Greetings from Ontario, Canada

[Everett]

Hi Everyone,

I am newbie to this form and I know very little about Linux, but I am starting to learn.
I have entered the Linux world because I have an old machine that I heard would run well with Linux.
I downloaded several thousand distros lol (actual last count about 150).

I have since then settled down on about 10. So far my two favorites are Vector Linux & Easy Peasy 1.6 (dormant) Very hard for me to tell which is the best. They are both excellent! I think Easy Peasy is based on Netbook Remix 10?

As a newbie my main criteria is:

1. Boot-up speed
2. Operating speed
3. Visual appearance
4. Standard applications
5. Youtube playback quality and speed
6. Out of the box experience (ease of installation & setup)

I know that is not a highly technical criteria but it works for me since I don't know much about Linux.

Would it be possible to get the best of both worlds and have two desktops for Vector? Either two separate versions or able to switch from within Vector. Newbie question, I have no clue what it takes?
 

[bigpaws]

Hi Everett,

Welcome to Vector Linux!

In order to best asnwer your questions. Providing more
information about your system would help.

Processor speed
Amount of RAM
Video Card name, make and model

There are alot of people mention old computer and expect
it to run Linux. The expectations that since i ran Windows 2000
 etc well when it was new linux should be the same experience.
When in reality the programs that are being used today use
more RAM than the older versions. RAM is one of the biggest
bottlenecks to over come.


As far as installation in my experience installation is pretty easy
on most distributions..

Two desktops? Do you mean dual boot two installations? Or actual
desktops in a window manager?

Linux is not Windows. Learning that one thing will help with using
Linux.

Linux will require reading to learn about it, as well as increase your
proficiency with the OS. The same amount of time that you spent
getting used to Windows.

If you can list your hardware someone can give you better answers.

Bigpaws

[overthere]

Hi Everett

Welcome to the forum

You will be happy to know (depending on your unit spec) that not only can you have more than one vector distro, you can have several distros on one drive (naturally depending on the drive size) and choose how you want to boot them.

Often this is achieved via the bootloader(ie:grub or lilo) which on boot gives you a choice of which OS you want to boot or defaults to one after a time out. you can also run many linux from a cd/dvd or usb stick and choose via the computer boot menu or bios settings. thus needing no hard drive or allowing play with other systems without tampering with your installed Vector OS.

The standard release of Vector usually has more than one desktop environment and you can choose which you want to play with or use at login by clicking the session menu and selecting it.

The default xfce is very easy to customize and the fluxbox desktop is also customizable and very good for learning things as it can require manual edits to customize where xfce is more automated. And then there is awesome. Alternatively there are bigger and smaller versions of the OS to choose from. Here are my current xfce and fluxbox desktops on the standard version, simple changes that offer a custom look and feel, you will find a greater freedom compared to windows and OSX where the desktop is concerned.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/dmrvk1xsh4wehog/XfceRC1.png

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fagftyk5g2olkkh/FluxboxRC1.png

The defaults offer a great selection of applications for most users and you can easily add additional application with the gslapt package manager. the first time you use gslapt you will need to click the update button to insure you have the latest additions to the repositories. do not confuse the "update" button with the "add all updates" button. they are two very different things

You can also find additional desktop environments in the package manager should you prefer alternatives to the included ones. or Vector includes tools to build what you like if you are up to the task.

I find Vector quick and stable and a great out of box experience especially for those who want to learn. Not because it requires anything in particular rather the facility is there to do as you please in most cases. The forum is naturally a wealth of information in addition to your internet searches for information and check out stretchedthins video tutorials, I think there is a link on the desktop.



Happy Vectoring

[Everett]

Thanks for the welcome Bigpaws:)

I will elaborate later on system hardware and my expectations and clarify the two desktop statement.

I do realize that it took quite awhile for me to adapt and use the MS Windows desktop, so I know it will take awhile to adapt to this one.

So far so good.

Just to let everyone know, I am so impressed with VL, that this is the only forum I have joined!

[Everett]

Thanks for info, this is something I will investigate as I get braver in the Linux world.

I did not realize I can make the desktop look the way I like. The VL desktop and Easy Peasy desktop are to me the best way for a beginner like myself to get into Linux.

If I understand correctly, I can make VL look and function like Easy Peasy?

[overthere]

Hi Everett

 Unfortunately I am not sure you can make Vector look like easy peasy exactly. easy peasy like ubuntu netbook remix were designed for netbooks and were abandoned as quickly as they arrived. I think the end result was the current ubuntu desktop.

My point was that linux offers a variety of customizable desktops rather than one and vector standard often has two or three to chose from at the login screen.

Once fully immersed in linux perhaps you will find the means to actually make VL look like easy peasy as linux is to a greater extent open source and you are free to do as you like with your skills at least for personal use.

You may find the applications folder in the file manager of Vector light of interest, the default desktop is lxde.

[hata_ph]

Welcome