Linux: Configuration and Installation/Book and Cd [Paperback]

Patrick Volkerding (Author), Kevin Reichard (Author), Eric F. Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1995

This text provides background information on what Linux is and how it functions. The book contains hardware requirements and pre-installation tips for optimal Linux operation, as well as installation and set-up instructions, troubleshooting tips, practical shortcuts and Internet tips. The accompanying CD contains complete Linux "Slackware", plus installation scripts and utilities.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This book provides everything you would expect, but little more; however, Linux Configuration & Installation provides it so authoritatively that there's no doubt about completeness or accuracy. Because one of the authors, Patrick Volkerding, created Slackware Linux, this documentation of his own Linux flavor is good.

The authors begin by helping you decide if your machine's hardware will cooperate with Linux. They then show you how to install Slackware Linux 3.2 and get it to recognize your hardware. The authors detail how to install XFree86 (X Windows for Linux) and give more customization advice than most other authors of Linux books do. Other chapter topics include managing files; applications, such as elvis and a vi port for Linux; system administration; and Internet services. While these chapters aren't command references, they do show users how to get into the proper frame of mind for doing things with Slackware Linux and impart some command facts along the way.

The best features of this book are its two CD-ROMs. Not only do they contain Slackware Linux 3.2, ready to install, but also XFree86, lots of hardware drivers, a bunch of compilers, and some games and miscellaneous utilities. You'll play with this stuff for days. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

About the Authors: Patrick Volkerding is the creator of Slackware, the highly praised distribution of Linux. Kevin Reichard and Eric Foster-Johnson are Unix and Internet experts and veteran computer book authors. They have written top-selling books on Unix, including Unix^® in Plain English and Teach Yourself^® Unix^®. Foster-Johnson's Cross-Platform Perl and Graphical Applications with Tcl and Tk have paved the way for many an Internet programmer. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 552 pages
• Publisher: Mis Pr; Book&CD edition (July 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558284265
• ISBN-13: 978-1558284265
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,032,879 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It was fine, December 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Linux: Configuration and Installation (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

I never even heard of linux and then I bought this book and it was pretty good in installing. I did hear though that Slackware 3.3 has some security flaws so i downloaded 3.6. I had to do alot of guesswork, so this book is for intermediate to expert computer users. I found many of the applications in both the cd's to be very helpful.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Execellent Resource and Tutorial ;), February 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: LINUX® Configuration and Installation (Paperback)

I read this book from cover to cover and am still using it as a guide for building my new linux friendly computer. The depth it goes into on setting up Xfree86 and the touching on shell programming is awesome. The cd's were also a lifesaver and a resource to get software without searching all over the net. Id reccommend this book to any linux newbie.

2.0 out of 5 stars Too old and not enough guidance, March 9, 2004

By 

George M. Nickles III (Cullowhee, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Linux: Configuration and Installation (Mis Press Slackware Series) (Paperback)

If you're looking for a guide to Linux and a distribution that will work on an older computer with very little hard drive space, and only need to play around with it and not do anything terribly useful, then this may be the book for you. Otherwise, I suggest you look elsewhere.

While this may have been a helpful book at one time, this distribution is now very out of date. As the book focuses on the Slackware distribution included, it may or may not pertain to newer Slackware distributions or other distributions. The book includes the Slackware 3.3 distribution on a single CD.

I purchased this book as it was recommeneded as one of the few ways to get Linux on an old 486 laptop. I had no previous experience with Linux, but with this book and some helpful websites I was able to install it to the laptop. The laptop only had a floppy drive, requiring a floppy installation (about 2.5 hours). While I did learn much about Linux in this process, I didn't really make the computer much more useful than when it had Windows 3.1 installed (for my limited needs). I'm giving two stars because it did assist me in installing Linux.

Summary: The book and distribution are now out of date. The book does not necessarily stand on its own in guiding installation. Not recommended as an introduction to Linux as there MUST be better books out there now.