VectorLinux 6.0 has been released. “The final release of VectorLinux 6.0 (code name ‘Voyager’) is now available. This release is a major milestone in the ten year history of Vectorlinux. With the unbridled enthusiasm of a community gone wild, we have forged our very own stable GUI installer and our repository now hosts over a thousand packages. VectorLinux is the fastest Linux desktop in it’s class. We have exceeded our original goals of VectorLinux 6.0 and produced a beautiful, full featured stable desktop for a rocket fueled experience. The main desktop is based on Xfce-4.4.3 with a custom theme and artwork again unique to VectorLinux. LXDE is installed as a secondary desktop option. Much work has been done on localization and we know users from all over the globe will find VectorLinux a stellar experience.”
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http://broadcast.oreilly.com/2009/02/vl-hot-a-non-polling-alternati…
Cool – there are some gotcha’s as mentioned in the article, but the best compromise is to have a combination of using polling when it really has to be used and even triggers for things that can use them.
I’m running opensuse on this netbook, but the problem is that there are so many background processes that wake up the cpu – the battery life isn’t as good as it should be. Hopefully we’ll see some of these ideas using in vectorlinux float back into mainstream distributions.
Wow, I never realised that HAL used such inefficient methods — and agree with the post above hoping that VL-hot, or at least the techniques behind it, make their way into more “mainstream” 😉 Linux distros soon (just as Plymouth, the flicker-free boot-up approach originated by Red Hat, seems destined to).
This is what’s so great about F/OSS — others can benefit from these great ideas. I should hope in future more of these udev triggers are added so we may never have to poll even for events that currently require it.
Many thanks to the OP on this matter for bringing it to our attention; it’s great to see this sort of innovation taking place and to know the benefits of it have every opportunity to spread to other distros.
http://vectorlinux.com/ is having trouble handling all the traffic, here’s a link to the ISO (taken from DistroWatch.com):
http://vectorlinux.osuosl.org/veclinux-6.0/iso-release/VL6.0-STD-Go…
reads as if it’s just plain bad marketing with no real information.
It’s again another GUI installer, hooray…we don’t have enough already.
Repository with more than 1000 packages. Mh,.. doesn’t sound much to me at all, more like the opposite.
Then comes the usual we’re-the-fastest-distro-on-planet-and-exceeded-even-our-own-goals-BL A adorned with a bunch of super marvelous stable fast adjectives.
So far, the only good thing I read in this announcement seems to be the good localization.
There’s just nothing mentioned that would make this distro anything more attractive special or different to for example Ubuntu.
I’ll therefore check their page about more infos and features but doubt that I’ll ever try this one out. .. For what?!
Clearly you have missed the point of Vectorlinux in the first place.
It is not a replacement for Ubuntu, or anything else for that matter.
The idea for Vectorlinux is to make a fast Slackware based distro, and in that they are probably the best.
If you have an old PC, like a P3 500mhz with 256MB ram for example, Vectorlinux makes this a delight to use, faster than XP on the same setup.
Someone said there is only 1000 packages in the repository, so what ? there are thousands more in the main Slackware repository, which is what Vectorlinux is 100% compatible with.
Take your own advice and read the docs on the site.
As I said I’ll check the feature list and see what it really is about.
Still this announcement reads like … yeah not that good.
I never claimed this to be a replacement for Ubuntu. If anything the announcemenet itself likes to be read this way.
I’ll just add that if a lower end machine can run Xubuntu and Vector with about the same performance, there would be no need at all for this distribution or would there be anything? I mean positive things like easier mainteance or package installation (both seem to be superior in Xubuntu).
And before anybody tells me about Slackware’s benefits …
I was a Slack user for 3 years myself now and still love it. I just can’t see the reason in so many distributions that claim to be special and are just again DistroX but this time with feature Y added.
Vector is around 2X or 3X faster than Xubuntu on the machine I quoted.
Vector has also got some click and go config, like wireless and soundcard configs for example.
I dont use Vector currently, but it is a pleasure on older hardware.
Ok, if there is a definite performance gain it’s a nice plus for sure. That combined with it’s extra tools I was able to take a look at now make Vector quite an distro that speaks for itself. That’s nice.
Still, my first statement concerning the announcement persists as it really is bad written imo.
Nevermind though, it just my opinion you know.
Moving on..
You keep mentioning Xubuntu when talking about “speed” and distros that can run well on old hardware. The problem with that is, the Xubuntu guys don’t exactly optimize their package selection and running daemons. Sure, it ships with the lighter Xfce by default, but it also has a not-so-good (performance-wise) selection of packages and unnecessary daemons running by default. Now, I’m no major Vector fan (I prefer Zenwalk and KateOS), although I do appreciate what they’re doing. And when it comes to speed, Vector *is* up there with the fastest. Still though, I need to try the new, and see if some of my previous annoyances were solved. Comparing it to Xubuntu, though, is way off.
Edited 2009-02-23 02:18 UTC
Kudos to the Vector linux devs! They did a nice job, as always.
I don’t get it. 99% of us couldn’t put together what Vector has, no it may not be the distro that floats your boat but as long as it is not a total disaster why put down others work.
Because those who don’t have the skills need to compensate by whining.
Why Vector Matters, at least to some of us.
We are dealing with people and institutions who don’t have the latest stuff. They don’t have it because they can’t afford it. They are running on stuff they got given. Now, on an old 1.5 centrino with 512k, you can install Mandriva and KDE, and I have. It is however slow. So you start trying to optimize a bit, and you find that Fluxbox doesn’t speed it up all that much. Pretty soon in this process, you turn to Slackware. However, you are not sure whether you can really turn the end user loose on Slackware. So you start looking around for more user-friendly Slackware based distros. There are quite a lot. Absolute is one, Zenwalk another. TinyMe is a Debian based alternative.
What you’d like is one that you know is going to be around for a while. Vector has shown that it is. People who read OSNews probably don’t care one way or the other about all this for themselves – they probably have reasonably up to date equipment, and if they have to move distros, they know how to do it. They are probably using one of the majors, which one depending on taste.
But if you are ever installing for someone else who is not very sophisticated, and lightness is important, you’re very glad that Vector exists and is doing well. It is not ‘just another distro’. Its a leading viable alternative in a space where there are not very many. Good for them for keeping it updated over the years.
When they introduce a free hybrid (live installable) image I’ll be interested. In the meantime if you want Slackware check out NimbleX.
I’ve just installed it on an old P3 800Mhz and I must say that being spoiled by Ubuntu, Vector Linux looks ancient and unpolished. The default theme is really awful and the installer is nothing special. Also it doesn’t feel faster that Xubuntu on the same machine.
I guess I’ll install Xubuntu tomorrow.
Either
a: you have a hardware fault
b: you are a troll
c: a blatant liar
But why is YOUR experience so much different from everyone elses who has tried Vector. I mean come on, the theme is awful ? but yet you compare it with Xubuntu.
Most people around this site have actually SEEN the theme on Xubuntu, we know what an awful theme is.
We also know that Xubuntu is NOT optimised.
You are clearly allowed to make your choice of distro, but please let people see the truth to make their own decisions.
Oh, cool … liar, troll, do insult me more for disagreeing with me.
Here, look, meet the default Xubuntu theme: http://www.thecodingstudio.com/opensource/linux/screenshots/index.p…
It’s not too special, but decent and contemporary.
Now look at the default Vector Linux theme:
http://vectorlinux.com/screenshots/multimedia.png/image_view_fullsc…
Looks designed by a 12 year old who just discovered gradients. Also the taskbar doesn’t match the window decorations, the wallpaper image looks like it was scanned from an 80s magazine and the logo looks made by the same 12 year old who just discovered ALL the Photoshop (GIMP?) filters at once.
As for performance, I guess when you can watch the image redraw when you are scrolling in Firefox you can bitch all you want.
And this is on a system without hardware faults, a system that ran Windows 98 and XP without a hitch for years.
And let’s not forget the installer … they brag about their graphical installer, but it’s the most option-cluttered and unintuitive intaller I’ve used in a Linux distro for a long time. Serves me right for venturing away from the mainstream.
So, in my experience, Vector Linux is ugly, not as fast as advertised, unfriendly and unintuitive. In someone else’s (with more time and desire to fiddle around) it might not be, but I thought we were past those times.
Edited 2009-02-25 06:40 UTC
Have you tried Vectorlinux Light ? That is using lxde and is blazingly fast. It might just change your mind.
I was not insulting, I was merely trying to point out that your experiences are so much different than everyone elses.
Also, I think Xubuntu theme is ugly, it was always the first thing I changed.
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I was curious about the technical details of how Vector Linux gets itself so small and fast but I couldn’t find anything with a few web searches.
So, does anyone know how they do it?
I have some guesses:
Kernel tuned with some embedded options and perhaps mostly built-in features instead of modules?
Runtime kernel tuning to limit the sizes of networking, disk and filesystem buffers?
Everything compiled with -Os instead of -O2?