Sams Teach Yourself Red Hat Linux in 24 Hours [With CDROM]

If you are able to install Linux like a pro already then this book it not for you. However, if you want something that guides you and teaches you the basics of Red Hat (in about 24 hours or a few days), then I can recommend this book to you!

Well, it pretty much does what it says in the title. I bought the book, read the first two "lessons" or chapters and after following the directions, I had a fully functioning Linux system. Because I didn't have a spare computer to practice on, I had to partition my hard drive. Windows (or DOS) is now running on one partition and Linux is running on another. When I start or re-boot my computer, I then choose which operation system to use. The software you need to make the partitions, change the way your system boots and of course, install Linux is all included on the first of two CDs included in the book.I ran into a few snags when I performed the installation, but in each case it was because I didn't follow the directions closely enough, so it's not the authors' fault that I messed up, but my own. Your mileage may vary. (HINT: Make sure you have a 'hard' modem and not a 'soft' modem.)If you are curious about Linux (as I was) and want to try it yourself, then this book is a bargain. But don't be fooled by the title--it seems to imply that you can learn Linux in a day, but they (the authors) mean that you can learn Linux in 24 hour-long lessons. Still, you can read the first two chapters, follow the steps and have Linux up and running in one day as I did.I'm not finished with all 24 of my 'lessons,' but the book is proving to be a very valuable guide.

With all due respect to the power of the United States Department of Justice, the real threat to the power of Microsoft is not the fickle bludgeon of a legal apparatus but the tsunami-like power of the market. To a sophisticated group of developers fed up with inefficient and buggy software, the open source model offers more than just an alternative. It is a way to create software using a distributed form of quality control that simply does not or cannot exist in a traditional development process. The leading element of the open source movement is the operating system Linux, which provides a degree of stability unheard of in the Microsoft world. I recently received a message from a former student where he informed me that their Linux server had not been rebooted in one and a half years. Given the power and force behind this movement, it is clear that knowledge of Linux is one of those skills where demand will continue to dramatically rise. To benefit from this change, a book like this one is necessary. Using it, it is possible to start from ground zero and begin using and appreciating Linux in less than a day. Two CD ROMs are included which contain Red Hat Linux version 7 and many other programs and utilities that are used with Linux. Granted that the software can be obtained over the web, the presence of the CDs helps make the book a true bargain. For the sake of simplicity, the CDs alone are probably worth the cost of the book. That aside, the lessons are efficiently organized and teach you what is needed to get up and going with Red Hat Linux with no unnecessary asides. While I am not a fan of the Microsoft monolith, nothing infuriates me more than when I am reading about an alternative product and have to wade through diatribes about the "bad guys." To their credit, the authors avoid stepping into that pile of goo. The wise and wizened warriors understand that things come and go on a regular cycle and not all new things are really new or lasting. However, Linux is more than just a lasting thing. It may be the initial product in an entirely new way of creating and marketing software. In these circumstances it bodes well for your future if you know Linux and this book is a good place to start.