Easiest options, perhaps:
switch to Devuan
https://devuan.org/
or MXLinux
https://mxlinux.org/mx-linux
perhaps antiX Linux for those wanting WM's and not DE's
http://antix.mepis.org/index.php?title=Main_Page
If you are someone who values longevity and sees experience as something of great value then you might want to take a drive over to Slackware. Its the oldest actively maintained GNU/Linux distro, beats Debian by a few months. It is also a distro that has an expert maintainer at the helm, same person for 24 years (and yes there is a team of people that help develop and maintain it, it is no where near a "one man show" as some claim). Slackware and Salix are not going to leave the Linux scene any time soon! I cannot say the same for other distros out there.
Slackware Philosophy:
- A distribution that can be installed entirely offline with the CD/DVD set.
-A distribution which is released when stable and not according to a fixed schedule. Every release of Slackware Linux is thoroughly tested by the Slackware team and the community. Slackware places high value on stability rather than the “newness” or “freshness” of software.
-A distribution where “simplicity” is preferred over “convenience.” The lack of GUI helpers (common in many other commercial distributions) for system administration tasks is a case in point.
-A distribution where system configuration and administration is done through simple ncurses helper scripts or by directly editing well-commented configuration files through a text editor.
-A distribution that prefers to package “vanilla” software or software that hasn't been modified from upstream development. Little or no patching is done to upstream software and as a result, the software found in Slackware works as closely to what was intended by the original creators as practically possible.
-A distribution that does not add layers of abstraction or complexity on top of existing solutions. For instance, Slackware package management is handled by simple scripts acting on compressed tarball package files (*.tgz, *.txz, *.tbz) and there is no dependency handling for package management.
-A distribution which abides by the common-sense dictum “if it's not broken, don't fix it.”
-A distribution where the major decisions are taken by the BDFL (Benevolent Dictator for Life, the current chief maintainer Patrick Volkerding) and where the development process is more closed than purely community based distributions. As a result, Slackware is highly focused on its core strengths and values and does not cater to every preference of its community or others. For this reason, there is less pressure on the Slackware development team to be popular and cater to the larger mass market.
About Salix
Salix is a GNU/Linux distribution based on Slackware that is simple, fast and easy to use, with stability being a primary goal. Salix is also fully backwards compatible with Slackware, so Slackware users can benefit from Salix repositories, which they can use as an "extra" quality source of software for their favorite distribution. Like a bonsai, Salix is small, light & the product of infinite care.
Features
Salix can be used as its own distro, or Slackware users can use the Salix repos as an added /extra repo for high quality binary packages, thus greatly reducing the need to build packages from source. Building from source is extremely easy on Slackware and Salix, however, as all of the libraries and build mechanisms are either installed during the initial installation or are brought in as needed for the package you want to build.
- -one application per task on the installation ISO
-fully backwards compatible with Slackware
-optimized for desktop usage
-high quality package repositories with dependency support
-incredibly fast package tools
-simple & fully localized system administration tools
nice artwork
-supports 32-bit and 64-bit architectures
A great benefit in Slackware is the philosophy of "vanilla packages", many security flaws and bugs are often introduced by package maintainers and distro dev's making custom patches that upstream has no clue about. For instance, if *buntu makes a custom patch to a package (pick any, OpenSSL perhaps cough cough Debian), that patch can create a security hole that no-one knows about, if however, they stick to upstream code then it generally reduces the risk of holes and increases the likelihood of holes being fixed much more quickly since you are using the same package that the original developer created. This is one reason why Slackware/SalixOS do not have anywhere near as many updates as other distro's. Most of those other distros are patching their own patches.
In many ways Slackware/SalixOS is what Devuan is trying to do, but has the robust infrastructure and know-how in place for over 24 years. It sticks to solid Unix principles and anchors what GNU/Linux is/was. In many ways Slackware is becoming the default Linux, as the other distros morph into this new systemdOS.
Perhaps the old saying of "If you want to learn RedHat use RedHat, if you want to learn Linux use Slackware" should be changed to "If you want to learn Linux use Slackware, if you want to learn systemdOS then use another distro".
If you have any questions feel free ask here or send me a message or ask over at LinuxQuestions.org or the forum for Salixos (forum.salixos.org). I will update this post as needed. This was a quick first draft so to speak.
PS: an after thought, Slackware dev.'s are very active on LinuxQuestions.org and Salix dev's are active on their forum, I guess I could include that as another benefit, direct contact with the developers and maintainers.
Ref: https://salixos.org/
Salix Reviews https://forum.salixos.org/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=7351
http://www.slackware.com/
https://docs.slackware.com/slackware:philosophy
https://docs.slackware.com/toc:start
https://www.linuxquestions.org/question ... xt-644746/
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10-thi ... -a-chance/
Slackware dev. team member: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xh2eah5L4b8