Zenwalk is a Slackware based GNU/Linux distribution which mainly focuses desktop users. It is more usable flavor of Slackware which is well known for it's conservative nature and stability. When slackware requires few extra command line configuration to get a working system, Zenwalk offers a simplified graphical approach for installation and configuration.
Latest issue of Distrowatch weekly(15th Aug 2016) features a review of Zenwalk Linux 8.0. This review observes, in addition to easy of installation and configuration, the biggest plus point of Zenwalk is wise selection of default packages. It is not bloated as complete installation of Slackware, instead it makes a wise selection to provide all day to day packages and ships installation image with less than 1 GB size.
Zenwalk 8.0 includes comparatively newer versions of packages like LibreOffce 5.1, Xfce 4.12 ..etc. It is only available for 64 bit architectures. Zenwalk is binary compatible with Slackware and it won't be difficult to switch from Slackware to Zenwalk. The dependency issue, which is a head ache in Slackware also present in Zenwalk - Reviewer continues.
Latest issue of Distrowatch weekly(15th Aug 2016) features a review of Zenwalk Linux 8.0. This review observes, in addition to easy of installation and configuration, the biggest plus point of Zenwalk is wise selection of default packages. It is not bloated as complete installation of Slackware, instead it makes a wise selection to provide all day to day packages and ships installation image with less than 1 GB size.
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| Zenwalk Desktop (Credit : Distrowatch weekly) |
Zenwalk 8.0 includes comparatively newer versions of packages like LibreOffce 5.1, Xfce 4.12 ..etc. It is only available for 64 bit architectures. Zenwalk is binary compatible with Slackware and it won't be difficult to switch from Slackware to Zenwalk. The dependency issue, which is a head ache in Slackware also present in Zenwalk - Reviewer continues.
In July I reviewed the venerable Slackware distribution. Slackware is well known for its conservative nature and dependability, but it requires a few extra steps to get a friendly desktop environment up and running. The Zenwalk Linux distribution is based on Slackware and maintains binary compatibility with its parent. Zenwalk offers two advantages over Slackware, one of them being Zenwalk runs a graphical user interface by default while Slackware boots into a text console following a fresh installation. The second feature Zenwalk offers is a "one-application-per-task" approach to selecting software. Slackware does allow the user to customize installations up front, but fine-grained application selection takes a long time. By default, Slackware will dump large collections of application on the user's hard drive with a full installation taking up over 9GB of disk space. Zenwalk streamlines things a bit, providing a focused set of desktop applications and a full installation of Zenwalk requires approximately 6GB of hard drive space.You can read complete review in distrowatch weekly.