Product: 0596007876

Knoppix is and surely will only ever be a niche product. But what a niche. To some people, there is a compelling fascination with being able to carry around the essence of a computer in a CD. Much less riskier than losing or damaging an entire computer. Plus the fact that a Knoppix version is usually a sturdy, stable linux, can also be appealing.

If this captures your interest, then many of the hacks will be germane. They show some of the possibilities in booting Knoppix up. Like having your Knoppix desktop environment always with you when you work on a computer.

But the book also shows a second allure of Knoppix. Not to the wandering user, but to the sysadmin. Knoppix gives you a bootable linux that can be used to diagnose and [hopefully] repair linux partitions on a disk. These could be mission critical tasks, and it is really nice to be able to do the hacks in the Repair Linux chapter. Most notably recovering deleted files or retrieving files from damaged disks. There are companies that can do the latter. But usually at exorbitant rates. Knoppix is cheaper as a first pass on that problem.
Rating: 4
0596007876
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