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VectorLinux SOHO: A better Slackware than Slackware
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CommentsThe VectorLinux install program is a variation on the Slackware ncurses installation with some added steps that make system configuration more user-friendly. VectorLinux uses cfdisk for partitioning. If the disk has been partitioned already you can choose to designate the root and other desired partitions. If it hasn't, you must specify the partitions and their types and sizes; the installation procedure won't offer you its suggestion for a good configuration. I've had some installs of VectorLinux not detect my swap partition, leaving me to add an entry to /etc/fstab later.
Once the disk is partitioned, a menu-driven process guides you through the software category choices and system configuration. Unlike the Slackware letter categories, VectorLinux gives selections meaningful names such as openoffice.tlz and kernel-src.tlz. Some other additional packages include Moodin, Firefox, Pidgin, MPlayer, and the GIMP; all are installed by default. VectorLinux supports Hebrew, Dutch, and Spanish languages in addition to the English default.
After software installation, the next step is configuration. Again, menus guide you through each step, with either checkboxes or text areas for input. Some of the steps include user setup, desired screen resolution, hostname and network configuration, root password, and bootloader. VectorLinux lets you use either LILO or GRUB. In addition, VectorLinux offers hardware detection that simplifies setup. Most often you only need to confirm the hardware configuration proposals.
The system
When the system boots, after login, the desktop displays several icons for user convenience, including links to documentation, local directories, and regularly used applications. The panel at the bottom of the screen contains the system menu, a few quick launchers, desktop pager, system tray, and clock.
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The menu is the KDE default populated with the whole of the KDE suite as well as additional apps and tools. Package management is handled by a graphical application called Gslapt, which is similar to Synaptic in appearance and operation. It comes with repositories already configured to install updates and additional packages. After updating the package database, I was able to install several packages without any issues. To install a package, right-click on the package choice, click the desired action, and click Execute in the toolbar.
VectorLinux includes its own graphical system configuration suite called the Vector Administration System Menu. The program opens a window containing a menu that lets you change your user password, set up which window manager to use, reset the skeleton files entries (skeleton files set default behaviors for an application or process to make it more functional or user-friendly) in part or as a whole for a fresh configuration, and perform deeper system configuration requiring the root password. With that fourth choice, you can configure the autodetection utility, manage users, set up the X server, start up services and boot procedures, set up hostname and networking options, configure hardware devices, and configure filesystems.
Another Vector extra is the included documentation. The desktop icon labeled Vector-Docs opens a browswer window with an introduction to the VectorLinux system. It has hyperlinks to the project's Web site and help forum, but it also links to a variety of local howtos and frequently asked questions.
Hardware support
I tested VectorLinux 5.8 SOHO on a Hewlett-Packard Pavilion dv6105us Notebook PC. It features Nvidia GeForce Go 6150 graphics, Altec Lansing MCP51 sound, and a Broadcom 4311 wlan chip. I've tested many distributions on this laptop, and most of the hardware is supported by the kernel out-of-the-box.
Most distributions do a good job with auto-configuration on the laptop, and VectorLinux did as well. The keyboard, sound, and wired network all worked upon login. My touchpad functioned fairly well, although it did seem a bit over-sensitive. When I inserted a USB mouse or USB thumb drive, the mouse was immediately available and an icon for the drive appeared on the desktop. Printer configuration is handled primarily through the CUPS browser interface.
The graphics display was setup to use "vesa" and a resolution of 1024x768 by default. This is not the optimial setting for my display; I'd rather use the manufacturer's recommended 1280x800 resolution. The X server wouldn't start using the NV driver, so I had to download the proprietary Nvidia drivers. After installing these I was able to adjust the resolution to my desired 1280x800.
Linux tends not to do as well with the wireless adapter in this laptop. My wlan chip is not natively supported by the Linux kernel, so
I rely upon NdisWrapper to utilize the Windows driver. I've found that I
can achieve a connection in little better than half of the recently released
distros I've tested. VectorLinux detected my chipset and automagically
inserted the bcm43xx module. This is correct for similar chipsets, but it
does not work with mine. With Vector, all that I needed to do to get wireless
networking was run the commands rmmod bcm43xx,
ndiwrapper -i bcmwl5.inf, modprobe ndiswrapper, and
dhcpcd wlan0. To make this configuration persistent through
reboots I blacklisted bcm43xx and enabled the ndiswrapper load at boot.
VectorLinux was one of the easiest wireless setups I've experienced. The
driver supports WEP and WPA encryption.
VectorLinux's power management is a mixed bag. The battery monitor functions well and appears to be accurate. The powersaving option functions properly, adjusting the CPU speed if the klaptop profile is set for "ondemand." However, it does not automatically switch profiles upon unplugging or repluggin the AC adapter. It does not automatically blank the screen or go to sleep as configured. In addition, the options to hibernate and suspend are completely missing from the klaptop right-click menu. There are no options listed for suspend to disk and suspend to RAM or hibernate and suspend in any menu including the logout. The backlight does turn off when the lid is closed, but the laptop doesn't suspend. I verified all was setup in the klaptop configuration properly and acpid was enabled; it just doesn't seem to work very well here.
Bundled software
The area of software is where VectorLinux really shines. The 699MB install image is chock-full of useful software. Besides the whole of KDE applications and some extras, VectorLinux delivers a wide range of applications.
Linux 2.6.21.1, Xorg 6.9.0, gcc 3.4.6, and KDE 3.5.6 lay the foundation for the system. GNOME is available through Gslapt for those who prefer the foot. VectorLinux comes with all the standard KDE apps, including Development and Games. In the area of graphics we find the GIMP, Xara Xtreme, showFoto, digiKam, and xsane. Internet applications include the Seamonkey Internet Suite, but Firefox, Opera, Dillo, Lynx, and Konqueror are also included. Others are Pidgin, Grsync, and three separate wireless monitoring and connection tools. Multimedia is handled by mhWaveEdit, MPlayer, JuK, Amarok, K3b, GTV, XCam, Xine, Kabooodle, and VLC media player. The office apps include the whole of OpenOffice.org as well as Tellico, Samba Network, and J-Pilot. The Settings menu mostly contains the KDE configurations found in the KDE Control Panel, but also the Xscreensaver configuration. The System menu has a wide variety of monitoring and configuration tools, including gkrellm, vcpufreq, VL-Hot configuration, vwifi-connect, Gslapt, VL firewall configurator, VASM, and printer administration. In the Utilities menu we find things like editors, Character Map, Groupware Wizard, and KchmViewer.
I had no problems with any of the applications, except Pidgin, which kept crashing. The standard KDE apps I tested functioned as designed. The video players did an excellent job playing any of the video files on hand, except Xine, which had problems with .bins. The browsers utilized the wide range of plugins included. Everything seemed stable and fast. OpenOffice.org took about 10 seconds to open the first time, but subsequent starts took about half the time. Firefox took five seconds to open the first time. Most of the other applications were more or less instantaneous.
Conclusion
I've always admired VectorLinux for offering what I consider a better Slackware than Slackware. It's beautiful and functional, and would work well for me in my home office. On the desktop it is an excellent distribution with no real problems. As a mobile system it could be a bit more refined. Most of the requirements are met, although the support for the advanced powersaving functions such as suspend are lacking. Hardware detection, support, and setup are excellent overall, but I was a bit disappointed that the distro includes an older Xorg version. This may cause minor issues with a few systems. The included VASM tools and Gslapt are wonderfully useful. The set of included packages seems intuitive, though there may be a bit too much redundancy in the areas of Internet browsers and video file playback. System performance was rock stable, fast, and responsive. Overall VectorLinux 5.8 SOHO is a solid release that I can recommend for both experienced and new Linux users.
Comments
on VectorLinux SOHO: A better Slackware than SlackwareNote: Comments are owned by the poster. We are not responsible for their content.
quickly praising slackware is counterproductive
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on May 22, 2007 03:51 AM> so I had to download the proprietary Nvidia drivers.
> After installing these I was able to adjust the resolution to my desired 1280x800.
With decent distro you wouldn't<nobr> <wbr></nobr>/have/ to.
> I like VectorLinux because its roots are firmly
> planted in the stability and simplicity of Slackware
Folks often mix up "simple" and "primitive". The former is "simple enough", the latter is "overly simple".
With slackware packages, there's no such thing as simplicity when it comes to maintaining systems, not grasshopping over distros as a sideways reviewer.
Then newbies come and read all those articles.
Then they try to actually use it, and since BSD-like trouble of mixing up "cool stuff" and software requiring lots of manual intervention, some of them even would plug that nonsense in Birmingham, to much frustration and a lost case.
So please, distro reviewers: don't make too much of your first-look impressions. You'd better run a bunch of distros with folks around and see how much problems they tend to accumulate over say two years and one major upgrade.
--
Michael Shigorin
Slackware is primitive? It the simplicity that makes everything (including the Nvidia installer) work everytime. I'll take primitive that works over eye candy that doesn't.
And no simplicity to maintaining it? HUH??? It's the simplicity of maintaining Slackware that keeps me and a lot of others using it year after year. Install once, configure once and forget about it, hard to get much easier to maintain than that.
So please, distro reviewer critics, don't make too much of your limited perspective. You'd better follow your own advice and look at problems over a couple of years, rather than basing your critiques on how everything compares to your favorite installer.
Oh.. and Vector? Don't see anything it can do that my Slackware doesn't do, so haven't tried it. The review sounds like it would be good for its proposed market though.
There's a good reason Slackware gets that praise
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on May 23, 2007 09:34 AMAbout four years ago, I, too, had heard all the talk about how hard Linux in general was, but I decided, hey, let's try it anyway and see if it's true. That was with Slackware 8.1. I, an MCSE, installed it on my laptop, and sure, I had to learn some command-line tools (iwconfig among them). Yeah, I had to do some learning. Oh, boy, did I have to do some learning! As I learned more, I thought, "yeah, you Linux guys are pretty religious--kinda like us MS-types, actually--but damn, this thing does work." And boy, does it ever.
I've stuck with successive versions of Slackware, both at home and at work, and today, I use Slackware 11.0. Still works like a champ. Because of its simplicity, it's clean and easy to maintain, way less maintenance than my Windows boxes. I sure do hope Pat, or his eventual successor, stays with that "KISS" mindset. Oh, and Slackware tends to stick with pristine upstream source (i. e. not patched to death), unlike Red Hat, Ubuntu, and many others. I *really* like that.
I'm really not sure why you say that there's "no simplicity to maintaining systems" with Slackware's package system. Shucks, I find it a cakewalk. You're not going to let an MCSE like me out-do you, a Linux person, now are ya?<nobr> <wbr></nobr>:-D
If there's one thing I'd add to Slackware, it'd be OpenOffice.org. Not knocking KOffice, but nothing translates from/to MS Office's file formats as well as OpenOffice.org (they really did a good job on that). C'mon, Pat, how about it?
Re:There's a good reason Slackware gets that prais
Posted by: Administrator on May 24, 2007 05:13 AMI have been a Slackware user/deployer since 1995 and I LOVE the simplicity, continuity and stability.
CD 'Bar' Baric
Slackware is making changes but we would call that "progress" not forking.
But when a derivative makes major changes that the parent distro isn't making or goes against the principles of the parent distro, we call that "forking."
Pretty simple concept actually. Not use this fork and eat that food for thought!!<nobr> <wbr></nobr>:-)
When you say "seems to fade", that is an opinion. If you had bothered to read the Vector forums, you'd know that Vector has one of the most solid communities going. Very active, very friendly, very helpful.
Vector still maintains support for its 1.8 release, which was available years ago. As far as I know, there are still some 1.8 users in the Vector community.
To imply that Vector is a fly-by-night distribution simply because it doesn't spend its time trumpeting its own existence between releases shows that you are using the wrong criteria on which to base your "seeming" observations. Distrowatch hits-per-day or news releases alone do not an excellent distro make.
--
"Does Vector have the resources to support their distro for the long haul?"
If you're asking if Vector has money in the bank like Mark Shuttleworth to "support" their distro, the answer is of course not. It is my opinion that Ubuntu is a fair distribution with an excellent marketing campaign. Sadly, marketing alone does not equal good software, as Redmond has so frequently shown us all.
--
"How committed are the developers to continuing the distro? Is there enough community interest to even continue with this distro? How many users does it actually have?"
I worked with Vector Linux for quite a while, and I have rarely encountered such a dedicated team of developers from all walks of life. The people who have bonded together to bring us Vector Linux are from many different countries with differing skill levels, but all take seriously their mission to create a Linux distribution that works well for all its users.
As far as community interest is concerned, how could you even *ask* that question if you'd bothered to read their user forums? Vector is well known within the larger Linux community for setting a very high standard as to how active and professional their community is run. The phrase "RTFM" is banned from the forum use, and these people are genuinely concerned about the end-users experience with their distro. Suggestions about how VL could be changed for the better aren't just dismissed - they're often incorporated into the next release. I personally have seen a suggestion brought to the VL team implemented within a WEEK of its introduction. Not many distros can do that.
As for how many users it has, one would probably have to ask around in the VL forums to find out. Of course, that would require actual research, instead of just "seeming" to know something.
In regards to the rest of your comments, it's readily apparent that you've not bothered to USE Vector for anything. You'd find that all of the Slackware tools are still under the hood. To imply that there are "missing ingredients under the hood" without bothering to actually check to see if they exist or not does not speak well of your opinion piece. This is the kind of tactic that we've come to expect from Steve Ballmer, not from fellow Linux users.
In my opinion, Vector Linux is really Slackware with a better paint job and some customized tools to make setting it up easier for the end user.
Your comments are lacking in substance. At least have the decency to use the phrase "in my opinion" when inflicting them on the reader; give us a warning when you veer from easily-checked facts to your own personal slant.
--
"And believe me..."
To be blunt, why should we? You've repeatedly demonstrated in this short hatchet job that you're merely posting your opinion about a distro which you've not yet personally tested.
If you're happy with Slackware, fine. Use it. Be happy.
But don't imply that it is a fact that others who would like the power and elegance of Slackware with the addition of a pleasant user environment would need to look elsewhere. While that is certainly your opinion, it is not fact. Anyone who has used Vector Linux for more than a day knows better.<nobr> <wbr></nobr>//from one of the Vector Team from way back//
Your vitriol in response doesn't help. I think the questions were of substance. A shame you responded in such a tone.
We need to ask these kinds of questions when a distro is not well known. Hopefully, Vector is everything you say it is and more. But I do believe you went over the line in your response to this poster.
Take a chill pill...
It is like Slackware, but has i686 packages. I heard the package manager (pacman) is great too.
<a href="http://www.archlinux.org/" title="archlinux.org">http://www.archlinux.org/</a archlinux.org>
As for source code,people can get picky about that. If vector starts to offer payed support to Premium users only and had a locked forum for premiums only,that would make it look the more closed,thus givin people like garymax things to pick at. From what i've seen, vec's "dumbed down" tools that make it so good and accessable for people who dont like spending their whole day looking for a way to edit a single text file to get things running smoothly, are all GPL and have their source code avaiable at google.code<nobr> <wbr></nobr>...
I think that comments like his should be ignored.
Dumbed-down should be a compliment, it brings vector to Ubuntu users,to the mainstream user... and it still has all the slackware goodnes in it. Its truer to slackware than any "dumbed down slack based" distro out there...and tuned up better than<nobr> <wbr></nobr>,say, zenwalk or kateos..<nobr> <wbr></nobr>...and i too can copy and paste,everybody can do that
And the only time you really hear from Vector is when they release something.
Personally, I agree with garymax...
That said, I found the review to be pretty good but my questions have more to do with Vector Linux itself.
With the next version--version 6.0--the developers or Vectelopers as they are known, plan to fork even further away from Slackware. How much forking is not known at this time but this may not be a good thing for Vector.
Secondly, this is a distribution that seems to fade as time goes on only to reappear when they deliver a new release. Does Vector have the resources to support their distro for the long haul? How committed are the developers to continuing the distro? Is there enough community interest to even continue with this distro? How many users does it actually have?
Finally, I have found that except for the eye candy Slackware can be made to do just as much if not more than other distros in its class. And believe me, there aren't that many distros that can compete with the simplicity, stability, speed and security that is inherent to Slackware.
Personally, I will probably stay with Slack as my main distro and "play" around with Vector on a spare machine.
One last thought: whenever a derivative appears, it always seems to do less and provide less than the parent distro.
I think Vector is fine for simple tasks but whenever a distro "dumbs down" or makes things easier they always seem to leave off some of the tools and resources that made the parent distro so great to begin with. This paring down of features usually happens while making the distro easier for the masses and prettier to the eye.
Personally, I'd rather have the tools and resources than a pretty face with missing ingredients under the hood.
Regards
Darrell
For what it's worth, I have placed an order for Vector 5.8 SOHO. So relax!
My name is Darrell one of the founders of Vector Linux 1998. Perhaps you can come over and show me where all this money is being deposited that we get. I could sure use it right now. Post a message on our forum and I will send you my address and phone number. Just in case you don't know how goto www.vectorlinux.com that's<nobr> <wbr></nobr>.com no..no<nobr> <wbr></nobr>.com
Regards
Darrell
My name is Darrell one of the founders of Vector Linux (1998). Perhaps you would be so kind as to come over and show me were all this money we get for source code is being deposited. I checked my account today and nada. So be so kind as to direct me, we could sure use the extra cash. Leave a message on our forum at <a href="http://vectorlinux.com/" title="vectorlinux.com">http://vectorlinux.com/</a vectorlinux.com> I will send you my address and phone number, wait till I tell the boys, they will be so surprised.
Gee Thanks alot Mister
Regards
Darrell
VectorLinux is "NON-SOURCE"
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on May 22, 2007 01:55 AMVectorLinux is a <a href="http://www.vectorlinux.com/" title="vectorlinux.com"> "non-source" distribution.</a vectorlinux.com>
This means you cannot download the entire source code for the distribution from their website. Instead, if you pay VectorLinux, they will post you the source code on physical media. This is known as "non-source" or "split" distribution because the vendor distributes the object code online whereas they distribute the corresponding source code offline. It can be more profitable for the vendor, but it is less convenient for users who want completely fresh up-to-date source code. It is <a href="http://gplv3.fsf.org/static/moglen-gplv3-launch-slides/slide_12.html" title="fsf.org">legal by the terms of the GPL</a fsf.org>and anybody is free to post the same source code online themselves. In fact, VectorLinux does provide a small amount of source code for <a href="http://vectorlinux.osuosl.org/veclinux-soho-current/source/packages/" title="osuosl.org">one or two packages online</a osuosl.org>
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