Peter Norton's Complete Guide to Linux (Peter Norton (Sams))
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Spotlight Customer Reviews
Average Customer Rating: 5Customer Rating: 5
Summary: When you have the BEST, why mess with the REST? :o)
Comment: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The other reviewers have just about said it all: in short, this is a GREAT book!
I would just like to add that it is good to have ONE book that over ALL the essentials of Linux as compared to those who cover just PARTS in one book and more PARTS in another (just to sell more books?).
I own MANY books on Linux, but if I were forced to discard them all but ONE, THIS is the one I would definitely KEEP! When you have the BEST, why mess with the REST? :o)
Lloyd W. Cary
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Customer Rating: 5
Summary: a newbie perspective
Comment: I finally became so frustrated with the Crash-A-Lot software from Redmond (some of us actually have work that needs to get done, OK, Bill?) that I decided to give Linux a try. I bought a copy of Mandrake and after some fiddling got it installed on an old laptop. The problem was, I really didn't know what I was doing. It ran even more slowly than Bill's stuff (although it didn't die of embarrassment and crash every time I looked at it funny). I knew there had to be ways to make it run better, but I was clueless about how to go about it. The stuff that came with the disk was almost useless, and the books in the stores seemed to either be written for somebody who ought to be getting juice and cookies before nap time or for major software gurus. Then I discovered this book. It explains how Linux works, how to set it up, and how to make it work better. HE ACTUALLY EXPLAINS HOW LINUX WORKS! Here and there I had to go elsewhere to look up a few terms and some stuff he assumes his readers knew (how to get into BIOS, on my ancient Thinkpad you hit F2 as soon as it starts up), but for the most part it's all there. I recommend reading this thing all the way through, even the chapters about stuff you don't think you will need, before you try anything because his approach is to talk about something like partitioning a hard drive and then a few chapters later approach it from a different angle and add some more useful information. If you want to hit a topic all at once, there is an excellent index. I'm going to give Debian or Slackware a shot and between the online documentation at their sites and this book I think I can handle it. I know some of you guys hate to ask for directions, but save yourselves a lot of trouble and read this book.
Customer Rating: 5
Summary: Excellent Help Here
Comment: Having used Linux since 1995, my biggest struggle has been in finding reliable sources of information. This book is such a source and and all around excellent Linux guide.
I run Slackware and Debian so I wasx hesitant that I saw Red Hat, SuSE, and Caldera featured, but that didnt matter. An non-distributipon-specific, clearly written explanation is given and then they take small detours into each of those distributions, pointing out specifics to those (usually under X).
I began this book in chapter 8, User Administration and continued through. I am self-taught which has it's own merits, yet tends to leave holes in my "home-grown Linux Education". This book filled in the gaps and have made me an much more competent Linux user/administrator.
I can not write as a new Linux user so I can not honestly say how this book would be for some one totally new to Linux (although my guess is that it wouldn't be a bad choice to start off with!)
When in the company of other Linux users, I find they talk about things without explaining what they are, where they are found, what they do, or what other options may exist. Those are the kinds of holes I had in my Linux education. Now, init, X configuration, mysterious configuration files, and many advanced topics that I had desperately been trying to understand and piece together, are all much clearer to me now thanks to this excellent book.
In summary, this book has helped this Linux user to sort out and relate the commands and configuration that once "kept me in the dark".