Dropline GNOME 2.14.1 is out !!!

There are a few problems with this.

X11 6.8.2 is not mutually compatible with 7.x (or even 6.9), and neither are quite stable enough for prime-time. The only way we can guarantee that things "just work" is with our own X11 build. Users that insist on using a newer X11 may blacklist dropline's builds in /etc/dropline/blacklist/. There is nothing stopping you from doing this, but I can assure you that things will not work as designed. There are massive linkage problems when you try to just "drop in" an X11 replacement (trust me, we've tested 7.x with GNOME 2.14). Additionally, we build for the current stable version of Slackware, which includes X11 6.8.2.

We've looked at slapt-get and swaret as alternatives to the dropline-installer. Slapt-get is fine software, but it doesn't particularly offer us what we need right now without a bit of extra work to adjust some things. There are a few problems with installing Slackware on GNOME that are a direct result of limitations in Slackware package management. Patrick V used to get around it by including hardcoded configuration files that are actually supposed to be generated by means of the doinst.sh after installation. For this reason, our installer installs all of the packages in a very specific order... Otherwise, things simply will not work properly.

The developer of slapt-get was kind enough to offer some suggestions and code samples of how to implement this into slapt-get, but we've unfortunately not had the time to make this viable yet. GNOME is a lot of work to package and patch up. I do believe that Gslapt is pretty neat, and would make a nice front-end for a future installer.

fair enough. at least you are aware of programs like slapt-get. it's not nice when you have to use more than one program for the same purpose.

now, about x11. for some of use that use -current, going back to 6.8.2 will definetely break everything but dropline. apparently there's no middle line here when it comes to -current. What do you suggest to people like me (besides using frg)? Would you build dropline for -current?

now, about x11. for some of use that use -current, going back to 6.8.2 will definetely break everything but dropline.

Dropline gnome has never been based on slackware - current. If you want to use it you need the correct requirements. The correct requirements are Slackware 10.2 which is the last stable release. If you are so brave to use something that is not released as stable you should know that this is work on and probably you should be waiting until Dropline GNOME releases 2.16 and it will work with your current slackware.

Rgds
Saxa

We don't build Dropline GNOME for -current. I don't believe that FRG does either (judging by the notes on their homepage). Though some folks use Slackware-current without any problems (along with a third-party GNOME dektop) it certainly does introduce issues that we cannot anticipate. Seeing as Slackware 10.2 has X11 6.8.2, and FRG and Gware build against that as well (to my knowledge), using the default Slackware X11 packs, I don't think that the results will be any different depending on the GNOME desktop that you choose. For that reason, we cannot suggest that you use a third-party GNOME desktop with -current at all. Slackware current is an unstable development branch. Sure, it works for some folks but it's a moving target for us.

Indeed. A description of exactly what Dropline Gnome is should be the very first thing that users see when they go to the website, followed by news. The only reason I knew is because I've been hanging around on the Linux scene for a few years.

The new website was recently put up to go along with the 2.14.1 release. The issue of a lack of a description about Dropline GNOME has been discussed, and will be on the main page soon.