Hi guys,
I've been this last week playing for the first time in my life with linux on my old Compaq Presario 1278..
Everything started when I read the news that Dell was ready to release laptops with Ubuntu preinstalled...
Then I thought that it was the moment to give a try to Linux... I'm not an advanced user, but I know a bit about partitions and installations, so I just gave a try.. I must say I was impressed that the alternative ubuntu installation worked perfectly and the computer was up and running
... never expected this from linux... although a bit slow... In any case they captured my attention for the easiness in installation... As the computer was still a bit slow, I tried xubuntu and it worked much better, but still, I thought it was a bit disappointing after all you hear about linux
... Then in a review I read about Vector Linux.. I didn't think about it, and gave it a try to the standard edition (after I saw it had a graphical interface)..
The installation is much more complicated than ubuntu (for a normal user), as you have to set this three partitions, then the menu interface is not a straightforward thing... But with the guide in the webpage and the nice comments during the installation, I got enough information to give it a go!... And after a short installation period, wow... The whole GUI was working, internet was going.. It recognized the PCI, etc... And yes, it is indeed faster than xubuntu, and still easy to use.. I'm impressed and I want to say GOOD WORK GUYS!!!
As I say, I think it would be great to take a look at the installation procedure of ubuntu to see if there's a chance to simplify it in VL.. But the rest it's very good.. The one thing I have not found so far is these list of new applications available to install.. I simply can not find them and in ubuntu they were obvious and is an amazing advantage from linux... I still don't know where it is in VL.
One problem I had with ubuntu was that by shutting down, the computer never could get really off.. It turned off the OS, monitor and HD, but you still had to press the button.. but with VL, there is no issue in this!!. Cool thing!
I hope this little review can give some hints from a normal user perspective!! Let me know if you want more feedbacks!!
thank you so much for giving new life to my old machine!!!
Germán, Venezuela (and living in Germany)
