Spotlight on Linux: Supergamer Supreme 2.5

Susan Linton — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Supergamer is, as you might guess, a Linux distribution whose main focus is on gaming. It's based on a lighter distributions, features a light desktop, and is chock-full of games and demos. It began life in the Spring of 2006 and was received with great enthusiasm. As time went by and with a few similar entries coming into the field, one doesn't hear the name Supergamer as much anymore. But this is tragedy.

In 2006 it was a novel idea. Provide a live DVD with little other than lots and lots of games. It offered a macabre hard rock persona and was based on a very popular distribution. It was a sensation. Later releases reflected a change from a PCLinuxOS-base to a VectorLinux-base. This was done for stability and higher performance as well as in response to user requests and the desire to become distro independent. Another update was released in 2008 after the 2007 changeover which featured a few application updates.

Very quietly, a new update was released just recently; again offering a few application and kernel updates. The look is basically the same as well as the configuration and software included. The codebase seems to have changed very little and some might consider important ingredients to be somewhat outdated. In addition, Supergamer is distributed as an eight gigabyte image that requires dual layer media and a burner that supports that capability. That last part isn't much of a concern these days as most newer DVD burners have that support, but dual layer media isn't as readily available and when found is usually a bit more expensive. These are the disadvantages.

The advantages are much more fun. The main advantage is games, games, and even more games. Supergamer ships with lots of games already installed and ready to go. No fighting 3D acceleration drivers, no digging up old howtos to get some games to work, and no visiting numerous websites looking for demos of popular commercial games. In other words, convenience is the key word. One can either install the system or not, which may be an advantage especially with shared, public, or family computers.

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Spotlight on Linux: VectorLinux 6.0

Susan Linton — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 14:00:00 +0000

by Susan Linton

VectorLinux is one distribution that seems to hum along under most users' radar. This is a mistake because Vector has many of the characteristics that make Linux great while adding some that has often been heralded by competitors as not existing except with larger commercial distributions.

VectorLinux is based on Slackware Linux, which remains the oldest living distribution to this day. Vector is fairly old itself. Very few people realize this distribution has been around since the last century although little proof remains of these early versions. The Vector Website has a comparison chart that goes back to 1.8 and one archive of old mailing lists posts preserves a support question from August 2000 on 1.0.

While Vector is based on Slackware, its developers have been working slowly over the years to separate themselves from Slack. The larger part of Vector is now independently developed with only the inner core still being derived from Slackware.

Different Versions

VectorLinux comes in several versions which can be confusing for some. They have versions based on different desktops, different software configurations, and different costs. Probably most popular is Vector's KDE free download version. As the name implies it is based on a stable KDE desktop and is usually dubbed their SOHO Edition. 6.0, the latest stable version, features multimedia support, OpenOffice, proprietary drivers, and lots of handy applications.

Other versions are designed to be lightweight. These are the Light and Standard editions. The difference between these are the size of the download, specific window environment, and included software. Both are designed for older machines. The Light version, which features Fluxbox and JWM, is said to operate on processors as slow as the Pentium 166 and 64 MB RAM. The Standard Edition features Xfce and boasts the ability to run on the Pentium 200 and 96 MB RAM. The standard version as well as its accompanying second software CD can be downloaded for free or ordered for a nominal fee.

Some version come in a SOHO (small office, home office) Editions. These differ by concentrating on software believed to be of interest to those using their desktops for business purposes. Desktop publishers, word processors, spreadsheets, accounting, and graphic design are some of the business oriented categories addressed by these SOHO Editions. The latest stable versions of SOHO often ship with newer desktops and software. Two version are generally available in SOHO line, the free downloadable Standard and the commercial Deluxe.

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