slackware 13.1 is in the air for quiet some time, it was dated in Wed May 19 04:40:19 UTC 2010 in its release note. this release includes some upgrades in its packages maybe the most noticeable are the use of 2.6.33.4 kernel (slackware 13.0 used 2.6.29.6 kernel) and the use of KDE 4.4.3 while in previous release (slackware 13.0) using KDE 4.2.4 which regarded as a let down by many slackware fans.
slackware
only one problem left for me to try this version which is i don’t have any laptop to install this cute little thing right now. my ‘beloved partner in crime’ dell inspiron 6400 finally reached its limit after tortured by me for almost 3 years (2007-2010), it end up burning several of its IC(s) on its board due to overheat problem. yeah .. i supposed to buy a cooler fan when using my laptop nearly 24/7, pity me, regret always comes last. as for now, i have it fixed in surabaya, but its remains a mistery whether it can be recovered or as good as dead.
as live goes on, i need to move on, currently i’m considering a replacement of it (note the considering part), after looking around, do some googling and doing several ‘on site price survey’ (halah), i’ve set my eyes on the new model of inspiron: dell inspiron 14R (and yes .. it’s dell again). it has nice spec/price and also satisfy my basic requirement: more GB in hard drive space, 320 GB at least, just so you know, i need lot of GB(s) to stores my data (which most of them are movies and series). my other needs is a powerful processor, this model comes with the newest intel ‘s flagship processor : core i-3/i-5, well … my daily activities aren’t just browsing the net and typing docs, i need more powerful processor to process heavier tasks, such as watching movies in HD format (just kidding but that’s one of them), actually i need it to perform well in computing stuff and in running heavy IDE(s) like eclipse or netbeans while others apps also running concurrently, thus make me considering inspiron 14R as a great deal. last but not least, it’s equipped with 1 gig ati radeon 5470HD and that looks awesome even though i’m not a big fan of games.
i have done my homework checking the compatibility of inspiron 14R’s hardware with slackware 13.1 and its expected to be fine except for the wifi card. same as most other inspiron models, this model employ a broadcom card which is well known as a pain in the as* for linux users especially slackware users. and fyi i have not able to switch on my wifi card in my previous use of slackware ( slackware 12.0, 12.1 and 13.0 running on dell inspiron 6400), i gave up after trying for days (or weeks) and yes i know how ‘pain’-ful was that. it is difficult to have the broadcom wifi card working, but thats not impossible, you just need much more effort in it (and a portion of luck of course), this blog shows how it’s done.
to perform perfectly, a graphic adapter driver has to be installed. and this is not a difficult task as shown here. the driver only need to be downloaded and installed, as simple as it is.
finally, if i ever setup slackware 13.1 on my own inspiron 14R (or else), notice the if part, i will post the process and my own thought about the release.
wish me luck
ps: this is not a review of slackware 13.1, i don’t have any capability to write a review since i’m just a novice in linux.
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curhatan bahasa langit,,biyuh..biyuh…
i wish u luck on buying a new one
not only considering 😛
since u’ve been already saving ‘here’ and ‘there’
:))
poor dell,,my toshiba lasted abit longer, 4 years! (2004-2008,,reminds me of my CV) haha..
like nana said,,goodluck buying a new one 🙂