Ubuntu Linux Bible [With CDROM]

I'm an Ubuntu newbie, just a 50ish y.o. mom whose son advised I break away from the dominant economic megaculture that is trying to take over our computers. So, he loaded Ubuntu over my XP and I got the Ubuntu Bible. The Bible is very easy to understand, well organized and seems good at answering my questions. I'm loving the whole 60s thing coming alive again-- protest just because its the right thing to do.

For years, I've flirted with linux (SuSE, RH and Mandrake) but never fully committed to using it full-time until I was introduced to Ubuntu. I loved this distribution from the start: it's painless to install, requires very little tweaking and works on most any system. But using a book like the Ubuntu Linux Bible ensures that I'm never tempted to go back to Windows. As a desktop, Ubuntu is as good as it gets and von Hagen crams the book with nearly everything you need to know: browsing, mail clients, and multimedia tools, as well as as setting up common servers like DHCP, web, Samba, etc. This book doesn't answer every question you may have because it focuses primarily on the GUI vs. command line features of Ubuntu but it answers most all typical questions that a casual user would have or points users to resources where they can find out the answers. To further tweak your system, I recommend Hacking Ubuntu: Serious Hacks Mods and Customizations (ExtremeTech) but this "Bible" is a great tool.

This is a very comprehensive operating manual for the Ubuntu system. It covers every conceivable aspect of the Ubuntu-Linux OS. There is historical background in several places describing the evolution of the system. There are a large number of web sites listed for user's groups, support and general interest in the OS system. The author is thoroughly aquainted with the system. He admits that this 904 page volume does not cover all of Ubuntu's capabilities. What is covered is well written, describing how the various programs that are installed should operate and how to get them to operate correctly. Some files have to be downloaded, ex. plug-ins for the DVD player; they are copyrighted. This book shows how this is done including extraction of .tar.gz files. This book will be useful for many years for the Ubuntu user.

Like many other "Bible" publications, "Ubuntu Linux Bible" is an extensive study material and is a good addition to any Linux reference book collection. William von Hagen did a good job of dissecting the information into manageable chunks. The book is written in clear terms and reads easy. As any other Linux book, the intro covers a bit of Linux history. The installation of the OS is covered well. You will learn how to install Ubuntu on a special-purpose system or as a generic desktop. Ubuntu is a Gnome based distribution, so KDE is not presented here. You will learn how to use Linux command-line tools; some bash commands are included. Additionally, the author covered quite a few GUI applications such as: Evolution, office apps and a myriad of others, so your switch from Windows world will be rather painless. Subjects covered also include: multimedia, games, consumer electronics, file sharing, software development, and some systems administrator tasks. You will learn how to add/delete/maintain users and user groups and manage permissions. As far as full-blown systems administration goes, this is probably not your best book -- simply because each topic takes many books by itself. Don't expect to learn DNS or Samba in one chapter. Just be realistic... Setting up servers and administering them is covered in this "Bible" as well. I give the book five stars for it versatility. If you are looking for a specific Linux reference book covering a very specific subject, this is not a book for you. Newcomers are welcome!

This might be the best Linux "bible" book ever. The book is great from the perspective of those who want ubuntu for desktop use. Its coverage of ubuntu for server use is brief. It also does not cover kubuntu or xubuntu (but it does cover some KDE applications that beat everything offered under GNOME, like k3b for burning DVD's and CD's). The book is well written, includes some geek humor, and does NOT include any inadvertent references to "ubuntu core". This is an excellent book for someone who wants to get the most out of ubuntu on the desktop -- with ubuntu and this book, Vista is obsolete already!