Linux Desktop Pocket Guide (Pocket Reference)
Linux Desktop Pocket Guide (Pocket Reference)
While Mac OS X garners all the praise from pundits, and Windows XP attracts all the viruses, Linux is quietly being installed on millions of desktops every year. For programmers and system administrators, business users, and educators, desktop Linux is a breath of fresh air and a needed alternative to other operating systems.
The Linux Desktop Pocket Guide is your introduction to using Linux on five of the most popular distributions: Fedora, Gentoo, Mandriva, SUSE, and Ubuntu. Despite what you may have heard, using Linux is not all that hard. Firefox and Konqueror can handle all your web browsing needs; GAIM and Kopete allow you to chat with your friends on the AOL, MSN, and Yahoo! networks; and the email programs Evolution and Kontact provide the same functionality as Microsoft Outlook, with none of the cost. All of these programs run within the beautiful, feature-packed, and easy-to-use GNOME or KDE desktop environments.
No operating system truly “just works,” and Linux is no exception. Although Linux is capable of running on most any computing hardware that Microsoft Windows can use, you sometimes need to tweak it just a little to make it work the way you really want. To help you with this task, Linux Desktop Pocket Guide covers essential topics, such as configuring your video card, screen resolution, sound, and wireless networking. And laptop users are not left out–an entire section is devoted to the laptop issues of battery life, sleep, and hibernate modes.
User Ratings and Reviews
2 Stars mixed feelings
While the book was helpful in understanding the difference between some Linux distros it wasn’t all that helpful since it is a bit dated compared to the latest versions of the distros it covers.
4 Stars Good small introduction to Popular Linux Distro’s
I wanted a small Up To Date inexpensive handbook for my customers to get an introduction to Linux without going to deep for beginners.
I would recommend it for that purpose.
Heavier books are needed for intermediate and advanced programmers and system admins.
2 Stars Very basic
This book is easy to read but is also very basic concerning its information. If one is interested in technical assistance in order to solve problems with Linux, it probably isn’t much help. It is more oriented towards an understanding of how the OS works.
5 Stars Great product!
The Linux Desktop Pocket Guide has helped me to to have a better understanding Linux.
5 Stars Great resource
This is basically a small format pocket reference to five of the most common desktop distributions of Linux. The distributions covered are Fedora, Gentoo, Mandriva, SUSE, and Ubuntu. The author covers the basics of navigating the GNOME and KDE desktop environments and the applications that come with each of the distributions. Deviating from the normal layout of such texts it is organized by the type of application instead of by the Linux distribution. As a result if you want to work with the web browser you go to that section where the author discuses the web browsers Firefox and Konquerer. These are the two that are included because each of the distributions has either one or the other.
The section on how to add, remove, and update programs is particularly good as it discusses the various techniques including how to add a package that it not part of your distribution. Here the author not only discusses the various package managers included with the distribution but also how to go the long way around and work with rpms. This is not an extensive technical reference to any of the Linux distributions discussed but it is a good first resource for common questions and a good introduction to all of them. Linux Desktop Pocket Guide is recommended for the average Linux user and a must have guide for others who need to know the differences between various distribution.
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