer thread 'It's always the other guy.' at http://lxer.com/module/forums/t/29600/ for current feedback on Slackware KDE 4.x's questionable ease-of-use and functionality. Be forewarned at this Slackware 13 "point oh" release!
number6x

Sep 01, 2009
10:13 AM EDT
Slackware 13 should only cause fear in Redmond Washington.

Don't worry, MS will use lucky # 7 to counteract the bad juju from Linux 13.

Or so the spirits tell me(Gotta lay off that bourbon).
tuxchick

Sep 01, 2009
10:36 AM EDT
Nonsense number6x. Just get better bourbon.
jdixon

Sep 01, 2009
10:45 AM EDT
> ...on Slackware KDE 4.x's questionable ease-of-use and functionality.

If Patrick didn't think it was ready, he wouldn't have included it. In any case, you always have the option of using XFCE (and a handful of other window managers) instead.

> Be forewarned at this Slackware 13 "point oh" release!

A Slackware .0 release is nothing to be worried about.
Steven_Rosenber

Sep 01, 2009
3:54 PM EDT
I had a lot more success with Slackware 12.0 than I did with 12.1 or 12.2 ...

Right now I'm considering a Slackware 13 installation for a long-term test on my backup laptop ... which will become the main laptop when the current main laptop gets ripped apart to replace the dead CMOS battery and slide in a new hard drive (very difficult in this particular Toshiba Satellite; I remain cursed with difficult-to-remove laptop drives).

My plan was to continue running Debian Lenny on the backup laptop during the downtime, but with Slackware 13 out, I'm tempted to go in that direction.

I'm at the point where I need to get a couple extra Intel boxes to test on ...
caitlyn

Sep 01, 2009
3:56 PM EDT
Quoting:I'm at the point where I need to get a couple extra Intel boxes to test on ...


There are some netbooks under $200 now :) That may be the answer.
Steven_Rosenber

Sep 01, 2009
4:08 PM EDT
Quoting:There are some netbooks under $200 now :) That may be the answer.


It's kind of like that new-agey law of attraction. Once I decided that I wanted computers for free or nearly so, they pretty much began showing up on my desk or doorstep. I paid $15 for my Sparcstation 20, the same amount for my old Compaq laptop. My two Toshiba laptops were saved from the to-be-recycled pile, as was my Mac G4. Somebody just gave me a Sparc 10 (not that a 1990s Unix workstation is really worth anything ....)

I could use a "new" laptop, but I can probably hold out for another year or two with these 1.2 GHZ Toshibas.

If I get my chakras in the right order, some P4 Intel desktops should flow my way .... (for me a P4 is ultra-modern ...)
bigg

Sep 01, 2009
4:15 PM EDT
I can always use more boxes for my cluster (provided they net boot and have a reasonable processor speed).

On Slackware 13, the hardware detection worked better than any other distro on my 2002 desktop. The only problem is that I can't get it to automount a USB drive. I added myself to plugdev and cdrom, but no dice. Otherwise, OOo and other apps work great, that's the only problem I've had so far.
Steven_Rosenber

Sep 01, 2009
4:20 PM EDT
bigg, did you try this?

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/slackware-14/slackwa...

Re: OO ... did you install from Slackbuilds?
caitlyn

Sep 01, 2009
4:30 PM EDT
@Steven: I need to get plugged into your network for finding free or nearly free ($15 is close enough) systems. I see some old boxes with very low specs go for insane prices on eBay. I'd particularly like a Macbook or Mac Mini from the last days of PowerPC. I'd also like to find one or more suitable MIPS boxen, either something like a circa 1999-2000 SGI O2 or something relatively new, as in just a few years old, like a Lemote Fulong.
bigg

Sep 01, 2009
4:40 PM EDT
@Steven

Thanks, I'll have to try that when I get home. In 12.1 and 12.2 automounting worked out of the box, so I don't know what's going on.

I got OOo from Robby Workman's page. No dependencies, just downloaded and used upgradepkg --install-new.
caitlyn

Sep 01, 2009
5:28 PM EDT
I'll be doing a download of 13 tonight and burning it to DVD in the morning. It sounds like some things are much improved, a lot is the same just updated (Slackware is Slackware, after all), and there are a few little bugs. Pretty much what I'd expect from a new major release.
Steven_Rosenber

Sep 01, 2009
8:01 PM EDT
Quoting:I got OOo from Robby Workman's page. No dependencies, just downloaded and used upgradepkg --install-new.


I used Robby's packages for Abiword and a few other things the last time I ran Slackware. I think all the Slackbuild does is grab the Linux binary, turn it into a Slackware package and install it ... or something equally non-sinister. For a minute there, I worried that the Slackbuild wanted to build OO from source, which would take many, many hours ...
jdixon

Sep 01, 2009
8:15 PM EDT
> I see some old boxes with very low specs go for insane prices on eBay...

Standard Dell, IBM, and HP hardware can be found for reasonable prices at some resellers. The one I've had good luck with is Intechra (http://www.intechraoutlet.com). They currently have off-lease Dell Optiplex GX-280's for as little as $92 plus shipping. The machines tend to be 3-5 years old. My wife just got a GX-620 from them for $175 which a 3.4 GHz Pentium 4, 2 GB of memory, a 160 GB hard drive, a DVD burner, and a modem. She's trying out Ubuntu 8.4 on it, and very happy so far. No Sparc, PowerPC, MIPS, or ARM though. We have no affiliation with Intrechra, we're just satisfied customers.
Steven_Rosenber

Sep 01, 2009
8:26 PM EDT
Pacificgeek.com has these dame kind of deals, and we have a new store here that sells the same kind of junk locally -- I'm hoping to go soon and check it out.

But once you let it be known that you'll come and pick up people's old gear, the phone starts a-ringin' ...
theboomboomcars

Sep 01, 2009
8:41 PM EDT
You can also check with your local college/university. They often sell off the old stuff for cheap.
jdixon

Sep 01, 2009
9:34 PM EDT
> I'll be doing a download of 13 tonight and burning it to DVD in the morning.

I downloaded it on Friday after it came out, but my DVD burner has apparently "burnt". It won't burn either CD's or DVD's. Reads them fine, but no burning. I booted from a live CD to test that it wasn't a software problem and got the same result. Sigh, time for a new burner.
gus3

Sep 01, 2009
10:45 PM EDT
@jdixon:

If the drive will still read at max speed, don't replace it; just add a new burner. That way, you can watch movies etc. while recording ISO's.
jdixon

Sep 02, 2009
4:05 PM EDT
> If the drive will still read at max speed, don't replace it; just add a new burner.

There's already a DVD player in the system. :( I'll keep it for future use as a player, yes, but not in this system.
Steven_Rosenber

Sep 02, 2009
7:19 PM EDT
I've been having so many burning issues ... with my optical drive, that is ... that I'm thinking of just ordering from osdisc.com and stopping the headache.
flufferbeer

Sep 02, 2009
8:20 PM EDT
@S_R One thing you could do wherever you get the CDs or DVDs is to create the Slackware 13.0 disk sets on your hard drive. Assuming you have enough space in whatever /home and /opt directories you're using, this could be /home//disk1, disk2, disk3 ... or whatever. I obtained the three install CDs rather than the DVD, so I needed less than 2 GB of my home directory for this... a straight copy of the .iso files from CDs to each diskX directory. I set up all the expanded Slackware .iso install disk-files onto /opt/diskX directories using the 'mount -o loop' option and then deleted each /home/diskX directory after successful expansion and copying. I think that whatever device /opt is mounted on could be stretched to 6 GB or more with the gparted so that there is enough disk space for the total /opt/diskX's. The /home is the main backup for the upgrade -- did not need to reformat /opt and /home in the Slackware 13.0 install process. So all this allowed the Slackware 13.0 installation process to find the SETUP packages locally, rather than from CD/DVD. Saved some time!
Bob_Robertson

Sep 02, 2009
8:42 PM EDT
On the subject of KDE-4, I put an AMD-64 KDE-4 install on VirtualBox. Runs fine, but I keep running into little KDE-4...lackings.

I wanted to change the look of KDM login, and I found the right place in the settings, but there is no "administrator mode".

Not to fear, I was told on the Debian-KDE mailing list, Debian has 4.3, and "administrator mode" is for 4.4.

I also miss the "turn off all sounds" button. Oh well.
gus3

Sep 02, 2009
10:13 PM EDT
Quoting:I also miss the "turn off all sounds" button.
And I miss my ex. But my aim is getting better with practice...
krisum

Sep 03, 2009
1:46 AM EDT
Nowadays I use UNetbootin to create a bootable USB out of an iso for linux distros instead of burning discs. This has been much smoother and easier for me. It should work with slackware 13 too.
jdixon

Sep 03, 2009
6:41 AM EDT
> It should work with slackware 13 too.

Depends on the formatting of the USB stick and whether we're talking a CD image or the DVD image. I believe the DVD image is too large for a fat32 formatted drive. A CD image should work though, yes.
rijelkentaurus

Sep 03, 2009
9:30 AM EDT
@Bob,

System Settings > Notifications > System Notifications > Player Settings > No audio output

See if that works for you.
Bob_Robertson

Sep 03, 2009
10:00 AM EDT
Rij,

I saw that, but "no audio output" doesn't have the same meaning (to me) as "turn off all sounds". It was obvious in -3 that it simply unchecked the audio alerts, rather than the impression that the "No Audio Output" switch gave me which was to disable the audio system itself.

I'll try it, thanks.
rijelkentaurus

Sep 04, 2009
2:39 PM EDT
True that, Bob. Not clear at all.

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