Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent starter book, March 31, 2003
This is a great starter book for anyone who's felt intimidated by Linux. It has a clear and logical walkthrough for installing, partitioning hard drives for dual boot (in case you need to keep your Windows), and practical advice on how to use Linux once you have it up and running. Great the quick reference tables. I'm using the book now to get an old HP Vectra configured with Mandrake. Concise and well-written with some tongue-in-cheek humor, definitely recommended for any beginners or anyone who needs a refresher on how Linux works.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
2nd Edition- not just an update but an entire rewrite!, October 10, 2004
Being a Windows user who wanted to learn more about Linux, I read the reviews here and also on linux.com and ended up buying this book.
I must say I was very pleasantly surprised.
What Amazon does not make clear is that this book ($19.95 version) is acutally the updated 2ND EDITION. Apparently the author took to heart what the reviewers had stated about his first edition and boy does it result in success.
First, the author is genuine. Never does he talk down to the reader. This book goes out of its way not to be another "dummy" guide but instead an intelligent personal guide.
For instance in several cases, with unabashed honesty the author tells it like it is. He does not sugar coat some of Linux's weaknesses but pronounces them and then guides the reader around the problem easily. In the chapter titled From Windows to Linux, the author states, "the file hierarchy is perhaps the most cumbersome aspect of linux" and then goes on to clarify the differences and how to easily navigate this mess! That's from page 66.
Second, the author goes way out of his way to ensure that things he writes work on almost all of the newer flavors. For instance I was amazed to find specific step by step instructions for making basic network configuration changes in this book for Fedora users, Mandrake users, and SuSe users. Often the author also makes clear distinctions between how things will work under the Gnome or under the KDE desktops.
Third, this book covers it all! From a beginning user's standpoint I've never seen so much covered specifically to address a new user interest. 36 pages of details on getting Linux working on the internet. 24 pages on desktop interfaces, specific differences and similarities with Windows, and how Gnome and KDE work. Not a bit of extra fluff either. No extra fat 2 inch wide white space margins. This book is packed with information.
This book is complete.
Even more enjoyable, it also covers things NO ONE else would be willing to state openly about Linux. The author makes sure a new user isn't caught up in the baloney but instead can get their own personal setup working and working well.
I enjoyed this book and am amazed by how much the author got compressed in this 244 page guide.
THE BIGGEST BONUS OF ALL I found was that the author has a tone and a voice in this computer book that is unlike anything I've ever read in a technology manual. It's personable, pleasant, optimistic, and clear.
I enjoyed it and recommend it to any person who want to begin using Linux.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect for those new to Linux coming from Windows, March 28, 2003
I'm actually very pleased with this book. I tend to be a person who learns best with a little hand holding and help, and found this book included a lot of personal annecdotes that helped me.Being a regular user of Windows, this book made it very easy to understand the similarities and get started with Linux in a very non-intimidating fashion. It's true that a few things were missing I would have also liked included, but overall it did not waste my time with excess information that is often found in 500 page manuals with lots of white space. Instead, in a refreshing way I found this book to try to gently encourage super brand new users of Linux like me. I recommend this book to anyone who is trying to understand and learn to use Linux that doesn't have a lot of time to fiddle, but needs the essential information spelled out. Excellent book and an easy read!
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