When comparing Slackware vs SliTaz, the Slant community recommends Slackware for most people. In the question“What are the best Linux distributions for desktops?” Slackware is ranked 5th while SliTaz is ranked 27th. The most important reason people chose Slackware is:
Uses stable, plain-vanilla packages from upstream.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Stable
Uses stable, plain-vanilla packages from upstream.
Pro Strong adherence to UNIX Principals
Pro Ideal to learn more of Linux
Follows the original Linux roots. It still sees Linux as a free clone of UNIX so the distribution tries to be UNIX-like.
Pro Package management
Uses standard tar archives with shell scripting as packages.
Pro One more distro which is init based
Some users don't like to install systemd based distros because they increase booting and processing speed.
Pro Oldest surviving Linux distro
Besides Debian (which was first released in August 1993), it is the oldest still maintained Linux Distribution and was first released in July 1993.
Pro Super fast
Pro No systemd
Pro One of the smallest distributions with desktop GUI
The core liveCD is only 35 megabytes. The boot-from-internet option fits on a floppy.
Pro Very fast
Pro Can add desktop effects
SliTaz has a feature called "Desktop Effects" which can add shadow or fade effects to windows.
Pro Very customizable
SliTaz is very customizable. You can programatically edit and change anything you want on how the OS looks or behaves.
Cons
Con Not user-friendly
It is made to be KISS (keep it simple, stupid), so you have to do everything by hand.
Con Large size live ISO
One needs to vain 3GB+ data for downloading one slackware ISO.
Con Narrow repos
Doesn't offer the same amount of options as other distros do.
Con Niche/small community
Slackware is its own niche and has a small community.
Con Very slow release cycle
Hasn't updated in 3+ years.
Con Dependency issues
When it comes to dependencies, Slackware shows more issues than many other distros.
Con Install instructions are in French
When first booting SliTaz from a USB or from a Live CD, the installation instructions are in French.
Con Not much variety as to available applications
SliTaz does not have as many applications in its repositories as the bigger distros such as Ubuntu.