Customer Reviews

Official Ubuntu Book, The (3rd Edition)

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I decided to try Linux this summer when I was building a new computer and I got a defective Windows XP sp2 installation disk. While I was waiting for a replacement to be sent, I tried installing Fedora 5 Core, and SUSE 10.1 since they were given to me and just sitting on my shelf. I was soon lost and frustrated. I had no clue what I was doing or was supposed to do. So I ordered the Linux for Dummies book which helped get me better oriented, but it was woefully incomplete and seemed to sometimes assume that I knew something already about Linux. Then a friend recommended Ubuntu. I ordered this book first, and read the first 2 chapters before I tried installing it. I had much better success this time around. The few problems I had (such as configuring my modem), were resolved with some more reading on the subject. This book is just what I needed to explain to me about how Linux works generally, and how Ubunto is different than other distributions of Linux. It explains things and doesn't launch into a bunch of geek-speak about using "sudo bash logged in as root on terminal bla, bla, bla." The explainations of unfamilliar technical terms were easy to understand and in a logical order. The only suggestion I have is that there is a lot of bragging and horn-blowing about how wonderful Ubuntu and the Ubuntu community is throughout most of the book. That is great for the introduction, but becomes trite when you are trying to learn about the "nuts and bolts" of using Ubuntu in later chapters. That is only a minor complaint, however. This is an excellent book for someone who knows nothing about Linux and would like to give it a try. They say that Ubuntu is "Linux for human beings." I would agree with that, and say that this book is for human beings as well.

There are a plethora of books hitting the market on the Ubuntu Linux distribution, and so far they've all been pretty good. But this one is at the head of the pack for getting started with your penguin experience... The Official Ubuntu Book by Benjamin Mako Hill, Jono Bacon, Corey Burger, Jonathan Jesse, and Ivan Krstic. It's a collaborative book writing effort that pays off on a number of levels.

Contents: Introducing Ubuntu; Installing Ubuntu; Using Ubuntu on the Desktop; Advanced Usage and Managing Ubuntu; The Ubuntu Server; Support and Typical Problems; Using Kubuntu; The Ubuntu Community; Ubuntu-Related Projects; Welcome to the Command Line; Ubuntu Foundation Documents; Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Open Publication License; Ubuntu Equivalents to Windows Programs; Index

This book, as you can see from the number of authors listed, was a collaborative effort. In addition to the listed authors, contributions were also taken from members of the Ubuntu community, so you truly have experts writing about the system they are deeply involved with. The quality that comes with that type of knowledge shows through here. Rather than focus on a number of applications that run on Ubuntu, the focus tends to stay with the operating system and the desktop environment. As such, I felt I was learning Ubuntu rather than learning OpenOffice. While the screen shots and directions are clear, there's not so much hand-holding that you feel like half the book is fluff. We've all installed software, and can figure that stuff out. Good job! I was also surprised and pleased with the chapters on the Ubuntu server and the Support chapter. It seems that Ubuntu Server only gets a passing mention in many books, and I wasn't really sure if there *was* an Ubuntu Server (there is). The support chapter is also very helpful in covering some of the basic problems you'll encounter. Obviously they can't touch on everything, but the chapter on the Ubuntu community fills in the gaps to show you where all your additional knowledge will come from.

This is not a 1000 page "Ubuntu Exhaustive Reference" manual. Instead, it's focused, practical, and written by the experts. Equipped with this book and the included media, there's no reason you shouldn't be up and running Ubuntu in no time flat...

To be fair - I was looking for a book that would help to help make the transition to Linux (Ubuntu in particular) from Windows, aimed at someone who is a "advanced user" in the realm of the Windows based OS. So with that expectation, I found this book to be to "basic". For example - I wanted more information on SAMBA (there is almost none) and scripting. There is very little done in this book that utilizes a terminal window - that alone sets the tone for the book.

However, as a book "for the masses" - to allow someone to set up and run Ubuntu as a stand alone computer connected to the internet (no LAN) - it hits the mark. Based on that criteria, I would give it 4 stars.

This publication is not an in-depth description of the Ubuntu Linix OS. Rather it gives a very cursory review of Ubuntu's capabilities. If you're looking for an operating maunal for this system, you'll not find it here. Most of the time the book refers the reader to a web site rather than showing the reader how to get a program to work properly. It skims over much of what is needed to get the best from the Ubuntu OS. Instead, I recommend the book, "Ubuntu Linux," by William von Hagen as a much more thorough and practical approach to the Ubuntu OS. This book will tell you how to install plug-ins, operate programs, and get things running directly from the textbook in most cases, i.e. not from a web site.

This is a great place to start for anyone considering making the move to Ubuntu and open source software. Thr first chapter gives a quick recap of the what exactly "open source" software means including F/OSS, Free Open Source Software, and a bit of background on the Ubuntu project itself. Some might skip that chapter but since that was exactly some of the info I was looking for, it was very helpful. . .except, "stop apolozgizing for writing such a great book!" At least three if not four times in the first chapter, the phrase, "If you've made it this far. . . " or "If you are still reading this. . . " was used. Hey guys, you did a great job, no need to apologize. I mean why else would someone buy this book rather than download it for free? ;-)

Why? becuase it puts into one useful package everything one needs to know and I can take it with me on the airplane or beach or poolside, because it saves me time, because it's convenient, because time equals money and paying for good information is the open source business model. Yes, Ubuntu and other Linux distros are free but the time it takes to learn a new OS is not. This book makes that move easier and quicker.

Two other small nits:
- The included DVD is PC only. Since the DVD only includes the regular CD image, couldn't both the Mac & PC images fit?
- Chapter 6 is huge! That's a little bit scary given that it covers troubleshooting and seems to indicate that there are more than a few problems. Granted someone will only look there if they are having problems and I know you probably wanted to cover some common problems but maybe pare it down and toss some of that stuff into an appendix.

Nice forward by Mark, and just an overall nicely pacakged product - kind of like Ubuntu itself. :-)

I have had an Amazon account for many years, purchased many books, and have not written one review until this one. That should speak to how strongly I feel about this book. I've been a fan of Linux and Open Source software since the mid 90's and I had have had high hopes for the Ubuntu project since I heard about it a couple years ago. I must admit I didn't know much about the project except for their general "mission" but that was enough to peak my interest. This book is perfect for someone like me who wants to find out more and eventually spread open source to friends, family, and community. The book starts with a very good explanation about the history of the project and people involved. It clearly explains the goals and ideas that are held dear to the team and it's community. Then it gives you a basic understanding of the various aspects of the Ubuntu Project. Chapter 2 takes you right into installing Ubuntu and getting it up and running. The information about the installation program is very comprehensive and gives you real-world advice about what choices you should make and why. Chapters 3 & 4 take your fresh new system and show you what you can do with it. More than just showing you how to install new applications it shows you which applications come installed by default for many common tasks like browsing the web, sending and receiving email, IM, even VOIP. Chapter 5 gives you a basic understanding of the Ubuntu Server install which is still in its infancy, but looks very promising for a SysAdmin like me. Chapter 6 gives a very good start to taking care of your system and while there is much more documentation on-line, one of the things I loved was how often they point you to a URL where you can learn more about a topic. I really wish they had also done this in Chapter 3 when they discuss the basic applications, I kept thinking that it would be great if they dropped URL's for the alternative projects as well as sites that give tips for using the ones they mentioned. Next the book goes into detail about Kubuntu and the differences between it and Ubuntu. Chapter 8 was exactly what I was hoping to get from the book when I purchased it. For me it is the Ubuntu community that makes it so attractive and this chapter clearly explains how it operates and how to become part of it. If you're interested in contributing to Ubuntu, not necessarily in a programming capacity, then this chapter will help you make the first steps. Finally the book goes over the other associated projects with the Ubuntu distribution. Things like the Bazaar, Launchpad, and Malone are discussed so people can see how this project goes beyond being just another Linux distribution. Don't pass up the appendices as they contain good information such as windows equivalent programs. I plan to loan my copy of the book to a few of my friends who are still windows users and see if reading it convinces them to at least give Linux a try and then help them make those first steps. The Ubuntu distribution is determined to make Linux easier for all people and this book may help further that goal buy providing their current users a way to introduce the ideas of Ubuntu to the people they know. It even comes with an install DVD.

I received 3 Ubuntu titles and thought it might be useful to compare them. Ubuntu is a fairly recent Linux distribution that strives to be usable out of the box, with strong support. It has deep pockets and a thriving community behind it. I admire a lot of the design choices that went into Ubuntu, such as limiting the use of the all-powerful root account, which can get people into trouble. The bare-bones server install is the cleanest Linux server I've seen - *no* open ports, minimal services. Just enough to log in at a console and then install what you want. On the other hand, if you want a LAMP server (Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP - the most popular combination on the internet), that's a one button install! Brilliant!

I think all three books are pretty good, and your choice will depend on your technical level and religious ferver. If you are uncomfortable with computers, I think _Moving to Ubuntu_ is your best choice. If you are somewhat comfortable and into the philosophy behind Ubuntu, _the Official Ubuntu book_ is your best choice. If you are unintimidated by the topic, _Ubuntu Unleashed_ has the most detailed technical coverage. You can get a free, fully-functional installation and livecd just for asking, or downloading. The only thing I don't like is the iptables firewall. A "linux for everyone" needs an easier firewall to deal with. (I love pf, written for OpenBSD and now showing up on other systems.)

The Official Ubuntu Book - Benjamine Mako Hill, et. al.
This is at a midpoint in complexity. It is the strongest of the three in describing Ubuntu the phenomenon, rather than Ubuntu the tool. They honor their antecedents (especially the Debian distribution on which Ubuntu is built) and support projects built off of an Ubuntu base. The committment to the Open Source/Free Software community is very strong: even the book is Open Source, meaning you can copy, improve, and distribute it! Good technical details, few editing mistakes.

One area where this exceeds even Ubuntu Unleased in technical detail is in the future of the server side. While not yet ready, there are features that will make Ubuntu more suitable for server farms and clusters than it currently is. They also describe high end features like support for Red Hat's Cluster suite. Ubuntu Unleashed doesn't mention that, even though it is a retailored version of Fedora Unleased.

There are good points and advice throughout, and I picked up some neat tricks and tools. For example, I hadn't heard about zcat, zgrep, and zless, which work on gzipped files without requiring you to unzip them. Cool!

In the installation section, they include some useful tips like how to switch to another console in case you need to do something in the middle of the install. (I had to do that last week.) There's great information on setting up partitions, including one tip to separate /var/spool and /var/log because both can fill up if there's a glitch of some kind. I've long put /var on a separate partition, but that's an additional level I may adopt.

KDE is another desktop environment (Gnome is the default). TOUB gives the KDE flavor of Ubuntu, Kubuntu, full and fair treatment. Ubuntu Unleashed crams in a little Kubuntu stuff here and there.

I liked the treatment of bug reports in Chapter 6. That's the most realistic way the average user can make a contribution - catching and describing bugs in a useful way.

The discussion of scheduling jobs through cron was very good. I learned some stuff I hadn't heard before, such as using lists and ranges of times.

A couple of issues:

There is some very bad password advice on page 40, where the authors essentially suggest running a dictionary word through a 'leet-speak' filter, turning something like 'password' into p455w0rd' (substituting 4 for A, 5 for S, 0 for O). The bad guys crack this easily.

The discussion of the X-windows client and server on page 53 probably only makes sense to those who already understand what's going on.

The troubleshooting section for hardware was a little weak. "Want to watch DVDs? Check the forums." "Want to install a Tivo-like package? Check the forums." The book does a good job of describing the approach to software licenses and the exclusion of packages that aren't 100% free. But it doesn't do such a good job of how an individual can add those parts after the install. For example, playing dvd movies requires some additional libraries and the book doesn't provide much guidance. (Google "decss ubuntu" for starters)

I mentioned the editing is pretty good, no huge glitches. The chapter subtopic is wrong on 319-329: an earlier topic got stuck, I guess. There are a few other typos as well.

In sum, a good book and a great introduction to the Ubuntu community. Get this book if you want a family as much as an operating system.

I have read The Official Ubuntu Book from beginning to end and found it to be more of a reference book. If I had not read Ubuntu Linux for Non-Geeks first I would have been lost. The book is a good read but it's not for the newbie, its more for someone that already has ubuntu experience and is looking for a little guide. The book is written as if it assumes you already have some knowledge of Ubuntu, which I luckily did after reading the first book.

If you are looking to learn about Ubuntu, then the official book would seem the obvious place to start. Ubuntu insiders (including founder Mark Shuttleworth) present a rich and readable history of their labors, as well as insight into the structure and philosophy of their wing of the GNU/Linux community. Also, as you would expect, the book contains a full OS distribution on disc.

Unfortunately, the 4th Edition has some significant flaws. Clearly written by committee, the authors shift from speaking to computer newbies in one paragraph to veteran sysadmins in the next, not always pausing to properly explain new material. Further, the layout of the book simply makes no sense: chapter 10 "introduces" Ubuntu variants which were each individually covered by chapters 8, 9, and 5 - yes, in that order!

Never the less, this book does its primary job quite well - chapters 2 through 4 provide one of the finest introductions to desktop GNU/Linux currently in print, backed up with a fairly thorough troubleshooting section and a decent command line primer. In short, it is a great book for new users to outgrow... and to those who prefer the reassurance of a printed manual, I recommend it.

The hype surrounding this book leads one to think that this is the ultimate reference on Ubuntu.

Unfortunatly nothing could be further from the truth. Instead of providing actual information on the myriad of things that a newbie (like myself) to GNU/Linux would be looking for, the book is little more than a reference work on where to find the "How to's" and "Help" information on virtually every topic that is covered.

Let me be clear on this: Instead of containing actual/helpful information the book mostly contains references to where information can be found!

Very disappointing and not worth the cover price.