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 enlarge | Author: Keir Thomas
Publisher: Apress
Category: Book
List Price: $39.99
Buy New: $16.31
You Save: $23.68 (59%)
New (31) Used (16) from $13.89
Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 114145
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2 Pap/DVD
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 728
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.5
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 7 x 1.7
ISBN: 1590596749
Dewey Decimal Number: 005.432
EAN: 9781590596746
ASIN: 1590596749
Publication Date: November 10, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Best SUSE Linux book I've seen. May 30, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Unlike other SUSE books I've read, this has answered all my questions so far.
There is even advice on improving Linux fonts and an entire chapter on the BASH shell (with an appendix of BASH commands). Also, a short history of Linux and OSS. Book has a somewhat pro-Linux anti-MS tone. Makes a handy reference for looking things up.
 Terrible book, OK distro May 7, 2007
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
I bought this book from Amazon after reading the good reviews and hearing good things about SUSE linux; after a week I returned it. The version of SUSE that came with it is OK, but definitely not as wonderful as Mr. Thomas has stated in this book. The main reson that I returned it is because the book is not a very useful reference to keep on the shelf. Mr. Thomas has an obvious ideologial disagreement with Microsoft and allowed his personal opinion to interfere with his ability to communicate useful information. Furthermore, many of the other reviews posted here for this product seem to be very biased; almost like a few of Mr Thomas' buddies made mock reviews to help him sell books.
Prior to trying SUSE I'd been a mostly satisfied Fedora user for over a year thanks to the Red Hat Fedora Linux Bible by Christopher Negus. Negus' presentation of Fedora is far superior to Thomas' presentation of SUSE. After trying SUSE for a week I went back to Fedora with an upgrade and still find Negus' Bible very helpful. The main problem with the version of SUSE that ships with this book is that package management is convoluted. It's like SUSE is trying to use a combination of old and new software. Mr. Thomas' suggestions for resolving this issue did not work. I suspect newer releases of SUSE have fixed this problem, but 10.1 was a little disappointing.
The bottom line is that there are much better books than this one to learn and master linux.
Excellent book and distro for Linux. March 9, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Install was easy. I do have a problem with the DVD player and the codex instructions, but other than that everything installed easily. My install was dual boot with XP. The partition and dual boot tools worked fine. The book is clearly written and easy to follow. If you are looking at LINUX for the first time I would recommend this book.
Great Intro to Linux for Windows Person A+++ (Vista Alternative) February 17, 2007
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
I have used Windows since the early 1990s. Went through 3.1 to 95 to 98 to XP (and I have one machine running Windows 2000 right now--I think that is the one place where MS did OK). Now with Windows Vista, it seems as if it will require many people to upgrade their hardware. I have several IBM Thinkpads T21, T30, and T42 and none of them will run Vista Business using its full features (do not have a sufficient graphics card). So, I decided to give Linux a try as a substitute for Windows Vista.
So I purchased Thomas' 2nd edition of his book and with the DVD installed SUSE 10.1 on my Thinkpad T30 laptop in less than an hour. Before purchasing this book I fiddled with some different Linux flavors (Fedora, Ubuntu, and Suse). Problem was while they are easy to install, I did not know what I was doing. Hence, this book is a greater owner's manual for Suse Linux.
The most difficult part was configuring a wireless network card to work. Very frustrating experience in Linux. Wireless networking is so important these days and with the frustration you encounter some people might throw their hands up in the air, give up, and return to Microsoft Windows. This book may prevent that from happening. At least it did for me.
Good Thing: With Thomas' book, I followed the instructions in Chapter 8 and was able to get my wireless connection up and running in about 15 minutes. This involves the use of ndiswrapper to work with the Windows driver. (BTW: I have the Linksys WPC54G Version 3 wireless card). Author wallks through this process and it was not as frustrating had I followed what people posted in forums. I am brand new to Linux.
The book is very readable and enjoyable. I am learning about the various features of Linux and how it operates. It is not Windows, it takes some getting used to, but in the amount of money you save, I think it might be a worthwhile investment. Less of a need for anti-virus software (which can save money) and if you have a broadband connection, you can always download the latest version of Linux, burn the image to a CD or DVD and then install it. Also, this distro comes with Open Office. This saves me a lot of money.
With Windows, Vista Business goes for about $200 and another $350 or so for Office 2007. Antivirus software can cost $50 and then you have pay $30 per year to subscribe to updates. Alternatively, I purchased this Suse Linux book for $39 at my university and have everything I need in a stable operating system.
The author does bash Microsoft from time to time, but that should not bother you because most people give Linux a try after dissatisfaction with Microsoft anyway. With open-source software people have donated their programming skills, time, and energy to advancing this software. So many people can look at the code and find bugs and then these can be repaired swiftly.
Author explains how to secure computer with a firewall. Also, there are a few anti-virus options for Linux and author mentions them. But they are for the most part unnecessary because most virus writers want to inflict the most damage and most people use Windows so they write viruses for Windows. A study by Sophos in 2003 indicated about 40 Linux viruses compared to 1,000 new Windows viruses per month (p. 164). That is why with my Windows machines I was always obessing over Windows updates and scanning for viruses once per day. I was looking around on the internet and noticed that the Defense Department in the United States uses Linux--guess that says something about its potential for security.
Thomas does a great job of explaining how to secure your computer and how to do tasks that a Windows user might need to know in making the switch. I highly recommend using this book to get into Linux as I have been very successful in doing nearly every task I did in Windows. To the extent that you run into any snafus, Thomas' book is great to have on the shelf to solve the problem.
I have a feeling that I am going to be sticking with Linux instead of purchasing Microsoft Vista.
Thank you Mr. Thomas for this superb introduction to Linux.
good book February 11, 2007
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
i never used linux before. i thought this book was very good for a beginner like me breaking it down to common sense. also walks you though setting up your system trouble shooting the set up and configuration very good well rounded book for first timer non techie person.
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