Learning Red Hat LINUX: Guide to Red Hat LINUX for New Users (CD-ROM)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Learning Red Hat Linux walks the reader through the process of installing, configuring, and using Red Hat Linux 6 and some of its most popular applications. Networking coverage includes essential local area network configuration, plus excellent coverage of Samba setup and the process of establishing a Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) connection to the Internet. The book would be better with some information on setting up a local Domain Name Service (DNS) server to improve Internet connectivity, but what's here is commendable. The author includes basic coverage of the Apache Web server, plus sendmail and File Transfer Protocol (FTP).

Learning Red Hat Linux emphasizes the Linux command line for system management tasks, explaining all the vital low-level commands as well as configuration aids like linuxconf. Popular graphical applications are explored too, including ApplixWare, StarOffice, and the WordPerfect suite. Bill McCarty exhibits plenty of patience in his writing and organizational styles, assuming no knowledge of Unix on the part of his readers. This book includes lots of annotated tables that explain the features in various programs, and many sections have a procedural format that allows you to follow along on your own Linux machine. --David Wall

Topics covered: Red Hat Linux 6, preinstallation planning, essential command-line tools, X Windows, Gnome, the K Desktop Environment (KDE), and networking.

Review

"Learning Red Hat Linux is highly selective, focusing on just the right issues which impact on usability and understanding for the beginner." - Martin Howse, LinuxUser & Developer, Issue 30 "The book is exactly what you would expect from a guide to setting up a new box. This can be considered the standard reference in its field. Other authors aiming to write similar works should note that this will need something exceptional to surpass it." Linux Magazine, Jan 2004 --This text refers to an alternate CD-ROM edition.

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Product Details

• CD-ROM: 391 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1 edition (September 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565926277
• ISBN-13: 978-1565926271
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,225,909 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

74 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Heavy Handed But Better Than Redhdat Documentation, November 27, 1999

By	Stephen Szyszkiewicz (Delran, NJ) - See all my reviews

Unless you need Redhat tech support, buying this book to get you started with Linux isn't a bad idea. The author has titled the book "Learning" so if you are not experienced in Unix/Linux then this book will get you started. The fact that the author goes through the trouble of explaining a Redhat install from beginning to end was very useful. Unless you have some odd hardware (i.e. a 3d video card) you should have X runnng as well.

You will immediately want to know more however, and this book will leave you wanting more. That is you will have to purchase another book in the near future. The Unleashed (i.e. Redhat 6.0 Unleashed etc...) are typically pretty good, and they also include a Redhat distribution.

There are some mistakes/misprints however. Using the instructions as given you cannot get Quake2 running for example. Also there is nothing in the book about how to keep your installation up to date...a must for Linux users as the OS is constantly changing.

The one thing though that really irked me was the authors insistence that Gnome was "the most popular desktop environment in the US". Even after updating Gnome on my Linux box with the most recent stable releaes I find Gnome to be unstable and somewhat puzzling. The author spends alot of time talkng about the basics of getting around Gnome, but ignores the other popular desktop for Linux....KDE.Alot of this has to do with an almost religious war within the Linux community regarding what software qualifies as "free software" and what doesn't. The author is obviously a free software zealot and therefore leans towards Gnome. You as a user don't have to worry about this war ...you only have to be concerned about how to use the software on your pc. I think the book is lacking severely becuase it didn't cover KDE as it should have and worse yet, took a slap at KDE. Gnome is unstable. KDE is not. KDE is "free" as far as the user is concerned. In defense of the author though, Gnome is the preferred desktop at Redhat and the book is entitled Learning Redhat Linux, and thats is the desktop you get unless you take other steps on your own.

I am happy to report that I am typing this from KDE using Netscape as my browser. A testament to the fact that I got Linux working, and I used this book to get me started.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this book if dont even know what "Linux" is!, December 27, 1999

By	Faisal Sultan "faisal" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Its great for a user that is new to the wonderful world of open-source operating systems. If until now your experience with operating eyetems has been limited to Windows, then get this book!

The author does a great job of explaining the often-tedious process of installation in plain easy-to-understand english!

This book will get you started and have you running Linux in your machine in no time. Although if you want details and want to go into more depth, a book like Running Linux by the same publication will come in handy.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but brief, June 11, 2000

By	George R. Slater "Just tryin' to help" (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book covers the basics of linux. It will help the beginner setup their system and get the basic applications and server software running. I would recommend this book only to the person who is new to linux AND generally take more time grasping computer concepts. Although the book went into many different topics of linux, none of them were really in depth enough to give the reader a understanding of what was going on(kind of a do this and this will result book). Which is ok unless you have any problems. then you will find yourself stuck and searching through other countless documentations.