Is anyone using the new Vector Linux 5.8 Gold?

Bob

Typing on it right now. But I am new to Linux and even more so to Vector. I am not sure why you asked, so I assume that you want someone's input/analysis. I have to say that of all of the distributions that I tried, this is my favorite because of the following:

1. Java came installed and configured.
2. Java works with Firefox out of the box.
3. It's FAST...the fastest one between all of the distributions. It's slightly slower than a Frugal install of Puppy Linux, which says a lot.
4. It's very stable.
5. It's not bloated.
6. Flash is already installed and working.
7. mplayer and required codecs installed and working.

Did I mention that it's fast? I just love the speed.

The only problem that I had is the network setup, it seems to be a pain to configure for a newbie like myself. But the VL forum has some great people who help.

You say it is fast.
What distros have you tried and what are your specs ?

Specs? Observation only, sorry, I am still a newbie. I just see that the applications start up much faster, and function faster. Firefox, starts 2 seconds faster on VL than on Debian (yes, I counted), new tabs open in a hurry, etc.

Here's a review of the product. He says, and I am quoting:

"Now one of the things that the Vector website boasts and also is included in most things I saw online about Vector, is their speed, lack of fluff or bloated packages (Mandriva and Suse should learn from this), and overall performance. This is also very evident in the first boot onward once you get this little baby installed."

and:

"Vector is a well rounded package that just simply works and works extremely fast and with little additional user input."

http://knolinux.com/2006/12/11/vecto...orks-well.aspx

Other distros that I tried are Debian (which was my favorite before VL), Puppy, Fedora, Ubuntu, and Suse.

Specs are eg PC speed (1.8 Ghz) and RAM (eg 256 MB) etc.
How did it compare to Ubuntu ?

Oh, sorry for the confusion...my computer is a Pentium D 820, which is a dual core, but not very fast. I have 1 GB of memory. It's a decent setup. I have a 160GB IDE h/d in there. Without any performance tunning, VL is working really fast. I am reading some articles now on how to speed up Linux, and I have a feeling that once I do some configuration changes, I can get even more performance, specially out of the IDE h/d.

Ubuntu performed so-so on my machine. In all honesty, I can't say that it was fast, but VL is fast. The only way you would know the difference is by installing it. Use the partition manager on the Ubuntu live CD to shrink your Ubuntu partition (if you have to) and install VL and test it out. I would like to know your impression.

I will have to give it a go, soon (when I get the CD) I have to reinstall Win XP so I will try Vector after that.
How easy was it to install software.

I tried it and was very impressed ! I plan to install it on my (oldest) legacy PC, as it seems better than Zenwalk or Xubuntu (so far)... Then I shall see how does it do on the long run...

But yes, I am very impressed !

I hope that it goes well for you and that you like it. If you have any questions about the installation, let me know. But the installation is fairly straight forward...I am very new to Linux, and I didn't have any problems with it.

amigo, I am very impressed by VL as well, I now have installed it on all of my computers. On my laptop, it is now the only OS. I am just amazed how the old laptop runs, it feels like I have a 3.6 GHz Intel in there. Anyhow, let us know what your impressions are after using it for a few months. I'll do the same.

Great feedback on VL 5.8, I am running Slackware 10.2 (text interface) right now. Not going graphical lets me really see how fast this old box really is. I've tried starting X with XFCE but my machine is too slow to drive a graphical interface very well... IBM Thinkpad 380ED 166 mhz, P1, 92 megs of RAM.

It runs Win98 OK, using IE, so my goal it to find an easy replacement for Win98 that will save this machine.

This machine seems only able to drive an 800x600 display.

Second goal: My dad is 76 years old. He and a number of his friends all have older machines. All he does is browse the Web, read Yahoo email and copy / email digital pictures from his camera. So I want to find a one CD Linux replacement that will setup and do all these simple tasks. I don't want a bunch of support calls. I'm hoping Vector Linux 5.8 is the answer. My previous experience with VL was 5.5... and it did not have a floppy install version.

Thanks
Bob

bobby, I am not sure if it is possible to install VL from floppy. I am sure there is a way though, why don't you post this message to their forum, it's a very user-friendly forum.

http://www.vectorlinux.com/forum2/index.php

bobby, I am not sure if this will work for you:

http://www.vectorlinux.com/Docs/vl50...floppy_install

I just install the vectorlinux 5.8 on an old celeron 533. Nice distro indeed. I like the installation wizard. It is quite funny at times. haven't test the power of it yet but it is user-friendly.

I am really pleased with Vector 5.8 std.

I now have it on 3 PC's :

-IBM PC 300GL (Celeron 496Mhz, 128 megs of ram...)
-Via C3 796Mhz, 392 megs of ram...
-Via C3 796Mhz, 256 megs of ram...

It rocks ! It is the fastest distro I ever tried, apart from Puppy & DSL, but they are not on the same league.

I really appreciate to have it all "out of the box", as I have Mandriva 2007 on my main box, and it took me many hours to have it tweaked "my way". I also have Ubuntu Dapper on my laptop, it is slow, but very functional, and just as Mandriva, it took me some time to have Automatix installing what I needed (Buntu was faster than MDV, though...).

I am wondering when the Vector team plans on releasing a SOHO edition of Vector 5.8, as I am more comfortable with either KDE or Gnome for my main machine...

If any of you guys know more about future release of Vector SOHO, let me know...

The first alpha is being tested by a small team of developers now.