LinuxHelp reviews Vector Linux, and concludes: “All things considered, if one is on the lookout for a Linux distribution which is robust, fast, secure, able to play multimedia files without any configuration from the user’s side, containing the latest versions of the software and good enough to be used in a small business setup then Vector Linux could fit the bill. Additionally if you are looking for a Slackware based distribution which covers all the above criteria, then Vector Linux is definitely the obvious choice.”
If it had an easy to install MythTV package, it might be a sharp choice for building a Linux HTPC.
Before I upgraded my home computer, I used Vector Linux for it’s speed (and to ease me into Slackware). I eventually switched to Slackware though, and imho if you have a relatively (1ghz) fast computer and like all the “Slackware-y” things about Vector…just go for the real deal and install Slackware instead. As far as I can remember (I used the previous version of Vector) there isn’t anything noteable that Vector offers that Slackware doesn’t.
I have found the Slackware site quite confusing to navigate. Especially when one want to download the latest ISO from their website. All I see is a bunch of torrent files. If the creator of slackware want it to be used by more people, the least thing to do is to provide a link to the latest ISO right on the front page rather than buried somewhere inside the site.
PS: What I have said should be taken as constructive criticism rather than a trip dissing slackware.
From the front page, there is a “get slack” link in the navigation bar. On that page there are a few links at top: store, torrents, mirroring guidelines. But then the whole pages shows locations. For me I click USA, and get a list of mirrors. One click to the mirror and I see “iso images” directory. In there, the following look promising:
File: slackware-10.2-install-d1.iso
File: slackware-10.2-install-d2.iso
I don’t agree that this is confusing, considering the type of distro that slackware defines. Actually, I don’t find it confusing at all. Keep in mind, you don’t even have to pay for bandwidth. And all these mirrors are categorized by location to help you and other users with bandwidth.
-shane
I don’t know what is so confusing about downloading it. If you don’t like the torrents then pick from one of the mirrors. They are group together by country and everything. Let me see… If I live in New York, that means that I should go to the link that says USA!! There are plenty of ftp or http sites to get it from that are fast and reliable. I don’t think that the person that wrote the article knows what he is doing, or at least does not know how to download a distro.
“But one distribution which I hadn’t got the chance to install and use was the venerable Slackware. This was because I have encountered some difficulty in downloading this distribution from its official website – They actively encourage downloading the OS using a torrent rather than ftp. ”
I am speechless!
Edited 2006-05-10 13:43
I think the confusion is felt not by him alone. Even I have found myself at a loss as to which image to download after navigating to the directory containing the slackware images. Just check this link which I navigated to, to see the point … (It is an official slackware mirror)
ftp://ftp.cerias.purdue.edu/pub/os/slackware/slackware-10.2-iso
The directory contains a bunch of 1 KB size files with a readme.1st . And the directory is labeled as slackware-10.2-iso. Not exactly what one would expect in such a directory.
————
Contents of readme.1st file
If you’re reading this on http://ftp.slackware.com, you will find that the
ISO images are not here. This is because we simply don’t have the
bandwidth at http://ftp.slackware.com to provide ISO images.
ISO downloads take a long time, and block people from retrieving
small updates.
If you’re looking to download the ISO, consider using BitTorrent.
————
Now consider how simplified the downloading of ISOs of other linux distributions are and you will start seeing the light.
Edited 2006-05-10 16:53
Slax is just so sweet, and the only problem I might have with it, is that I am not sure how actively it is developed at the moment. Otherwise, it’s one of the best reincarnations of Slackware Linux for the masses.
It might be a nice idea for someone to do a comparison of a few related distros (Slackware/VectorLinux/SLAX or Redhat/Mandriva/PCLinuxOS, for example).
Hmm, I think I feel an article coming on!
I’ve made such an article, ment for beginners. It’s only dutch (-;
http://www.fali.nl/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=32 for the dutchies. Or put your babelfish in.
I am using VL quite a while. Friendly forum, plain en simple Administration, use of gslapt to upgrade and install of uninstall packages. Feels like home (-:
Thanks!