[PLUG] Linux distributions

[Rich Shepard]

On Wed, 19 Aug 2015, Jim Webb wrote:

> Rich, I just looked at the Slackware site and I'm concerned that they
> haven't done much since 2013. I used to use Redhat in the past.

Jim,

   I used Red Hat from 4.0 (1997) to 7.1 (2003) and Slackware since then.

   I don't recall when 14.1 (the current distribution version) was released,
but there have been a ton of patches since then. 14.2 or 15.0 is supposedly
almost ready for prime time, but I don't follow the development, just use it
for everything I need.

   Many distributions want to upgrade versions frequently. While I suppose
they have their reasons for doing so, I don't know how necessary that is.

   Pat and crew put out patches as needed to remove vulnerabilities. I use
slackpkg every Friday to check for updates on installed packages here; I
have them from 3 repositories. So the same distribution number for a couple
of years does not mean the distribution is rusty, corroded, or collecting
dust. :-)

Rich