For most of my adult life, I've been a one operating system man. The first PC my wife and I got ran Windows 95. The one I'm using now has Windows XP. So all I've known is Windows.
This has had a detrimental impact on my geek cred. Every time I take one of those online nerd tests, I'm rolling until I get to the Linux questions. My 100% quickly becomes a 90, or even 80. I feel like Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer - all of the other geeks mock my lack of Linux.
And I find myself now with an ancient laptop (Pentium I, 166 MHz, 2GB hard drive), and I've been thinking about using it to play with a bit of Linux. Which is where this book comes in.
Many of the other Linux books I've looked at have assumed that I've got more experience with operating systems (UNIX in particular) than I do. My mind quickly went numb with them, and I put them back on the shelf, deciding that I really didn't need to hit 100% after all. But then I got hold of this book.
Running Linux is in its 5th edition, and is widely regarded as the Linux book. Before now, I was intimidated by its sheer size; it weighs in at 906 pages before the Appendix and index. But inside is everything I didn't know about Linux.
The book starts with the basics - finding a Linux distro and getting it installed. GUI desktops are covered, with no partiality given to either KDE or GNOME. In fact, the book goes out of its way to be "distribution-neutral" throughout, which is valuable for a noob like me.
I especially liked chapter 4 — the crash course on UNIX commands. Not enough to confuse someone, but enough that you know what's going on. There is also a valuable overview of programs available for Linux, including games and office productivity packages like OpenOffice (which I already use). And there are several chapters on systems administration, including "heterogeneous networking" — combining Linux boxes with Windows systems. At least at first, that's what I'll be running — a Windows XP desktop is the main hub of my wireless network. There's also a section on emulation (Wine and VMware).
I'm still not sure if I'm going to totally switch to Linux; peripheral compatability is an issue I need to look into more thoroughly. But this book is an outstanding resource for anyone who is thinking about Linux, and for anyone who has already decided to take the leap.
Article comments
1 - triniman
I just received my free 5-pack of Ubuntu Linux in the mail. This distro comes with the full cd as well as the live cd, which runs from RAM.
I'm not partial to any particular distro, but I know someone who uses Ubuntu and they seem to have the best marketing plan to get theirs out to the public, without folks having to download it or buy it with one of those Linux magazines.
2 - Aaman
Where did you apply to get the pack, T-man?
BTW, there's another review of this book over at Desicritics
3 - Warren
The Ubuntu Linux website has a signup for your totally free CDs -- you don't even have to pay shipping!
As soon as I saw this comment, I signed up for mine. How long does it take to show up, triniman?
4 - Aaman
Another question - is the downloadable Install CD & Live CD the same thing that's shipped, or is it a different, larger set of programs? I ask, because I might as well download the thing, rather than wait for the shipment:)
5 - Triniman
It took about three weeks for mine to arrive.
I assume the downloadable versions are the same but you can check at their website. I understand that they are moving to a single CD that gives you the option of installing or running as a live version in RAM only. They are supposed to come out with a new version every 6 months.
I'm trying to get my hands on the Beginning Ubuntu book which comes out on March 20. I'll try to do a review.
6 - Victor Plenty
Ubuntu is very user-friendly, from what I've seen of it. The system requirements might be a bit steep for a computer as venerable as yours, Warren, but Ubuntu is generally much easier to run than Windows XP is, on moderately old hardware.