SUSE Linux 10 Bible [With DVD]

I was looking for SUSE Linux book and read dozens of reviews for different books hoping to find the one I needed on my first try. It seemed like most of the reviews I read were written by people new to linux and were focused on how well the books succeeded at providing a simple introduction. This book was universally rejected as being too big, too detailed and difficult to follow for a first time user - so I bought it. I am a Unix/Linux engineer with years of experience with Irix, Tru64, Solaris and RedHat. I have just recently taken on some SLES 10 systems and needed a reference book to speed up understanding the subtle differences of this linux version. An introduction to Linux book wouldn't tell me much that would help with the sorts of problems I'm running into. I needed something that would give in depth information on how to configure various services from the command line. I should be grateful for the other poor reviews. That made it so I could get a good unmarked copy for $.89 plus shipping. This is the perfect reference manual for an advanced user who needs to learn the specifics of SLES.

I bought this book for the DVD, but later I found it very interesting. I am not a raw Linux beginner, thus I didn't use it to help me to install Linux or to run it. Nevertheless the book is packed with useful and interesting information, not only about the command line, but also about many other things. The last chapters are on virtualization, which is a hot topic. In particular, it discusses Novell's strategy and products. I agree with some of the other reviewers' criticisms, but I consult this book often. The other book that you should have is "Running Linux" by Matt Welsh et al..

This is not a book for complete beginners. The reason is that applications are not covered, and the book is sorely lacking the step-by-step guides to enable multimedia features, nvidia drivers, java, flash, etc - you know, the first things you need to do anyway. So don't buy this to your grandma. This is why I give 4, not 5 stars. Instead, this is a great book for someone with some Linux experience. The emphasis of the book is on the Command Line, Network services (servers) and some small enterprise needs. With each topic, the authors always first explain how it is done from the command line, and after that, with Yast (SUSE's 'Control Center'). They also explain technical concepts quite well - for example when discussing DHCP, they take several pages to explain what is really happening in the network, then start with configuration examples. I loved this book, I actually read all of it. After 3 years of Mandrake/Mandriva desktop use, I think this is a perfect book for my SUSE transition. I have learned a load of concepts and tricks from it. And a surprisingly large proportion of the material is applicable to any Linux distribution. With it's price and 800 pages, it's good bang for the buck! PS. The DVD included is SUSE Professional, not OpenSUSE.