Slackware 9 is official

The first major Slackware release based on the GCC 3.2.2 compiler,
Slackware Linux 9.0 continues the ten-year Slackware tradition of
simplicity, stability, and security.

Among the many program updates and distribution enhancements, you’ll
find two of the most advanced desktop environments available today:
GNOME 2.2 (with a large collection of pre-compiled GNOME applications),
and KDE 3.1, the latest version of the award-winning K Desktop
Environment. Slackware now uses the 2.4.20 kernel bringing you
advanced performance features such as the ReiserFS journaling
filesystem, SCSI and ATA RAID volume support, and kernel support
for XFree86’s DRI (the Direct Rendering Interface) that brings high-
speed hardware accelerated 3D graphics to Linux. Additional kernels
allow installing Slackware using any of the journaling filesystems
available for Linux, including ext3, ReiserFS, IBM’s JFS, and SGI’s XFS.

From the beginning, Slackware has offered a stable and secure Linux
distribution for UNIX veterans as well as an easy-to-use system for
beginners. Slackware includes everything you’ll need to run a powerful
server or workstation. Each Slackware package follows the setup and
installation instructions from its author(s) as closely as possible,
offering you the most stable and easily expandable setup.

Here are some of the advanced features of Slackware 9.0:

– Runs the 2.4.20 version of the Linux kernel from ftp.kernel.org,
with Andrew Morton’s patches to stabilize the ext3 filesystem.
Special kernels were prepared to support hardware such as SCSI
controllers, USB keyboards and mice, parallel-port IDE devices,
IBM PS/2 machines with the Microchannel bus, and even speech
synthesizers providing access to Linux for the visually impaired
community. The performance of the 2.4.x kernel series along with
Slackware’s track record of careful attention to system security
make it the perfect choice for running your production servers.

– System binaries linked with the GNU C Library, version 2.3.1. This
version of glibc has been patched to improve compatibilty with
existing binaries.

– XFree86 4.3.0
This version of XFree86 represents a major upgrade with greatly
improved performance and support for more video hardware, including
support for hardware accelerated graphics using the Direct Rendering
Interface supported by the 2.4.20 Linux kernel. The 3D performance
rockets past anything you’ve ever seen before. Gamers, get ready. :)

– Major enhancements to the printing system, which now uses LPRng for
better performance and security. CUPS is also provided as an
alternative in the extra/ directory. The Ghostscript interpreter has
been upgraded to ESP Ghostscript version 7.05.6, which brings with it
several new printer drivers as well as support for the new IJS
interface, which allows new printer drivers to be added to Ghostscript
without requiring a recompilation. Two IJS servers are available in
this release. HPIJS, which supports more than 60 HP Inkjet printer
models, and Gimp-Print, which supports many printers from Canon and
Epson.

– Installs gcc-3.2.2 as the default C, C++, Objective-C and Fortran-77
compiler. This supports C++ much better than the gcc-2.95.3 compiler
used in previous Slackware releases.

– Support for fully encrypted network connections with OpenSSL, OpenSSH,
and GnuPG.

– Apache 1.3.27 web server with Dynamic Shared Object (DSO) support, SSL,
and PHP.

– PCMCIA, CardBus, and APM support for laptops. (pcmcia-cs-3.2.4).
Slackware also now includes hotplug support. This locates and
configures most hardware automatically as it is added (or removed)
from the system. It also loads the kernel modules required by sound
cards and other hardware at boot time.

– New development tools, including Perl 5.8.0, Python 2.2.2, and
graphical tools like Qt designer, KDevelop, and Glade.

– Updated versions of the Slackware package management tools make it easy
to add, remove, upgrade, and make your own Slackware packages.
The improved package tracking makes it easy to upgrade from Slackware
8.1 to Slackware 9.0. The checkinstall utility has been added
(in extra/) to help you build and maintain your own packages.

– Web browsers galore! Includes Netscape Communicator version 7.02,
Konqueror 3.1, and Mozilla 1.3 (now with anti-aliased font support
and built-in junk email filtering).

– The complete K Desktop Environment (KDE) version 3.1, including the
KOffice productivity suite, networking tools, GUI development with
KDevelop, multimedia tools, the Konqueror web browser and file
manager, dozens of games and utilities, international language
support, and more.

– The GNU Network Object Model Environment (GNOME) version 2.2.

– A collection of GTK based applications, including:
abiword-1.0.4, gaim-0.60cvs, gimp-1.2.3, and pan-0.13.4.

– Large repository of contributed software compiled and ready to run.
This includes various window managers, support for 3Dfx gaming cards,
XFree86 3.3.6 servers to support older hardware, OpenMotif-2.2.1,
the Java Runtime Environment, libsafe (advanced buffer overflow
protection), ISDN support, and much more (see the /extra directory).

– Many more improved and upgraded packages than we can list here. For a
complete list of core packages in Slackware 9.0, see this file:

ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-9.0/PACKAGES.TXT

– Another Slackware exclusive: Slackware’s ZipSlack installation option
is the fastest, _easiest_ Linux installation ever. ZipSlack provides
a basic text-based Linux system as a 42 megabyte ZIP archive.
Simply unzip on any FAT or FAT32 partition, edit your boot partition
in the LINUX.BAT batch file, and you can be running Linux in less
than five minutes. The ZipSlack installation includes everything you
need to network with Linux (including Ethernet, token ring, and
PPP), and extend the system with additional software packages such as
X. A ZipSlack system will even fit on a Zip(TM) disk, so you can
carry a personal Linux system with you to run on any PC with a
Zip(TM) drive.

Downloading Slackware 9.0:
————————–

The full version of Slackware Linux 9.0 is available for download from
the central Slackware FTP site hosted by our friends at www.cwo.com:

ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-9.0/

The ZipSlack version of Slackware can be downloaded from:

ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-9.0/zipslack/

If this site is busy, see the list of official mirror sites here:

http://slackware.com/getslack/

Purchasing Slackware on CD-ROM:
——————————-

Or, purchase the Slackware Linux 9.0 four CD-ROM set directly from
Slackware Linux, and you’ll be helping to support the continued
development of Slackware Linux! :-)

This is the official release of Slackware on CD-ROM, and has many
enhanced features, including:

– Easy bootable CD-ROM installation. If your machine can boot a
CD-ROM, just boot the first disc to begin the installation process.
– Fully bootable live CD-ROM — just boot the second disc and run a
basic Linux system right off the disc, including networking tools.
Makes the ultimate Linux rescue disc!
– The ZipSlack edition of Slackware Linux 9.0.
– The entire source code used to build Slackware Linux 9.0.

The price for the Slackware Linux CD-ROM set is $39.95 plus shipping.

Slackware Linux is also available by subscription. When we release a new
version of Slackware (which is typically once or twice a year) we ship it
to you and bill your credit card $24.95 plus shipping. Shipping is $5 in
the USA, Canada, and Mexico for First Class. Overseas is $9 PER ORDER.
There is an additional $3 COD charge (USA Only). UPS Blue Label (2nd day)
[USA Only] is $10 PER ORDER, UPS Red Label (next day) [USA Only] is $15
PER ORDER.

Ordering Information:
———————

You can order online at the Slackware Linux store:
http://store.slackware.com

Order inquiries (including questions about becoming a Slackware
reseller) may be directed to this address:
info@slackware.com

Or, send a check or money order to:

Slackware Linux, Inc.
1164 Claremont Drive
Brentwood, CA 94513
USA

Have fun! :^)

—
Patrick J. Volkerding