Rating: 
Summary: 2nd Edition- not just an update but an entire rewrite!
Review: Being a Windows user who wanted to learn more about Linux, I read the reviews here and also on linux.com and ended up buying this book.
I must say I was very pleasantly surprised.
What Amazon does not make clear is that this book ($19.95 version) is acutally the updated 2ND EDITION. Apparently the author took to heart what the reviewers had stated about his first edition and boy does it result in success.
First, the author is genuine. Never does he talk down to the reader. This book goes out of its way not to be another "dummy" guide but instead an intelligent personal guide.
For instance in several cases, with unabashed honesty the author tells it like it is. He does not sugar coat some of Linux's weaknesses but pronounces them and then guides the reader around the problem easily. In the chapter titled From Windows to Linux, the author states, "the file hierarchy is perhaps the most cumbersome aspect of linux" and then goes on to clarify the differences and how to easily navigate this mess! That's from page 66.
Second, the author goes way out of his way to ensure that things he writes work on almost all of the newer flavors. For instance I was amazed to find specific step by step instructions for making basic network configuration changes in this book for Fedora users, Mandrake users, and SuSe users. Often the author also makes clear distinctions between how things will work under the Gnome or under the KDE desktops.
Third, this book covers it all! From a beginning user's standpoint I've never seen so much covered specifically to address a new user interest. 36 pages of details on getting Linux working on the internet. 24 pages on desktop interfaces, specific differences and similarities with Windows, and how Gnome and KDE work. Not a bit of extra fluff either. No extra fat 2 inch wide white space margins. This book is packed with information.
This book is complete.
Even more enjoyable, it also covers things NO ONE else would be willing to state openly about Linux. The author makes sure a new user isn't caught up in the baloney but instead can get their own personal setup working and working well.
I enjoyed this book and am amazed by how much the author got compressed in this 244 page guide.
THE BIGGEST BONUS OF ALL I found was that the author has a tone and a voice in this computer book that is unlike anything I've ever read in a technology manual. It's personable, pleasant, optimistic, and clear.
I enjoyed it and recommend it to any person who want to begin using Linux.
Rating:
Summary: Beginner's Luck
Review: For a long time I have been interested in learning Linux but have been thwarted by not having a book written for beginers. The learning ladder was missing too many necessary bottom rungs... there was no starting point. Mr. Rais has supplied those missing rungs and has made it possible for me to now profit from those tomes which begin in mid-air. This book has been invaluable to me and I strongly recommend it to anyone else stuck at the starting line.
Rating:
Summary: Beginner's Luck
Review: For a long time I have been interested in learning Linux but have been thwarted by not having a book written for beginers. The learning ladder was missing too many necessary bottom rungs... there was no starting point. Mr. Rais has supplied those missing rungs and has made it possible for me to now profit from those tomes which begin in mid-air. This book has been invaluable to me and I strongly recommend it to anyone else stuck at the starting line.
Rating:
Summary: Really helpful beginner linux guide
Review: I am very impressed by this book. I read the brief reviews here and thought the price was reasonable enough to try it out. NOW I must say that this book FAR exceeded my expectations for a beginner Linux book. It includes tips no one ever thought to tell me. For example during installation the author gives his own real world experiences on what are the best partitions to create and how much to allocate. He also includes a lot of tips I've never heard about before, such as how most versions default to netmask 255.0.0.0, when usually an office intranet uses 255.255.255.0 and this saved me a lot of troubleshooting time. Other personal experience suggestions the author includes helped me to fix problems before they ever became issues such as the excellent details this book includes on using Emacs (the whole problem I got with the "this buffer is for notes" error message was resolved thanks to the tips). Overall, I have never seen a more compact (just over 100 pages) and yet information rich book on Linux. I own a lot of computer books that are much more expensive and I am thankful to have this included in my library.
Rating: 
Summary: not as good as expected
Review: I guess it's hard to find the right mix of ingredients to write a newbie book that's not insulting to the readers while at the same time not requiring lots of experience to understand everything. I have no Linux experience but still thought the book is a bit too "dumbed down". Also the last 30 or so pages are cutesy stories about getting people to use Linux without any real useful info.
Rating:
Summary: Linux Beginners Benefit as well as others through charity
Review: I just read the reviews here and having recently gotten ahold of this simple, easy, and actually enjoyable to read computer book! If that's not already telling you something about how useful this book is for beginners I don't know what else can! Technically scarry things put in to simple terms -- that's what I needed and that's what this book gave me. I'm shocked also by one of the reviews here on amazon that said "its NOT worth every penny!" The fact that the publisher and author have indicated they are donating the proceeds to the poor makes this even better and proves how Linux can help shape and change society not just computer use. I am all for this book: inexpensive, easy to read for beginners, and YES INDEED IT IS WELL WORTH IT knowing the proceeds will go to good causes not into a rich publishing monopoly pocket. I rate this 5 stars but would give it a 6 if there was such a rating.
Rating:
Summary: Great quick reference source for Linux/Unix users
Review: I read it last night. It is a handy little guide for anyone to have on hand. It provides quick access to command formats, that can be used on almost all Unix based systems, including Sun, Linux, etc. Really enjoyed reading it and can find a lot of good uses for it. Very informative in the simplest terms for setting up your first Linux system, or for someone who is just not quit sure what he wants where. This book can be useful to the novice as well as the advanced user, who may just need a quick reference because he can not remember if the command needs a - in front of an argument he does not use frequently.
Rating:
Summary: Good book, especially for windows user needing help
Review: I'm a Windows user too. I read the note and yes this product does refers to the second edition, not the first edition. This second edition book is very good for new users of Linux.
I was most interested in chapters under the desktop interfaces section, especially the one called From Windows to Linux. But had I stopped there I would have missed out a lot.
The section on installation seemed somewhat redundant since everyone of the linuxes comes with ample installation guides. That was until I read the instructions. The author is making points I don't read in other guides. He suggests how not to screw up your system when doing a dual boot, and is candid about how some things with windows and linux are uncompatible.
Mostly I enjoyed the fact that the author didn't assume I knew stuff. He helped me think through the steps instead of just shoving them in my face with an attitude.
I also agree with the other review here that the author has a very respectful tone. I enjoyed it and read some of the chapters several times because it was actually fun to read! Impossible prior to this for me to say about any other technical manual.
It's inexpensive for what you get out of it IF you are a linux beginner.
The bad part? This book is truly for beginning users. Once you get past the rudimentary stuff this book describes like getting linux setup and running on DSL, it becomes a very good reference but has passed along all of its knowledge. It am glad I got it, it helped me get started in a way I didn't expect... easily and with clarity.
This book served me well. I hope others will also find it serves them well too.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect for those new to Linux coming from Windows
Review: I'm actually very pleased with this book. I tend to be a person who learns best with a little hand holding and help, and found this book included a lot of personal annecdotes that helped me. Being a regular user of Windows, this book made it very easy to understand the similarities and get started with Linux in a very non-intimidating fashion. It's true that a few things were missing I would have also liked included, but overall it did not waste my time with excess information that is often found in 500 page manuals with lots of white space. Instead, in a refreshing way I found this book to try to gently encourage super brand new users of Linux like me. I recommend this book to anyone who is trying to understand and learn to use Linux that doesn't have a lot of time to fiddle, but needs the essential information spelled out. Excellent book and an easy read!
Rating: 
Summary: Support your favorite charity... but don't buy this book
Review: Not what i expected.
I expected an overview of Linux aimed at the "Rest of Us":
a. Win Home Desktop/Internet user
b. Win Soho Desktop/Lan market.
What i got was a very thin skimming of the major Components of a Unix/WinNT OS
as implemented by a generic Linux and no coverage (other than Name) of any Linux GUI.
To attempt to introduce and suggest successful installation of the following info into approximately 70 pages is a waste of every bodies time and money.
a. Linux as a Desktop
b. Linux as a File/Print server
c. Linux as a Wep server
d. SQL
e. Telnet
f. FTP
g. Multi OS on same computer
h. 3 different Text Editors
Section 4 "Stories from the field" pp 77 - 96 are superfluous
as you are preaching to the converted.
I can not belive the 4 or 5 star reviewers read the same book as me ?.
I am amazed that this book got a 4 1/2 star average rating.
The argument "You get what you pay for" only strengthens the WIN camp and undermines the argument for open source software.
Jim
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