16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book to assist with Ubuntu Desktop Installation and Operation, April 18, 2010
This review is from: Beginning Ubuntu Linux (Paperback)
If you are interested in how to get the most out of Desktop Ubuntu Linux, then look no further! Should your interest lie in other recognised derivatives of Ubuntu (Edubuntu, Kubuntu, Mythbuntu, Server Ubuntu, Ubuntu Studio or Xubuntu) or the Ubuntu Community, then another book may better suit your needs, for example
Official Ubuntu Book, The (4th Edition).
With 750 pages devoted to how to install, configure, customise and maintain Ubuntu Linux and how to use it for office and multimedia activities, the authors are able to go into considerable depth in an easy to follow manner, using screen-shots as appropriate. It is the fourth edition, after all, written around version 9.04 of Ubuntu Linux.
The book is broken into eight sections; Introduction, Installation, Getting Started, The Shell and Beyond, Multimedia, Office Tasks, System Maintenance and a sixty page appendix. Finally there is a 25 page comprehensive index and the font wouldn't want to be any smaller!
For first time Linux users with previous Windows experience, chapter 3 provides good coverage of the preinstallation steps for a PC with an existing Windows installation. Chapter 4 covers the use of the Live DVD, running Ubuntu within Windows using Wibi as well as how to perform a full installation. Chapters 6 and 8 contain much useful information to assist you with installation and initial Ubuntu configuration. While there are brief references throughout the book on the GRUB boot loader, I feel GRUB deserves more detailed coverage, considering how critical this is to being able to access your Operating System(s). Perhaps this can be include in the next edition, as these sections will need updating with the change to GRUB2 with Ubuntu 9.10. Chapter 7 provides a quick overview on how to use Ubuntu and includes a useful 2 page comparison of where to find the Ubuntu equivalents of Windows features, which is further expanded in chapter 11.
Chapter 8 justifies the book on its own with over sixty pages working through how to get everything working correctly in Ubuntu. Most importantly, should your wireless hardware not be automatically supported by Ubuntu, there is an excellent, detailed explanation of how to get your wireless connection working in Ubuntu using a Windows driver.
The Office Tasks section goes into reasonable detail of how to use the Open Office Suite (about eighty pages in all), including a chapter on Base, Open Office's database application.
For those who wish to get the most out of Ubuntu, the five chapters in Part 4 introduce the reader to the BASH shell and how to use shell commands. While the coverage is excellent and takes the reader up to an intermediate level of expertise, I'm surprised that checking log messages isn't covered. Part 7 (System Maintenance) builds on the command line skills from part 4 and includes a nifty chapter on how to optimise your system beyond those incorporated by the Ubuntu developers in recent releases.
If you have decided to switch to Ubuntu Linux, this book will help you get Ubuntu installed and operating effectively and prove a valuable reference guide, irrespective of whether you previously used Windows or another Linux Distro.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Truely a beginners book, June 16, 2010
This review is from: Beginning Ubuntu Linux (Paperback)
If you have any experience with Microsoft Windows then the first half of this book will be a refresher for you. I found the book written well and informative. It wasn't until I got to the second half of the book that I started to learn a few things. I think this book makes a good book for hand holding and jumping into Ubuntu. There are a lot of similarities with Windows, which the book points out, and total differences too. I would recommend having Ubuntu installed on your computer while going through the book. If you install the CD version that comes with the book you will have an older version. However, if you go to [...] and download the newest version, which is what I did, some examples in the book will not coincide correctly. I was able to work my way through the differences as most experienced computer users also will. In short, a good book to get you off and running with Ubuntu. I turned my laptop into a dual-boot system and run the Ubuntu side everyday. I figure the more you use it the more you will get used to it. Good luck and good bye.
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