Finally settled on a distro

I think I’ve finally found a distro of Linux that is a keeper. The name of the distro is VectorLinux. Not only is it easy to use, but it is fast. I had heard about it while browsing around a few blogs and forums and decided to give it a try. I’m glad I did.

VectorLinux is based on Slackware. The version I am using is VectorLinux SOHO 5.0.1, which is based on the latest version of Slackware (10.1). VectorLinux SOHO includes:

and a host of other programs/tools that are useful for professionals (i.e. power users, small offices, etc.). VectorLinux v4.3 has been available since last September but it is geared more towards a stand-alone workstation (think Windows XP Home).

The thing that impresses me the most is the speed. I was running SuSE 9.1 Pro but VectorLinux blows it away. I tried it out by booting KDE 3.3.2 and even KDE loads fast (less than 10 seconds). The install took less than 15 minutes, if you don’t count the time I took to remove the SuSE partitions and create new ones. Repartitioning only took 5 minutes so the total install time was about 20 minutes. The only package I didn’t install was xampp.

The recommeded hardware specs for the SOHO version are:

The download mirrors provided on the VectorLinux website are slow. I tried several times downloading the ISO from them and never got better than a 45 KB/s connection. Also, the downloads stopped halfway through each time! If you want to download the ISO, try here for the latest SOHO (5.0.1) or here to browse all of the versions. The SOHO ISO is approximately 680 MB and requires a little over 2.2 GB’s of hard drive space for a full install. The desktop (4.3) version ISO is approximately 326 MB and requires less than 900 MB of hard drive space for a full install.

There are three kinds of death in this world. There’s heart death, there’s brain death, and there’s being off the network. -Guy Almes

09.Mar.05 Technology

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5 Responses to “Finally settled on a distro”

  1. helpful_harry | March 9th, 2005 at 7:06 pm

    ” Pentium III compatible or better (so you may use AMD) ” oh please . . . spare me, another AMD rebel. Write this in your diary – AMD will be bankrupt in 12 months. If you’re using AMD processors, good luck. Not one single corporation has a volume workstation agreement with AMD machines in it. I’m guessing you liked Voodoo graphics cards too? Same philosophy, same fate.

  2. wyckedone | March 9th, 2005 at 7:13 pm

    “spare me, another AMD rebel.”
    Obviously you didn’t look on VectorLinux’s website. I copied the specs from there and that’s what it said.

    Yes, I do like AMD. My laptop has an AMD XP-m and my old desktop had an AMD K6-2. They’ve never had a contract with a major manufacturer for an exclusive volume sale yet they are taking more market share from Intel every year. In case you didn’t know, AMD has been around since 1969 so I highly doubt they’ll be bankrupt in 12 months. Just because you’re an Intel fan doesn’t mean that AMD is going to fail in the next year or so.

    No, I didn’t like Voodoo. I’ve always been a fan of both ATI and nVidia. Thanks for stopping by.

  3. oc12 | March 10th, 2005 at 1:20 am

    I had it on my website to have others download it but no ask, told you guys it was hella fast

  4. wyckedone | March 10th, 2005 at 5:06 am

    What is the URL of your site?

  5. NIF | March 10th, 2005 at 7:00 am

    Happy Birthday, OBL

    Today’s dose of NIF – daily News, Interesting & Funny

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