Customer Reviews

Linux for Non-Geeks: A Hands-On, Project-Based, Take-It-Slow Guidebook

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have only hands-on education in computers, no formal training. I have become fascinated with them over the years of using Win 98, ME, and XP. About 2 years ago I wanted to get into Linux. I bought the RedHat Linux 8 Bible and got it installed on my computer. It went OK, but I could never, ever, ever, . . . , I mean never, get connected to the Internet. Since the net is a large part of the fun, I was left with a RedHat 8 OS that I didn't know how to use. After months of trying, I gave up & went back to XP.

Just got this book a couple of weeks ago, and compared about 6 different Linux books in the bookstore. This one is the clear winner if you want to "migrate" from Win to Linux.

Well written and well organized, the book goes into more detail than the others on actually performing many required tasks in setting up and running the Fedora Core 1, successor to RedHat 9.

Within 24 hours of purchase I was surfing the net, playing games, listening to music, etc. Most importantly, the author assumes that you know nothing about Linux and nothing about what's under the hood of your machine, regardless of your current OS. I realized last night that I actually now know how to download & install tar.gz files, not to mention RPM's. I'm having a tremendous amount of fun staying away from M'soft, all thanks to this book.

Having first-hand experience with several "fatter" Linux books, this is definitely the one I would recommend to those who have no programming/sys admin background.

I've bought several different Linux distributions in book/CD combos over the years. They all installed more or less automatically (which was great) but then I was left with wondering what to do with my new system. It was confusing--not knowing what the included programs did or how to find and install new ones, how to navigate the file system or configure hardware--that kind of stuff. I have several Microsoft certifications and know my way quite well around the Microsoft OS, but Linux was always too weird and didn't explain itself too well. I decided to try this one out based on the feedback here. I'm really glad I did.
The book proceeds in project format, from the installation and configuring the system to installing hardware and software and using the system. The tips along the way are great. Some of this information I might have discovered on my own maybe a year from now, but that's only if I made it that far without getting discouraged. And I was sort of worried that it might be too basic for my skillset. It wasn't. The book is easy to read, the information is relevant, and the projects are fun to do. And the information for installing RPM's, APT's, and tarball packages makes it well worth it all.
The only qualm I could possibly have is that it includes Fedora Core 1. Core 2 is out and Core 3 is in beta--but that's because the Fedora Project is all about frequent releases. I upgraded to Core 2 and continued on with the projects just fine.
I love my new system too. It looks awesome and it performs great and it's fun to discover new stuff to do with it. I'm not scared of Linux anymore.

If you want to learn to use Linux for your desktop computer but are not intested in indepth technical jargon then this is the book for you. It is written in simple, easy to understand "non-geek" English so that the average computer user can understand what is going on. Anyone should be up and running Linux in a short time. And by running Linux I mean doing all the things you want to do on the computer. This book focuses on teaching the average home user how to do the things you want to do like customizing your desktop and icons, surfing the net, playing your CD's and mp3's, downloading and installing games and software (all for free), and much more. Even after using Linux for a few years I still use this book for reference if I need to look something up.

I would like to say one thing. I bought this book right after it was released in 2004. Since then Linux has come a long way. This book comes with Fedora Core 1 and Fedora Core is now up to release 5 (at the time of this writing). Now there is really no reason to feel like you have to have the newest release because there are lots of people still running 1 (or older versions) but if you are running a newer computer with new hardware there might be a chance that Fedora Core 1 will not have drivers for the newest stuff. I say this not to discourage anyone from buying this book, but rather to let people know that if the CD this book comes with does not work with your computer you did not waste your money. Your next best option would be to find the newest release of Fedora by either free download or buying it cheaply somewhere online. This may well solve your problem and if not check out the many forums for Linux as people are always willing to help and are very friendly. This book is still great and I highly recommend it, but it would be really nice if a new updated edition would be released.

Edit 2/6/07: I felt the need to edit this review. Everything I have said still stands, but this book along with the software it walks you through is dated. Fedora Core 1 is no longer supported. I said that it would be really nice if a new updated edition would be released and it looks like there has been, though as another book. I have not read this new book but it might be a better place to start since it uses more up to date software. The book is called Ubuntu Linux for Non-Geeks by the same author. I would advice you to look into it before purchasing this book.

I was interested in this book because I know a lot of people who are scared of Linux, and thought a book like this would be great for them. It didn't disappoint!

But before I go any futher with this review, you have to understand that the Linux world is full of different distrubutions, window managers, applications, and other options, of which no book could completely cover. So this book chose to focus in on a small, user-friendly portion of the linux world. This is a book that leads the user through the steps of installing and using Fedora Linux (sponsored by Red Hat) and using Gnome.

To put this book through a decent review, I decided to install Fedora Core 2 on my laptop. The book comes with 2 Fedora Core 1 cds, but I wanted to be more up to date, and I wanted the kernel source (I am a geek afterall), my decision to use FC2 isntead doesn't matter much.

I was very pleased with how the author went through they basic non-technical side of linux, then every single step of the Fedora install (even dual booting with Windows!). He takes the user through the basic applications in Gnome, described several different methods of installing software. He introduces the user to the command line in a very non-scary way, and shows them that it's not as difficult as it might seem. He gets into installing fonts, burning cds, using your digital camera, image editing, listening to streaming media, printing, and all sorts of things that even impressed me about linux. The author also leads the reader through "projects" which commonly involve actually downloading a program and installing it, so the reader can get used to the process.

Looking at this from a Non-Geek standpoint, I think I'd be happy with this. The only trouble is that it's quite specific to Fedora and Gnome, but to someone who has never used a computer, or only used basic tools in Windows, I don't think this would be a problem, especially since no book could possibly cover everything, and big books scare people off.

Looking at this from a Geek standpoint, wow, Linux has come so far! I've been using Linux for a few years, each year brings new advances, I was excited when I could finally use my digital camera in Linux. A book like this puts all these great acheivements into one place, and really furthers my belief that it's ready for " J. Random End-User Aunt Tillie."

I started out in Linux with Mandrake because everyone said it was the easiest distribution for beginners, but, although the installation was pretty easy, it was nothing but endless quirks and headaches after that. There also weren't any books out there for it, so I had to try the generic Linux books, but they are useless for a real beginner - don't even understand half of them. Anyway, I decided to give Fedora a try because there are so many books for it, and that's how I ended up trying Grant's book.

First of all, I have to say that I like Fedora. It seems to work well, the programs that come with it seem to be set up normally, and it is pretty easy to use. I also prefer its nicely set up GNOME interface to KDE.

Well, as for the book, I think it is really great. It is basically what I needed - a clear and step by step guide that matches the distribution comes with it. Though there is a little more information on customizing the desktop than I thought necessary (but then to each their own), the other points seemed well balanced: hardware setup, printers, Internet, and so on.

The middle sections of the book covered things that seem kind of geeky (despite the title) to me, though these topics (commands, compiling programs, etc) are covered in a very easy to understand way, so no harm done. The chapter on using APT was really great because I had a really hard time installing RPMs with Mandrake. And the font installation instructions were also very useful and easy to follow.

The last group of chapters are pretty much overviews of software types, and the one on Music is the most useful, which is fine as the others (graphics and office applications) don't really need much explanation, though I would have liked to see a bit more information on how to use the GIMP. Of course, this is a minor point because what is covered in the book is basically everything I wanted to know to get started - 99.2% perfect!

I had been thinking about trying out Linux for some time, but was reluctant to do so, as most of what I read made it seem too difficult. Ditto for the books I looked through on the bookstore shelves. Having entered the world of computers at a late stage in my life, I thought I'd give "Linux for Non-Geeks" a try after seeing somewhere on the Internet that the book started out as a set of instructions for the author's mother, a group of which I am a proud member. Fortunate for me, because the book is really easy to follow, has lots of illustrations, and, as the subtitle states, is project-based, which I think is an easy way to go about things. I also liked the bits of humor laced throughout the book, which makes it less dry than the average computer book. The fact that the installation disks are included is a big plus. I've just gotten the system installed, I've got myself online, and am now raring to go on!

On the positive side, Grant writes clearly for the Linux curious, and keeps things lively (a hard feet for a technically-oriented book). You also get a relatively up-to-date version of Red Hat's desktop-oriented distribution of Linux, Fedora. You should be able to get up and running on Linux without too much difficulty, and Fedora is one of the most used Linux distributions. Still, the Fedora orientation of the book is its limitation. First, for true Linux newbies (I count myself among them), there are several distributions that may be better for getting acquainted (I like Xandros Deluxe, but there is also Mandrake, Lycoris, PCLinuxOS, and Lindows, among others- two good sites for info are desktopos.com & distrowatch.org). Second, the author spends most of his attention on one desktop gui (graphical user interface) for Linux, Gnome. While a nice environment, most of the other Linux-newbie oriented distributions use some form of the other main environment, KDE. The third problem of the books too-narrow focus on one distribution is that he covers the Redhat standard for adding Linux applications, RPM. Again, as many of the other newbie-oriented distributions are based on the highly regarded Debian Linux, while they can and do use RPM, their focus is on the Debian package management system. To be fair, Grant does spend time on KDE & Debian so that people are aware of them and have some inkling of how they differ and how to get started with them, but for someone who chooses one of the more newbie-oriented distributions that use these, you find yourself putting this book down and grabbing for other resources. I'm not sure how Grant could have been a bit more agnostic and still made this a good basic introduction, but I found that given my choice of another Linux distribution that uses KDE & Debian package management, left me quickly setting this book down and reaching for the excellent online howtos, user forums, and the more advanced introduction to Linux (and a great way to start to really get to know your way around and do things with Linux), Running Linux by Welsh, Dalheimer, Dawson, and Kaufman. Finally, Grant doesn't spend quite enough time with security and administration. While Linux is a very secure system, one cannot get lulled into relying entirely on keeping the software up-to-date. This book is focused on customizing your linux desktop & doing many of the main things for which the average home user has gotten used to doing on a computer (word processing, downloading & playing music, browsing the internet, e-mail, etc.). You will need to do a bit more to set up a firewall and make sure it is running properly, turning off any unnecessary network protocols and processes that might come turned on, etc. His sole mention of firewalls is that you should click yes to turn on Fedora's default firewall on installation. Besides the fact that someone chosing a different distribution may have to take different steps, system security needs more than a sentence telling you to select an option and a couple pages on viruses (which is much less of a concern than having someone hack your system). At a minimum, people should also look at some of the howtos on security on the main Linux sites (e.g., newtolinux.org.uk, linux.org), and books such as Hatch & Lee's, Hacking Linux Exposed, 2nd ed. If you really want to get to know Linux (and those who will be running their system without an in-house sys. admin. will really need to go further than Grant's book), two O'Reilly books may be worth looking to after getting your feet wet with this book: Running Linux, and Linux in a Nutshell. Still, you will notice that I gave the book 4 stars because it is a very good intro. It is just a little too limited in a couple important ways and require that even the 'non-geek' beginner to quickly look beyond to some of the other more thorough introductory books mentioned above.

I had tremendous prior difficulty when I tried to use Linux because I could not configure essential components like my modem nor could I figure out how to run essential programs to expand and install programs. Rickford Grant's book was amazingly easy to follow and within 1/2 hour, I had installed Linux and was actually using the internet and email. I have been using the system for 3 hours sofar, setting up Palm, opening and editing all kinds of Microsoft Office documents, downloading my Yahoo mail, etc. No crashes. No glitches, and faster speed. I was so impressed I wanted to write this review to encourage other seasoned and disgruntled Windows XP users to take the plunge.

Updated 3-6-06. To date, Linux has NEVER crashed or frozen to the point necessitating reboot. There have been some trouble spots including inability to configure my old (but not new) flatbed scanner. I like Linux so much I got a laptop to be a dedicated Linux machine. My first attempt was to convert my old Presario 1240, but it was so dreadfully slow that it was useless. I am now going to try to convert a Dell laptop. More to come....

A very up to date book for 2004/5. Grant deals with what would have been Red Hat Linux 10. There is officially no such thing, because in 2003, Red Hat announced that it was concentrating on its corporate products, where it would actually make some money. In retrospect, all us users who had downloaded the earlier free versions of Red Hat had been lucky for years. So independently of Red Hat, volunteers made what is now called the Fedora Core. (Fedora as in 'hat'.) This book comes with 2 CDs for it.

Having used Red Hat Linux 9 and now the Fedora Core, I have to agree with Grant. There are many changes, but clearly evolutionary. Anyone who has used KDE will be comfortable here. The UI has gotten smoother. Even easier to use. And the functionality has increased; evermore RPM packages.

Grant pitches this book towards nontechnical users; he assumes no prior acquaintance with linux. But you know what? Even current linux users may want to check out his writings, looking for new material in Fedora. Certainly, some of you will refrain on principle. You'd rather learn it from the UI. Which is fine for power users. But others may be more pragmatic and consult this book.

One slight caveat is that perhaps in a future edition, he could also discuss running linux on the AMD 64 bit Opteron. There is already a version of Fedora for this. And the chip is far cheaper than Intel's 64 bit offering.

Grant opens the book by clearly stating that he intends the book for "people who have read or heard about Linux and are wondering whether or not they are ready to deal with it, perhaps being held back by the Linux-is-for-geeks stereotype."

If you are looking for a detailed, uber-geek, inside out understanding of Linux there are more appropriate books than this one. Grant does an excellent job of accomplishing his goal though- introducing Linux to the uninitiated and sharing enough knowledge for someone to effectively use the operating system without becoming a certified expert in it.

Grant walks the reader through installing and configuring the Fedora Linux that comes on CD with the book. He provides clear, understandable, step-by-step instructions to help you delve into the world of Linux. The book is project-based and teaches the reader how to do most common tasks in Linux.

The only caveat would be that it is Fedora-centric. The book focuses on the version of Linux it comes with, but for the intended audience and goal I think this serves the purpose well. If you want to see what Linux is about, check out Linux For Non-Geeks.

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