Sams Teach Yourself Linux in 24 Hours, Second Edition is a tutorial aimed at making the Linux beginner more effective and productive users of the fastest-growing operating system today - Linux. This book gives the reader step-by-step instructions on how to: install the operating system, configure their hardware, and effectively use the tools that come with the OpenLinux distribution included on the CD.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From the Back Cover
Sams Teach Yourself Linux in 24 Hours, Second Edition is a tutorial aimed at making the Linux beginner more effective and productive users of the fastest-growing operating system today - Linux. This book gives the reader step-by-step instructions on how to: install the operating system, configure their hardware, and effectively use the tools that come with the OpenLinux distribution included on the CD.
About the Author
Bill Ball is a technical writer, editor, and magazine journalist, and has been working with computers for the past 20 years. He first started working with Linux, starting with kernel version .99, after moving from BSD4.3 Machten for the Apple Macintosh. He has also published Linux PPP network connection guides for local Internet Service Providers in northern Virginia. He has taught desktop publishing, served as an Apple Federal Support Coordinator, and was once a bulletin board system operator. He has published more than a dozen articles in magazines such as Computer Shopper and MacTech Magazine, and first started editing books for Que in 1986.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
nearly 100% useless,
This review is from: Sams Teach Yourself Linux in 24 Hours (2nd Edition) (Paperback)
This book-CD kit is probably one of the most terrible deals you get when you're looking for a starter kit. 1. The software is out of date. 2. PQ's PartitionMagic CE sometimes errors out during the partitioning process. 3. The book is more of an enemy than a teacher. The installation preparation on Chapter 1 regarding Windows 9x states that the Caldera Linux program group will be installed when you insert the CD. Actually, you have to select the first option once the Caldera menu comes up. Next the book says you can partition you primary drive to 300 MB, 500 MB, or 1.0 GB. Actually, you can only select 300, 1.0 GB or the maximum free disk space - 100 MB. This is, to say the least, VERY CONFUSING! Chapter 3 mentions the XFree86 configuration. It says to hit CtrlAltF2 to go from KDE to console to edit the configuration. It never tells you how to get back--nowhere in the book. And "startx" or "kde" does not work. You have to "shutdown -r 0" and relogin. My KDE has scrolling screen. Nowhere does the book shows how to turn this feature off. As for sound goes, you'll have to swim in a shark-infested water with your bare self if you have PnP card. Time and again, the book spits out a topic but never gets into it. It just ask you to read such and such, in this and that, directory (not file but directory). One of the HOWTOs states that you need to recompile the kernel. Nowhere in the book mention this process. [BTW, there is no such file as /usr/src/linux, and "make xconfig" or "make menuconfig" or "make config" just doesn't work.] Ok, if the source rpm aren't automatically installed, you'll have to install it if you need to recompile. rpm command does work. But kpackage and lisa does not work like what the book says. lisa doesn't work at all (Caldera's bug?) Just about every topic in every chapter is missing something. It's not a tutorial. It's not a guide. It looks like separate pieces of scrapped newspaper from different days fastened together by sticky rice. It omits so many basic yet important topic. Instead of teaching, it seems to assume that all you want is that outdated CD! This book should be titled "Frustrating Yourself for 24 Hours or More with COL and BB." Hey, the current title is hideously correct: You'll have to teach yourself by taking classes or get another book--because this kit doesn't do that.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
One of the worst computer books I have ever used,
By A Customer
This review is from: Sams Teach Yourself Linux in 24 Hours (2nd Edition) (Paperback)
The only thing worthwhile about this book is the Caldera OpenLinux CD that accompanies it...Do not buy this book.The biggest problem with the book is that it is inaccurate. One example: it lists 16 Megs RAM as the suitable amount to run OpenLinux. Installing with that little is virtually impossible; running the stuff he begins to talk about in the book with 16 Megs is absolutely impossible. The book's organization defies any rational learning scheme -- and the chapters do not build from beginning to end, as one would expect. For example he suggests using a text editor in the third chapter to modify something and refers the reader to something like chapter 10 to find out what text editors might be around. He mentions using the PICO editor but doesn't mention how to install it or where to find it -- it's part of PINE and remained on the CD when I installed. He uses xminicom to check on modem installation, but as far as I can tell it's not included on the CD or in the install. Immediately after installing, he launches into a discussion of configuring x11 -- fine, but the default install automatically puts the user into KDE. In addition, configuring x11 seems unnecessary and the discussion mere filler. What he is saying is sometimes decipherable but where important, it often is not. I have no idea why the chapters are arranged as they are. They are not discrete and are packed with redundant and trivial things. This book does a disservice to readers and probably to Linux.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good introductory for someone with limited/no experience,
This review is from: Sams Teach Yourself Linux in 24 Hours (2nd Edition) (Paperback)
I actually have a copy of the first edition, but the material is basically the same. The first edition doesn't include the CD-ROM.I am surprised to many people trash this book. I didn't read any reviews before I bought it (now I read reviews unless I know the authors work), but flipped through a few dozens pages before I bought it. I found it pretty helpful. My background is DOS. I know DOS inside out and backwards, and even with that, Linux is still fairly confusing. More commands, less forgiving command line, MANY more configuration files, and so forth. The only negative thing I can say about his book is he tries to stuff too much into a 24 hour book. I wasn't overly impressed with the chapter on connecting to the internet. I don't feel that has a place in a book this short. If you want to learn how to use a new operating system and get it online, install Windows and use an ISP with a plug in CD to set it up for you. There is much you need to know before connecting to the internet. Aside from that, I actually thought it was helpful. If you have NO DOS experience, it will be harder to learn, and the syntax is pretty much the same, but that doesn't mean you can't learn it. It's hard to say how long it will take you to pick it up, as everyone learns at a different pace. When I got my copy, I hadn't used Linux in about 2 years. I briefly used Slackware (never again), but I only remembered a few commands. Once I had this book, I was starting to remember what I had learned before. Remember, this book is NOT a comprehensive reference. Just how could you write a reference book to be completed in 24 hours?? I guess I should say that if you are contemplating buying this book, but have seen all the negative reviews, find a copy and just thumb through it. Personally, I thought it was helpful. It's not the Black Book of Linux, but for the price and content, it does pretty good. Definitely for beginners only. If you need something to give you a foundation to build from, this book might be what your looking for. If you are after more complex topics such as DNS, hooking up hosts, DSL, GNOME, network protocols, and the like, this isn't your book. That's because those aren't introductory topics. Just like you wouldn't expect to find OpenGL programming in a "learn C in 21 days" book. Form your own opinion. Since when do other readers decide what you will and will not buy?
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