Book Review: Linux Made Easy, Part 2

(If you missed the exciting, heart-stopping action that was part 1 of this epic book review, you can get up to speed on the story thus far by visiting this link. Because chances are 50-50 that you won't regret it. So if you do end up regretting it, don't come complaining to me, because hey, you're the one who took that chance.)

And now for the thrilling conclusion to "Linux and Beer"...

We last left our hero (you) thinking to him/herself that "Alrightey, I'm ready to give this Linux thing a whirl. I have a few hours of extra time, a shiny-new or weathered-dull computer to try it out with, a couple beers left over from part 1, and I'm needing a book to guide me through whatever the heck this stuff is."

You may be shocked and amazed to learn that I would recommend the book this review is about for just such a task. Linux Made Easy is ideally geared towards those who are complete newbies to the world of Linux and need a book that is both reference source and overall operation manual. It also assumes that you do not have a ninja blackbelt in Windows and Mac worlds already. Because although there are differences to Linux, at the end of the day it is still just a GUI-based (graphical user interface) operating system just like everything else, with similar navigation elements. So, if you are moderately familiar with Linux already or are a seasoned computer user from another camp, you can safely skip on to a more intermediate level tome.

I mention all that because it's important to think about the intended user of a book before passing judgement on it one way or another. Since I've used Linux before (but am still an admitted novice), I was able to quickly make my way through a large majority of the book. However, let's think about someone who not only has no prior knowledge of Linux, but also little other computing experience. Like my mother. (I'll kindly thank you to not talk about my mother, but it's fair game for me.) We'll call this the "mom factor." My mother is a lovely lady, but she would be lost even trying to IM me, if in fact she could figure out how to get online. She's a newbie. She's used computers before, but largely just to type up documents, and on a couple of occasions even email me. She would be very uncomfortable not having a computer already set up for her (thus necessitating her having to tackle it alone), or diving into applications she had never used before. So with Mom in mind, let's proceed.

Article Author: David R Perry

Lost somewhere in the rolling hills of Tennessee, David R Perry can occasionally be found doing dark, unspeakable things to words. Printed words, spoken words, electronically mangled words... really any kind but twittered words.

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