Geeky Fun: Vector Linux Wins!
Not wins as in I’m running it, but wins as in it beat me.
After my unsucessful foray with Underground Desktop, I gave Vector Linux a try. To be blunt, it was an abysmal failure.
To be just as blunt in a good way, I have to say that it’s obvious that a lot of work went into Vector. The install is incredibly painless because the prompts are so clear and concise that even a very new user would be able to navigate his or her way through them. They’re even funny in a lot of cases (do not format an existing home partition - three times it tells you this).
And the login screen? Holy crap…I really wish I had taken video of this. The login screen is the single coolest thing I’ve seen in any GNU/Linux distro so far. I’m not going to spoil it for you, do some Googling and you might get an idea from a static screenshot. Nothing will do justice to the thing in real life, though. Wow…sexy.
That’s where the love affair ends, though. Vector Linux failed two of my five requirements: my mouse didn’t work and my networking didn’t work.
I was flabberghasted that my mouse didn’t work. I can’t recall a single distro ever failing to pick up my standard run-of-the-mill Logitech two-button USB mouse before. Mouse functionality is on my list as a requirement because it’s hard to get around without a mouse - not because I’ve ever had a problem with it.
My wifi card also stubbornly refused to come up in Vector. I have two cards, an SMC and a Linksys. If one doesn’t work, I try the other because I rreally don’t care which one I use. Surprisingly, a quick lspci showed me that the SMC was at least detected, but not the Linksys. I found that odd since, in the past, the Linksys has given me better performance and reliability.
The good thing about Vector is that it comes with NDSIWrapper installed. The bad thing is that despite the appearance of a normal driver install, it didn’t work. NDSIWrapper appeared to be configured properly, but the wired and wireless tools failed to bring the card up. I’m pretty sure that I wasn’t doing anything wrong with NDISWrapper since I used it for over a year (before going to Linspire), but to be sure I went and checked the NDISWrapper website anyhow. Nope. I was doing the same thing I’ve always done.
I was really surprised at these basic problems with Vector since so much work had obviously gone into the distro. I guess I just have an unlucky combination of hardware that the Vector dudes didn’t foresee.
So what next? Well, I always wanted to give PCLinuxOS a try…
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POSTED IN: Geeky Fun
7 opinions for Geeky Fun: Vector Linux Wins!
Jeff
Jan 28, 2006 at 7:03 pm
Well, that solves that. I was considering trying Vector myself. Looks good on paper, but I guess that doesn’t count for much when it comes down to a usable operating system. Thanks for going through the pain and frustration for me.
Jon
Jan 28, 2006 at 7:26 pm
Hey Jeff,
To be fair, I run a laptop which apparently has some sort of exotic hardware in it. I ALWAYS have issues with distros that normal desktop users don’t.
I’m annoyed about Vector…that login screen is bloody wicked looking!
Anyhow, if you’re running a normal wired desktop you’ll likely have better luck with Vector than I did.
Kyle
Jan 30, 2006 at 10:54 am
Did you try the SOHO or regular version of vector?
Jon
Jan 30, 2006 at 10:57 am
@Kyle: Standard.
Chris
Mar 16, 2006 at 2:26 am
I’m pretty-much a new to Linux having tried to install a few distros over the past year- Redhat, Mandrake (both bloated) Evil Entity(now dead) and Yoper.
All of which didn’t work in one way or the other.
SOHO Vector has come the closest to being a completely problem free install. Everything except my DVD burner worked first time and this took 5 mins to fix (with my limited knowledge of Linux) & my 3 button usb mouse is working fine ….even the scrolling wheel :)
What I’ve found with linux is that it’s simply a matter of luck whether it installs properly -
So don’t be too put off by Jon’s review.
Unless you have the same hardware as Jon I reccommend Vector as good distro for newbies.
Jon
Mar 16, 2006 at 5:53 am
Hey Chris,
I totally agree with you - try it for yourself, folks. Sometimes I forget to mention that my primary box is a wireless laptop. That’s kind of exotic and many distros that behave perfectly well with typical wired desktop scenarios do poorly on my laptop.
ana
Apr 5, 2008 at 10:27 am
I’m VERY new to Linux and I’ve just finished installing Vector Linux (Soho) on an old PC, but I find I have the same problem you did: no mouse. And… well, newbie and all, it’s a bit of a big hurdle to overcome for me. Any suggestions on this? Maybe a link where I could find some info? I’m looking, but so far I’ve found nothing helpful.
Thanks in advance, and great review! I have to say it was a very easy install (my first one too!). And I agree on coolest login screen ever :P
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