Lets keep this review ball rolling! After a few incoming links from the Vector Linux website I decided to give their latest offering, Vector Linux 5.8 SOHO, a look. I was quite excited when I noticed that Vector is based out of Canada, my home country. Based on the Slackware 11.0 code-base, Vector tried to deliver a more complete, out-of-the-box system. Now, lets head over to DistroWatch for the summary (clearly written by a huge fan) of the Vector distribution.

“Vector Linux is a small, fast, Intel based Linux operating system for PC style computers. The creators of Vector Linux had a single credo: keep it simple, keep it small and let the end user decide what their operating system is going to be. What has evolved from this concept is perhaps the best little Linux operating system available anywhere. For the casual computer user you have a lightening fast desktop with graphical programs to handle your daily activities from web surfing, sending and receiving email, chatting on ICQ or IRC to running an ftp server. The power user will be pleased because all the tools are there to compile their own programs, use the system as a server or perhaps the gateway for their home or office computer network. Administrators will be equally as pleased because the small size and memory requirements of the operating system can be deployed on older machines maybe long forgotten.”

Wow, so is this really the holy grail of Linux distributions? Let me just say, not quite (but please read the rest of the review for details). Vector has been consistently in the top 20 distributions, according to the unofficial DistroWatch rankings. The system was installed on my desktop computer, therefore forcing me to use it continuously for about a week.

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Often I get questions regarding the software that I use on a daily basis. While I use Firefox, the GIMP, Amarok and VLC daily, I also use a fantastic FTP client, FileZilla, many times a day. In the past I have used clients such as CuteFTP and WS_FTP, but these require payment of $30+, so my trials would always expire forcing me to change. Then, a couple of years ago, I came across FileZilla, one of the most highly downloaded applications from SourceForge.net. Not only is FileZilla open-source (under the GPL), but it is also available on all major systems - Linux, Mac, and Windows.

The current stable release, 2.2.32, was released in April of this year, while the current unstable, 3 Beta 11, was just released a few days ago. Currently, I am running a previous beta release and have noticed no issues - so if interested, I recommend downloading the most recent beta rather than the stable. As far as installation is concerned, most Linux distributions will have FileZilla in their repositories, making it a simple apt-get install filezilla away on many Debian-based distros and available in the package managers for others. Those using Macs, the .tar files are available on the FileZilla page at SourceForge.net and for Windows users, the .exe installer is also available on the FileZilla page.

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The first full version of Elive, 1.0, was released at the beginning of July this year to a fair amount of acclaim. It has been touted as one of the most visually appealing distributions, but how does it stake up against the out-of-the-box review style of Shift+Backspace? I have been quite busy with work over the last week and have kept Elive installed on my desktop computer, making it my primary operating system. That being said, I found myself often booting into a live CD version of Linux Mint 3.0 as I generally did not like Elive 1.0. Of course, I do want to give Elive a fair review, so lets do the regular and head over to DistroWatch for the brief description of Elive.

“Elive, or Enlightenment live CD, is a Debian-based desktop Linux distribution and live CD featuring the Enlightenment window manager. Besides being pre-configured and ready for daily desktop use, it also includes “Elpanel” - a control centre for easy system and desktop administration.”

This relatively new distribution has climbed the DistroWatch rankings quite quickly and is already at number 23. Elive is the first distribution I have ever installed that uses the Enlightenment desktop environment, so please take this into account throughout this review (most of what I say may apply to the environment over the actual distribution).

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The latest installment of Pardus, version 2007.2, was officially released on, July 12, 2007. Pardus is a relatively new distribution based on GNU/Linux. Worried this review has been rushed due to the recency of the release? Do not worry, I had been using the release candidate for a while now and installed the official release before authoring this review. The distribution comes from Turkey, but is available in a vast number of languages. Lets head over to DistroWatch for the short, but sweet, overview of the distribution.

“Pardus is a GNU/Linux distribution funded and developed by the Scientific & Technological Research Council of Turkey. Pardus has a range of unique features, such as Mudur, a start-up framework of Pardus to speed up the boot process, and PiSi, an efficient package management system with a user-friendly graphical interface.”

While some readers may argue that looking at the DistroWatch rankings is useless, I feel that it offers a general idea of the popularity of many distributions. Pardus is currently ranked 46th overall, making it the lowest ranked distribution I have reviewed, but that being said, I have received a dozen or so emails asking for an overall look at this latest edition. I have installed Pardus 2007.2 on my desktop (AMD 3700+, ATI X800XL) for the purpose of this review. Please note that this review is quite short, therefore I invite any Pardus users to write about their experience in the comments below.

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Slackware Linux 12.0 was formally released on July 1, 2007. I have been looking forward to reviewing Slackware for a few weeks and now that the official release of version 12.0 has occurred, I cannot think of a better time to review it. Slackware has existed for nearly 14 years as version 1.0 was released in 1993; making Slackware one of the oldest Linux distributions in existence. Slackware is known for releasing very tight and well-test distributions making me quite happy that they do not rely on fixed release schedules where new full versions are released every few months. According to the Slackware website, the Slackware Linux Project is “aimed at producing the most ‘UNIX-like’ Linux distribution” available while maintaining Linux standards. Off to DistroWatch for the summary of Slackware Linux (also available on the Slackware website).

“The Official Release of Slackware Linux by Patrick Volkerding is an advanced Linux operating system, designed with the twin goals of ease of use and stability as top priorities. Including the latest popular software while retaining a sense of tradition, providing simplicity and ease of use alongside flexibility and power, Slackware brings the best of all worlds to the table. Slackware Linux provides new and experienced users alike with a fully-featured system, equipped to serve in any capacity from desktop workstation to machine-room server. Web, ftp, and email servers are ready to go out of the box, as are a wide selection of popular desktop environments. A full range of development tools, editors, and current libraries is included for users who wish to develop or compile additional software.”

Slackware has consistently ranked in the top ten of all Linux distributions for many years according to the ranking system used at DistroWatch. I would like to point out that I have never used Slackware before so this review will be my fresh opinion on how Slackware installs and looks, along with other details, on my Inspiron 8500 notebook.

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The latest installment of Sidux, 2007-02 codenamed Tartaros, was released on May 28th of this year. Sidux is based on Debian, inparticularly Sid, which is the more modern, or development branch of Debian. Sidux is currently ranked 27th on the DistroWatch rankings, but is a very new distribution that I believe may be able to crack the top ten in future years. Now, to the DistroWatch website for their description of Sidux.

“Sidux is a desktop-oriented distribution and live CD based on the unstable branch of Debian GNU/Linux. It was originally created by a group of developers who split from the KANOTIX project and launched their own distribution.”

I have had close to a dozen emails from individuals requesting that I review this latest version of Sidux, so lets move on!

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Recently there has been plenty of news regarding the alpha releases of the next openSUSE release, 10.3. While I will be taking a look at the Alpha 5 or Alpha 6 release in the near future, many users have requested a review of openSUSE 10.2. Released in December 2006, openSUSE 10.2 has been the strong number two performer (according to DistroWatch rankings), but with the recent release of PCLinuxOS 2007 it has fallen to number three. For more information regarding the openSUSE distribution lets get the summary from DistroWatch.

“The openSUSE project is a community program sponsored by Novell. Promoting the use of Linux everywhere, this program provides free, easy access to openSUSE, a complete Linux distribution. The openSUSE project has three main goals: make openSUSE the easiest Linux for anyone to obtain and the most widely used Linux distribution; leverage open source collaboration to make openSUSE the world’s most usable Linux distribution and desktop environment for new and experienced Linux users; dramatically simplify and open the development and packaging processes to make openSUSE the platform of choice for Linux developers and software vendors.”

The entire distribution, previously known as SuSE Linux has been around for many years with a very strong and knowledgeable community backing it since the beginning. Once again, this review will be focusing on the capabilities of openSUSE 10.2 without any intervention or further downloads. The operating system is being installed on my Inspiron 8500 notebook.

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Interestingly enough, I have been using Ubuntu Feisty Fawn 7.04 since the release candidate was released, yet have not reviewed it! Actually, just a few days ago I switched to Linux Mint (based on Feisty Fawn), but I still feel that my multi-month use of straight-up Ubuntu is testament enough. Ubuntu is arguably the most popular distribution of Linux available at the moment and is a Debian-based operating system that has regularly releases every 6 months. Media coverage sky-rocketed when Dell official announced, and since released, computers pre-loaded with Feisty Fawn. Off to DistroWatch for some more info about the Ubuntu distribution!

“Ubuntu is a complete desktop Linux operating system, freely available with both community and professional support. The Ubuntu community is built on the ideas enshrined in the Ubuntu Manifesto: that software should be available free of charge, that software tools should be usable by people in their local language and despite any disabilities, and that people should have the freedom to customise and alter their software in whatever way they see fit. “Ubuntu” is an ancient African word, meaning “humanity to others”. The Ubuntu distribution brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the software world.”

There is an interesting story behind the beginning of Ubuntu and the ‘dictator’ Mark Shuttleworth. According to the entry on Wikipedia, Mark Shuttleworth was a developer on the Debian project in the 1990’s during the time when he sold an internet company, Thawte, to VeriSign for $575 million US. Mark is a strong supporter of social innovation and has helped fund many open-source projects. In 2005, Ubuntu was created by the multi-million dollar investment from Mark…thus the beginning of a great distribution. Oh, did I mention that in 2002 Mark Shuttleworth went to space with the Russians? Yup, he did! After such an inception, Ubuntu has consistently ranked at the top of the DistroWatch rankings over the past couple of years.

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The most recent release from the MEPIS crew is SimplyMEPIS 6.5, which was released on April 4th, 2007. In all of my Linux and various distribution readings, I rarely hear about MEPIS; however, it is clearly popular as the MEPIS distribution has consistently been in the top 8 on the DistroWatch rankings dating back to 2004. As I appear to be working my way down the rankings, I found it was time to review SimplyMEPIS 6.5. Lets do the usual and get the description on MEPIS from DistroWatch.

“MEPIS Linux is a desktop Linux system that is also easy to configure as a dedicated server. It is designed for both personal and business purposes. It includes cutting-edge features such as a live/installation/recovery CD, automatic hardware configuration, NTFS partition resizing, ACPI power management, WiFi support, anti-aliased TrueType fonts, a personal firewall, KDE, and much more.”

Clearly, the developers on MEPIS are trying to create a distribution that can span the entire spectrum of users; from those wishing to use it for regular home use and those looking for a powerful server system.

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PCLinuxOS 2007, also referred to as PCLOS, was released on May 21st, 2007 to rave reviews. Also, PCLOS has gained immense popularity having been the number two distribution over the last 6 months and number one since the release of the 2007 edition just over three weeks ago (according to the DistroWatch rankings). Want to know more about PCLOS? Lets go to DistroWatch to get an overview.

“PCLinuxOS is an English only live CD initially based on Mandrake Linux that runs entirely from a bootable CD. Data on the CD is uncompressed on the fly, allowing up to 2GB of programs on one CD including a complete X server, KDE desktop, OpenOffice.org and many more applications all ready to use. In addition to the live CD, you can also install PCLinuxOS to your hard drive with an easy-to-use livecd-installer. Additional applications can be added or removed from your hard drive using a friendly apt-get front end via Synaptic.”

Something I have been wondering recently is how the name PCLinuxOS came about. The name has never appealed to me, but it must to others judging by the DistroWatch rankings of late. As always, this review will be focusing on the “out-of-the-box” capabilities of PCLinusOS 2007 on my Inspiron 8500 laptop.

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