After three months of testing via two beta releases and two release candidates Vector Linux has released version 5.1 of its Slackware-derived operating system. This release is an important milestone as there is now a working dependency package management system inside a Slack-based distro.
Vector Linux 5.1 Standard Released
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Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
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I have 4.3 on a 200 MMX 64MB and it goes very well. Wonder how will VL 5 go?
Great to see another release of the best distro out there (for me). I still prefer the SOHO edition with KDE and OOo, but the standard is great for those who want/need a lightweight OS.
Congratulations to developers, and i hope more people try it out, it’s worth
Vector Linux 5.1 is a nice one.The package manager slapt-get works seamlessly (eg: slapt-get –update, slapt-get –install mozilla etc ..).Would be nice if VL would have an online package data base though.
>>> I have 4.3 on a 200 MMX 64MB and it goes very well. Wonder how will VL 5 go?
It will run as good as 4.3, it will only require more disc space since it has more packages included.
I have RC2 in a system like yours but with 128 ram.
The improvements on VASM compared to 4.3 are huge, really.
And gslapt is excellent too… saw the screenshot?
http://www.vectorlinux.com/mod.php?mod=userpage&menu=10&page_id=10
For God’s sake, man, hide that ugly Rox filer toolbar!
Actually thats a very old version of Blackbox or possible Fluxbox with an old theme (looks like Artwiz).
Why not install the original slackware? Heck, you will get KDE for free with slackware…
It is curious that people doesn´t ask that for debian or mdk based distros.
Anyway, you could find many reasons to choose VL instead of Slack, as with any distro, depending on what you are looking for.
Long story short, VL can save you plenty of time if you are looking for a fast desktop solution. I also find it a great learning experience. And the community is suberb
aww c’mon it does really…
but I do find myself using vl a awful lot lately but I am loyal to debian…. i think
ok, a little cheating on the side, hopefully debian wont find out about my hottie…
🙂
ok, i love VL tooo
I’m a big fan of Vector Linux. Xfce does everything I need and is a lot snappier than KDE or Gnome. VL screems on out-of-date cast-off hardware. I tried Gentoo Linux and after a week of compiling and configuring packages there were still a few nagging things that didn’t quite work right. VL feels just as fast as Gentoo, installation is a breeze, and everything just worked.
Now that’s the kind of price even I can accept!
For $26.97 one can get 2 CD’s and a printed installation guide.
I can respect a distro that has a “humble” price.
Compared to Slackware that wants $39.95 and for what? Almost no support and a website that’s updated once in a blue moon.
Although I do use Slackware for now, I will order Vector just to support them.
Seems unfair to say that Slackware is only updated “once in a blue moon.” There have been a lot of updates, starting in April, in both Stable and Current repositories. Tons of updates in Current in the month of July.
Let’s not turn this into a flame-war; Vector is great, and so are the others…they all have their merits!
If you haven’t tried Vector, give it a go, then judge. The small disk space requirements and ability to install directly from an iso (no CD to burn) make it very simple to test out…
Congrats to the VL community on a stunning release. The hardwork and dedication is paying off, to say the least!
Cheers!
LLL
“a website that’s updated once in a blue moon. ”
Isn’t that the Slackware way? If there is nothing to say, say nothing rather than pumping out more filler.
than Fedora Core, Ubuntu, Mandriva, and over 500 other distributions?
Because Fedora, Ubuntu, Mandriva, SuSE, and most of the other distributions are not tailored to run on low speed hardware.
I have a Vector Linux 4.3 box for web surfing that’s a P133 with 64 MB of memory and a PCI 2 MB Video card.
Fedora would run incredibly slow on that machine.
Like another poster, I’ve got an old p200 with 80 meg of ram thinkpad that lives under the bed. It looks like they’ve got a ISO with a special version of Firefox with gtk+1!, and a whole bunch of other gtk+1 apps, but most likely I’ll not even put X on it.
Considering that I started with Linux on a AMD K5/133MHz, 24 MB RAM and a 1.2 GB disk, I think you can very well put X on your thinkpad.
You can get unofficial KDE Slackware/VL packages here:
http://ftp.kde.org/pub/kde/stable/3.4.1/contrib/Slackware/10.1/
they are intended for Slackware 10.1 I haven’t try this ones but I have used other versions and I never had problems with them. Anyway, $26.97 for 2 CD’s and a printed installation guide, a stole.
And, yes, they rock
. Slackware Linux comes with quite outdated software. What I do is to replace the old 2.4 kernel with new 2.6, the same with KDE, and (if I want to play with Gnome) I install the newest Dropline Desktop. But anyway, I’m burning VL install CD right now to see how god is it 
.
“a website that’s updated once in a blue moon. ”
Although the homepage has very if at all update, it gives me comfort knowing Slackware is still kicking a** via current change log.
For all the time I visited the site over the past few years, the only times the site were updated when there were new releases or something important. IMHO, Pat doesn’t waste time filling up the site with practically useless news.
Guys from VL are really heroes. Great job!
How well does it run on laptops ?
I mean, does it support centrino, standby/hybernate, WLAN, etc ?