Ubuntu for Non-Geeks, 2nd Edition: A Pain-Free, Project-Based, Get-Things-Done Guidebook (Paperback)

by Rickford Grant (Author)
Key Phrases: home folder window, codec packages, printer setup wizard, File Edit, Ogg Vorbis, Art Manager (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This newbie's guide to Ubuntu - now updated for Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn), the latest Ubuntu release, which puts the spotlight on multimedia enablement and desktop effects - lets readers learn by doing. Using immersion-learning techniques favored by language courses, step-by-step projects build upon earlier tutorial concepts, stimulating the brain and increasing the reader's understanding.

Ubuntu for Non-Geeks, 2nd Edition covers all the topics likely to be of interest to an average desktop user. Inside, you'll learn to:

Download and install free applications, games, and utilities

Connect to the Internet and wireless networks

Configure your hardware, including printers, scanners, and removable storage devices

Watch DVDs, listen to music, and even sync your iPod

Download photos and videos from your digital camera, then edit and share them

Tackle more advanced tasks as soon as you're ready

Full of tips, tricks, and helpful pointers, Ubuntu for Non-Geeks, 2nd Edition is a hands-on, project-based, take-it slow guidebook intended for those interested in--but nervous about--switching to the Linux operating system. Step-by-step projects build upon earlier tutorial concepts, helping you absorb and apply what you've learned.

Included is a companion CD that lets you try out Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn) without making any changes to your computer and then install it when you're ready.

From the Back Cover
What people are saying about Ubuntu Linux for Non-Geeks

"No Starch Press has been on a roll with its Linux books lately, and Rickford Grant's Ubuntu Linux for Non-Geeks keeps the momentum going . . . Highly recommended." -- PC World, September 27, 2006

"Could transform you into a 'penguinista' quicker than you can say GNU General Public License." -- Linux.com, September 18, 2006

Ubuntu has been hailed as the distribution that will really get newbies feeling comfortable and confident using Linux. Even the name is user-friendly--it's a South African term that translates roughly as "humanity toward others," which could also describe author Rickford Grant's approach to teaching Linux. Rest assured, you will have a most understanding, patient, and genial guide as you embark upon this Linux adventure!

Full of tips, tricks, and helpful pointers, Ubuntu Linux for Non-Geeks is a hands-on, project-based, take-it-slow guidebook intended for those interested in--but nervous about--switching to the Linux operating system. Step-by-step projects build upon earlier tutorial concepts, helping you absorb and apply what you've learned.

Ubuntu Linux for Non-Geeks covers all the topics likely to be of interest to an average desktop user. Inside, you'll learn to:
* Download and install free applications, games, and utilities
* Connect to the Internet and wireless networks
* Configure your hardware, including printers, scanners, and removable storage devices
* Watch DVDs, listen to music, and even sync your iPod
* Download photos and videos from your digital camera, then edit and share them
* Tackle more advanced tasks as soon as you're ready

Whether you're new to computers, looking for a painfree way to make the Linux switch, or just want a low-cost alternative to Windows, Ubuntu is for you. Rickford Grant explains tech concepts in an inviting and effective style--less like an instructor and more like an easygoing friend who doesn't mind answering your questions. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 345 pages
• Publisher: No Starch Press; 2 edition (June 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593271522
• ISBN-13: 978-1593271527
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #456,564 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I recommend it!, September 18, 2006

By	Eitan C. Suez "eitan" (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Ubuntu Linux for Non-Geeks: A Pain-Free, Project-Based, Get-Things-Done Guidebook (Paperback)

As its title implies, this book targets non-geeks: anyone who today
uses a computer, whether it be a windows machine or a mac, or linux.

I find the author is true to the book's audience, and its objectives.
Whether you just recently started using Ubuntu, or whether you're thinking
about making the switch, this book will help you.

The author's experience with computers, with Linux, and with Ubuntu
specifically really shows through. Although I'm a geek, and although
I've been using Ubuntu for approximately a year and a half, there were
still a number of things I learned from this book.

A practical book, easy to read. Also a quick read. You won't find yourself
spending an inordinate amount of time wading through the book. The book
invites you to your computer and to follow along and get things done in your
environment as you go through each chapter. Also, you're not forced into
having to follow the book sequentially. You can easily skip around to the
chapters that interest you. I like the broad coverage of many topics; many
go beyond strictly Ubuntu, and help you get the most out of your computer.
Some sample topics it covers include: installing and running business
applications, working with images, digital cameras, audio, your iPod, and
working with various media players.

So, this is a practical book, and it makes for an excellent companion on
your road to making the most of your Ubuntu desktop. Instead of having to
discover many applications the long, tedious way, you'll end up hitting the
ground running. You end up saving time.

Besides being a well-written, well-organized book, what is most important
to me is who the author is. Reading this book, the author's experience shows.
He knows what he's talking about; he's been using computers, Linux, and
Ubuntu for a while.

Finally, and importantly, this book is up to date. It covers the Dapper
Drake release of Ubuntu, which just came out in June 2006. I personally
have been a great fan of Ubuntu Linux. Many years ago I used windows. Then
I switched to Apple's MacOSX, which to me served as a great stepping stone
to Ubuntu. Come join the movement. :-)

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, informative, and a great read (oh, and practical!), October 10, 2006

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

This review is from: Ubuntu Linux for Non-Geeks: A Pain-Free, Project-Based, Get-Things-Done Guidebook (Paperback)

This is perhaps one of the most fun Linux books I've had the pleasure of reading. It's called Ubuntu Linux For Non-Geeks by Rickford Grant, and the focus is on getting Ubuntu up and running, and *getting things done*. Quirky, comical, and best of all... practical.

Contents: Becoming a Penguinista; Wading and Diving; A New Place to Call Home; More Than Webbed Feet; Rounding Out the Bird; A Tidy Next; Dressing Up the Bird; Simple Kitten Ways; Dining on Tarballs, Binaries, Java, and Even RPMs; Gutenbird; Font Feathered Frenzy; Polyglot Penguins; Penguins Back at Work; Brush-Wielding Penguins; Tux Rocks; Pluggin' In the Penguin; Couch Penguins; Defending the Nest; Ubuntu Desktop CDs for AMD64 and PowerPC Users; Checking the Integrity of Downloaded ISOs; Resources; Index

As you can see from the chapter titles, there's a lot of tongue-in-cheek (beak?) humor that keeps the subject matter entertaining and approachable. He starts off with a quick history of Ubuntu Linux, as well as how to install it (both live CD and permanent). From there, he goes into the various areas where you live in Windows and shows the comparable software/configuration options in Ubuntu. If someone was completely at home in Windows but had never touched Linux, this would be all the book they'd need to make 80% or more of the transition. This goes both for manipulating the operating system (desktop settings, installing software, etc.) and using software for common tasks (such as OpenOffice.org to replace Office, GIMP to replace Windows-based graphical software, etc.). And with each chapter, there are a number of "projects" where he walks you through the installation and/or steps necessary to do what he just talked about. The book is written in an *extremely* conversational tone, so it's hard not to "hear" the author talking to you as you read. Great stuff...

I found this book useful in learning about the "best of breed" or "default" software used in the Ubuntu environment. For instance, there's XSane for scanning, gPhoto2 for digital camera work, etc. Normally I get a bit frustrated with Linux books that spend a majority of the pages talking about software that *runs* on Linux, not Linux itself. While this book does the same thing, it was far less intrusive than most. I think it's because it was all focused back on making the transition from daily use of Windows to daily use of Ubuntu. Regardless, it was a two-in-one deal... excellent tutorial information with very nice reference material on what you could/should be looking for...

As I continue my Ubuntu learning, this book will become pretty frayed, I think... I expect it to become a fast friend.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ubuntu Linux for Non-Geek Human Beings, October 3, 2006

By	linuxlibrarian (MA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ubuntu Linux for Non-Geeks: A Pain-Free, Project-Based, Get-Things-Done Guidebook (Paperback)

Ubuntu for Non-Geeks is the next installment of Rickford Grant's crusade to bring the penguin to those who don't have the geek gene (or at least, don't think they do.) Like Linux Made Easy and Linux for Non-Geeks, this book centers more on the "how to do x,y,z" rather than theory.


It's typical Rickford Grant style, which I've come to love. It's easy to read, relate to, and follow along with. I didn't do most of the activities in the book, as my desktop environment isn't currently GNOME, but I could still easily grasp what Rickford was explaining and what he was trying to get the reader to accomplish.

Ubuntu is a distribution that lends itself to this type of book fairly well. A bit more geeky than Linux Made Easy (which features Xandros) and in most cases a bit less geeky than Linux for Non-Geeks, it's a great introduction to Linux for people who are comfortable with computers, but are not (yet) whizzes.

Topics build on each other, and are nicely laid out so that the reader isn't going backwards and forwards in the book trying to figure out how Grant makes an exercise work. The book starts out slow and easy (explaining Linux, the concept of Ubuntu, both as a software project and its original meaning, gratis versus libre, and hardware requirements).

He moves on to more detailed, advanced topics, like the Nautilus file manager, how to burn CD and DVDs, connecting to and surfing the internet, installing packages using Synaptic (Synaptic, by the way, is my favorite package management software, ever). He covers fluffy, pretty things like customizations and changing the look and feel of the desktop. He covers (briefly, and non-threateningly, so put away the valium) the command line.

The beauty of Linux is that you can about do anything with it right out of the box. Grant doesn't waste the opportunity to get you up and fully functional. From Open Office and Abiword for productivity, to GIMP and photo editing, to watching and listening multimedia files and hooking up your iPod, Grant is a master at hitting the pulse of what people actually do with their computers.

This is another wonderful offering by Rickford Grant and No Starch Press.