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Brief Review Of Vector Linux SOHO

Posted by timothy on from the pointy-lines dept.

duncan bayne writes "I have just installed Vector Linux SOHO 5.0 RC2 on my old P150 laptop. Overall I was very impressed, and have posted a brief review on my blog. This distro has a lot to offer, especially to schools and other organisations trying to extract more useful life from obsolete hardware."

29 comments

  1. Schools and other Organisations by Irashtar · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Bah. According to my experience, schools and other organisations only get new OS's with new hardware. Otherwise, looks promising if you have an old comp lieing around, and want to give it new life.

    1. Re:Schools and other Organisations by harley_frog · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Not true, at least not where I work. Since education budgets are tightening, we have to make our existing computers last longer. It's often cheaper to upgrade memory and hard drives to meet Windows specs than to buy a new workstation with XP preinstalled. Of course, if the CPU is too out of date for XP or 2000, then you either 1) buy a new workstation and/or 2) install Linux (which I have on several computers in our library) on existing computers. I, for one, refuse to throw out a perfectly good computer simply because it won't run Windows. As long as it boots, has a working hard drive and network card, I'll find a use for it. And if the motherboard dies, I take it off of the inventory and cannibalize for parts.

      --
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  2. no network install? by gl4ss · · Score: 4, Interesting

    my pentium mmx piece of shit laptop i got laying around waiting a linux install doesn't have a cdrom drive... so bootfloppy started network install is just about the only realistical option for installing linux on it(or borrowing a suitable cdrom drive from someone).

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    world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    1. Re:no network install? by adolf · · Score: 1

      That's not such a big deal, really.

      A couple of years ago, I put Slackware 8 on an NCR 386SL/25 notebook, for which I had no floppy or CD-ROM.

      All you gotta do is pull the hard drive out and connect it to something more suitable. Adapters for attaching 2.5" notebook drives to desktop machines cost less than $5, and make the job easy.

      Then just install the OS of your choice, and replace the drive into the notebook once you think you've got enough of it configured that it can access the network.

      --
      Kid-proof tablet..
  3. Old ass linux by spike42 · · Score: 0

    He says it would work well in schools and whatnot, but it just sounds insanely difficult to set up. I mean, doesn't this just sound like a 5 year old version of Red Hat or Demon Linux?

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    1. Re:Old ass linux by hey! · · Score: 2, Informative

      it just sounds insanely difficult to set up.

      Well, not really. The installation of the operating system per se didn't sound hard. What was hard was getting the particular (somewhat unusual) package selections he wanted running.

      The bar for having a wide selection of software easily installable is, I guess, set pretty high these days. Meeting that probably requires either a fairly large contributor base or a commercial backer. However, there are still a number of interesting niches that can bootstrap new distros, such as enhanced security, or live cd bootability, or, as in this case, ability to run fairly up to date software on obsolete hardware.

      Personally, I found the review to be not as useful as it could be. The Vector Linux people say "VECTORLINUX is a small, fast, Linux operating system for Intel, AMD and x86 compatible systems, based on one of the original Linux distributions, Slackware." So, they are not necessarily targetting old hardware, but people who want a small, fast distro. However, the first thing the review has to do when he gets the distro up and running is shitcan the default desktop enviornment and bring up the very small, very quick IceWM instead.

      This tells me two things. First, the Vector Linux folks don't have people running his vintage hardware in mind. 99% of potential desktop users are never going to even consider going with something other than the default desktop. Second, it tells me that Vector Linux isn't, in market speak, "positioned" clearly. That is to say it doesn't have a clear and consistent story it is built to support. How can you be the "small, fast" distro, and yet out of the box run a completely conventional desktop choice? It's the desktop enviornment that is the slowest part of any disto, or at least it's the slow piece that the user spends the most time struggling with if speed is a problem for him.

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    2. Re:Old ass linux by nickos · · Score: 0

      "So, they are not necessarily targetting old hardware, but people who want a small, fast distro."

      But surely most distros that target old hardware are also small and fast? I don't see any real inconsistancy here...

    3. Re:Old ass linux by FidelCatsro · · Score: 3, Informative

      The system requierments for soho state ....

      System requirements

      Vector Linux SOHO is relatively heavy compared to the standard version. It is recommended that your system meets these requirements:

      * Processor: Pentium III compatible or better (so you may use AMD).
      * Hard disk: 3 GB for the system, then you need more for your personal files.
      * Memory: 128 MB, spare 256 MB for comfort.
      * Video card and Monitor capable of 1024x768 resolution, 24 bits.
      * Standard mouse, keyboard, sound card, CDROM, etc.

      -------

      so I can see why he may have a few problems on a p150

      --
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    4. Re:Old ass linux by swv3752 · · Score: 2, Informative

      Well the blogger chose the wrong version. There are two, VectorLinux that can run on just 32mb ram and needs only 850mb of disk space. (Older versions were even lighter needing only 350 mb of disk space.)

      Then there is the SOHO version that needs a bit heftier requirements.

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    5. Re:Old ass linux by silicon+not+in+the+v · · Score: 1
      Well, not really. The installation of the operating system per se didn't sound hard. What was hard was getting the particular (somewhat unusual) package selections he wanted running.
      Yeah, I mean who's ever heard of AbiWord? or vim?
      --
      We may experience some slight turbulence and then...explode. -Capt. Mal Reynolds
    6. Re:Old ass linux by duncan+bayne · · Score: 1

      Indeed - but I decided to go with the SOHO distro and trim it down, rather than the standard and bulk it up, having had a few issues with the standard release of 4.3. See the updated post for details.

    7. Re:Old ass linux by duncan+bayne · · Score: 1

      I think he was refering to teTeX and lyx, which aren't exactly mainstream (except in particular fields, where they appear to be the default choice).

    8. Re:Old ass linux by silicon+not+in+the+v · · Score: 1

      I think that's always going to be the case on any distro that those obscure programs like that are likely not going to have packages. It did really suprise me that they didn't have packages for the two I mentioned, particularly AbiWord, which seems to be installed by default on about every desktop-oriented distro I've seen.

      I like the goal of this disto; it just seems like they aren't necessarily doing it well. I have a PIII 600 system that I would like to put Linux on, but it seems to be hard to find a good middle ground type of install. The modern distros with KDE or Gnome are full of mega-bloat and don't run well on that speed of machine. People's response is usually something like, "Oh, just run [insert name of really basic, no-frills window manager here]." I've tried stuff like IceWM and Blackbox, but the thing that most of those window managers are missing is an application menu. I'm sure there are hundreds of programs installed, but if I don't know the names of them to launch them from a CLI, how am I supposed to use them? I just want a window manager that runs fairly fast and has a menu with shortcuts to programs in groups like "office" "multimedia" "internet", etc. so I can find the programs that are available. Anyone want to suggest some?

      For comparison, I've been running Win98SE on it, and it works very well, very fast.

      --
      We may experience some slight turbulence and then...explode. -Capt. Mal Reynolds
  4. VECTOR? by bjb · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Probably could have chosen a better name for the distro. I mean, Vector sounds cool and all, but the fact is that there are specifically vector processors out there (think Cray, AltiVec and probably the new cell architecture) that require specific coding to take advantage of their vector units. Given that, I'd figure this name should have been reserved for a version of Linux that better took advantage of these architectures.

    My two cents..

    --
    Never hit your grandmother with a shovel, for it leaves a bad impression on her mind...
    1. Re:VECTOR? by duncan+bayne · · Score: 1

      Well I'll be damned - that I didn't know. I don't know it'll be too much of a problem though, as those familiar with the Cray would be unlikely to confuse the issue :-)

  5. Few packages? by stevey · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It seems to me that most Linux distributions stand or fall based on the quality and availability of their packaging system.

    It's disappointing to see this system doesnt have packages for vim, or lyx. So the reviewer had to install from source.

    Sure that's possible, and trivial for small packages without tons of dependencies - but building from source seems to me to be something you'd wish to avoid when installing on a P160 with 64Mb of RAM...

    Unfortunate, I guess if the distro becomes more popular the archive will grow, but if it doesn't then there will be a big downside to using it.

    1. Re:Few packages? by Mathiasdm · · Score: 1

      You can use Slackware packages for Vector Linux.

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    2. Re:Few packages? by gardyloo · · Score: 1

      If a distribution can run a tool like "alien" to convert packages, you probably don't need a "native" package in order to install the program. I install LyX from .rpms all the time, because I alien will convert those packages nicely to .deb ones.

  6. Impressed? by jb.hl.com · · Score: 5, Insightful

    RTFA and you find out that he had to compile many things from source, by hand, as the VLAPT system doesn't contain many packages.

    Not "impressive" or "polished" at all.

    There's no mention of what the default KDE is like (beyond "slow") as he uses IceWM. Nothing about hardware detection. No screenshots. Nothing.

    Awful, awful article apparently reviewing an awful, awful distro; but he doesn't tell us enough to say how good it is.

    --
    By summer it was all gone...now shesmovedon. --
  7. Hey Duncan by zogger · · Score: 2, Interesting

    You got a laptop with enough ram and a cd drive so you can run some of the mini (50-100 megs or so)live distros like feather, puppy, damnsmall, austrumi, etc. Try some of those out, because after they load into RAM they are *really fast*. I personally like the austrumi distro but that's just taste. Go to a truly non bloatware distro.

  8. KDE for a Pentium 150? by plasticsquirrel · · Score: 2, Interesting

    After reading this article, I would rather just set up a standard Slackware system and put in IceWM myself instead of getting a bunch of defaulted KDE cruft. I can't imagine trying out a distribution meant for slow computers on one of my 486's only to find the stupid distro trying to run KDE.

    The machines that Vector Linux is supposed to be targetted at are precisely the ones that cannot run KDE or Gnome. What makes this distribution worth anyone's time?

    --
    Systemd: the PulseAudio of init systems
    1. Re:KDE for a Pentium 150? by duncan+bayne · · Score: 1

      Depends if you're talking about SOHO or not - the *default* setup for SOHO is aimed at higher-end machines than mine. As I tried to make clear, it's easy enough to trim down to size, and my preference is to trim a large install as opposed to adding to a minimal install.

  9. Article updated with replies to comments by duncan+bayne · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I've added an Update section to the original post to address some of the issues you guys have raised. Thanks for the feedback! :-)

  10. And this is better than Slackware because... by agraupe · · Score: 1

    I don't see any advantage to installing this distro over conventional slackware. Slackware is tried and true, has a long and illustrious history, and is more or less able to run on really old hardware (compare the system requirements). I would also say Debian is a contender in this arena. I have a working Debian install in approximately 1.3GB, complete with office suite and desktop and whatever else you might need (GIMP, etc.) running on a PowerMac G3 (233mhz) with 32MB of RAM.

  11. vector by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    it is just a dumbed down Slackware clone...

    you can not select custom/personalised mount points, [eg] no seperate /boot or /home or /usr or /var disk partitions, everything goes in one hole...

    so option to de-select or select individual packages during install either...

    any long time slackware user will open a file manager and look in /etc and see the mess it is and promptly wipe vector off...

    vector is just a kludge of Arch/Slackware & Redhat's Anaconda, no thanks - dont want it...

  12. Why not FreeBSD? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I was wondering why you bothered installing a Linux distro on a FreeBSD build machine.
    Why having a re-implementation of FreeBSD when you can have the true thing?
    Yes, I have the latest release of FreeBSD running prefectly on a 486 PC (100MHz, 1.0GB HD, 48 MB of RAM).

    1. Re:Why not FreeBSD? by agraupe · · Score: 1

      Because I could not find instructions on how to boot FreeBSD (or any other bsd, even net) on an oldworld mac. If you would point me to such a resource, I would be thankful... I was considering a BSD install a few days ago before I found out that booting it would be hard/impossible.