Customer Reviews

Beginning SUSE Linux (Beginning: from Novice to Professional)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have used Windows since the early 1990s. Went through 3.1 to 95 to 98 to XP (and I have one machine running Windows 2000 right now--I think that is the one place where MS did OK). Now with Windows Vista, it seems as if it will require many people to upgrade their hardware. I have several IBM Thinkpads T21, T30, and T42 and none of them will run Vista Business using its full features (do not have a sufficient graphics card). So, I decided to give Linux a try as a substitute for Windows Vista.

So I purchased Thomas' 2nd edition of his book and with the DVD installed SUSE 10.1 on my Thinkpad T30 laptop in less than an hour. Before purchasing this book I fiddled with some different Linux flavors (Fedora, Ubuntu, and Suse). Problem was while they are easy to install, I did not know what I was doing. Hence, this book is a greater owner's manual for Suse Linux.

The most difficult part was configuring a wireless network card to work. Very frustrating experience in Linux. Wireless networking is so important these days and with the frustration you encounter some people might throw their hands up in the air, give up, and return to Microsoft Windows. This book may prevent that from happening. At least it did for me.

Good Thing: With Thomas' book, I followed the instructions in Chapter 8 and was able to get my wireless connection up and running in about 15 minutes. This involves the use of ndiswrapper to work with the Windows driver. (BTW: I have the Linksys WPC54G Version 3 wireless card). Author wallks through this process and it was not as frustrating had I followed what people posted in forums. I am brand new to Linux.

The book is very readable and enjoyable. I am learning about the various features of Linux and how it operates. It is not Windows, it takes some getting used to, but in the amount of money you save, I think it might be a worthwhile investment. Less of a need for anti-virus software (which can save money) and if you have a broadband connection, you can always download the latest version of Linux, burn the image to a CD or DVD and then install it. Also, this distro comes with Open Office. This saves me a lot of money.

With Windows, Vista Business goes for about $200 and another $350 or so for Office 2007. Antivirus software can cost $50 and then you have pay $30 per year to subscribe to updates. Alternatively, I purchased this Suse Linux book for $39 at my university and have everything I need in a stable operating system.

The author does bash Microsoft from time to time, but that should not bother you because most people give Linux a try after dissatisfaction with Microsoft anyway. With open-source software people have donated their programming skills, time, and energy to advancing this software. So many people can look at the code and find bugs and then these can be repaired swiftly.

Author explains how to secure computer with a firewall. Also, there are a few anti-virus options for Linux and author mentions them. But they are for the most part unnecessary because most virus writers want to inflict the most damage and most people use Windows so they write viruses for Windows. A study by Sophos in 2003 indicated about 40 Linux viruses compared to 1,000 new Windows viruses per month (p. 164). That is why with my Windows machines I was always obessing over Windows updates and scanning for viruses once per day. I was looking around on the internet and noticed that the Defense Department in the United States uses Linux--guess that says something about its potential for security.

Thomas does a great job of explaining how to secure your computer and how to do tasks that a Windows user might need to know in making the switch. I highly recommend using this book to get into Linux as I have been very successful in doing nearly every task I did in Windows. To the extent that you run into any snafus, Thomas' book is great to have on the shelf to solve the problem.

I have a feeling that I am going to be sticking with Linux instead of purchasing Microsoft Vista.

Thank you Mr. Thomas for this superb introduction to Linux.

I am a Linux newbie, and went with SUSE Linux on the recommendation of a friend. You can tell this author is VERY anti-Microsoft... which is fine, I certainly don't think Windows is the best operating system available, but I almost gave this book 3 stars just because all of the Microsoft bashing got pretty annoying. If you can get past that, this is a really good SUSE book, especially for beginners

Install was easy. I do have a problem with the DVD player and the codex instructions, but other than that everything installed easily. My install was dual boot with XP. The partition and dual boot tools worked fine. The book is clearly written and easy to follow. If you are looking at LINUX for the first time I would recommend this book.

Unlike other SUSE books I've read, this has answered all my questions so far.
There is even advice on improving Linux fonts and an entire chapter on the BASH shell (with an appendix of BASH commands). Also, a short history of Linux and OSS. Book has a somewhat pro-Linux anti-MS tone. Makes a handy reference for looking things up.

i never used linux before. i thought this book was very good for a beginner like me breaking it down to common sense. also walks you though setting up your system trouble shooting the set up and configuration very good well rounded book for first timer non techie person.

I bought this hoping to get some insight into SUSE 11.1. I was very dissapointed. There are three major annoyances with the book.

The first is the constant bashing of Microsoft Windows. Lines like "...and it puts the features in a similar Microsoft product to shame." Or words like, "this works just like windows only much better". This becomes irritating after a while especially when most applications written for MS Windows work damn well.

The second problem is that nothing he explains works the way Keir says. Part of this is due to changes in SUSE; the other reason may be documenting from memory rather than actual practice. So you spend a lot of time re-reading the explanations because they don't jive with what is happening on your screen.

The third is that the material is either oversimplified or is lacking sufficient explanation. The stuff most people are familiar with is covered in depth and the things you don't know about are sketchy.

Do yourself a favor while saving money and just use the online documentation at suse.org. Here is the link.
http://en.opensuse.org/Documentation

This is a well-written, well-organized guide to SUSE Linux. However, I feel like it provides very little that a book on Linux in general (as opposed to SUSE, specifically) wouldn't, and I think that a generalized Linux book would be, on the whole, better because it would give a bigger picture and make the reader more comfortable in any Linux environment. That being said, most of the content of this book IS generally applicable to most Linux flavors, so it hardly matters anyway.

I'm new to Linux, fed up with Windoze decided on Open SUSE for my first distro. This book alone moved me from a Linux newbee to a power user. Based on this book I can install Packages, effectively use the Terminal, install Windows Applications with Wine-Doors. I have successfully moved from XP to Linux SUSE in less than a month, and I'm 62 years old. I highly recommend Beginning SUSE Linux for anyone moving from Windows to Linux. I have since purchased other "Beginning" books from Apress and they are all outstanding.

As I am going through the book there are a bunch of errors and typos. There are some erratas on the Apress Site but not all. I have attempted to contact apress customer service about the issues, but only have recieved and automated response. After the author finishes his diatribe about Microsoft and the empire of evil, I find it funny the excuses he tells for the problems within SUSE Linux, apparently a blind fanboy that cannot see the cracks present. He also complains about people who give him negative reviews on his blog. Apparently, his book is perfect.

All in all, if you want to learn SUSE, it is an Ok place to start.

If you are really new to Linux, the included distro gets you started. However, once you get it installed and provided you are lucky enough that your problem is in the troubleshooting section (I had to google for days for my problem), then you will quickly run into your next problem in updatig the system. Chapter 9, page 168 has instructions but the URL that is given in step 4 is wrong. I tried the server suse.mirrors.tds.net instead of the listed server, and that worked. Everything about the update process is painfully slow, so run it overnight before you go to bed or when you have time to kill. The first update downloaded 495 updates, so it took a long time.

I am up and running after days of problem after problem and have made it mostly through the book and have highlighter marks to errors I have found.

I would say if this is your first Linux attempt, still give it a try but expect problems during the install and with the book but you should still get you through -- I would recommend it used with the CD if you can find it.

Well this isn't the first time i have tried to learn Linux. Being a long time Windows user, it's always been a struggle to get Linux under my belt. One of the biggest hurdles has always been hardware support. Compared to Windows, Linux can sometimes be a real chore to get drivers for. I recently tried OpenSUSE and was really impressed with what i saw. But my first stumbling block was the wireless driver. My house is just not set up to have CAT5 running around. I HAD to get the wireless working. I was struggling with this for weeks, following all the online advice, nothing was working. I decided to order Beginning SUSE after reading some of the reviews. I'll be darned if Mr. Thomas' advice didn't get me over the hump. It was very exciting to see my wireless activity finally kicking in!
I have now read the book cover to cover and picked up a plethora of skills. My system is now dual booting with Linux/Windows XP, networked with my household Windows computers, printing to a shared Windows printer... It's a very exciting change and i must say for me, Mr. Thomas' book is what made the difference.