Product: 0131488724

One of the roadblocks to the proliferation of Linux to personal desktops is the perceived difficulty in installing and using Linux. Robin ‘Roblimo’ Miller addresses the novice Linux user with his book Point & Click Linux!, published by Prentice Hall PTR. The book comes with both a distribution of SimplyMEPIS Linux on a bootable CD and a DVD with tutorials featuring Roblimo himself. Robin is the Editor in Chief for the Open Source Technology Group.

Point & Click Linux! takes a simple, top-of-the-trees format to get readers involved in Linux enough to be interested, but not so much as to make them afraid of the potential complexities. After a brief rundown of the types of things a casual user can do with Linux, Robin takes the reader through the process of running SimplyMEPIS from the CD. After a short overview of KDE and KWrite, Roblimo launches into the installation process. SimplyMEPIS is designed to install quickly and easily, and it’s shown by the fact that only 9 pages needs to be devoted to the instructions.

The second section’s 19 chapters provide instructions on the more commonly used programs in bite-sized pieces. The only downside is that each of them is so short (the longest is 12 pages) that not much is said. Most of the chapters in this section do little more than show you a couple of features of the program and point you to the help file, user guide, or web site. In many cases, the instructions for actually starting the program are missing from the book. It turns out that the accompanying DVD gives you the rest of the information. You really need to both read the book and view the DVD to get all the information to actually get some use of the programs.

The third and final section of the book covers the miscellaneous topics of downloading and installing new software, customizing your Linux, cooperating with Windows machines, and using the command line in its simplest form. Again, each chapter only touches on a few salient points and leaves the rest for you to research.

Roblimo has written a large number of columns for numerous publications and web sites. However, he is not a very accomplished video personality. He appears to have wanted to use a light-hearted approach on the DVD. Unfortunately, I didn’t like the goofy-guy approach he took. The content of what he was saying was just fine, but I spent more time thinking how amateurish it looked than focusing on what he was saying. It was a good idea in general, but it needs polish.

Overall, Point & Click Linux! is a good book for the first-time Linux user to read so they can get their feet wet, but I feel too much was left out, forcing the reader to go elsewhere. With the application section, it would have been better if the book covered how to start the program and do the basics of what the program was designed for and the other interesting features could have been put on the DVD. That way the book would remain a comfortably small size, but it would have information a novice user would want at hand.

Point & Click Linux! by Robin ‘Roblimo’ Miller is a wonderful idea executed in just a middling fashion. It definitely has an audience, but some revision is needed to bring out the full potential of bringing simple Linux to the casual user. Overall, I had to rate this a 2 out of 5. It has many good topics but not enough depth, and a DVD that needs cleaning up and better production quality.
Rating: 2
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