| About | Andy Patrizio is a freelance technology writer based in Orange County, California. He's written for a variety of publications, ranging from Tom's Guide to Wired to Dr. Dobbs Journal. Venerable Linux distro Slackware comes back to life Slackware Linux, first released in 1993, is different from the more popular flavors, and that might be its appeal. Being first doesn't guarantee success in the technology industry. Remember the Netscape browser? Still, it can have its advantages, such as a different or unique approach to things. Such is the case with Slackware Linux. Slackware was the first formalized Linux distro, released in 1993, just two years after Linus Torvalds posted the Linux kernel. It was overtaken and overshadowed by Red Hat, SuSe, and Ubuntu, but it never went away. Now it's coming out of the shadows with an upgrade.