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| ISBN10: 0137021208 |
| ISBN13: 9780137021208 |
| Publisher: Prentice Hall |
| Pubdate: 07-09 |
| Pages: 608 |
| Weight: 2.4 lbs |
| List Price: $34.99 |
| Discount: 20% | | You Save: $7.00 |
| CBO Price: $27.99 |
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The Official Ubuntu Book, 4th Ed.
by Benjamin Mako Hill, Corey Burger, and Matthew Helmke
Ubuntu is a complete, free operating system that emphasizes community, support, and ease of use without compromising speed, power, or flexibility. It's Linux for human beings - designed for everyone from computer novices to experts. Ubuntu 8.04 LTS (Long Term Support), a.k.a., "Hardy Heron," is the latest release - more powerful, more flexible, and friendlier than ever. The Official Ubuntu, Third Edition, will get you up and running quickly.Written by expert leading Ubuntu community members, this book covers all you need to know to make the most of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS, whether you're a home user, small business user, server administrator, or programmer. The authors covers Ubuntu 8.04 LTS from start to finish: installation, configure, desktop productivity, games, management, support, and much more. Among the many new topics covered in this edition: the new Edubuntu and the brand new Kubuntu Remix including KDE 4. The Official Ubuntu, Third Edition, covers standard desktop applications, from word processing, spreadsheets, Web browsing, e-mail, instant messaging, music, video, and games to software development, databases, and server aplications. In addition, you'll: - Learn how to customize Ubuntu for home, small business, school, government, and enterprise environments
- Learn how to quickly update Ubuntu to accommodate new versions and new applications
- Find up-to-the-minute troubleshooting advice from Ubuntu users worldwide
- Learn Ubuntu Server installation and administration, including LVM and RAID implementation
- Learn about Edubuntu - Ubuntu optimized specifically for the classroom
The DVD includes the complete Ubuntu Linux operating system for installation on PC platforms, preconfigured with an outstanding desktop environment for both home and business computing. It can be used to install other complete variants of Ubuntu including Kubuntu (with the KDE environment), and Edubuntu (for use in schools). 
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Amazon Reviews: Average Rating: 4.0
| The Great Ubuntu Beginner's Book |
(8/23/2010)
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To many people, right or wrong, Ubuntu is synonymous with Linux. Ubuntu does much to publicize Linux and is responsible for much growth in popularity of Linux in the last few years.
This book covers Ubuntu 10.04 LTS, the latest stable release of Ubuntu. LTS (Long Term Service) means Ubuntu 10.04 has support for three years (until April 2013) instead of the usual eighteen months of most Ubuntu releases.
The authors of The Official Ubuntu Book are prominent members of the Ubuntu and the Linux communities.
The book was written before Ubuntu 10.04 was frozen. There could changes after the writing the book but it was decided to get the book out in time for the release.
This book contains about 400 pages in a 7x9 format, not too bulky and nicely portable. About 350 pages comprise the subject matter. The cover is very different from older official Ubuntu books, varying shades of purple and not the traditional Ubuntu orange, expressing the new theme of Ubuntu. Included is an installation DVD containing the desktop installation, alternate installation and server installation.
The Official Ubuntu Book, Fifth Edition, begins with a history and the mission statement of Ubuntu. The general organization of the project and related projects are briefly covered.
The installation section explains obtaining installation media and installing Ubuntu in clear detail. Partitioning is thoroughly and clearly covered. When the CD/DVD is booted, a menu appears on-screen. This menu includes the option of checking the media for defects. This is my first step. After checking the integrity of the installation media, try the Live CD to explore Ubuntu and determine if audio, video and peripheral support is satisfactory.
Much of the text is about the actual use of Ubuntu. Desktop layout, desktop and menu navigation, and customization are well covered. Core desktop programs and utilities are discussed thoroughly. Additional programs are introduced but are not discussed in great detail. Finding, installing and removing programs, much different than Windows, is covered. Many other administration tasks are discussed in these pages. There is a guide to Kubuntu, the KDE desktop version of Ubuntu, and Netbook Edition, especially designed to for netbooks.
Many other versions of Ubuntu, both official and unofficial, are mentioned. These other versions are worth investigating as another version of Ubuntu might better suits specific needs as multimedia or old computers with limited resources.
There is a brief but useful discussion of setting up a server. This is a good introduction but, as pointed out in the text, server administration is too complex to be covered in a general Ubuntu guide. It takes several books, not one chapter to cover this subject.
This book has much information on the Ubuntu community. Ubuntu is unique among Linux distributions in it's community emphasis.
There are many projects related to Ubuntu including translation, packaging software and other behind the scenes tasks necessary to make Ubuntu work. Users are invited to join these groups according to their abilities. Part of the Ubuntu philosophy is "anyone can play."
Ubuntu Forums, a question and answer forum sponsored by Ubuntu, is explained. Here users ask questions and volunteer answers. This is the most obvious and a very active part of the Ubuntu Community.
At the end of the book, the command line is explained and demystified ... sort of. Some things can't be done or can't be done as well from the GUI. The command line isn't difficult but does require some effort to learn. Approach with caution, not fear. With the various distributions, desktops and menu systems, the command line is the universal language of Linux.
This is an excellent starter book about Ubuntu as well as a reference for later use. The Official Ubuntu Book should assist the user in getting up to speed with Ubuntu quickly and effectively. It is all Ubuntu and not filled with frills to increase page count. Instructions on installation and using Ubuntu are very concise and clear. This is the best Ubuntu book I read in my 5 years with Ubuntu.
There is some very worthwhile information of the Ubuntu community. This will make the use of Ubuntu easier and more enjoyable. The community is a very important and helpful part of Ubuntu.
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| Good book for beginners |
(8/8/2010)
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Good book for absolute beginners. You won't become a Linux/Ubuntu expert from this one book, but it will help you get started with Ubuntu. |
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| Good investment for those interested in the Ubuntu Community or Terminal Server applications |
(4/5/2010)
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I've been using Linux for a decade, but have only used Ubuntu for several years, my earlier favourite distros being RPM based. The Official Ubuntu Handbook provides enough information for someone reasonably competent in using computers to install and become productive with Ubuntu, Kubuntu or Edubuntu and does an excellent job of informing the reader of how they can become involved in the Ubuntu Community.
While familiar with the Open Source environment, I still enjoyed reading the book's introduction to Open Source, Linux and the successful Ubuntu experiment. Chapter 7 builds on Chapter 1, providing detailed information on the Ubuntu Community, Ubuntu Governance and the various avenues for involvement within the community. The Ubuntu related projects in chapter 10 I also found interesting, i.e. the officially supported derivatives such as Kubuntu (covered in detail in chapter 8) and Edubuntu (chapter 9), the server edition (chapter 5), the recognised derivatives (Xubuntu, Mythbuntu and Ubuntu Studio, etc) along with the infrastructure projects incorporated in Launchpad.
Chapters 2 to 4 walk you through how to install Ubuntu, how to use the Desktop and advanced usage and management of Ubuntu and comprise about 20% of the book.
The best description of the various uses of apt-cache and apt-get I've seen to date are in the Package Management section of the Ubuntu Server chapter (chapter 5), so I recommend desktop users read at least this part of the server chapter.
Kubuntu (my current Linux distro favourite) gets its own dedicated coverage of 44 pages in chapter 8.
If you are interested in using Linux in an educational setting, the book is worth getting for chapter 9 alone, where Edubuntu and Linux Terminal Server Project (LTSP) are covered in detail.
The coverage of the Ubuntu community and the supporting toolset means there is less detailed coverage of the finer points of installing and using Ubuntu, for example, in Chapter 4, when modifying fstab is mentioned, it is disappointing that mounting NTFS partitions is not even mentioned, given virtually no Windows PCs are now installed on FAT partitions. That said, the 55 pages of Chapter 6 cover many of the common problems new users are likely to strike and chapter 11 introduces you to the Ubuntu Forums, should you need further information or support.
The two appendices include an introduction to the command line, with a sufficient overview to get a new user productively using it and a list of equivalent Linux programs to common Windows programs. Finally, there is a very comprehensive 51 page index.
If you are very interested in the Ubuntu Community and how you can be involved or particularly interested in using Ubuntu in a terminal server mode, e.g. with Edubuntu, then you'll find this book will reward your investment. Those with different interests or wanting a more in-depth description may find another Ubuntu book, such as Beginning Ubuntu Linux, Fourth Edition, a better choice.
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| No Dial up configuration help |
(2/20/2010)
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Ubuntu 9.04, whose install disks are included with the book, has no dialup
function. Since everybody does not have DSL or WiFi, dialup is still
needed. No mention is made in the book of how to download and install
Gnome-ppp from a terminal screen. Neither is it shown how to download
a usb modem driver from [...].
Big mistake. 56k connections are still alive and well. Newbies, in
particular, need to know how to use them. No help for this can be
found in The Official Ubuntu Book, 4th edition |
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| Official Ubuntu Book |
(12/15/2009)
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Good read. I may finish it someday. Get it for reference if you need documentation as I do. |
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