Moving to Linux: Kiss the Blue Screen of Death Goodbye! [Paperback]

Marcel Gagné (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0321159985 | ISBN-13: 978-0321159984 | Publication Date: August 24, 2003

This book is a user guide for the Linux desktop, specifically geared toward the KDE desktop, and covering the most popular desktop tools. It covers getting on the Internet, e-mail, Web browsers, office applications (word processors, spreadsheets, presentations -- primarily the OpenOffice.org suite), playing and ripping songs, burning CDs, watching movies, playing games, and so on. The author provides the perfect way to really check out and get under the hood of Linux by including a special bootable Linux CD (Knoppix) -- not one you install from, but rather one you can just boot and run without reinstalling.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Say goodbye to Windows® crashes, viruses, hassles, and cost!

Moving to Linux can help you migrate from Windows to Linux in just hours! By the time you've finished, you'll be able to do virtually anything in Linux-without the aggravation, crashes, security risks, or high costs of running Windows!

This is not a book for techies! It's a book for people like you: people who write documents, create spreadsheets, surf the Web, send emails, listen to CDs, play games-and want to do it simply in Linux, without becoming technical experts!

• Convert your Windows PC to a Linux system that does more for less money-one step at a time
• Browse the Internet, send and receive email, even send instant messages using your existing AOL, MSN, and Yahoo! accounts
• Connect your digital camera or scanner
• Rip music, burn and play CDs
• Discover the world of Linux games: from solitaire to flight simulators, and beyond

There's more!! Write, calculate, and present with OpenOffice.org, the free office suite for Linux that can also read and write all of your existing Microsoft Office documents.

Say goodbye to expensive software upgrades, burdensome Microsoft licensing, Windows viruses, and "blue screens of death." Say hello to computing the way it's supposed to be—with Linux!

About the CD-ROM

Includes special bootable Linux "Knoppix" CD: prove the power, simplicity, and value of Linux to yourself without touching your current Windows system!

About the Author

Marcel Gagné is best known as the award-winning author of Linux Journal's "Cooking with Linux" series, for which he received the Readers' Choice award for favorite column two years in a row. He is also the author of the highly acclaimed book, Linux System Administration: A User's Guide, also published by Addison-Wesley.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional (August 24, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321159985
• ISBN-13: 978-0321159984
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,786,081 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book to help you move from Windows to Linux, November 16, 2003

By 

Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Moving to Linux: Kiss the Blue Screen of Death Goodbye! (Paperback)

Review
I've been interested in running a Linux desktop lately, and I've looked at a number of books to help me get there. The problem is that you either get a good book on installing Linux, or you get a book that delves into the guts of Linux. But what if you just want to learn how to do day-to-day activities (like create documents, spreadsheets, listen to music, etc.)? If that's your situation, this is your book.

The author does a good job in explaining what Linux is and the installation process for the different distributions, like Red Hat, Mandrake, and SuSE. Following his instructions, you should be able to get a Linux desktop running with little effort. While not an in-depth install manual, the typical user should have enough detail to accomplish the job. From there, you will get acquainted with the different commonly used tools in a Linux distribution like Konqueror, Kmail, GIMP, and OpenOffice. It's this information that will help you make the transition from being competent in a Windows environment to being competent on your new Linux desktop.

For those who want to get beyond the user desktop experience, you will find plenty of references to how the Linux shell operates and how you can use the command line utilities to experience the full power of Linux. It's enough to allow you to do useful tasks without bogging you down in too much detail.

The book also includes a Knoppix Linux CD in the back. This CD allows you to run a Linux system on your computer without installing anything. While somewhat slow (since it runs from the CD) and limited (can't easily save your work), it does give you the chance to experience Linux with no commitment.

Do keep in mind that this book is not meant to be a complete reference book for Linux. If you want to become an expert on shell scripting, you'll want something more than this. But if you're looking for the tool to help you cross over from Windows to Linux, you'll like the level of coverage.

Conclusion
This is the best book I've read so far that talks about how to install and run Linux as a typical user. It also covers all the applications you will want to run on a regular basis. Truly a very good book.

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good direction, but bias will affect user experience, October 25, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Moving to Linux: Kiss the Blue Screen of Death Goodbye! (Paperback)

A book *like* this has been needed for a long time. I think this book does a decent job of explaining things in a way that Windows users can understand. However, I fear that Gagne's obvious slant toward certain applications will negatively affect a newbie's experience with linux, thus bruising any notion of Linux's proliferation on the desktop.

For (just one) example, Gagne pushes Konqueror pretty hard as an alternative web browser. Unfortunately, Konqueror, as supplied with Redhat 9 and Mandrake 9.1 (the two most popular desktop distributions in the US) is incapable of properly navigating some of the most used sites on the internet, like aol.com, parts of yahoo.com, cnn.com, and others.

I'm an advanced Linux user who has moved several windows users to Linux, successfully, and I think Gagne might do well to stick to a more 'best of breed' approach in future editions and put his personal favorites aside. I'd love a book like this to give to people, but this one just doesn't make me reach for the wallet.

It should be noted that I find this unfortunate, since I am otherwise a fan of Gagne's other books, and his regular magazine columns.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Book I Wish I'd Had When I Started Using Linux, October 30, 2003

By 

P. Nelson "Philip Nelson" (Fountainhall, UK) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Moving to Linux: Kiss the Blue Screen of Death Goodbye! (Paperback)

I've been running Linux myself for a number of years, and have been trying to encourage friends, colleauges and family to convert from Windows.

They are always worried about the complexity (or at least the feeling of complexity from using something different).

But now this book (coupled with the modern Linux distributions) provides all that even a nervous migrator needs.

I bought the book on the strength of the author's previous book and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I've also recommended it to a number of people already.

If everyone wrote computer books in such a clear and enthusiastic way then more people would read them.

And it's probably the first time that I've found a long term use for a CD accompanying a book. I'm able to use this CD to boot up a Linux system wherever I go, without affecting the host computer at all. So I can use my familiar Linux tools anywhere to fetch email, browse the web or whatever. And the Knoppix distribution even looks beautiful ... even my Windows loving family were impressed !!!

Thoroughly recommended for all Linux users ... and a MUST BUY for all folks even remotely thinking of trying Linux.