Red Hat Linux 8 for Dummies

Rating:
Summary: What a waste!
Review: "Red Hat Linux 8 for Dummies" is one of the few "for Dummies" series that included double CD-ROMs. But what a shame! The publisher did not ensure that these CDs are healthy. I had a hard time trying to decode what was in one of them. Also, the pattern of this book is such that some of the basics of 'Red Hat Linux 8' were omitted.
Unless you are completely new to the Operating System, there is little reward in purchasing this book. If you are a "dummy" who knows one or two things about 'Red Hat', I suggest that you look for something more comprehensive and more accurate. This book may disappoint you. Consider either 'Red Hat Linux 8 Unleashed' or 'Red Hat Linux 8 Bible'. Both texts are simple enough for you to understand. However, they may present too much information for your liking, if you are indeed a beginner.

Rating:
Summary: Great wireless help
Review: DO NOT BUY this book. All of the software that is suppose to be on the CD is missing. The dos utilities software is missing. If you try to make a boot disk per the instructions, you will find out that your out of luck. Better to buy the Red Hat Personal from Red Hat or somewhere else. It's ashame that the experts can't even be sure that the software is correct when they are touted to be the know it all's. In addition, once you get it loaded you will find the book is of little use. I have Star Office 6.0 which is the the same as the openoffice with the templates. This book doesn't even give you enough information to get you started with openoffice. Do not waste your money on this book

Rating:
Summary: A very very limited introduction
Review: I am new to Linux and was hoping that this book would help me with the basics and leave me more knowledgeable than I was when I started. Unfortunately I was disappointed. Basics, like installing applications or networking a Linux PC with a Windows PC are entirely left out. On the other hand, the author spends a great deal of time explaining the applets that come with Redhat, even though they are really self explanatory if you've ever used their Windows equivalents. The book makes a very poor reference source, and was virtually no help to me. Perhaps they can leave out the lame humor and include more info in the next version.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Book...For Somebody
Review: I bought Red Hat Linux 8 for Dummies in the hope that it would give me some basic tools to use to administer my system. I was a little disappointed. The book is chock full of good information, but I found that I was only able to use a little bit of it. I think the book is full of quality information, but I really can't tell whom it's a good fit for.

The book features install and setup instructions. It can help you figure out how to install the OS and configure it on your PC, establish internet access (modem, broadband or LAN), and set up some useful tools, like a firewall and streaming media. It has nominal, but not great, coverage of the graphical OS environments, like GNOME. This is all great, but the installation and configuration process for Red Hat 8 isn't that difficult, and excellent instructions are available from many sources. The book includes CDs with the OS. But the OS is available for free from many download sites, so that's a matter of only small convenience. Also, the book is of very little use if you have an application in mind for your Red Hat installation. For example, if you want to run a web server or email server, or want to use your computer for any number of other specific purposes, this book will give you little or no help with that.

The book does provide a number of tips and some good problem-solving advice. And, it has a handy tear-out sheet of common commands in the front, which turns out to be more useful than you might imagine. The writing is clear, understandable by the layman, and it's well indexed so that you can find information you're looking for quickly.

The content that is there is great, but I frankly don't know who its target audience is; I'm not sure to whom to recommend it. It might serve adequately as a first reference book, but if you buy it for that, you will likely need another more detailed reference soon, as it doesn't really go all that far. This book is fine, so far as it goes, but a reader might be better off looking at one of the more comprehensive manuals out there (eg, Red Hat Linux 8 Unleashed), as many of them also cover the basics, including installation, but in better detail.

Rating:
Summary: A good, though not great, starter kit
Review: I found the book to be just what I needed. The book's focus is to get you started, either from scratch with a clean hard drive or with (or over) an existing OS (Windows or otherwise). I found the information sufficient to get all components of my PC operational, including setting up a cable modem connection via ethernet card. I'm not sure I understand some of the criticism some previous reviewers give, other than to think that despite the obvious title they were expecting a detailed non-introductory book.

I did find a few technical errors, and agree that not all topics covered where on target. In particular (and for instance), the coverage of the installation utility rpm was lacking. If you want to use the GUI provided to add additional packages from the CD that you didn't do during the basic installation you are fine, but if you are trying to install packages found from other sources you may have trouble.

However, for the price, including the CDs with a complete distribution, it is not a bad buy. After working your way though the book you'll have a solid understanding of what Linux is, how it works, how to use it, and, more importantly, how to decide if Red Hat or another distribution is the Linux version you want.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book for a Linux Newbie
Review: I'm a complete novice with Linux, I just wanted a way to run a single program that runs in the Linux environment, and learn a little bit about Linux in the process. This book did that for me. It helped me determine how to get my system ready for the install, and then the install worked fantastic, including finding all my hardware automicallly and configuring the ethernet connection to my cable modem automatically.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book for a Linux Newbie
Review: No doubt, Linux can be intimidating for new users and this book does an excellent job of providing the basics without a lot of the technical jargon that usually accompanies most Linux texts. If you're a total newbie, then this book is a very good place to start. The text is divided into four sections:

1.)Installing
2.)Connecting to the internet
3.)Using various applications to to perform basic file maintenance tasks, use Open Office, and listen to and burn Cds.
4.)Understanding the Linux file system and basic networking.

The downside is the CDs that are included - give them a miss. Rather than fiddle around with them, purchase the Red Hat 8 personal box set (also available through Amazon) which includes a detailed installation guide and 30 days of support/help for the product.