Linux For Dummies

Covers the essentials that first-time Linux users need to know about installing and using Linux on their desktop. Topics include preparing your PC for Linux, installing, connecting to a network or the Internet, working with the GNOME interface, playing media files, and working with the file system.
Covers specialized uses of Linux including using Linux as a server as well as an embedded or turnkey system, a supercomputer, a real-time controller. Covers the latest tools for browsing the Internet, being productive, and keeping your connection secure.
Series features: Includes the simple and fun reference style that has made the For Dummies series a favorite for over 200,000 first-time Linux users.
ABOUT THE CD-ROM
Two CDs included with this book contain the latest distribution of Red Hat Linux.

Geared to casual users who want to install Linux on a personal machine--in other words, hobbyists--Linux for Dummies walks the reader through installing, configuring, tuning, and using each version of Linux. While the book includes a useful comparison of various Linux distributions, the companion CD-ROM holds Red Hat Linux 5.0 and the book uses that distribution in its examples.

This clearly written text begins by helping you prepare your system for Linux, going so far as to recommend you get it a special hard disk. The authors then show you how to install the system--including the mechanics of selecting file systems and setting up hardware--and then help you log on for the first time.

Next, Linux for Dummies explains elementary commands, including those used to traverse directories and to copy and move files. The book then explores storage issues, detailing how to install and configure a new hard drive in excellent detail. Shells, such as bash and X Windows, get cursory coverage (but adequate, considering the purpose of the book). Linux for Dummies also includes information on certain applications (including vi and emacs) and a guide to tuning and customization that sadly lacks much about shell programming. Internet services, including WAIS, FTP, and Gopher, get their due, but the Apache Web server gets slighted. Overall, this is the best user-lever Linux guide available.