Customer Reviews

Linux Clearly Explained

One of the problems with many Linux books I have seen is their generality. Most try to appeal to the largest possible audience by merely including generic information and using only universally known (and often archaic) commands and tools. This often confuses the reader and greatly decreases their learning and productivity.

LCE has taken a single setup, Red Hat 6.0 with the GNOME user interface, and thoroughly explained how to use it. A book including _everything_ related to Linux, from beginner to guru, would have to be thousands of pages long. LCE concentrates getting the fundamentals across clearly and coherently. It is written on a level that is neither way above an experienced computer user, nor so beneath them that no useful information is presented.

I believe the most important aspects of this book is its treatment of GNOME. Many formerly command-line tasks are explained using GNOME-related tools. Before reading the book, I was unaware of how robust GNOME had become and was inpressed by how much it could do.

Overall, I highly recommend _Linux Clearly Explained_ to anyone starting on their path to Linux enlightenment.

The objective is to get a new user introduced to Linux and up and running with it as a day-to-day workstation, NOT a server. As a result, the focus is on GNOME and productivity applications. Things like system administration and moderate to advanced "Unixisms" are given only minimal attention. This is bad if you are looking for this sort of thing and if so you should look at the many other books out there. But if you are new to Linux and want to get it installed and running for general PC use this book does a good job. This book includes and is centered around Redhat Linux 6.0 and Corel's WordPerfect 8.0. Users of other distributions will find little useful information.

In the intro the author states "LCE teaches the concepts as well as the procedures of Linux usage. After you've read this book, you'll posses the understanding that will enable you to make the most use of GNOME." While some attention is given to the command prompt the author focuses on doing as much as possible through the GNOME interface. This is an admirable goal, and a unique one, but I did not feel quite enough depth was given to LinuxConf or file management.

The author has a somewhat odd (or certainly unusual) writing style. The book is written at a much higher level than the typical "Linux in a minute" books, which is refreshing. But this also leads to oddities such as in-text citations that give it a textbook feel, which just seems misplaced in this case (the author has a Ph.D so this should probably be expected I guess). Also I am not sure if the book successfully walks the tight rope of needed depth vs lighter survey for introductory level concepts. Some users may find it lacks enough depth while others will find it just a bit over their head.

It succeeds in that narrow scope. I am typing this from my newly running Linux system. However, this book is not enough to really get you running smoothly.

Linux is still not ready for the average user -- though the book would argue otherwise. There are enough gotchas to take you out of the narrow path of the book pretty quickly, and then you will need other resources. In my case, I need to learn how to get my sound card working and my Zip drive running, and the PPP dialer working. The paths suggested in the book didn't work.

Fortunately, the author points you to other resources on the web so you can continue your search.

The book comes with a copy of Red Hat 6.0. So it gives you everything you need to get started. However, I would also buy a reference type book as well.

Linux, Clearly Explained lives up to its name. This book was written by a teacher who outlines each procedure in a step-by-step manner. Not only was the installation a breeze, but the book carried you along from configurations to manipulations. It is very detailed in the use of the gnome desktop.

The only shortcoming for my class was the lack of information on NIC configuration. The book assumes that all users have modems for their online connections. However, configuring the NIC was easy and part of the installation process.

This book is also an easy read. Technical terms are explained before they are used. The book is written for the novice and remains true to its audience.

This book comes with a RedHat 6.0 cdrom. This version is now over a year (probably more) old. This means if you have a computer that is the same age, the cdrom will probably have the necessary drivers. Newer computer owners may need to download drivers off the Internet. The RedHat web page is a good source.

A second cdrom contained WordPerfect 8.0 for Linux. I loaded it and I am now using it as my main wordprocessor. I can save files in the MS-DOS format and transport them to any MicroSoft Windows platform.

Finally, as an educator, the only improvement needed to satisfy me would be questions and exercises at the end of each chapter. Bryan, I hope your listening.