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Diffstat (limited to 'RELEASE_NOTES')
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diff --git a/RELEASE_NOTES b/RELEASE_NOTES index b302330a9..be88e18eb 100644 --- a/RELEASE_NOTES +++ b/RELEASE_NOTES @@ -1,108 +1,129 @@ +Slackware 15.0 release notes. Wed Feb 2 18:39:59 CST 2022 -Slackware 14.2 release notes. Thu Jun 30 22:37:15 UTC 2016 - -Hi folks, - - Historically, the RELEASE_NOTES had been mostly technical -information, but once again Robby Workman has covered the important -technical details in CHANGES_AND_HINTS.TXT. Thanks! - - After jumping ahead through various Linux kernel branches over -the course of this development cycle, we ended up on the 4.4.x -branch and decided to stick with it. Greg Kroah-Hartman's -announcement back in October that the 4.4 series would be getting -a long-term support for two years helped to cement this decision -and should be good news for anyone wanting to keep a maintained -stable kernel on their system. As usual, the kernel is provided in -two flavors, generic and huge. The huge kernel contains enough built-in -drivers that in most cases an initrd is not needed to boot the system. -The generic kernels require the use of an initrd to load the kernel -modules needed to mount the root filesystem. Using a generic kernel -will save some memory and possibly avoid a few boot time warnings. -On the 32-bit side of things, there are both SMP (multiple processor -capable) and non-SMP (single processor) kernels. The non-SMP kernel -is mostly intended for machines that can't run the SMP kernel, which -is anything older than a Pentium III, and some models of the Pentium M -that don't support PAE (although it seems that these might support PAE -but just lack the CPU flags to advertise it -- try booting with the -"forcepae" kernel option). On 32-bit, it is highly recommended to use -the SMP kernel if your machine is able to boot with it (even if you have -only a single core) because the optimization and memory handling -options should yield better performance. - - If you'd like to try out the latest kernel branch, you'll find -.config files for Linux 4.6 in the /testing/source/ directory. - - Slackware 14.2 has support for systems running UEFI firmware (x86_64 -Slackware edition only). Packages that help support UEFI include elilo, -GRUB 2, and efibootmgr, and all of the installation media supports -booting under UEFI, as do the USB boot sticks generated during -installation. At this point there is no support for running the system -under Secure Boot, but a dedicated user could add their own Machine Owner -Key, sign their kernels, modules, and bootloader, and then use shim to -start the bootloader. Documentation for installing on UEFI machines is -provided in a README_UEFI.TXT found in the top-level Slackware directory. - - Slackware ISO images (both the ones available online as well as -the discs sent out from the Slackware store) have been processed using -isohybrid. This allows them to be written to a USB stick, which can -then be booted and used as the install source. This works on machines -running both regular BIOS as well as UEFI. - - Slackware 14.2 contains updated versions of both KDE and Xfce, and -both of these have been split as much as possible into their component -packages rather than larger bundles. This not only makes it easier to -remove software that you don't need, but also makes it easier to -maintain on our end. If something needs a patch, it's a whole lot -easier to issue a patch for only the affected item. This saves storage -space on the archive sites, and your time and bandwidth downloading -the updates. - - Although Slackware does not ship the GNOME desktop, we can recommend -a couple of places to look if you're interested in trying to add it to -your system. The Dropline project ( http://www.droplinegnome.net ) will -be putting together a set of packages for running GNOME 3.20.1 on -Slackware. There's also the MATE desktop, which is a fork of GNOME 2.x. -SlackBuild scripts are available to compile MATE packages for Slackware -from http://mateslackbuilds.github.io - thanks to Chess Griffin and -Willy Sudiarto Raharjo for making this option available. - - Need more build scripts? Something that you wanted wasn't included -in Slackware? Well, then check out slackbuilds.org. Several of the team -members work on the scripts there. - - There's a community driven site for Slackware documentation, -http://docs.slackware.com -- check it out, and join in to share your -knowledge! - - Thanks to the rest of the team (and other contributors) for the -great help -- Eric Hameleers for major work on the KDE SC packages, init -scripts, installer, documentation (especially getting docs.slackware.com -up and running), and all the extra packages like multilib compilers -(read more here: http://alien.slackbook.org/blog/), Robby Workman for -following X.Org, eudev, NetworkManager, wicd, Xfce, and tons of other -projects, building and testing all that stuff, writing documentation, his -work with the team at slackbuilds.org, and lots of package upgrades, -Piter Punk for slackpkg work, Stuart Winter for more updates to +Good hello folks, nice to see you here again. :-) + +Historically, the RELEASE_NOTES had been mostly technical information, but +once again Robby Workman has covered the important technical details in +CHANGES_AND_HINTS.TXT. Thanks! + +We've actually built over 400 different Linux kernel versions over the years +it took to finally declare Slackware 15.0 stable (by contrast, we tested 34 +kernel versions while working on Slackware 14.2). We finally ended up on kernel +version 5.15.19 after Greg Kroah-Hartman confirmed that it would get long-term +support until at least October 2023 (and quite probably for longer than that). +As usual, the kernel is provided in two flavors, generic and huge. The huge +kernel contains enough built-in drivers that in most cases an initrd is not +needed to boot the system. The generic kernels require the use of an initrd to +load the kernel modules needed to mount the root filesystem. Using a generic +kernel will save some memory and possibly avoid a few boot time warnings. +I'd strongly recommend using a generic kernel for the best kernel module +compatibility as well. It's easier to do that than in previous releases - the +installer now makes an initrd for you, and the new geninitrd utility will +rebuild the initrd automatically for the latest kernel packages you've +installed on the system. + +On the 32-bit side, there are both SMP (multiple processor capable) and +non-SMP (single processor) kernels. The non-SMP kernel is mostly intended for +machines that can't run the SMP kernel, which is anything older than a +Pentium III, and some models of the Pentium M that don't support PAE (although +it seems that these might support PAE but just lack the CPU flags to advertise +it -- try booting with the "forcepae" kernel option). On 32-bit, it is highly +recommended to use the SMP kernel if your machine is able to boot with it +(even if you have only a single core) because the optimization and memory +handling options should yield better performance. + +If you'd like to try out the latest kernel branch, you'll find .config files +for Linux 5.16 in the /testing/source/ directory. + +Slackware 15.0 has support for systems running UEFI firmware (x86_64 Slackware +edition only). Packages that help support UEFI include elilo, GRUB 2, and +efibootmgr, and all of the installation media supports booting under UEFI, as +do the USB boot sticks generated during installation. At this point there is +no support for running the system under Secure Boot, but a dedicated user +could add their own Machine Owner Key, sign their kernels, modules, and +bootloader, and then use shim to start the bootloader. We'll be looking into +supporting this officially in the next release. Documentation for installing +on UEFI machines is provided in a README_UEFI.TXT found in the top-level +Slackware directory. + +The Slackware ISO images have been processed using an isohybrid format which +allows them to be burned to DVD, *or* to be written to a USB stick, which can +then be booted and used as the install source. This works on machines running +both regular BIOS as well as UEFI. + +Need more build scripts? Something that you wanted wasn't included in +Slackware? Well, then check out slackbuilds.org. Several of the team members +work on the scripts there along with many other dedicated volunteers. + +There's a community driven site for Slackware documentation, +http://docs.slackware.com -- check it out, and join in to share your knowledge! + +Thanks to the rest of the Slackware team (and other contributors) for the +great help -- Eric Hameleers for his massive efforts on getting KDE Plasma 5 +ready and continuing to maintain it even as the development cycle ran much +longer than expected. Eric, I know I came close to wearing out your patience, +so thanks for sticking it out and for all your other help with extra packages, +multilib support, docs.slackware.com, and everything else you do for Slackware. +Everyone be sure to follow Eric's blog at: http://alien.slackbook.org/blog/ +Thanks to Robby Workman for help on tons of stuff... especially Xfce but also +tons of miscellaneous updates, the CHANGES_AND_HINTS file and other +documentation, managing various project infrastructure including helping to +obtain servers, getting them all set up, finding hosting, etc. Thanks to our +friends at OnyxLight Communications who helped us out with hosting (and +hardware, too!) for our development server. Onyxlight closed down during the +pandemic, unfortunately. I hope they're all doing well. Thanks to PiterPunk +for his work on maintaining slackpkg and various bugfixes. Thanks to Darren +"Tadgy" Austin for rewriting the netconfig utility adding support for IPv6, +VLANs, link aggregation and more. Thanks to Stuart Winter for more updates to linuxdoc-tools, slacktrack, and for all kinds of fixes throughout the installer and system (he finds my bugs all the time while porting packages -to ARM for the Slackware ARM port: http://www.armedslack.org/), Vincent -Batts for keeping Ruby working well and other miscellaneous fixes, -Heinz Wiesinger for working on PHP, MariaDB (especially!), icu4c, LLVM, and -lots of other stuff, Amritpal Bath for various bugfixes and helping with -release torrents, mrgoblin for testing RAID, bluetooth, and being a master -of regex. Other very honorable mentions go to Alan Hicks, Erik Jan Tromp, -Karl Magnus Kolstø, Mark Post, Fred Emmott, and NetrixTardis, and anyone -else I'm forgetting (including the other team members who contributed -little fixes and suggestions here and there along with general moral -support). Special thanks to the folks who mailed in bug reports (and fixes) -and helped collaborate on this release. This was another great release -cycle for community participation, especially on the LinuxQuestions.org -Slackware forum. Thanks for the help, for keeping this project fun, and -making it possible for us to keep up with the rapid pace of Linux -development. Thanks to Andrea and Briah, too! - -Have fun! +to ARM for the Slackware ARM port: https://arm.slackware.com), Vincent Batts +for making Slackware PAM support a reality, Heinz Wiesinger for working on KDE +/ Plasma and Qt, LLVM, MariaDB, OpenCL, and really just all kinds of stuff, +Erik Jan Tromp for help with the pkgtools rewrite and support for parallel +compression/decompression testing and benchmarking. Willy Sudiarto Raharjo +for work on slackbuilds.org, MATE, sbopkg, and more. Matteo "ponce" Bernardini +for countless bugfixes and all the work getting slackbuilds.org ready for this +new release. Honorable mentions also go to long-time contributors and friends +of the project including Karl Magnus Kolstø, NetrixTardis, Alan Hicks, +mrgoblin, and Mark Post. Special thanks to everyone else who reported bugs +(and/or provided fixes) or helped collaborate on this release in any way. +The Slackware community stepped up in all kinds of ways this time around, +especially all my friends on the LinuxQuestions.org Slackware forum. +Special thanks and sorry to everyone I forgot. +Thanks also to my family for putting up with all of this. ;-) -Pat Volkerding <volkerdi@slackware.com> +IN MEMORIAM +----------- + +Sadly, we lost a couple of good friends during this development cycle and +this release is dedicated to them. + +Erik "alphageek" Jan Tromp passed away in 2020 after a long illness. He was +a long-time member of the Slackware core team doing a ton of stuff behind +the scenes and a master of lesser-known programming languages like Tcl. :-) +For a long time he lived closer to me geographically than anyone else on +the core team, but unfortunately with an international border between us +we never did meet in person. But he was there in chat every day and was a +good friend to everyone on the team. He is greatly missed. Sorry I didn't +get 15.0 out in time for you to see it... + +My old friend Brett Person also passed away in 2020. Without Brett, it's +possible that there wouldn't be any Slackware as we know it - he's the one +who encouraged me to upload it to FTP back in 1993 and served as Slackware's +original beta-tester. He was long considered a co-founder of this project. +I knew Brett since the days of the Beggar's Banquet BBS in Fargo back in +the 80's. When the Slackware Project moved to Walnut Creek CDROM, Brett was +hired as well, and we spent many hours on the road and sitting next to each +other representing Slackware at various trade shows. Brett seemed to know +all kinds of computer luminaries and was an amazing storyteller, always +with his smooth radio voice. Gonna miss you too, pal. + + +To everyone out there still reading this, thanks. :-) +Hope to see you again the next time we do this. + +Cheers, + +Pat Volkerding <volkerdi@slackware.com> |