I bought this hoping for a decent intro to Linux, like getting Debian installed and then getting Gnome up and running so I could get online with Netscape and go from there. I was ticking along fine until I hit Chapters Five and Six... things began to seriously diverge from what I was being instructed to do and what was on my screen. I was referred to Appendix C, where I crashed and burned.
Chapters Two through Four take you through installing Debian with the "Basic" profile. I'm somewhat familiar with Unix syntax, so the numerous typos didn't trip me up much. But then chapters Five and Six assume you've got the Xfree86 and Gnome packages installed, which aren't part of the Basic profile. Want to install them? Figure it out yourself, this book isn't giving any hints. Great approach for a beginner's level text.
So I got X windows going, after messing around with dselect for a while to figure out how to install the required Xfree86 packages, with no real help from Appendix C other than a list. Oh yeah, and after I solved a problem with the mouse being called /dev/psaux instead of /dev/mouse, which the book utterly fails to warn me about. How did I find this out? By looking through the HOWTOs. The ones the book says are in /usr/doc/HOWTO directory? Um, no, that directory doesn't exist! Those docs aren't installed with the Basic profile! So I had to reboot into Windows and find them online.
Okay, got X working. Not a lot going on there. So, I'll get working on Chapter Six, Gnome. I'd better, because if I can't, chapters Eight through Twelve aren't going to be much use.
So it's back to dselect and a list from Appendix C to install the required Gnome packages. Wait a minute- they're not on the CD! Fantastic! What a great idea. Not only do you fail to tell me how to install the darn things, you also don't include them on the disc, even though they're free, and required for the final third of the book to be of any use.
I see online people are talking about the weird version of Debian included on the CD... as a tutorial, that doesn't really bother me, as long as it works. But the whole thing is whack. If I ever meet Bill McCarty, I'm going to smack him upside the head with this nearly useless, poorly edited book.
In summary, if you want to get your feet wet with Linux, spend your $35 on something more worthwhile.
PS Jennifer Neiderst, please write a Linux book!
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