Customer Reviews

Linux Made Easy: The Official Guide to Xandros 3 for Everyday Users

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Linux Made Easy is one of the most user friendly books on working with the Linux desktop around. Part of the reason is the choice of the Xandros distribution of Linux as the included distribution. For those not familiar with Xandros it is one of the most popular of the desktop versions because the focus is on a user-friendly implementation. The author provides the details on installation and goes into much more detail than most similar books. He follows that with the basics of how to use the various included programs as well as how to download and install other popular ones. This book contains lots of good, detailed information on customizing your system, adding printers, interfacing with your PDA, using the contact manager, surfing the Internet, setting email, working with music files, working with DVDs, working with the office productivity suite (OpenOffice), and even playing games. Because of the attention to detail and very non-technical writing style this is probably one of the best choices for the completely new user who wants to install and use Linux as their primary desktop OS.

These days one of the first questions people ask about a book with a Linux distribution included is whether it is a LiveCD that can run without installing to the hard drive. That is not the case with this Linux distribution. It must be installed to the hard drive but can be installed in a dual boot configuration. In my case I had a problem installing it but contacted the publicist who was very helpful and sent another copy of the disk. Xandros provides no support for the Open Circulation edition and so it was necessary to contact the publisher. From the new disk it installed easily, found all the hardware, correctly configured everything that it should and was an absolute thing of beauty to see if you've ever worked your way through an installation of Linux from scratch before. This version of Linux found all of my Windows shares automatically, setup networking automatically, and just plain worked just like the book said it would. If you are new to Linux and want a friendly desktop version to learn how it works on the desktop then this book will provide everything you need to install and use Xandros and some of the most commonly used software programs. Linux Made Easy is highly recommended for the person new to Linux who wants to learn about Linux on the desktop and has the hard drive free space available to install it.

You may wonder if Xandros is the one for you, with so many distributions or distros out there. Author Rickford Grant has done an outstanding job of putting together a book that guides you to easily using the Linux distros: Xandros, without any geeking around.

Grant begins by introducing you to the world of Linux in general and Xandros in particular. Next, the author reviews everything you need to do before he guides you through the installation steps to get Xandros up and happily running on your machine. Then, he explains the one-step process of delivering you to your new desktop via the Xandros boot loader screen. The author continues by showing you how to set up your Internet connection. In addition, the author next covers most of Xandros' features: like working with your files in the Xandros File Manager. He also shows you how to work with floppies, CDs, DVDs, and other removable media. The author next shows you how to get things the way you want via the Xandros Control Center. Next, the author explores the expanding and updating of your system via Xandros networks. Then, he shows you how to set up and use your printer. Grant continues with a discussion of how to work with your scanner. Next, the author discusses how to work with gPhoto2 digital camera library that is included in your Xandros system. Then, he covers how to work with your PDS. In addition, Grant continues by taking a look at the various software tools you can use to take advantage of the Xandors Internet-oriented applications. Next, he shows you how to rip CDs and create MP3 and Ogg files, how to change the tags of such files, and how to play them. Then, he explains how Xandros allows you to view video files you download from the Internet or from your digital movie camera or watch Internet video streams, video CDs, and unencrypted DVDs. The author then focuses on Xandros' graphical capabilities. He then moves on to a discussion of office and other productivity applications. Next, he covers in detail the 11 games that Xandros comes with; as well as, the many others that are available via the Xandros Networks. Then, he discusses the applications for children that come bundled with the Xandros Networks. Finally, he closes this book by showing you how to use Linux commands.

With the preceding in mind, the author has done an excellent job of providing you with hands-on experience on how to use Xandros, that will help you to develop the basic skills that you can then build upon and apply later on. So, by the time you finish this book, you'll be able to do all of things you were able to do with Windows--and more.

If you are a mainstream computer user, tired of the cost and vulnerabilities of the Microsoft Windows operating environment and ready to switch to Linux, this book and the included CD with the Xandros Linux distribution will give you the means and show you how. Pick up a copy and go for it. End of review - the rest is detail.

I installed the single Xandros Desktop 3.0 Open Cirulation CD on my old desktop computer that already was loaded with Windows ME and Linspire 5.0. I expected Xandros to overwrite Linspire, but it snugged up next to it in sisterly harmony. On reboot it offered a choice of Xandros, Windows, or Linspire, making it easy to compare the three. Xandros automatically recognized my router and broadband connection and allowed access to the Windows partitions on the computer as well as on my Windows XP laptop connected via Wi-Fi. It accessed all three partitions on a USB-connected external hard drive and recognized my Wacom Tablet as soon as I plugged it in. I also managed to install my network printer.

The basic Xandros Open Circulation distribution includes many Linux productivity programs, such as the Mozilla-Firefox browser, OpenOffice.org office suite, a paint program, a vast collection of multi-media tools, a calculator, personal organizer programs (including a Palm Pilot tool), some games, in short, most everything you need in daily computer use.

The book provides valuable guidance in getting the most out of the included programs. What is not obvious, until you read the book, is the inclusion of a utility called the Xandros Networks that makes it easy to find, download, and painlessly install a large number of additional programs on the Web. I used it to install several programs that were not included on the Xandros disk, as shown in detail in the book. I also used it to locate and download a driver for my scanner. Included with the book is a coupon for 120 minutes of free worldwide PC-to-phone calling with Skype.

In summary, if you want to get started with Linux, Linux Made Easy with the included CD is your best bet. This is the book that should have been called Linux for Non-Geeks.

I agree with the other reviewers' positive comments about this book, and would like to point out that the material carries over well to Xandros 4 (with some minor exceptions). I did not order the book because of the Open Circulation Edition (OCE) CD-ROM but because I had purchased -- and installed -- Xandros version 4 (Home Edition - Premium). I first checked out a copy of "Linux Made Easy" from the local public library, and was pleasantly surprised that almost all of the instructions apply in Xandros 4 as well. So I ordered a personal copy from Amazon.

Although my boxed set of Xandros 4 includes an approx. 400-page, bound User Guide (admittedly a nice bonus), its writing style is terse and a bit dry. Grant's book is livelier and includes tips and tricks not found in the official User Guide. I especially like that he has hands-on, step-by-step mini-projects in almost every chapter. He holds your hand some without being condescending.

As an example of a minor difference, the first project in Chapter 10 involves scanning a photo using the scanning application known as Kooka. My version of Xandros did not have Kooka pre-installed, so I had to sidetrack and download the program from Xandros Networks (XN) -- a painless operation. Once I had Kooka installed, the remainder of the project worked exactly as he describes ...

I still have much to learn about Xandros but as I explore this operating system and get my feet wet with Linux, I am grateful to have "Linux Made Easy" as a resource. I think it has already saved me enough time to pay for itself.

Even though I decided to use Vista instead, this Linux made easy came with a Open Source version of Linux on CD. I think that is Very Considerate it gives one a chance to try it, in fact at some point I might just do a dual boot with Xandros 4 Professional to open up numerous avenues of communications.
Real Good Deal in a Digital Processing Computer Book.

I'm buying Xandros and this is a good start in learning the system basics. The author explains the system simple enough for a Mac user to understand. I enjoyed it very much.

This is a fantastic book for me, as a beginner in Xandros Linux. It has become a great reference for me. I am still learning alot, yet this book helped me gain the knowledge needed to get a head start.

This is great help on a great OS, It's like getting more answers then does express on Xandros manual. The book gives you the extra step that might be missing.

This book bounces over the basics of Linux. Covering most topics and applications in less than a page. It's a nice way to get a warm fuzzy feeling about what Linux can do. But it doesn't teach all that much about the functioning of the OS or give a thorough education. It's very heavy on screen shots.

I have installed Xandros version 4 and at the present time Xandros doesn't recognize my Canon printer nor my external DVD-rw drive. I haven't tried my scanner, yet.

I'm looking for a book that will help me get up and running and I don't think this is the book for me.

If I can't get my peripherals running I'm going to have to change OS.