Linux Clearly Explained

This book offers clear, concise, and comprehensive coverage of the Linux Operating System, the popular freeware PC release of the Unix Operating System. With an easy-to-understand and practical presentation, the author details the steps to loading and configuring the Linux OS on a PC and offers insight into running popular Windows applications programs and the new Linux release of the Word Perfect system. With an estimated user base of 7 million in 1998, Linux is expected to continue to grow and impact the PC operating system marketplace. Features: * Complete instructions for configuring the Linux system on your machine * Offers a CD-ROM version of RedHat Release 5.1, the most popular edition of Linux OS * Addresses Linux as an alternative to Windows for the PC * Covers running popular Windows applications within Linux * Discusses the new Linux release of Word Perfect

Linux Clearly Explained acknowledges that graphical user interfaces (GUIs) are here to stay, and that a large percentage of folks moving from Windows to Linux will want to stick with GUIs wherever possible. Unlike many Linux books, which emphasize the command shell, this one focuses on Red Hat Linux 6 and hypes the Gnome windowing system that ships with that distribution. Bryan Pfaffenberger details the configuration and use of Gnome (as well as Enlightenment and the K Desktop Environment--KDE) in greater detail than any other Linux book out there.

Linux Clearly Explained deserves plaudits for its careful, easy-to-follow installation instructions. Pfaffenberger shows how to create Linux partitions with Disk Druid; then he walks along with you as the Red Hat installation routine does its thing. (Red Hat 6 and WordPerfect for Linux 8 appear on this book's companion CD-ROMs, by the way.) From there, it's almost all Gnome: Pfaffenberger tells how to set up accounts, manage files, and run applications under the GUI. He also explains how to establish a PPP connection with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) over a modem, and provides a bit of documentation on Netscape Communicator. There's also some information on the Bash shell, and it's quite good, but this book is clearly meant for desktop Linux users who will use Gnome when they can. --David Wall