Rating: 
Summary: Linux for Dummies: I Want To Believe, but...
Review: Linux in general and this book in particular is not for the less-than seriously dedicated technically advanced dork.
As a relentless but distractable technojunkie, I'm able to tackle and solve any OS, software, hardware and well, anything that's 'broke' problem...eventually. The only exception I've found so far is, Yes, that's right: Linux.
I've tried for too long to get Corel, Red Hat, and Mandrake installed and functional to the end goal of having an OS that is practical for everyday multi-tasking use, crash-resistent and user-friendly.
And for those purposes, Linux sucks. Yup, you read right; unless you're a mondo techie brainiac, don't expect this OS to replace your Windows desktop.
THIS BOOK, THESE AUTHORS? Well, if this 3rd edition by LeBlanc, Hoag and Blomquist had achieved it's presumed goal of educating and assisting the Linux newbie to be able to use Linux as their defacto OS, I wouldn't be viewing this page--or you either, mostlikely--in Internet Explorer.
Try another edition and/or author(s).
Rating:
Summary: still a dummy
Review: I'm just your average Windows user trying to make the jump. I'm not sure if I'm the problem or the book is the problem or the O/S is the problem or possibly a combination. I'm still determind to figure it all out. The good news is that it came with RedHat 7. The bad news is that it crashes several times trying to load before loading successfully. But seems like the computer gives in eventually and it loads up. The order of loading up did not match the book and the screens shown didn't match either. But that's mostly a nusance as you can figure that part out on your own. My main problem is that it's written from the point of view from an expert and not in the point of view of somebody totally alien to linux. I do think that once I get a handle on Linux, this book would be an excellent quick reference. Maybe it's not the book's fault. Maybe Linux is just a complicated subject. It's not up to MS Windows ease of use yet, but it's better than it was two years ago when I tried it back then. A video session would be helpfull instead of reading about files. A video on CD!
Rating: 
Summary: Very Displeased
Review: I was extremely disapointed with this book. It focuses mostly on x-windows and graphical installation. It taught me very little. It spends very little time explaining how to configure basic things through the command prompt. I wish I returned this one and bought a more useful in depth book. This book will not even come close to teaching you linux.
Rating: 
Summary: There couldn't be a better newbie linux book.
Review: This has been without a doubt the most helpful book I could possibly imagine for learning linux. The information provided is very basic and easy for anyone to understand. I will admit that it helps to be somewhat computer literate although I certainly don't feel the reader needs to be linux literate at all. I know I wasn't and now I am compiling kernels after using linux for about two weeks. It doesn't get much simpler than this. Certainly you won't be a network administrator when you are done but that really isn't what the book is about. Thanks maddog. You are the man!
Rating:
Summary: Dummies should not be installing Linux...
Review: ...and they shouldn't be writing books either. This book was completely frustrating for me. I am an avid DOS/Windows user who wanted to give Linux a spin. Now, I consider myself quite knowledgeable when it comes to the inner workings of a computer, but I knew I'd need help with how Linux interacted with the PC. This book provided no help whatsoever. Every time I had a question about setting up any part of Linux, the author's response eventually was "Go find a Linux geek." That's why I bought this book -- I needed a Linux geek to show me what I can do. If you can follow screen prompts and know your hardware, this book will provide no help for you.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Starter
Review: I installed Linux from the CD in the back of the book (5.2). The install went well thanks to the explicit instructions in the first few chapters. I now have a full-fledged Linux box up and running. Infact, I am writing this review with it. :)Linux for Dummies is an excellent INTRODUCTION to the world of Unix. If you want to get a Linux box up and running, try this book. If you want to delve into the how-and-why of things Linux and start to TWEAK, I suggest Mastering Linux by A. Danesh. It's geared to the newbie and is the next logical step from Hall's well-written intro.
Rating:
Summary: Easy to follow, most of the time...
Review: I bought this book because of the need to learn Linux. While the book started out very very easy in the Installing Linux Chapter, and in fact helped me more than the Linux docs on the RedHat 6.0 CD, it lost me big time when it gets to the Mount Point part of Disk Druid. It also failed to say that once you have used FIPS to partition spare space on your HD, you have to delete that partition in order to install it as a linux partition. This of course I didn't find out until I got to the Mount Point section of the installation instructions. The Mount Point instructions also are very very sketchy at best and I am completely lost with what I'm supposed to do here because I know nothing about Linux, hence the reason why I brought the book. Jon Hall assumes alot about people who know nothing about the Linux operating system. In all I'm dissapointed because not only does it slack of there but at numerous other places in the book as well. Please don't buy this book, rather Australia Personal Computer Magazine have a better learning system for Linux with the Linux Pocket Book, which covers everything you need to know on how to get started and installing. I learnt from that that you had to delete the new partition after using FIPS on your HD. A dissapointing effort from the Dummies Press and Jon Hall.
Rating:
Summary: it's okay, but needs a little work
Review: The overall content is good, but some places are skimpy. I tried to connect to the internet using the instructions it gave me, but Linux won't let me connect. Also, it only includes Red Hat version 5.2, not 6.0.
Rating:
Summary: Could be so much better
Review: This book trys to to do everything and comes out with very little. It has no information on any commands and many of the subjects that are covered in the book are not relevent to the audience.
Rating: 
Summary: Could be better.
Review: While this book is a decent resource for the first time user it has its problems. For one, the author is very opinionated and passes off his opinion as fact. Secondly, it overcomplicates certain things such as telling you to use /sbin/ifup ppp0 where simply ifup ppp0 will do. I can see the reason for doing this, but for a Dummies book I think it should be simple and to the point. Also, the author states that you cannot use the included cd for an AMD or Cyrix cpu (Intel only). This is outright incorrect and has probably disuaded thousands of people from using the cd. A major fumble. It worked fine on my Cyrix and AMD machines. It sometimes seems like the author is working for Red Hat and Intel. On the positive side, it does contain good tips and shortcuts, some of which I haven't found in "real" Linux books. If you do buy it, you will need another book to supplement it as it is limited.
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