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Education Books Media Software Book Reviews Linux

Linux for the Rest of Us 163

Posted by timothy from the not-just-y'all dept.
alvinc writes "Mark Rais' new book Linux for the Rest of Us is an excellent choice for beginning Linux users. It also has enough solid, fundamental information to be a refresher for experienced Linux users. The book's philosophy is that Linux is a viable alternative OS that is also fun, and this viewpoint is reflected in the narrative's friendly tone." Read on for the rest of Alvin's review. Update: 03/26 20:51 GMT by T : Since bn.com isn't stocking this book, author Marc Rais wrote to suggest that you can order this book straight from the publisher.
Linux for the Rest of Us
author Mark Rais
pages 108
publisher Eagle Nest Press
rating 8
reviewer alvinc
ISBN 0972679006
summary A gentle introduction to Linux.; may have some relevant tips for experienced users but should be invaluable to novices.

The author uses many anecdotes and personal experiences which give the instruction a real-world feel and which also gives it a human element. I enjoyed the occasional tongue-in-cheek humor as well.

The book is very concise, written in a quick guide format, which I found more user-friendly than some of the larger, intimidating tomes available on the subject. The 108 pages are densely packed with information with step-by-step instructions on installing, formatting hard drives for dual boot use, using the bundled graphics and text editors, and configuring a Linux machine for use as a server. It includes essential elements in a quick reference format in the manner I would draw up my own cheat sheets.

I think the book would also make a great gift for new users. Its small size encourages browsing by people who may be hesitant about taking the plunge into Linux. It is a practical way for Linux fans to encourage others to try Linux.

There are a few shortcomings, but these are the exception rather than the rule. Initially I was a little dismayed that the author did not spend more time on the desktop environment and describing some more features of KDE/Gnome etc. I would have also liked for the author to help guide beginners with tips for other useful programs such as Evolution.

One of the strongest aspects of this book, aside from overtly doing new Linux users a huge favor by helping them along the tricky steps, is that the author includes a healthy dose of real-world experiences.

And real-world experiences are indeed included, as I slowly realized that although the author, Rais, was both very gentle and down to earth in tone and writing, his experiences with Linux and technology are significant. His subtle remarks throughout the book about how he helped set up Linux servers with colleagues almost hides the point that some of these servers were involved in serving content to staging servers for some high profile sites, including Netscape.com and aol.com.

I would have enjoyed some further anecdotes about the author's own experiences. He includes a number of useful tips from his experience, but as I read the section "Stories from the Field" I felt like the author probably had a lot more to share and only for sake of brevity did not include more.

Rais maintains a very helpful and encouraging tone, which is rare among users as experienced as he is. The author obviously knows Linux well and still walks the reader through the subject matter much as a mentor would.

The book is also a substantive reference of sorts, enabling easy lookup of critical line commands or troubleshooting errors. It's limited in scope in some areas, and few Linux experts would pick this up as a reference, but as a tool to encourage hesitant new users, it is beneficial.

Linux for the Rest of Us is convenient, easy to read, and inexpensive. Also, note that all proceeds (after tax and print costs) are to be donated to charity.

You can purchase Linux For the Rest of Us from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
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Linux for the Rest of Us More

Linux for the Rest of Us

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  • That's pretty decent as well, you know. Never mind that it's a little old (and comes prepackaged with Red Hat.)
    • Here is my answer: download Slackware, use man. How could it be any easier?
      • First off, the man pages pretty much suck in every distro (since they're the same, that's no shock.) For a new person to nab a distro, beit Slack or RH or whatever and let them loose with only the "use man" statement as an answer will drive them mad. That is what's wrong with the GNU/OSS/Linux situation today: the documentation is (a) non-existant; or, (b) crappy and incomplete; or, (c) out of date [don't believe me, take a look at tldp.org--half their shit is over 2 years old and hasn't been updated.]

        Lin
        • The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language Definition (from Cambridge International Dictionary of English) sarcasm noun [U] (the use of) remarks which clearly mean the opposite of what they say, and which are made in order to hurt someone's feelings or to criticize something in an amusing way
        • I believe that one of the biggest things that the manpages lack are the "Examples" section filled out thoughtfully and appropriately. For examples of manpages done nicely, look at the man pages for mkisofs and cdrecord. Now, there are about 40 pages of tedious descriptions of options no one uses, but once you teach people to page down to the examples section, they can cut and paste and modify one and quickly get stuff done. The rest of the documentation is there if you need it for the strange cases.

          Anot
        • I'm a Linux newbie, and I agree with what the parent post had to say regarding man pages, but I think the post ignored the many LUG's (Linux Users Groups) scattered around the country, which are a terrific resource. The Jacksonville Linux Users Group has Installfests every couple of months where newbies can gather together and get lots of help from more experienced folks. They've also been having beginners classes two or three times a year.

          People talk about newbies getting told to RTFM, but I've found that
          • LUGS are great, if you have one and it isn't run by a doofus. Plus some areas simply don't have any.

            I've gone onto numerous linux news groups and in the first few lines of my post have told whomever would help that I used the man, read the manual, even googled the useage and found no help and then went on to talk about what the problem is and STILL got "RTFM" and useless things like "man samba."

            It have been my experience that those who want to sincerely help are being drowned out by the yahoos. It's a sig
    • Argh. Please please please don't buy people books that include Linux inside the book. We routinely have people on linuxquestions.org attempting to install Redhat 7.1, or even a 6.x series OS, then wondering why none of their hardware works and they can't find any RPMs for it.

      Best to just give them a few CDs you burnt along with the book.

      • I could not agree more with this comment. Linux for Dummies Books actually set me back a far ways. The CD that came with the book, RH 7.1 was bad. After a month of thinking my computer was the problem and actually buying a new CD drive for the computer, I saw a small post on a website saying that a large percentage of the CD's were burned improperly. I then proceeded to download the ISO from the web and installed it no problem. Now I just need a faster processor because it runs like crap on my school comput

  • Charity eh? (Score:1, Funny)

    by saskboy ( 600063 )
    "Also, note that all proceeds (after tax and print costs) are to be donated to charity."

    It is nice that they are supporting Mandrake.

    *ducks*
    • I have to ask, do you know the people you sell the random items to, or are they regular transactions? That has to be one of the funniest set of auctions I've ever seen. What did the guy do with the toothpaste, did he actually just use it up and throw it away?
    • It is nice that they are supporting Mandrake.

      Yes, that is good.

      It sounds like the book isn't too centered around a single distro. That was the single most annoying thing with certain books, back when I was a n00b: books that only dealt with one distro, usually RedHat. Since details are what cause problems when you don't know what you are doing, the subtle differences between Debian and RH made some books (that I had already purchased) useless as time went by.

      Running Linux was a good exception to this

  • Fun?! (-2 Flamebait) (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Bonker ( 243350 ) on Wednesday March 26, 2003 @12:40PM (#5598045)
    The book's philosophy is that Linux is a viable alternative OS that is also fun

    When people ask me about Linux I tell them it's a great default OS for most of their work. It can be very easy.

    "Well, I can play games on it like windows, right?"

    "Yes, there are a few games available for it," I reply. "You can also play some Windows games under Wine, which is software that emulates parts of Windows."

    "Is that easy?"

    Uhm...
    • You're joking?

      Oddly enough, I installed a linux machine for my fiancee (so she could put her website there and work on it remotely). Oddly enough, she uses it almost exclusively to play mahjong or puzzle bobble while her windows machine burns cds.

      Linux runs most games that most people play (solitaire) and generally comes 'out of the box' with many more.
      • Oddly enough, she uses it almost exclusively to play mahjong or puzzle bobble while her windows machine burns cds.


        Isn't it rule of thumb to leave a windows machien alone while burning cd's, so the burner doesnt' suffer buffer overruns?

        So couldn't she be doing needle point while it burns?
        • This was certainly a problem with older CD burners, but if you have an ATA100 or 133 controller, plenty of ram and a newer CD burner, this is a non-issue.
        • Right, she's leaving the windows machine alone, and playing the games on the linux machine nearby :]
          • That's not advocacy for linux. That's advocacy for curing boredom :P

            "Linux... it's better than watching tv, needlepoint.. or taking a poop."
            • heh, indeed, it was not meant as linux advocacy. Linux is not the best tool for the majority of end users, even power users like my fiancee who learned how to do things rather than how things work.

              [the difference being that she knows the procedure to do things, and the format of conventions, but does not understand the inner workings of things really, and thus does not generally understand the implications of many things, or the possibilities.]
      • My RedHat distro included Chess. You won't find that with Windows though it does come with OSX. The X version is surprisingly attractive and provides pretty tough competition. Ok, turn the sarcasm back on...
      • "Oddly enough, I installed a linux machine for my fiancee (so she could put her website there and work on it remotely). Oddly enough, she uses it almost exclusively to play mahjong or puzzle bobble while her windows machine burns cds."

        There are some really nice burning programs ... Why not move the CD burner to the Linux machine? :) I burn CDs while playing Frozen Bubble on the same machine with no strain, and since my video card won't let me use FlightGear anyhow, no troubles ;)

        timothy
        • Laziness mostly. Plus I've never done it before, and I don't want to suggest something or try to impliment it on someone else's stuff when I've not done it myself before.
          • " Laziness mostly. Plus I've never done it before, and I don't want to suggest something or try to impliment it on someone else's stuff when I've not done it myself before."

            Suggestion: If your machine has a USB port, and you have (or know anyone who has and would be willing to lend to you) an external CD burner, that's a pretty painless way to try it out.

            I don't know what distro you're using or what apps you have installed on the linux machine you mention, but I find that gnometoaster does a good job, an
    • This leads me to an interesting question -- what percentage of people use home computers for "work" and what percentage use them as gaming platforms?

      This isn't all yes or all no, but I would bet that the bulk of people use them for games most of the time. Linux will not be a widespread consumer phenomenon as a desktop item (IMHO only) without broad game support and shelf space for said games at retailers.

      Maybe an idea would be a linux-based game console which would let you run games on the box and on linu
    • Well, if you use WineX it's not that hard.

      What we _really_ need, is to revamp the KDE/GNOME games collection around network based multiplayer, using ZeroConf and/or internet servers. The most popular game ever is Minesweeper (well, i don't know that, but who will argue it with me ;) - just imagine how much of a killer app multiplayer Minesweeper or FreeCell would be :)

  • Well, its nice to see that there are attempts out there for educating the masses (the non slashdot crowd, Linux illiterates). Not having read this book myself, I cant vouch for its overall quality, but if its that good it might make a pretty decent computer literacy book for schools that are wanting to get away from the Microsoft based curriculum, or at least a supplement to existing programs to educate about an alternative OS (although possibly MacOS would be a better alternative for these kinds of program

  • Or for free :) (Score:3, Informative)

    by Telex4 ( 265980 ) on Wednesday March 26, 2003 @12:43PM (#5598067) Homepage
    Or you could try some free web resources aimed at the beginner (without a single RTFM or newbie insult in sight):

    NewToLinux [newtolinux.org.uk] - with excellent tutorials that guide you through the basics step by step
    JustLinux [justlinux.com] - with forums to ask all those annoying questions, and again not get insulted

    Though buying a book is usually also a good idea, especially for when you can't access the web ;)

    • About a month or so ago, the mods removed the general/off-topic forum and began banning users who complained. This pissed off a lot of the long-time members (myself included), so we jumped ship to LinuxQuestions.org [linuxquestions.org] . JustLinux now is nothing more than a group of 20 post newbies helping other 20 post newbies. No decent help to be had there at all.
    • I wonder who is so fragile that an insult about their intelligence makes them stop trying.
      • Well it's a fact that many do get put off by people blowing them off with "RTFM" and other insults. I suppose it's a matter of motivation.

  • sigh (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward

    "Mark Rais' new book Linux for the Rest of Us is an excellent choice for beginning Linux users. It also has enough solid, fundamental information to be a refresher for experienced Linux users. The book's philosophy is that Linux is a viable alternative OS that is also fun, and this viewpoint is reflected in the narrative's friendly tone."

    The problem is 1) that someone should need a book to work an OS means it isn't for 'the rest of us' (you know what I mean), most people don't want to have to learn anythi

    • The problem is 1) that someone should need a book to work an OS means it isn't for 'the rest of us'

      Search for Widnows books on BN [barnesandnoble.com] We found 12,767 titles
      Search for Linux books on BN [barnesandnoble.com] We found 839 titles

      Hmm, that's funny. How come there are so many more books for learning windows on the market than there are for Linux? By your own definition, you souldn't be using Windows either. Care to search for Mac books? Maybe you shouldn't be using a computer at all?
      • Funny...

        The 3rd book in the Windows category was Kaplan GRE 2003 with CD-ROM--Windows only. Being that "Windows" is more common than "Linux," my bet is that you will always see more Windows titles with a simple search like that.

        Having a lot of books isn't a problem. Books are effiecient ways to compartmentalize and pass on knowledge. The more books on the subject, the more potential knowledge that exists out there. So if we readjusted your simple search figure and found that Linux had more books...

    • People would not need a book to use Linux if they were consistently exposed to it from first grade through high school, as children are now with MS products.

      Using Linux is not very difficult; however it is very DIFFERENT from Windows.
    • I hope the modderators don't mod this as a troll, as anything not 110% pro-Linux is in their hate-zone.

      I am so tired of people posting this. While it may have been true in the past, it is certainly not true now. Lots of things that are pro-Linux/pro-GNU get modded down and lots of things that are not pro-Linux/pro-GNU get modded up. Your post serves as a fine example.

      • I hope the modderators don't mod this as a troll, as anything not 110% pro-Linux is in their hate-zone.

        I am so tired of people posting this. While it may have been true in the past, it is certainly not true now. Lots of things that are pro-Linux/pro-GNU get modded down and lots of things that are not pro-Linux/pro-GNU get modded up. Your post serves as a fine example.

        I agree. The best suggestion I've seen for dealing with this is for Slashdot to have a new moderation category: (-1, Asked for it).

        TheF

    • Have you ever learned to ride a bicycle? I did, and I didn't just get on the bike, I learned from someone else. Now, I'm able to ride my bike to a destination, it is not an act in and of itself. Now, there are several other situations in which using a task requires some learning, such as a board game or reading a book. The act of these tasks become second nature, and the fun game or the joy of reading come out almost in spite of all the learning you've done in order to perform those tasks.

      Now, don't g

  • Who are "the rest of us"?... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Ars-Fartsica ( 166957 ) on Wednesday March 26, 2003 @12:53PM (#5598142)
    Those individuals who couldn't quite keep up with Linux for Idiots, Linux for Dummies, Linux in a Nutshell, Beginners Linux, and Linux for the comatose.

    Congrats! A book just for you!

  • This is a great book.

    It only costs $11 from Amazon [amazon.com].


    If you have someone who is realizing Windows is WONDERFUL (sarcasm intended..duh), give them this book and the latest distro of choice (mandrake/redhat for ease of use). Help someone else be released from the borg [microsoft.com].
    • If you have someone who is realizing Windows is WONDERFUL (sarcasm intended..duh), give them this book and the latest distro of choice (mandrake/redhat for ease of use). Help someone else be released from the borg [microsoft.com].

      Followed by an explanation of why they can't use all of the applications they are used to :P
    • i would recommend this book to those who would want to learn multiple platforms than to simply getting people to switch. Multi platform exposure is becoming a necessity these days especially when you want to open yourself to more job opportunities. I recently came across an opportunity where they said that someone with Java development experience in Linux would be considered although the perfect match would be experience in Unix. They might not be the same but Linux is a lot closer to Unix than Windows.
    • But first, sell them a support contract!
  • From programming to operating systems, it seems like books are divided into the sections of "for complete newbies" or "for cs majors and/or gurus." Intermediate or "slightly beyond newbie" books seem to be few in number, or at least most books aren't marketed as such.

    I'm currently reading "running Linux" and "learning GNU Emacs." Both are fine for what I need, so far. To me, Linux is a hobby, but one I would like to be decently versed in.

    In terms of books (not man pages, please), what would be a nex

    • Try "Linux Administration Handbook"
      Author: Evi Nemeth, Garth Snyder, Trent R. Hein
      Copyright 2002, 924 pp.
      Paper format
      ISBN 0-13-008466-2

      It does a great job of giving you insite into mail, security, and file/print servers, as well as helping to understand what being a SysAdmin is all about, which can't hurt.
    • What other books? There are a TON! The problem is, they are generally out-of-date by the time they're published (this goes for almost ANY computer-related book).

      For me, I've found that while books can be helpful, there is no substitue for experience. The more you use linux OSs, the better you understand them.

      My favorite site for linux is http://www.linuxgazette.com/ - plenty of information there for everyone from novice desktop user to application server administrator.
    • From programming to operating systems, it seems like books are divided into the sections of "for complete newbies" or "for cs majors and/or gurus." Intermediate or "slightly beyond newbie" books seem to be few in number, or at least most books aren't marketed as such.

      Perhaps because the "intermediate" or "slightly beyond newbie" group is metastable, either you pick it up enough with the first book to where you can understand the guru books enough to continue learning or you stay as what in Esperanto we
  • There may be more non-linux users reading Slashdot than some posters think. I happen to really like the technology, free speech, open source, and other information and breeze through most of the Linux specific stuff because I don't use it. Not that I wouldn't like to but time commitments at work and other interests outside of work have pushed adopting linux to the back burner. Nonetheless I advocate for it and talk about it regularly with non-tech people. Which makes up most the American population. Any
    • Just take any non-RedHat distribution (SuSE, Mandrake if you want it easy or debian, Gentoo if you don't mind a little harder installation) and try KDE 3.1.1

      Instant networking: No problem, just type "fish://server" into Konq and you got secure networking without installation.

      You also can handle windows faster and more efficient, for example Alt+Right Mousebutton will resize a window by dragging near the border, Alt+Left MB will let you grab a window everywhere.

      On top you get remote desktop abilities,

  • Less KDE/Gnome, more terminal! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by kotj.mf ( 645325 ) on Wednesday March 26, 2003 @01:29PM (#5598384)
    I'm gonna have to disagree with the contention that there needs to be a focus on the desktops as opposed to the command stuff.

    I've been using RH8 almost exclusively since I first installed it on my notebook six months ago, and I'm of the opinion that Gnome and KDE should be no problem at all for the new user who's even mildly technically inclined.

    On the other hand, I sure as hell could have used some clear, concise info on basic command line stuff, as well as a basic introduction to common multimedia tools. Most of the n00b guides seem to spend half the book on installation, a few chapters jumping around the terminal (usually with not-immediately-clear examples), then the remainder on the desktops and the totally frickin obvious apps. I mean, if I couln't figure out how to use Netscape on my own, a new OS is probably a bit outta my league, innit?

    Thank god for linuxnewbie.org....
    • You might also want to check our NewToLinux [newtolinux.org.uk], which has a whole set of tutorials, many of them based around the command line, aimed at the beginner who wants to know a little more about GNU/Linux than how to point and click in KDE. They're also, unlike linuxnewbie.org (which is great at what it does - random tutorials), ordered and so can be read like a book.
    • There are a number of things about KDE and GNOME that are different enough to spend some time on.

      That said, there's absolutely nothing that pisses me off about a Linux book as much as a chunk of it being dedicated to WMs and Desktops.

      I have a stack of books from the RH5-RH6 era, and the better ones (mostly focused on shells, entry-level developing, etc) are still incredibly useful now. However, the one or two books released more recently with big KDE 2.0 sections and such are so completely out-of-date an
      • Yup.
        I've had luck with Unix Shell Programming, by Lowell Jay Arthur (Wiley, 1990). It's got a pretty good intro to the various tools in addition to the meat on scripting. Oddly enough, it was the only book in the library on the topic, and I've been able to renew it for the past six months. I guess people are getting scared off by the publication date.

        Thanks for the tip, Telex.
  • if all you use your computer for is browsing the web, sending emails, and you want to play ANY game that comes out - linux isn't for you.

    I give credit where credit is due and while this might be a great book for beginners, I don't see the point in learning an OS if you are never going to run any sort of server off of it.

    And before you start doggin' on windows security issues - let me specify that this post is ENTIRELY aimed at personal users. The person who wants to play any game, browse the web, and

    • Well fair enough :) But there are other reasons to want to use GNU/Linux as a desktop OS... the three reasons I use it are:

      1 - I can't afford Windows

      2 - I largely agree with the Free Software philosophy, and so prefer using software that has been built by and for a community

      3 - I boycott all Microsoft goods because of Microsoft's lazy security policies and their domineering monopoly-grabbing ways, not to mention Paladium and their adoption of anything that will give them the lead in the market (usually a
    • I agree 100%, but may god have mercy on your karma.
    • You make some very good points, friend, very good indeed - wish I had mod points.

      For the end user, Windows just works, and works well for the most part. Linux is getting to that point, but all of that is tangental to why Linux is being advocated for beginners.

      Most computer users think that a PC comes with Windows, period, full stop - which further entrenches the Wintel hedgeonomy. If beginners start on Linux, they'll know that there's a choice, and will (in the end) be able to run any OS they sit in front
    • >>"...if all you use your computer for is browsing the web, sending emails, and you want to play ANY game that comes out.."

      For those folks -- representing the vast majority of computer users -- the choice of an OS is essentially irrelevant. Its purpose is to run, use the conventions you expect, and not break. An appropriate analogy is the transmission of your car. Odds are you don't care at all about that transmission. you just want it to work as you expect and not break.
    • The person who wants to play any game, browse the web, and check their email.

      Actually, for the vast majority of home users that list is one item shorter. Playing computer games might be an integral part of your "home computing experience" but it's certainly not for most other people (in general, I know this isnt' true for this audience).

      For some silly reason, some people think that it's nice to have more than one product that can do the other two things on that list - go figure. Certainly no one is going

    • All I have to do is double click a link to get my game to work.... what do YOU have to do?

      Ironically, double-clicking is the worst usability nightmare - introduced by Apple because of lack of mouse-buttons, then later copied by Microsoft.

      I agree that Linux is not a very good gaming platform - because there are not many games, not because of any usability issues.

      If you are not a gamer, KDE/Linux is much better and more efficient to work with than the primitive Windows GUI.

    • I say, use what works. If I needed to run a server, I would love to pick this book up, but unfortunatly i'm capped by my cable company making any atempt to frivolous becuase I know Win2k can handle a pittly 32k upstream. I've run ftp's and small multiplayer servers off it until people just can't play anymore, and linux is not going to help that a bit.

      Actually, W2K can handle at *least* a saturated T1. We'll see soon how much more it can handle :)
    • All I have to do is single click.

      Followed by: I don't have to worry about configuring my video card to run the right resolution and refresh rate becuase windows is so supported all I have to do is right click my desktop and change a couple slider bars.

      Doesn't sound like a single-click to me...

      Seriously though, are there really any Windows games left that require you to set the resolution before they work? Can't they either set it themselves, or (gasp!) work in the current resolution?

      • The biggest problem with video modes on Windows is that DirectX offers no way to change the refresh rate from the default of 60Hz. So unless you take extra measures (like installing a "refresh rate locker" program), most games that set a video mode end up running at 60HZ even if your monitor is capable of much more.

        BTW, XFree really should give more help for figuring out Modelines. When you pick a resolution and refresh rate in Windows, it's the same as adding a Modeline in XFree, but the other parameters
        • Not that it works, but I think that was the intention of all the modelines in the XFree86 setup file. Supposedly you pick one by the resoulution and "everything else is calculated" by the fact that the other numbers were filled in in that sample modeline. In reality this is pretty much what Windows is doing internally. Problems are that not all desired combinations are listed (?), that a lot of ancient and useless combinations are listed, that a combination is listed more than once (ie with some options in
    • I also enjoy playing games, and I gotta say Kazaa Lite is fairly regularly used at my house, but that's really about all I've found that Windows is useful for. So, I have a Windows box for that purpose, my Linux box is for my firewall/proxy server, web server, mail server, dns server, etc etc. I prefer the Gnome desktop to the Windows desktop. I use mutt for email, it is fast, secure, and supports PGP/GPG. I've never seen a web browser that I like better than Galeon, it simply rocks. I just use the ma
    • Well, its not a one or the other kind of thing. You can use Windows and Linux. True, not everyone has two PC's and dual-booting tends to make you favor one OS over the other.

      A lot of computers users don't play games. But yeah, there are a lot of things that are simply better/easier in Windows. Things like file-sharing apps (Kazaa), CD-writing software, interfacing with USB devices (cameras, mp3 players, etc). I know some people who went from knowing nothing about computers and hating them, to being to
    • if all you use your computer for is browsing the web, sending emails, and you want to play ANY game that comes out - linux isn't for you.
      Linus is faster, more stable, prettier, and easier to use.

      OS if you are never going to run any sort of server off of it
      Did you learn windows. I think so since it's not instinct. Plus linux is a better disktop.

      All I have to do is double click a link to get my game to work.... what do YOU have to do? =/
      Assuming it runs under linux, all i have to do to install it
  • Apple used to run Mac ads that said "the computer for the rest of us". There's a local Mac user group here called The Rest Of Us. I'm assuming the publisher checked for legal issues, but I'm curious.
  • Most Linux books for newbies reminds me of that Monty Python sketch one how to play the flute: you blow in one end, and just move your fingers up and down the shaft.

    they go over in great detail on how to partition the HD, networking, file rights, the concept of root etc.

    but no real-life trouble that the newbie (like me) will run into like:

    1. what to do when you hosed your Xfree86 config file when trying to install the nvidia drivers.

    2. what the hell is glibc, and how do you upgrade it! :)

    actually..I fo
  • Finally, the book to send to my mom when she calls with those Family Tech Support [slashdot.org] problems with her laptop.
  • You can purchase Linux For the Rest of Us from bn.com.

    Per BN.com: "A new copy is not available from Barnes & Noble.com at this time. A used copy may be available from our network of book dealers."

    You can however buy it from Amazon [amazon.com].

    What no one here has mentioned, and what doesn't appear in the reviews is whether or not it comes with a Distro on CD-ROM. I'm assuming from the low price that it doesn't, which is a shame, as it would seem the perfect vehicle for distributing a copy of DemoLinux [demolinux.org] or Knop [knoppix.org]
    • "...whether or not it comes with a Distro on CD-ROM...[NOT]which is a shame, as it would seem the perfect vehicle for distributing a copy of DemoLinux or Knoppix."

      I agree vehemently. Knoppix and the likes are an excellent way of introducing ppl to Linux. Just pop in in the cd and boot into an impressive desktop. Lots of apps, lots of games. No install, no fear of destroying data and broken windows. This has convinced my mom into trying it in her own time. After a few weeks she asked me to install linu
  • After spending a good part of the day pulling my hair trying to help my wife read some files from a floppy disk, I figure that the fun must be in a pervert sense. (what is the device name to be used for 'mount'??? Let me google it... damn, do I need to give her root password so that she can 'su'...)

    I gave her a Windows XP. She use it to download pictures from digicam and to organize them. I get some peace of mind and have my sanity preserved. Perhaps this can be called fun.

    Linux is great for many purposes
    • Personally, I think Linux is genuinely fun. I enjoy learning things and pushing technology to its limits. Linux is fun in the same way most sports are: you have to invest some time and effort in it, but it pays back really well. (Even though Linux and sports are basically free of charge.)

      Since learning is a part of the Linux fun, it's not the best OS to install if you need to get something done immediately. However, if you want things to work smoothly in a long term, then it might be worth investing the t

  • >>You can purchase Linux For the Rest of Us from bn.com. It's listed as not available. Or perhaps that's because Slashdotters have gobbled up all the copies?
  • All the Linux guides I've seen fall on one extreme end of the spectrum. On one end, you find the books like "The Ultimate Index of Linux Esoterica", which weigh more than a large dog. On the other end are the useless, if well-intentioned newbie guides:

    Linux is easier than you think. Here's a chapter on "FTP", which is what the computer people use to "download" Linux. Downloading is where you get things from the internet. Once you have the CD, the auto-installer does the rest. Good luck!

    Now, what

  • ...is Mark Minasi's "Linux for Windows Administrators, 2nd Ed." from Sybex. There's a sample chapter on the Sybex site to give you an idea what it's all about. It's targeted at people who are competent and knowledgeable in the NT/2k realm, but looking to apply that knowledge to Linux.

    (Gives me something useful to learn while I'm waiting to be employed again...)
  • I went shopping yesterday for a Linux book that was written for users who don't have root access to their system. I'm the sysadmin for the system, but I don't want to confuse my user with sections on installing linux or the various sundry subsystems.

    Why does a user need to know how to install software, when they can and should ask their sysadmin to do that?

    The best book I could locate, only had about 40% of the material geared toward functions that did not require root access. That's a lot of pages to

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