Book Review: Moving to Ubuntu Linux

Moving to Ubuntu Linux, by Marcel Gagné. Addison-Wesley, 2006. Available from Amazon.

This book is really well done. Of the Ubuntu books I’ve seen so far, this is the one I gave to my dad for the Ubuntu we helped him install at the InstallFest. The screenshots are well done (that is, relevant and readable), the writing style is friendly and informal, and there is good depth given to the topics covered. The author states in the beginning: “anyone who is familiar with a computer can learn to use Linux,” and from that perspective, he does a very good job making Ubuntu familiar.

He begins with a detailed screen by screen install, including directions on resizing a windows partition and defragging a hard drive. The rest of the first half of the book then introduces the reader/user to customizing the desktop, navigating files, making an Internet connection, setting up printers, updating, and installing new software. The section on wireless networking was particularly helpful. Although the book uses the default Gnome desktop interface, it includes instructions on downloading and installing the KDE desktop and packages as well.

The second half of the book is devoted to some of the programs available. The coverage seems rather quick, but is substantial enough to get one started. I was particularly impressed with the coverage of the OpenOffice.org suite, which included creating a database and using it in OpenOffice.org Write to create address labels. There was quite a bit of discussion in the Music chapter, and a plethora of games were briefly introduced.

One of the nicest features are the “Shell Out” notes throughout the book, which give text commands to use in the shell (terminal). There’s a complete chapter at the back of the book which teaches all the basics of using the terminal, but the “Shell Out” notes are a nice way to get new Linux users comfortable using the shell. Keyboard shortcuts are also frequent. In fact, sometimes more frequent than instructions on where to find the actual command in the menus.

The book is not without a few problems, however. I ran across a few typos, and was left hanging in the OpenOffice.org Base chapter where the author promised to come back to the option of creating a form but never did. Also, although there is a live DVD included with the book, the computer I’m using does not have a DVD drive. Fortunately, I had a few CD’s left over from the InstallFest. Despite these minor issues, I’d recommend the book. It’s one of the best I’ve seen so far.

Book Review: The Official Ubuntu Book

The Official Ubuntu Book, by Benjamin Mako Hill and Jono Bacon, Corey Burger, Jonathan Jesse, Ivan Krstic. Prentice Hall, 2006.  Available from Safari/O’Reilly and Amazon.

This is a deceptive book. It looks “official” (with Ubuntu colors and people on the cover), Chapter One sounds “official” (reads almost like a catechism), and it’s got an “official” stamp of approval (the foreward) from Mark Shuttleworth, the man behind the Ubuntu project. Don’t be fooled, however. The meat of this book is anything but dry, official-sounding, stuff.

If you do start at the beginning of the book (as I did), you will be pleasantly surprised when you get to Chapter Two. The writing style changes abruptly to a very readable, conversant style, sprinkled with a dry wit (”Although you don’t really need to know what these folders do … for your pleasure, we present the Linux folder hit list …”). The intended audience seems to be primarily computer users who are unfamiliar with Linux, or at least unfamiliar with Ubuntu. It is not the book I’d hand to a new computer user, but the authors do a good job speaking to computer users of varying levels who are reluctant to venture into the “unknown” world of Linux.

There are brief introductions to some of the common applications (Firefox browser, OpenOffice.org Writer, Evolution E-mail and Calendar, the GIMP, Gaim, and Ekiga VOIP), and brief mentions of many other applications, like IRC, games, and CD software. I especially like their example using the GIMP (short and quick, but really sweet). The Advanced Usage and Managing Ubuntu section gets a little confusing in places. For example, some of the screenshots don’t seem to match the text, and it leaves the reader hanging in the Add/Remove programs section. Also, while it has very good details on printing setup, there is not much on network printing.

Surprisingly, there is a separate chapter for Server installation. People like me probably shouldn’t read stuff like that. Their words, “Let the mischief begin!” was prefaced with:

The aim of this chapter is … not to teach you how to be a system administrator — we could easily fill a dozen books attempting to do that — but to give you a quick crash course.

So I delved in, and found it … mostly helpful, at least not harmful. Probably useful for newbie system administrators; the rest of us could safely skip the chapter and go straight to the “Support and Typical Problems,” which is much more useful. The issues range from the simple and obvious (”How do I restore something I deleted in the file manager?”) to the esoteric (”How do I make Ubuntu bread?”). Finally, there is a separate section on installing and using Kubuntu.

There is an assumption that you will install Ubuntu using the DVD included, which has several variations to choose from, including one for Apple Macintosh. Of course, if you don’t have a DVD drive, or if you are looking for some of the Ubuntu alternatives, like Xubuntu or Edubuntu, you’ll have to visit the Ubuntu site. Nevertheless, this book stands solidly as an excellent resource for learning and using Ubuntu. There’s even the bonus background stuff in Chapter 1!

Book Review: Ubuntu Linux for Non-Geeks

Ubuntu Linux for Non-Geeks: A Pain-Free, Project-Based, Get-Things-Done Guidebook, by Rickford Grant. No Starch Press, 2006. Also available from O’Reilly and Amazon.

Rickford Grant is not new to books for novice Linux users (see Linux Made Easy and Linux For Non-Geeks). This is the first one I’ve read, however. My motive here is to find Linux distros that are truly for Linux novices, and that also have books available for them. There is also the hope (perhaps vain) that there is a book and distro for the novice computer user. This book is not for the novice computer user. As Grant states in the introduction:

If you are familiar with computers, but unfamiliar with Linux, or somewhat familiar with Linux but not with Ubuntu, you are essentially the readere for whom I have written this book.

To that end, Grant achieves his goal. Some may take issue with the non-geek part of the title, however.

As the title states, this is a project-based guide. The book’s structure is to identify and explain features (or software) and move on to a hands-on exercise (project) using those features. Most of the projects are both helpful and practical (for example, the first project is addiing a force quit button to the panel). The writing style is informal and chatty, rather like a tutor sitting beside you. He promises to make it fun, and does a pretty good job, especially with sections like the one on Easter Eggs.

The coverage is definitely not for non-geeks. He spends quite a bit of time on games, iPods, music, downloads and customization, while barely mentioning GnuCash, Scribus and the OpenOffice.org suite of tools. But he did say he would make it fun, and the geeky things are a lot more fun than the productivity things. However, he also has sections on Linux security (”Basically, if it makes you feel safer to install some protection, go ahead”), printers and scanners, fonts, and multi-lingual features.

Grant, as all Linux guidebook writers seem to be, is upfront and honest about Linux and its shortcomings, but is upbeat and optimistic. He also gives workarounds with frank assessments of their likely effectiveness or ease of use. To that end, most of his projects involve downloading and installing a program that is not included in the Ubuntu install disk. In fact, if you follow the projects, you’ll get a lot of practice finding and installing packages, both from the gui and command line, which is not necessarily a bad thing. He also progresses from fairly simple steps at the beginning of the book, to an assumption the reader has more than a basic knowledge of Linux. This is definitely not a book to jump around in unless you’re one of those already familiar with Linux.

While I think this is a good book that achieves its stated goals, I do have some beefs. One of the biggest issues in computing access today is wireless. But the section on networking, including wireless, is weak. First, although he uses a lot of screenshots throughout the book (albeit too small to be of much use), there is a dearth of useful screenshots in the wireless section. Second, he mentions the outdated WEP security, but says nothing about WPA, which is not new technology any more. Third, there is the assumption that a wireless card will just be recognized, without a problem. Then there are times (thankfully infrequent) the information he’s giving is downright wrong. For instance, in the section on network browsing, he states, “In case you’re wondering, the smb at the head of that path means Samba…” Finally, although it may be early in the game here, the link listed for updates to links and software given in the book is blank.

A good book? Yes, especially for geek wannabes. But not the book for a total newbie, and not really the book for non-geeks. And the experienced Linux users probably already know it’s not the book for them. Despite my beefs, I did enjoy the book, and found it useful, despite it’s weaknesses.

Book Review: Test Driving Linux

Test Driving Linux: From Windows to Linux in 60 Seconds, by David Brickner. O’Reilly Media, Inc., 2005. Available from Amazon and O’Reilly.

This is definitely the book to start with if you are new to Linux. It comes with a live CD: Move, a version of Mandrake Linux that runs entirely from the CD, with no installation required. It is written in a personable, informal style which makes it not only interesting but often fun to read.

The intended audience is “Windows users who have heard of Linux and want to find out what all the fuss is about without committing a lot of time or hard-drive space,” and assumes no prior knowledge of Linux. But not wanting to exclude people like me, the book also claims it “can turn existing linux users into more effective Linux users.” But it really is for people who are currently using Windows, at whatever level. There are many references to Windows features and layouts for comparison. There are also many references to Windows problems as a reason to switch to Linux. The author is an unabashed Linux apologist.

I really like the organization of the book. It starts with the obligatory introduction to Linux, but in this case the beginning introduction is brief. Introduction is what the whole book is about, so “introductory” explanations and comments are throughout the book. The first chapter goes through starting up the CD, using the KDE desktop, and a “typical” application (KWrite). Chapter Two goes into web surfing, and Chapter Three covers file management. While there is a chapter at the back with “Solutions to Common Problems,” a lot of what you’ll encounter is included in the main material. For example, after the CD loaded, my screen went blank. Sure enough, there in the last paragraph of the booting section, I found, “One minor problem I have found on a few computers is that the screen will go blank and won’t come back up. If this happens, just press any key on the keyboard and the screen should come back up.” Yep, that worked. Oddly enough, the section on “Customizing the Desktop,” with all the great configuration details and tips, is stuck in between the chapters on applications. I suppose it fits there if one thinks of the chapters progressing along the virtual path most would take in trying out a new operating system.

Brickner is honest, but optimistic, about shortcomings in Linux, such as games and video. An obvious gamer himself, he devotes a lot of space to discussing the games that are available, and resources for finding them. He spends a lot less time on video, which is very briefly covered in the audio section. He also does not ignore other common programs and features available with Linux that are not on the CD, and even offers frank assessments of Linux distros to install after trying out the Move CD.

The application programs covered are the KDE suite of e-mail, organizer and Instant Messaging, Open Office Write and Calc, the GIMP, and GnuCash. Although very little time is spent on the GIMP, the necessary basics are covered: scaling, resizing, and cropping. It’s just enough to get one started. He includes a detailed explanation of how to remove red-eye, but only succeeds in making it look harder than it needs to be. A lot more space is given to the other programs, especially GnuCash. Brickner gives a great explanation of how double-entry accounting works by way of explaining how to use GnuCash.

There are plenty of screenshots. Some of the screenshot images produced text that was too small to be of much use, but I found that much of the text generally didn’t need the screenshots anyway. The only problem I had was trying to get an internet connection on one of the computers I tried it out on. I couldn’t figure out how to get a working connection over the local netwok, and the book gave no clues.

Despite the shortcomings, which are minor, this is an excellent book. It is the book to give (or recommend) to the skeptic or clueless person who asks what Linux is. It presents Linux as a friendly, usable alternative, with a manual that is anything but dry. We need more books like this.

Book Review: Mandrakelinux Discovery 10.1

Mandrakelinux Discovery 10.1 (Starter Guide: Mandrakelinux 10.1), by MandrakeSoft, Inc, 2004, ISBN 284798085-7.

Another “dated” book, but the only one I could find for Mandrake, which is now Mandriva. The book, which comes with an install CD, does promise a free update to the next version, however. I was anxious to see just how easy or difficult the install would be. Like many Linux users, I’ve had a few nightmare installs, but Mandrake has a reputation for being one of the easiest installs. Like Yellow Dog Linux, it also happens to be one of the distributions that is “sold.” The price of the book, with CD, roughly corresponds to the cost of purchasing Mandrake (or Mandriva) with one month of support (I suppose that’s considered enough to get you up and running).

So, book in hand, I popped the CD into an available PC. Since the hard disk had been wiped, there were no dicey issues related to preserving Windows during partitioning. Chapter One in the book is one page long, titled, Installation Warning, with the almost required caveats about defragging Windows and backing up data. Chapter Two is Before Installation, and Chapter Three gives the step by step details of going through an install. I was amazed. I had never seen Install instructions so perfectly matched to what I was seeing on the screen, with really good explanations of the options for each screen. It was a breeze.

In fact, it was deceptively easy. From there, the book proceeds to sections on “Migrating to Linux from Windows and Mac OS X,” and “Linux for Beginners.” It starts out with good use of images and screenshots. But beyond these introductory sections, the book begins showing some holes.

The first clue is that there is no author, other than the corporate author, Mandrakesoft, who apparently outsourced the bookwriting to Neodoc (www.neodoc.biz). The book reads like a compilation of several contributors, with minimal editing. Consequently, occasional grammar and typographic errors pop up, which, thankfully, are little more than distractions. However, when it comes to the illustrations, the helpful balloon labeling was abandoned after the first sections, so labels are difficult to distinguish from the image itself. Definitely a drawback for novices. A few of the explanations will leave novices scratching their heads as well (for example, in explaining “Bcc” in e-mail messages it states simply, “No recipient will have access to the mail addresses to which this message was sent.” Huh??).

The second half of the book presumes a greater comfort level using Linux than the first half. The section on applications (Mozilla browser and email client, OpenOffice (writer and spreadsheet), Konqueror File Manager, XXMS for audio, Xine and MPlayer for video, and CD burning) is generally easy to follow. Most directions and explanations are detailed enough, especially with the screenshots and images, to be useful. There are some, however, which seem to have been inserted almost as an afterthought (the editing problem again?).

After the applications sections, however, the required level of expertise is extremely variable. I also wondered about the placement of some of the chapters. Lightly thrown in between hardware setup and setting up networks is “Parameterizing your Mount Points,” which goes into detail about partitioning, then talks about SMB Directories and, very briefly, NSF. The chapter is in stark contrast to the Hardware Setup and Network Setup sections. It looks more like Appendix material to me.

Also rather puzzling is the chapter on “Personalizing your System,” which is near the end of the book, even after the chapter on “Securing your Linux Box” (which runs through the steps with no explanation). Like the Hardware and Network setup sections, it is written well, and has meaty stuff like automating backups and configuring startup services. So why is it hidden at the back?

The cover states, “Your First Linux Desktop,” implying it is for those new to Linux, but not necessarily new to computers. With the beginner level aspects, such as installing, configuring, and applications, it does a fairly good job of introducing this version of Linux to computer users. Despite the shortcomings noted above, it is worth having if you’re thinking of trying out Mandrake/Mandriva. Better to have a manual in hand when you need one than have to rely on online forums for basic stuff. As to whether to choose Mandrake/Mandriva over some of the other distros, well, that’s a post for another day.