Point & Click Linux! (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This book is a simple, highly illustrated introduction to the Linux Desktop forWindows users. It is filled with screenshots and short, easy-to-followdescriptions that teach readers how to replace common Windows programswith user-friendly Linux equivalents. It covers a wide range of topics includingemail, web-browsing, word processing, spreadsheets, slide presentations,graphics, instant messaging, digital photography, digital music, CD burning,personal finance, games and more. Readers can actually watch Miller do all ofthis with the integrated videos on DVD. And the "Point and Click Linux"guarantee ensures that readers will have Linux up and runningin 5 minutes with the bootable Mepis Linux CD.Leo Laporte will write the Forward and provide a cover endorsement.

From the Back Cover

"Robin's book will show you the benefits of switching to Linux immediately. Your computer will run faster and more reliably than you ever believed possible. Surfing the net will no longer be an exercise in paranoia. And you'll discover a whole new world of powerful, free software that can run rings around the programs available for Windows."

From the Foreword by Leo Laporte, Host of Call for Help on G4TechTV Canada and The Tech Guy on KFI 640 AM Los Angeles

The perfect gift for that Linux beginner in your life!

Have Linux up and running in 5 minutes or less with the incredible SimplyMEPIS bootable CD-ROM

Easy-to-follow videos on DVD

Linux made easy... incredibly easy!

Tired of Windows viruses, spyware, licensing hassles, and high costs? Try Linux!

Not sure Linux is up to the job? It is. Not sure you can learn Linux? You can. Linux expert and Open Source Developers' Network (OSDN) editor-in-chief, Robin "Roblimo" Miller, will teach you Linux the easy way: using the point-and-click skills you already have!

With the bootable SimplyMEPIS Linux software included on CD, you'll be running Linux in 5 minutes...no formatting, no partitioning, no technical hassles... just insert the CD, reboot your computer, and you're ready to go!!!

You don't need to be a computer expert! With Roblimo's step-by-step instructions and how-to videos, you'll master everything from word processing to the Web and email, instant messaging to CD burning... you name it.

Linux has never been this easy, this productive, or this much fun!

• Navigate Linux visually, the easy way, with KDE

• Get on the Web, send email, even build your own Web sites

• Create Microsoft Office-compatible documents with OpenOffice.org

• Instant-message and chat with all your friends—no matter what network they're on

• Import, edit, and manage your digital photos

• Burn CDs and DVDs

• Play the world's best open source games

• Download all the free software you'll ever need

• Coexist easily with Windows users

CD-ROM AND DVD-ROM INCLUDED

• CD features SimplyMEPIS Linux: start running Linux in 5 minutes, and get all the software you need to be productive!

• DVD features Roblimo explaining all you need to know in bite-sized video tutorials. All the Linux skills you really need are covered here... just watch, and do!

© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR (November 19, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0131488724
• ISBN-13: 978-0131488724
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #719,463 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars OK for a one-time read and introduction to desktop Linux, January 16, 2005

By	Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

If you have never been exposed to Linux and you'd like to see what it's all about, you might want to check out Point & Click Linux! by Robin Miller. It's a high-level intro to Linux using a bootable Linux CD.

Chapter List: What You Can Do with Linux; Running the SimplyMepis CD; Working with Linux: KDE and KWrite; Installing MEPIS Linux on Your Hard Drive; KPPP - Easy Modem Dialer Application; Mozilla: Your Key to the Internet; Setting Up and Using Mozilla E-mail; Mozilla Web Browser; Making Web Pages with Mozilla; Introduction to OpenOffice.org: Word Processing, Spreadsheets, Slide Presentations, Graphics, and More; OpenOffice.org Writer; OpenOffice.org Presenter; OpenOffice.org Draw; OpenOffice.org Calc: Spreadsheets; OpenOffice.org, Microsoft Office, and StarOffice; CheckBook Tracker - Simple Bookkeeping with Linux; Kopete - IM, IRC, and General Chat; gFTP - An Easy, Powerful FTP Program; K3B - Easy CD Burning Program; The Gimp - Full-featured Graphics Application; Digikam - Importing and Organizing Digital Photos; Games! - Amusements Included with the SimplyMepis CD; Other SimplyMEPIS Applications; Downloading and Installing Software; Cooperating with Windows; Customizing Linux; Dipping a Toe Into the Command-line Waters; Joining the Linux Community; Guide to Other Popular Linux Distributions; Books that Can Help You Become More Proficient with Linux; About MEPIS and the SimplyMEPIS CD; Index

As you can see, this book attempts to cover an enormous amount of ground in 255 pages. And that's probably why I have a problem with how to rate this book...

On the positive side, if you've never had any exposure to Linux and you're wondering why it's getting so much attention, this book will help. Since it focuses on the desktop environment and the common productivity applications you'd use within Windows, the average user who wants to know what they can *do* with Linux. There are lots of screen prints, and you have all the software included in the CD that's included with the book. On the flip side, it's *very* high-level and superficial because it covers so much. Once you've read through the book and tried out the CD, you may not ever open the book again. There's not enough to be a reference guide, and you'll be able to grasp the material on first pass.

Based on what you're after, this may or may not be a good book. For pure introduction to desktop Linux, this book will help a lot. Once you've read the information (here or somewhere else), there's not much new here.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At Last, A Simple Distribution, December 1, 2004

By	John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It's about time. Linux has been the tekkies choice for operating systems for some time. But making it to the desktop is necessary before it can really grow up. Finally, people are beginning to put together simple to install systems that don't take a lot of reading about strange acronyms.

This book uses MEPIS. It's software on a CD that just like the title says you point and click. You put the MEPIS CD in a PC and in a few minutes you have a graphical screen asking you just a few questions (and in English) and then you have a graphical (I hate to, but I've got to use the word) window in front of you.

No the screen isn't exactly like the other Windows, but it's fairly recognizable. You have a bunch of icons on the screen that correspond to the programs that were automatically installed on the system. Unlike Big Windows, MEPIS comes with most of the applications you'll need for traditional desktop use. This includes word processing, spreadsheets, presentation programs, graphics programs, etc. It does not include a full distribution with things like web server, database and so on, but you can install them yourself.

For you tekkies, MEPIS uses the Debian distribution, with KDE, and OpenOffice. Because Linux changes so often, instructions are included on how to go to various web sites and get the latest version.

This book has literally everything you need to get Linux running on your desktop in about five minutes. Great idea that's been a long time coming.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Linux made simple!, February 13, 2005

By	cyberpsycho "cyberpsycho" (USA) - See all my reviews

A good book for those of us who are new to Linux by way of SimplyMepis. The author chose to approach this one, not so much as a step-by-step guide, but more like a general parts manual that summarizes what you get when you install SimplyMepis, or run it as a Live CD. I was a little disappointed with the relative lack of general purpose information about the Linux operating system itself, basic stuff like an acronym glossary, for example. Or how about telling me what those cryptic three letter file directories contain? But I suppose there are many other books out there which cover that kind of material in detail. This, however, is the only book that I came across on the shelves that dealt specifically with SimplyMepis, which makes it well worth owning if you're a Linux newbie like me.

On the other hand, there really isn't much in the book that an experienced Windows user couldn't figure out on their own by simply pointing and clicking, as the title implies. In fact, the book seems to be aimed primarily at making Windows users feel comfortable about taking the Linux plunge. And that's a good thing! The instructional DVD is a nice touch, and the SimplyMepis CD is good to own, as well, especially if you don't have high-speed Internet access for downloading directly from Mepis.Org (downloading the 600+ meg .iso file on dial-up really isn't a good idea, LOL!). The CD/DVD bundle in combination with the well-writtten book makes this an attractive package for anyone who is looking to explore alternatives to Windows.