Notes on Linux

Ok, I took Vector Linux 7.1 Light for a spin and I mostly liked what I saw. One can download the 32-bit ISO here: Vector Linux 7.1 Light.

   Based on Slackware Linux and released in August 2015, this distro will work reasonably well on an older computer such as a Celeron 1.8 ghz machine. It has the 3.18.16 version of the Linux kernel. The init is sysv compatible. There is no systemd and systemd is not available in the vector linux repositories.


Vector Linux 7.1 light comes with:

• the icewm window manager

• a light web browser xombrero

• leafpad text editor

• mtPaint 3.40 paint program

• geany a lightweight IDE

• evince document viewer

• parcellite a lightweight GTK+ clipboard manager

• firefox 43

   As for the parts I didn't like as much... firefox 43 runs more slowly than firefox 16 on the earlier version of vector linux classic, and parcellite seems to need a faster click than most other programs. A slower single click seemed to open the clipboard manager and then close it again. Older users will no doubt wish to make the fonts a larger size in firefox and icewm.

  The package manager is slapt-get or gslapt (slapt-get with a GUI) as is usual for slackware based distros.

   One program I really liked was the YouTube Browser for SMPlayer. I required some fine tuning but after this my older computer was able to watch youtube videos with ease. It certainly worked better than the flash plugin for firefox or html5 (which was just far too slow).

  Ctrl-Alt-D gets one to the desktop as expected. Icewm is my preferred window manager so all was well there. The KDE4 desktop is available in the repo for KDE fans, although I avoided that as the KDE4 desktop will be noticeably slower.

  If you find yourself needing a new firefox but your computer and glibc is too old, Vector Linux 7.1 light will fit the bill. People who are more comfortable with a SysV style init over systemd will breathe a sign of relief. All in all VL 7.1 is a viable choice for users who wish to continue using their older computers with a modern web browser.