Customer Reviews

Ubuntu: Up and Running: A Power User's Desktop Guide

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this book because of the subtitle "A Power user's Desktop Guide" and because it is supposed to cover Ubuntu V 10.04. If you use Ubuntu at all, then this book is of limited value to you. It covers the basics, but not much more. If you're brand new to Ubuntu, then by all means purchase this book. It's very useful in learning how to install and setup Ubuntu; clearly written with lots of illustrations.

I have the following issues with this book:

- Doesn't really cover much more than is in the free "Getting Started with Ubuntu 10.04". In fact it seems a bit of a rip-off of that free manual
- It doesn't cover how to install software that is not acquired through the Synaptic Package Manager. This is one of the biggest problems with Ubuntu -- the installation of non-Ubuntu packaged software products, such as the Oracle Clients that only come in RPM distributions.
- Use of command line and discussion of command is very limited. Again, okay for the beginner, but nothing for the power user. Also, although the UNIX command line commands are shown, it's not explained how you might use these for anything useful (except the apt and apt-get commands, which are well done).
- Very limited discussion of Ubuntu 10.04...a lot of "Ver 10.04 was still in Beta as this book when to press". I believe this book should have been delayed a couple of months and focused on V 10.04 more

So as I said...excellent for those new to Ubuntu, but of limited value to anyone who is already using Ubuntu and is upgrading to V 10.04.

This is a great book for an introduction to ubuntu and some software that runs on Ubuntu. Definitely a one stop shop for a basic user guide. Definitely one of the least technical books I've seen from O'Reilly and would consider it a casual user guide, not a "Power User" guide. None the less contains some very useful info.

Less computers would end up in land fills if people understood how easy it is to install and manipulate Linux. Seriously instead of paying someone $100 dollars to remove that mallvirus from your HP: buy this book, simply take the disk that comes with this book and install it -no matter how messed up your desktop / laptop is; this will bring your computer back from the dead and it will run faster than ever before. When it get's to the part where it asks if you want to over wright current operating system, click yes and kiss Windows goodbye. From there it's as simple or as complicated as you wanna get. Linux is simple enough to understand and you can go to their website and download it for free, but if you want to learn advanced parameter modification for an operating system, this book is a good place to start.

Robin Nixon's UBUNTU UP AND RUNNING reviews the popular Linux-based program in a manner that readers with little technical background can readily absorb. It includes a DVD with the complete Ubuntu system and several special editions and it offers tips on all the basics, from connecting printers and phones to using cameras, operating in a networked environment, and using WINE to run Windows programs.

This is a good book for those completely foreign to Ubuntu and Linux -- it's a good comprehensive overview that teaches you everything you need to know.

I might get ripped for this, but why would you pay money for information on a free, open-source OS?

Having read many computer books its refreshing to see that a technical person can produce a well written book on UBUNTU in a language thats both interesting and easy to follow
I recommend this book to anyone wanting to dabble in Ubuntu Linux

Usually O'Reilly books are pretty decent, but this is not a very good book.

There is quite a change from Ubuntu 9.10 to Ubuntu 10.04, and this book attempts to bridge between them; or more precisely, it's written for ver 9 - with only a short paragraph or two at the end of some chapters detailing the changes for ver 10. Even the included CD is for ver 9.

To be fair, with Ubuntu releases every 6 months, its hard for a publisher to keep up.

However, there is such a significant change from ver 9 to ver 10, and with ver 10 being a LTS (Long Term Support) version, it will be around awhile, so it would have been far better to take a bit more time to write the book for just ver 10.

But after all of that, the book is a beginner's guide, not a "Power User" guide as the book claims.