Linspire 5.0: The No Nonsense Guide! (No Nonsense Guide! series)
by Eric Grebler
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Book Summary Information
Author: Eric GreblerEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-06
ISBN: 097373521X
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Mimosa Books
Book Reviews of Linspire 5.0: The No Nonsense Guide! (No Nonsense Guide! series)
Book Review: Intended for the non-technical Linux user
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is a follow-on to Eric Grebler's earlier work that described Linspire 4.x. But this is much more than a quick update with a few new screenshots. In "Linspire 5.0: The No-Nonsense Guide", Eric and the Mimosa Team have put together a new basic guide to using the very popular applications of this very popular Linux distro.
Just about every page has one or two screenshots, so the book is appealing visually. On the other hand, the wealth of screenshots has led to a (relative) paucity of text.
In particular, the process of installation in chapter 1, provides no information at all on what to do if things don't go as planned. The only reference to disk partitioning is a single paragraph on page 18, saying essentially "go and do a web search if you want to know about partitions. Unless a user gets lucky with his hardware, this isn't adequate.
Similarly, chapter 9, "Connecting to the Internet" tells you how to type in your PPP or PPPOE settings, but gives no information on how to troubleshoot a balky connection. Fine if all goes well, but no help if something doesn't work (there's a walk through of how to refresh a DHCP lease - which will do nothing if the problem is "no connection").
Installing and configuring are the most challenging tasks for new users. Users running applications will have a much smoother time, and in these chapters no troubleshooting is needed or given. Grebler walks through the use of KDE (including the pager or virtual desktop). He covers the different programs in the Open Office suite, and the two apps that Linspire donated to open source - the Lphoto and Lsongs clones of Apple's iPhoto and iTunes. A new user would find it straightforward to use these programs based on the information Eric presents.
Browsing, Instant Messaging, and network file sharing round out the book. Eric describes how to get software through Linspire's Click'N'Run, but omits any mention of the underlying Debian packaging and (free) apt-get alternative.
Overall, the book is well designed, easy to read and reference, and full of useful information about applications. You won't get anything more than superficial information about Linux itself from this book - but for a very large class of readers, new to Linux and lacking the confidence to try by themselves, that is exactly what's needed.
I would say that this text is intended mainly for people who have bought a PC that comes preinstalled with Linspire Linux, and who want to get running with the minimum of learning about Linux. For this class of user, this text is ideal, and I recommend it.
Disclaimer: I am the author of a different Linux textbook ("Peter van der Linden's Guide to Linux", also based on the Linspire distro). But I think I can give a fair shake of the stick to other writers, and describe their work fairly for other readers.
Summary of Linspire 5.0: The No Nonsense Guide! (No Nonsense Guide! series)
A visual reference to the components of Linspire, a full-featured, Linux-based operating system, this book demonstrates how Linspire 5.0 gives users all of the functionality of Windows or Mac OS at a fraction of the cost. Each set of step-by-step instructions is accompanied by a screen capture showing exactly where to click to accomplish a project. Tips and tricks that show the most efficient approaches for completing all varieties of tasks are provided throughout, and for users upgrading to the latest version of Linspire, instructions are provided on how to use the many new features. Also included with the book is a Linspire Live CD-Rom that allows users to test and enjoy the benefits of Linspire before committing to install it on a computer.
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