Features Illustrated
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Vector Linux is well known to be very very fast.
The boot process will be finished before you can
read the message. What a pity, since the message is
colorful and educative.
Anyway, Tux the Penguin will soon greet you, please login
and start to rock.
| Even more cute, eight penguins will greet you if the GUI
mode login is activated. Optionally, there is a secret autologin,
so you (and anybody) don't have to login each time the system boots.
This forbidden passage can be enabled from VASM.
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VL Dynamite provides only one window manager, the IceWM.
However, it has been "queer eyed" with beautifull themes and background,
not to mention the desktop icons courtessy of vdesk and Noia.
| Even the terminals are so funky. They are transparent and
have different color each time you launch a new window !
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The IceWM is accompanied by menu editor,
and simple yet effective background scanner and menu.
You will be settled at home quickly.
| Although of course, noboby won't prevent an eXPerienced user to stay somewhere else ;)
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Enough for the eye candy, what is for real ?
Okay. We have the lightweight Dillo web browser, gFTP client, and Sylpheed claws email client.
For serious browsing, a medium weight Firefox is included.
| Multimedia application is featured by XMMS and Xine.
You can play music (mp3, ogg) and movie (mpg, avi) endlessly.
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You can browse and view images quickly using gqview.
As a bonus, vdesk provides a screen capture menu, though
I was using the GIMP to capture these screenshots.
| Then I used Scite, a programmer's editor,
to make the HTML you are reading.
Bluefish would be better for this job,
but Scite is not too bad either.
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Scite can be used for C/C++ programming too,
but for a savvy developer, we have a better choice.
Motor is a text mode C/C++ IDE that supports editing,
debugging, automake project, packaging and CVS.
You should run it on the text console rather than on GUI mode.
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Meanhile, clicking the FileExplorer, Floppy, or CDROM icons on the desktop
will bring up emelfm. No manual mounting is required.
Midnight commander is always there for the diehard geeks.
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Administering the system couldn't be easier with VASM.
It covers the common configuration for the most of us,
including setting up an internet sharing gateway.
Advanced users can do the rest via the uncle Slackware way :)
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If you still want more, use vecpkg to download and install new packages
from FTP site. Slackware packages are mostly compatible, except daemons packages
(like apache, mysql, sendmail) because of different init system.
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Those are the normal features. If you are interested in the development of Vector Linux,
please take a look on, so called, the dynamite:
- Installation system. VL Dynamite introduces an improved
setup system that implements many suggestions from the
community including: better navigation, bulk install, packages selection,
no more partition typing, separate root and /home partiton,
two stages install and configuration. There is also a LILO repair menu.
Oh yeah, do not miss the flying CREDIT !!!
You can fly too for a little contribution ;)
- VASM and VL Autosetup.
Ah ... now we can proudly say that VL is user
friendlier than uncle Slackware.
- VECPKG, the new software plaza that uses simple tree organization to solve package dependency issue.
Give it a try. There are some light GTK1 packages on the FTP site to download, including GIMP, Bluefish, XCDRoast,
LinNeigborhood, and SAMBA. GTK1 is not bad, really.
- VL-Init system. This is the one that boot your system into action. Simply speaking,
VL-Init is a fine blend that gives you the stability of Slackware's classic BSD-Init system,
the flexibility of other Linux SysV-Init system, then more over, the speed and color of Vector Linux.
Check out how fast and wonderfull VL boot process. Then find out more by login as root then type "init 2", "init 3",
"init 4", "init 5", or "init 8". What the heck ... init 8 ?!? Yes certainly. Just try it.
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