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Yes it's that time again! After many months of development and careful
testing, we are proud to announce the release of Slackware version 13.0!
We are sure you'll agree that the improvements made in this release more
than warrant the major version bump up from the 12.x series. We've done our
best to bring the latest technology to Slackware while still maintaining the
stability and security that you have come to expect. Slackware is well known
for it's simplicity and the fact that we try to bring software to you in the
condition that the authors intended.
Probably the biggest change is the addition of an official 64-bit port.
While the 32-bit (x86) version continues to be developed, this release brings
to you a complete port to 64-bit (x86_64). We know that many of you have
been waiting eagerly for this, and once you try it you'll see it was well
worth the wait.
Slackware 13.0 brings many updates and enhancements, among which you'll find
two of the most advanced desktop environments available today: Xfce 4.6.1,
a fast and lightweight but visually appealing and easy to use desktop
environment, and KDE 4.2.4, a recent stable release of the new 4.2.x series
of the award-winning K Desktop Environment. We continue to make use of HAL
(Hardware Abstraction Layer) which allows the system administrator to grant
use of various hardware devices according to users' group membership so that
they will be able to use items such as USB flash sticks, USB cameras that
appear like USB storage, portable hard drives, CD and DVD media, MP3 players,
and more, all without requiring sudo, the mount or umount command. Just plug
and play. Properly set up, Slackware's desktop should be suitable for any
level of Linux experience.
Slackware uses the 2.6.29.6 kernel bringing you advanced performance
features such as journaling filesystems, SCSI and ATA RAID volume support,
SATA support, Software RAID, LVM (the Logical Volume Manager), and
encrypted filesystems. Kernel support for X DRI (the Direct Rendering
Interface) brings high-speed hardware accelerated 3D graphics to Linux.
There are two kinds of kernels in Slackware -- the huge kernels, which
contain support for just about every driver in the Linux kernel. These are
primarily intended to be used for installation, but there's no real reason
that you couldn't continue to run them after you have installed. The
other type of kernel is the generic kernel, in which nearly every driver
is built as a module. To use a generic kernel you'll need to build an
initrd to load your filesystem module and possibly your drive controller
or other drivers needed at boot time, configure LILO to load the initrd at
boot, and reinstall LILO. See the docs in /boot after installing for more
information. Slackware's Linux kernels come in both SMP and non-SMP types
now. The SMP kernel supports multiple processors, multi-core CPUs,
HyperThreading, and about every other optimization available. In our own
testing this kernel has proven to be fast, stable, and reliable. We
recommend using the SMP kernel even on single processor machines if it
will run on them.
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 13.0:
- Runs the 2.6.29.6 version of the Linux kernel from ftp.kernel.org.
Also included is a kernel patched with Speakup to support speech
synthesizers providing access to Linux for the visually impaired
community. The 2.6.x kernel series has matured into a stable
kernel, and provides reliable performance for your desktop or
your production server.
- System binaries are linked with the GNU C Library, version 2.9.
This version of glibc also has excellent compatibility with
existing binaries.
- X11 based on the X.Org Foundation's modular X Window System.
There's been much activity in the X development world, and the
improvements in terms of performance and hardware support are
too numerous to mention them all here.
- Installs gcc-4.3.3 as the default C, C++, Objective-C,
Fortran-77/95, and Ada 95 compiler.
- Support for fully encrypted network connections with OpenSSL,
OpenSSH, OpenVPN, and GnuPG.
- Apache (httpd) 2.2.13 web server with Dynamic Shared Object
support, SSL, and PHP 5.2.10.
- PCMCIA, CardBus, USB, IEE1394 (FireWire) and ACPI support. This
makes Slackware a great operating system for your laptop.
- The udev dynamic device management system for Linux 2.6.x.
This locates and configures most hardware automatically as it
is added (or removed) from the system, and creates the access
nodes in /dev. It also loads the kernel modules required by
sound cards and other hardware at boot time.
- New development tools, including Perl 5.10.0, Python 2.6.2,
Ruby 1.8.7-p174, Subversion 1.6.4, git-1.6.4, mercurial-1.2.1,
graphical tools like Qt designer and KDevelop, and much more.
- Updated versions of the Slackware package management tools make it
easy to add, remove, upgrade, and make your own Slackware packages.
Package tracking makes it easy to upgrade from Slackware 12.2 to
Slackware 13.0 (see CHANGES_AND_HINTS.TXT). The slackpkg tool can
also help update from an older version of Slackware to a newer one,
and keep your Slackware system up to date. In addition, the
slacktrack utility (in extra/) will help you build and maintain
your own packages.
- Web browsers galore! Includes KDE's Konqueror 4.2.4,
SeaMonkey 1.1.17 (this is the replacement for the Mozilla
Suite), and the immensely popular Firefox 3.5.2, as well as
the Thunderbird 2.0.0.23 email and news client with advanced
junk mail filtering.
- The complete K Desktop Environment (KDE) version 4.2.4, including
the KOffice productivity suite, networking tools, GUI development
with KDevelop, multimedia tools (including the amazing Amarok
music player and K3B disc burning software), the Konqueror web
browser and file manager, dozens of games and utilities,
international language support, and more.
- A collection of GTK+ based applications including pidgin-2.5.9,
gimp-2.6.6, gkrellm-2.3.2, gxine-0.5.903, xchat-2.8.6, xsane-0.996,
and pan-0.133.
- A repository of extra software packages compiled and ready to run.
This includes the Java(TM) 2 Software Development Kit Standard
Edition, an MPlayer browser plugin, alternate Intel video drivers
for X, and 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 13.0, see this file:
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-13.0/PACKAGES.TXT
Downloading Slackware 13.0:
---------------------------
The full version of Slackware Linux 13.0 is available for download from
the central Slackware FTP sites hosted by our friends at www.cwo.com
and osuosl.org:
ftp://slackware.osuosl.org/pub/slackware/slackware-13.0/
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-13.0/
If the sites are busy, see the list of official mirror sites here:
http://slackware.com/getslack/
We will be setting up BitTorrent downloads for the official ISO images.
Stay tuned to http://slackware.com for the latest updates.
Instructions for burning the Slackware tree onto install discs may be
found in the isolinux directory.
Purchasing Slackware on CD-ROM or DVD:
--------------------------------------
Or, please consider purchasing the Slackware Linux 13.0 six CD-ROM set
or deluxe dual-sided DVD release directly from Slackware Linux, and
you'll be helping to support the continued development of Slackware Linux!
The DVD release has the 32-bit x86 Slackware 13.0 release on one side,
and the 64-bit x86_64 Slackware 13.0 release on the other. Both sides
are bootable for easy installation, and includes everything from both
releases of Slackware 13.0, including the complete source code trees.
The 6 CD-ROM release of Slackware 13.0 is the 32-bit x86 edition. It
includes a bootable first CD-ROM for easy installation, and everything
from the Slackware 13.0 32-bit x86 release is contained on 6 discs
labeled for easy reference.
The Slackware 13.0 x86 6 CD-ROM set is $49.95 plus shipping, or choose
the Slackware 13.0 x86/x86_64 dual-sided DVD (also $49.95 plus shipping).
Slackware Linux is also available by subscription. When we release a new
version of Slackware (which is normally once or twice a year) we ship it
to you and bill your credit card for a reduced subscription price
($32.99 for the CD-ROM set, or $39.95 for the DVD) plus shipping.
For shipping options, see the Slackware store website. Before ordering
express shipping, you may wish to check that we have the product in stock.
We make releases to the net at the same time as disc production begins,
so there is a lag between the online release and the shipping of media.
But, even if you download now you can still buy the official media later.
You'll feel good, be helping the project, and have a great decorative
item perfect for any computer room shelf. :-)
Ordering Information:
---------------------
You can order online at the Slackware Linux store:
http://store.slackware.com
Other Slackware items like t-shirts, caps, pins, and stickers
can also be found here. These will help you find and identify
yourself to your fellow Slackware users. :-)
Order inquiries (including questions about becoming a Slackware
reseller) may be directed to this address:
info@slackware.com
Have fun! :^) I hope you find Slackware to be useful, and thanks
very much for your support of this project over the years.
---
Patrick J. Volkerding <volkerdi@slackware.com>
Visit us on the web at: http://slackware.com
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