Rating: 
Summary: Good basis for newbies
Review: I had been getting fed up with using Windows and wanted to learn a new operating system. I bought Anderson's book and installed FreeBSD 4.6 on an extra hard drive in my computer. The book covers a broad range of topics and I found it very helpful during the installation process. The first 10 chapters are great. I started to get annoyed with Chapter 12 on connecting to the internet. I used PPP and something kept going wrong. I still do not know what it was but the errors I got were endless. The chapters little sidenotes on troubeshooting were of no help and I eventually gave up. Then I tried to install the printer daemon and also recieved errors. I followed the book as best I could and eventually gave up and moved on. Chapter 14 on the X window system is great. Other than the printer and PPP problems (which could have just been my misunderstanding of the book), I would recommend this book to someone else
Rating:
Summary: Good basis for newbies
Review: I had been getting fed up with using Windows and wanted to learn a new operating system. I bought Anderson's book and installed FreeBSD 4.6 on an extra hard drive in my computer. The book covers a broad range of topics and I found it very helpful during the installation process. The first 10 chapters are great. I started to get annoyed with Chapter 12 on connecting to the internet. I used PPP and something kept going wrong. I still do not know what it was but the errors I got were endless. The chapters little sidenotes on troubeshooting were of no help and I eventually gave up. Then I tried to install the printer daemon and also recieved errors. I followed the book as best I could and eventually gave up and moved on. Chapter 14 on the X window system is great. Other than the printer and PPP problems (which could have just been my misunderstanding of the book), I would recommend this book to someone else
Rating: 
Summary: Perfect Book for a Newbie Like Me
Review: I opened this book and followed from page one until about page 60. Now I have a great BSD install that works perfectly. I refer to it when I have a question that google doesn't have an instant result for. I am a BSD newbie but I do have unix knowledge. I find this book absolutely perfect for the newest of new Unix users. The book is fairly priced and definitely has my two thumbs up. The writing was perfect for a layman like myself. The author explains the install process very clearly. Thank you Annelise.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, simply the best for starting up and using FreeBSD
Review: I think FreeBSD is the best OS on the market and this book is a must have if you are thinking of using FreeBSD or even if you just started using FreeBSD. It is written in a non-technical way that is easy to read and will quickly get you going and walk you through the first important steps of a very powerful operating system. It will help you better understand the next book that you should have for operating FreeBSD, Greg Lehey's "The Complete FreeBSD."It steps you through the entire process of getting FreeBSD up and running the first time and explains why or why not to choose an option during the setup process. The author helps you with basic commands that you will use over and over again. This book is as good as having someone there to walk you through your first steps of using FreeBSD. I applaud the author.
Rating:
Summary: Task-Oriented Introduction That Works
Review: I'm pleased to have written this book (it's working for real people). I get messages like this:
"Today I successfully and without a single hitch, installed FreeBSD 4.3 Release on my Sony PCG-F180 laptop by following your instructions precisely.
This is my first sojourn into Unix, which I ultimately plan to use to run a small internet mail server in my house (on an old P1-150 machine).
Bravo!" Only one reviewer has had a problem with the physical book not holding up (I'm sure the publisher would replace it) so overall I think this has been a contribution to FreeBSD and its users. There's some stuff in the book (like how to use the ed editor in single user mode) that isn't in any other book or the Handbook.
With only a few books specific to our own central interest...we need them all, don't we? Your most interested and concerned author,
Annelise
Rating:
Summary: Task-Oriented Introduction That Works
Review: I'm pleased to have written this book (it's working for real people). I get messages like this:
"Today I successfully and without a single hitch, installed FreeBSD 4.3 Release on my Sony PCG-F180 laptop by following your instructions precisely.
This is my first sojourn into Unix, which I ultimately plan to use to run a small internet mail server in my house (on an old P1-150 machine).
Bravo!" Only one reviewer has had a problem with the physical book not holding up (I'm sure the publisher would replace it) so overall I think this has been a contribution to FreeBSD and its users. There's some stuff in the book (like how to use the ed editor in single user mode) that isn't in any other book or the Handbook.
With only a few books specific to our own central interest...we need them all, don't we? Your most interested and concerned author,
Annelise
Rating:
Summary: An Absolutely Superb Beginner's Book for FreeBSD
Review: If you're a new user to FreeBSD, or have been thinking about trying it, "FreeBSD: An Open-Source Operating System for Your Personal Computer" is the one book you MUST squander your hard-earned money on. This superbly written book is an excellent introduction to the FreeBSD operating system. It covers almost everything that a new user needs to know to get a FreeBSD system up and running: installing and configuring, setting up printers, setting up networking and getting connected to the Internet for mail and web browsing, adding additional software (such as shells) using ports and packages, compiling custom kernels, and administering the system with user management and recovering from crises. It even covers upgrading the entire installation to a newer version! All this is done in a thoroughly professional manner. The book is written in non-technical, but literate, English and does not waste the reader's time by poorly written explanations that need be read and re-read while the reader attempts to puzzle out what the author REALLY meant -- the material is very clear throughout, and consists of discussions followed by easy to carry out steps explaining exactly what and how to do. And, most amazingly, these steps actually work as advertised: I was able to do all of the things that I mentioned in the first paragraph by following the instructions in the book. Readers who finish this book will find that they can then handle the more advanced books on FreeBSD, such as the "FreeBSD Handbook", "The Complete FreeBSD," (neither of which I would recommend as beginning-level books) and "FreeBSD Unleashed." Their understanding will also allow full use of the wide variety of resources available on the web in areas which the book does not cover in detail, such as security and firewalls. "FreeBSD: An Open-Source Operating System for Your Personal Computer" also includes a CD with FreeBSD 4.3 on it. This CD contains all that is needed to get started and has the software needed to work through the entire book. In conclusion, I would simply say that this is the best beginner-level book on FreeBSD on the market. I'd give the book 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: An Absolutely Superb Beginner's Book for FreeBSD
Review: If you're a new user to FreeBSD, or have been thinking about trying it, "FreeBSD: An Open-Source Operating System for Your Personal Computer" is the one book you MUST squander your hard-earned money on. This superbly written book is an excellent introduction to the FreeBSD operating system. It covers almost everything that a new user needs to know to get a FreeBSD system up and running: installing and configuring, setting up printers, setting up networking and getting connected to the Internet for mail and web browsing, adding additional software (such as shells) using ports and packages, compiling custom kernels, and administering the system with user management and recovering from crises. It even covers upgrading the entire installation to a newer version! All this is done in a thoroughly professional manner. The book is written in non-technical, but literate, English and does not waste the reader's time by poorly written explanations that need be read and re-read while the reader attempts to puzzle out what the author REALLY meant -- the material is very clear throughout, and consists of discussions followed by easy to carry out steps explaining exactly what and how to do. And, most amazingly, these steps actually work as advertised: I was able to do all of the things that I mentioned in the first paragraph by following the instructions in the book. Readers who finish this book will find that they can then handle the more advanced books on FreeBSD, such as the "FreeBSD Handbook", "The Complete FreeBSD," (neither of which I would recommend as beginning-level books) and "FreeBSD Unleashed." Their understanding will also allow full use of the wide variety of resources available on the web in areas which the book does not cover in detail, such as security and firewalls. "FreeBSD: An Open-Source Operating System for Your Personal Computer" also includes a CD with FreeBSD 4.3 on it. This CD contains all that is needed to get started and has the software needed to work through the entire book. In conclusion, I would simply say that this is the best beginner-level book on FreeBSD on the market. I'd give the book 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect for newbies
Review: If you're looking for a place to start with FreeBSD (or with open soruce in general), this is really the book to get. I knew a little UNIX before I picked this up, but essentially I was a babe in the woods. This book helped me get my system up and running with clear, task-oriented discussions of all of the essentials. This doesn't go as deep as some of the other FreeBSD books out there (for that you'll probably want "Absolute BSD" by Michael Lucas), but it does tell you what you need to know to get started.
Rating:
Summary: I used to be a Windows extremist ...
Review: In the beginning of this year I did not have a clue about Unix.
I have always used Windows and spent a lot of time getting certified(MCP,MCSA). A while ago I was looking at some jobs in the newspaper and I noticed that a lot of them ask for Unix knowledge.I decided that the time was right to get that knowledge. Someone told me that he had a copy of FreeBSD and that he was really pleased with it so I decided to go for this Unix flavour. I like references in book format so I asked around and someone told me that this book was perfect for windows people like me. I have read it a few times and I can't get enough of it. This is one of the best computer books I have ever read. It's easy to follow and now I am ready to move on to things that are not covered by this book. I only have to do 2 more exams for my MCSE but I just can't get away from this book and my FreeBSD machine.
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