In an age of ever-growing applications and exploding Linux distributions, it's not uncommon to see a single release span anywhere from three to five or more CDs. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as most Linux distributions try to include everything you could ever want or need, but is it really necessary? To some, maybe, but others enjoy the ability to install everything from a single source. VectorLinux SOHO 5 is based on the recently released Slackware 10.1 distribution, and includes an entire desktop environment, supporting libraries, and a wealth of useful applications all on a single disc.
VectorLinux isn't lacking either. Just because they aren't shipping with a spindle full of CDs doesn't mean that you'll be spending hours grabbing everything you need after the initial install. They, and a handful of other distros, have proven that you can provide a well defined and robust Linux distribution with only a disc or two. I guess that's pretty much Vector's game though... providing a slim, fast Slackware build that even older Pentium machines can run. That said, it needs to be pointed out that the SOHO release is a bit heavier than their standard desktop, so it's a bit slower but I'll get more into that a little later. Let's take a quick look at the features of this release....
Features:
Based on Slackware 10.1
Linux kernel 2.4.29
KDE 3.3.2 and IceWM 1.2.13 desktop environments
OpenOffice 1.1.4 productivity suite
Firefox 1.0 preconfigured w/Flash, Java, and Mplayer plugins
Many more excellent applications such as Gaim 1.1.2, Gimp 2.2.1, Scribus 1.2, and Blender 2.34
Installation
It's been rather interesting to watch the direction Vector has been taking with their installer. It's not GUI-based like many other popular Linux distros but I think in this case a GUI is not really necessary. For SUSE or Mandrake? Yes. For VectorLinux? Not really. It's pretty much in line with the whole Slackware way of approaching things: minimalistic and simple, which go hand in hand most of the time anyway. The installer is totally console-based and it's not exactly like its Slackware counterpart, which is what makes it interesting. Vector has done a very good job of staying true to its Slackware heritage, but has definitely forged it's own identity in the installation category.
The beauty of a non-graphical installer from my point of view is that it's just one less thing to worry about. There have been a few GUI-based installers I've used that have crashed on my somewhere during the install and I've been forced to start over. At least it's one less thing to concern yourself with failing during the time you're installing your new system.
I recall their installer when I first tried VectorLinux. To be honest I don't remember which version it was, but let me tell you the installer was pretty rough in the beginning. It was functional from a technical standpoint, but you could tell it was still very green and rough around the edges. Has it improved? Considerably. I've harped on their installer in every review I've done of this distribution and I'm sure the developers probably curse my name every time I mention it, but I think this time around it's improved to the point where I don't feel the need to rant about it. They've done an excellent job of smoothing it out and adding additional text to each step intended to guide the new user through the install with ease. It's actually done very well. I will say this though, I still have a problem with the portion of the install after the drive partitioning that I mentioned in my review of VectorLinux 4.3. It's the only thing that might be considered a 'gotcha' to new users. It's basically displaying a menu with multiple options to proceed. One of the options says something to the extent of “I don't know how I got here but...” and I think it's poorly worded... but that's really about it. As a note to new VectorLinux users out there: I take the “I don't know how I got here” option every time... mostly because I don't know how I got there :) and also because it's how you get back to the installation after you partition your drive(s).
One thing I noticed on this release was the improvement of automatic hardware detection near the end of the installation. It goes through all of your components such as monitor, video card, mouse, etcetera and does a fine job of configuring them to their most optimal settings. I only encountered one issue with their hardware detection and that was with the IntelliMouse from Microsoft. Scoff if you must, but in my opinion, Microsoft makes some pretty good hardware. Their software is a waste of time, but hardware I've had nothing but good experiences with. Anyway... the problem I had (and this happened with version 5.0 as well as the newly patched 5.0.1 release) was with it missing the mouse entirely during auto detection. I found this very odd since it's the very first distribution to completely not see my mice. The first machine had a common IntelliMouse Explorer and the second machine had a wireless IntelliMouse Explorer. After a bit of investigation, I found that the device it was using in /etc/X11/xorg.conf was /dev/mouse, so I changed it to /dev/input/mice and it cleared it right up. The mouse came to life after a quick restart of X windows. Now, the wireless mouse is still broken. I performed the same trick on this device (which is really not that different from the previous one) and the mouse activated, but it would only move vertically... no matter which way you would move it. Always vertical. Very intriguing wouldn't you say? A real pain too.
L to R: First login; Running VL5
The VectorLinux Desktop
If it hasn't been said before about one million times, I'm going to say it again: VectorLinux is fast. There's no denying that this could very well be the fastest Slackware-based distribution on the planet, but does it stack up to highly optimized distributions such as Gentoo Linux for instance? Well, yes and no. If you were to put a Gentoo stage 3 build and a VectorLinux 5 SOHO install side by side on the same hardware, they would perform about the same. I this case, Vector proves to be just as optimized. On the other hand, if you were to build a stage 1 Gentoo system and put it next to VL5, Gentoo would burn it up. Vector isn't at the level of a Gentoo stage 1 install, but is anything? You'd be hard pressed to find one. Vector has been optimized to run on older hardware (the documentation says Pentium II 300MHz/128MB of RAM, but a minimal install can be done on older hardware) and it does very well. It's the only thing I can run reliably on my old Toshiba 266MHz laptop. Other distros will run, but Vector performs the best.
As I was saying earlier, there is a definite performance difference between Vector Linux 4.3 and VectorLinux 5 SOHO edition. SOHO is slower and for good reason: It's loaded with some of the latest desktop software available, and the eye candy level has been bumped up a notch. To be honest, the difference isn't that huge, but needed to be mentioned. I don't need to get fifty email messages from people telling me how wrong I am that claim SOHO is fast just because 4.3 is faster. Trust me, I get them. In any event, it's the nature of the beast... add new software (and more of it), make the desktop more attractive/up-to-date, and you're going to take a performance hit of some kind. Luckily with VectorLinux it's minimal at best. I've seen some complaints already that it's getting too bloated and straying outside the VL philosophy but it's all really moot. First of all, the SOHO release is intended to have more available options and 'eye candy' just by being the SOHO version alone. Their base release is intended to be leaner, and it is. Second, if the developers believe it's the way it should be, then by default that means it is the VL philosophy right? Third, it still comes on a single CD. I rest my case.
L to R: Another desktop image; OpenOffice.org 2.0 beta (testing. not part of distro)
Applications and layout
The applications that come loaded by default on this distribution are really quite broad and cover everything a normal user might require on a new desktop system. Compared to a typical VectorLinux release, SOHO comes with many more useful applications, and everything I tested worked with the exception of Inkscape. Every time I loaded the application it would complain about some missing plugin, but would load anyway. I never did find out what plugin was missing, but then again I'm a pretty basic user when it comes to apps like that so who knows. Nothing to hurt my productivity anyway, and I suspect that if I needed it, a quick recompile of Inkscape would cure all of its ills.
On the topic of included applications, some of the more notable gems on the default system include:
Amarok 1.2 - This has to be my favorite audio application. So much so that it has replaced XMMS on all of my systems here. If you're an audio buff, check it out. I normally run the CVS version so this is a touch out of date for me, but not bad at all. Keep an eye on Amarok... it's going to get big. K3b - Existing in version 0.11.17 on the VectorLinux 5 release, K3b has become the defacto CD/DVD burning application on Linux and for good reason: It's damn good at what it does. A solid choice for inclusion. Gwenview & GQView - Both applications make excellent image browsers/viewers/organizers. Gwenview is QT-based, while GQView is Gtk-based. Gaim & Kopete - These two programs are probably by far the most popular Open Source instant messaging clients available today. Gaim is still my personal favorite, but Kopete is coming along very nicely and has made some serious headway into Gaim's territory over the past year or so. Gaim is the default IM client on VectorLinux. Kopete is there because they care. KMLDonkey & Gtk-Gnutella - Both of these applications cater to the P2P crowd. Think Napster, think LimeWire, think Kaaza...
The layout of the apps is, well, typical KDE. The VectorLinux developers haven't taken the time necessary to get KDE's menus in order. While I understand that due to the way KDE handles new program installations it might place apps in odd places in the menu system when they are added, it is a whole different thing to have the distro come out of the box with its menus in this shape. Many of the desktop-centric distros these days are spending needed time cleaning up their menu systems (see example here). SUSE, Fedora, Mandrake, Linspire, Xandros, and VidaLinux are some that come to my mind and that's just a handful from memory.
One nice touch on the desktop was the handling of USB pen drives (or mass storage devices for the geeks out there). VectorLinux had an icon on the desktop linked to the Rox-Filer file management utility that would load the pen-drive directory when mounted and clicked. It was a nice way to make use of an application not normally in the limelight. It works well, but one problem I saw (and I suspect this might have been overlooked during testing) was that KDE is configured to show mounted USB devices on the desktop by default. What this means is that you end up with two separate USB pen drive icons. One links to Konqueror (the normal KDE way of handling things) and the other is Rox (Vector's addon). While this is easily changed in the KDE Control Center, it should be remedied by the next release. Another thing I found quite nice regarding removable media was the context menus they were blessed with. For instance, right clicking on a mounted USB pen drive would not only give you the option to unmount, but also to unmount (signal processes), and unmount (kill processes). If you've ever used removable media of any type in Linux, then you know what these options are for and how nice it would be to have them present. I'm not sure if this is a Vector-only feature or if it's a hack for KDE but either way I thought it was a really nice touch.
