Slackware 13.0

It has been out since the end of August but I just noticed it last week. I was used to be freshly updated about this distribution for many years. Every now and then I went in to the Slackware change log to see how far they progressed on the next release. I have been using Slackware since my first experience with Linux in 1994 when I installed it on my i486 PC. 15 years is a long time...

But now I have been using Ubuntu for half a year since my old server melted and I had to buy new hardware. So I didn't find as much interest in following the Slackware distribution in detail. It is a bit sad and I feel like a traitor, but I was so impressed by Ubuntu that I just had to try it. Ubuntu has been a lot of joy and a lot of ripped hair from my soon bald head (because I am used to the Slackware way), but that is another story.

Slackware write in the release anouncement "Probably the biggest change is the addition of an official 64-bit port." and that is so cool. Personally I think it is a little late considering that AMD came out with 64 bit processors ages ago. Other than that there is a load of new cool and improved stuff in the latest release and I am tempted to install it somewhere.

Why don't you download it and give it a try!

New server on the way

My old Linux server died. First a fan stopped working so the computer froze now and then. After not so many days it refused to start at all again so something in the hardware is fried. I guess there is something on the motherboard that burned up. I really hope there is no real damage on the hard drive. That would be a small disaster because I have no fresh backup.... :P

So now I have ordered parts to build myself a new server. First time ever that I will get a new computer as server. Previous I have only taken some old computer that is ready to throw away and made it to my server. The one that just died was my fathers before I asked if I could take it when he bought a new one. He had even bought a new one after that switch. My dead server is probably over ten years old and deserves to rest in peace.

This is the specifications of my new server:

• Antec mATX Cube NSK1380 - (350w)
• Gigabyte Socket AM2+ mATX AMD 780G (GA-MA78GM-S2H)
• AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ 2.9GHz / 2x512kB Socket AM2 (65W)
• Corsair XMS2 Xtreme 2048MB DDR2 XMS2-6400 800MHz
• D-Link Nätverkskort DGE-530T 10/100/1000 (PCI)
• Samsung Spinpoint F1 1TB (7200RPM / 32MB / SATA II / NCQ)
• Samsung SATA DVD±RW 22x - Svart (Dual Layer) (SH-S223F)

and a

• D-Link 5-Ports Switch DGS-1005D 10/100/1000

I didn't do so hard investigations about the hardware so I really hope I didn't make any bad/stupid choices. As long as it works well I don't care much about the performance. My previous server had 350Mhz CPU and 384Mb of memory and that worked very well except in the graphical X Window interface using KDE which was a bit flickery and slow but still usable. Maybe that pain was mostly because of the really bad graphics card.

I am not sure yet if I will use the hyped up Ubuntu or the old reliable Slackware that I have always used before. I have actually used Slackware since summer 1994 and am quite comfortable with that distribution. I have used Ubuntu on my dual boot workstation and think there are both good and bad things about it. Most things I feel that is bad is probably my lack of knowledge about Ubuntu so I should probably choose that one for my server so I learn everything I need to know. But it feels almost like betrayal to not use Slackware any more. Hmm.. so hard decisions... What should I do?