Product: Ubuntu Made Easy

I’ve been a DOS user since the first IBM PC came out, and a Windows user since version 3.1. I’ve used Linux on our business servers, but mainly through the cPanel admin interface, which hides most of the ugly details of the operating system. I’ve installed a couple of Linux distributions on Windows system under Virtual Box, but only enough to see what they look like. So I’m still pretty much a novice at navigating Linux.

Ubuntu Made Easy really does make Linux easy. It assumes that you have little or no Linux experience, and that you are probably a Windows user. Those are pretty good assumptions for most people. From there, the book walks you through installing, configuring and using Ubuntu. By the time you’re done with the book you should be as familiar with Ubuntu as you are with Windows. (There are a lot of Linux distributions, including Ubuntu variations like Kubuntu, Xubuntu and Mint. Most of what’s in this book applies just as well to those distributions. The main differences are in the user interface, primarily in where things are on the screen.)

The book starts out with installing Ubuntu: running directly from the CD, installing on a separate partition alongside Windows, or installing as the only operating system. Once you’ve got Ubuntu installed, the rest of the book guides you through the operating system in a logical sequence: learning the desktop; connecting to the Internet; email and browsing the web with Firefox; downloading and installing additional software; the Linux file system; the Linux terminal (like the DOS box in Windows) and commands; customizing the look and feel of the system; printers and scanners; international language settings; business applications; graphics editing; music; connecting iPods and other digital media devices; video and DVD playback; gaming; household applications; connecting to Windows systems; security; connecting to the Ubuntu community; and what to do when something doesn’t work.

All if this is explained very clearly and simply, with lots of examples and illustrations.

One thing I found puzzling is that in the chapter on installing Ubuntu, there was no discussion of installing the operating system under Virtual Box. This is really one of the easiest and safest ways to try out a Linux distribution without partitioning your hard drive. Strangely, in chapter 19 on connecting to Windows systems, the author does discuss using Virtual Box to install Windows under Ubuntu!

If you are interested in experimenting with Ubuntu, get this book first. And really, look at Virtual Box (just google it). You can get an Ubuntu install CD or download it from their site (it’s a big file, so it will take a while), and have Ubuntu running on your desktop pretty quickly. There’s lots of online help if you run into problems, and if you decide you’re not interested in running a Linux system… just delete the virtual machine and uninstall Virtual Box, and nothing else has changed on your system.
Rating: 5
1593274254
Count: 17