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Getting Started In Linux
In previous posts, I've asked for the Slashdot community to help me identify good books and websites for developers and I thought the response was really useful. This time, I'd like to ask you all for your recommendations for great Linux beginner books and also what you think is the best way of showing off Linux on TV. Read on for more info ...
I do this thing twice on month on TechTV's "The Screen Savers" where I try to show off something neat about Linux and Open Source software. At the end of each segment, I give out my email address for people to send questions. The question I get most is "What book should I get to help me learn Linux?" I have a couple of books that I do recommend, but I want to hear what you guys think so I can link to this conversation and have it be available for everyone to refer to.
Additionally, any tips on what you guys would think would make good open-source oriented TV and make people really want to try out Linux would be appreciated.
Learn to use the command line and not a pretty gui, it will teach you alot about how Unix and Linux works, Plus it makes you look cool to your friends when ur flying though the command line:)
Gotta love the tab key!
keanmarine.com
Aggreed. O'Reilly books are great - they have all the information one could want and none of the fluff. Sometimes hard to just sit and read, but when you want a soultion, example, definition, etc., they are the best.
This is my sig. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
-dunar
Something I meant to put in my first comment re: Learning up above -- the most important thing, I would say, is to make sure you give 'em a book with the distro on CD. Those poor saps on d/u will appreciate it.
Carousel is a lie!
... Linux has become such a great Complete Solution for everyone. I'm not sure what the TV show's target audience is, but here are some suggestions:
For The DeveloperShow how easy it is to setup Apache/PHP and start rolling out web apps...
For The Office TypeShow off OpenOffice, it's MS import capabilities, equations marksup (For The Artsy Type [gnome plug] Show 'em art.gnome.org to point out the thriving arts community, 100% free gimp
I'm not sure why everyone is set on reading "dead trees" for Linux info, it's all out on the web! I, myself, learned from the great Red Hat online docs...
That's my 2 cents worth.
Just a thought...
Since the submitter (chrisd) asked for opinions and got feedback, wouldn't it be nice if someone filtered the responses and provided a digest? The original queries were for books for developers and books for web development. Furthermore, if someone already has done some filtering, it would be great to see the results.
S
Or even better, show off Phoenix! It's so purdy and fast... :)
While what I have in mind is nothing special or cool, it is something that I think many people really need to see. My parents, for example, use the computer to play games, mostly card games, browse the web, send email, and other every day things. The thing that bothers them is that they have no control whatsoever. Something crashes and they have no clue what they can do as a user.
It would be beneficial to many average users to see that Linux can do all of the every day tasks they perform. Show them the simple things. They can use email, web browsers, play games that come with kde or gnome, and still play web-based games like Yahoo! Pool. Getting them started on something they feel comfortable with will be an easy step they can make. Then they can move onto controlling and customizing the OS one piece at a time.
Show how people spend more time getting linux to work than they do using it for anything useful?
Or show how long it takes a person to read the documents so they can understand what is going on?
Or so how every time something breaks the first thing linux users do is go ask their friends, family, a priest or a psychologist why they are having problems?
Personally I used linux for a long time and theres a lot of really neat things you can do, namely the one I like is the ability to sort through massive numbers of mp3s and rip out annoying characters like )"(#'$ from the filenames but as a practical os, well, just do this. Get a clock, every time you stop using the OS to either learn how to get something to work or fix something, start the timer, then when you return to using the os, stop it. This includes everything from configuring window managers to recompiling the kernel.
In fact, Id say linux is a great os because the side effects is that you get people who learn how to solve incredibly complex problems using any means possible, but then once the problems are solved they instantly find new ones to tackle rather than enjoying the sunny weather
just my thoughts, and yes I use windows but only because Ive no use for linux on my p200 laptop while in japan drinking tea and LIVING deus ex...
if you see an italian in a trenchcoat wearing dark sunglasses thats me
-Italian wearing sunglasses and trenchcoat
/. pointed me to the excellent Knoppix version; I splurged a whole five dollars for the CD. What does it do for you? Let's you see if your hardware is compatible with Linux and does not write anything to your hard drive while doing so. If you wish to introduce new folks to Linux, this is a good way to do it. It totally removes any fear-factor about having to dump your current system and try something that just might not work for you. No, it's not a book but for me, it was better than a book. I'd rather buy a book than take a class but I'd also rather buy a tool rather than read about it in a book. Hands on, know what I mean?
That is one thing that really impressed me when converting, i install a program and it worked.. no reboot! *gasp* As for showing things on tv, play some dvd's and mp3's, chat a little on gaim, stuff that people do on a regular basis. I've been talking to people about linux lately, and there are a lot of misconceptions... try to debunk some big ones. I have a friend who swears that whenever you add any new hardware, you HAVE to re-compile the kernel. Another thing i hear a lot is that even if a game has linux binaries, it runs like crap. play some unreal or wolfenstien (the new ones ;)) to show it's quite fine.
Another good idea would be to show them some of the free software out there. if they need to edit some pix, they can just d/l the gimp... no need to pirate/look for cracks.
One last thought about helping people that are new to linux: it's a completely different perspective of an operating system. It's taken from a muilti-user perspective, whereas windows is pretty much one person on one computer. Once you understand this, things make more sense..especially the file system layout. when i first started i always wondered why everything went on / instead of breaking it up into drives. and why do i have a home directory? if you tihnk in terms of only one person on a computer, it's hard to get the concept.
I'm generally not a big consumer of computer books because most of them suck, but when looking for a general Linux book I found Linux Cookbook to be pretty neat and useful. It's somewhat Debian-centric, but useful for anyone. Another good book in the same vein is Linux System Administration by Michel Gagne. Both these books are centered on doing typical things that people want to do with their (Linux) computers. I like them both, but I do like the Linux Cookbook better.
The thing about Linux TV ads is that your average person does not want to be shown screen shots of Mozilla, etc., and see that they look exactly like what they're already using. That's boring. They probably won't even think it's Linux. So this is not what we want.
Take Microsoft commercials for example. They either involve multicolored flying butterflies or people discussing their crazy business solutions. These are obviously the kinds of ads that are succesful, and the kind that we should duplicate.
IBM has already duplicated the latter type in their Linux-based server ads: remember the one where the servers have gone missing, but they've simply all been replaced with one server running Linux? So we're pretty much all set in that department.
That leaves the first type. Pretty butterfly. Dancing happy people. Hm. For some reason that doesn't seem to fit our image all too well. Okay then, take Apple's ad campaign. Remember the "Think Different" ads? I've found the people who most want to switch to Linux are those who just don't want to be fettered by Microsoft. Rather than showing facts, show the symbolic advantage of Linux over Windows:
Show hordes of distraught people in chains and handcuffs trying to follow a fluttering butterfly climbing up a mountain or through pricker bushes or something, and a few others who have cast off their chains and are skipping along happily after a large penguin running through a field, a pied-piper sort of thing. The fact that we have a fuzzy mascot is actually probably our best weapon in convincing the "average" person to switch.
Parallel Illiad's idea, and show a Star Destroyer or something chasing after a small lonely X-Wing (perhaps piloted by Tux). The Star Destroyer gets a BSOD, GPF, or some other easily recognizable bane of Windows users (but not Windows-specific, to avoid lawsuits). It needs to reboot Windows. The X-Wing comes around, and ten seconds later (emphasize that Windows needs lots of time to reboot, which it does) KABOOM! no more X-Wing.
The main thing to remember is, people don't care about facts. Maybe businesses do, but IBM's got that covered already (if they stop, just follow their example). But people don't. They like colors. They like humor. They like special effects. They like fuzzy. They like Star Wars. Oh, and they really like free internet. A RedHat- or Mandrake-sponsored version of MSN would be wonderful.
But face it. People want entertainment. Facts aren't entertainment. Facts are when you get another sandwich. Entertainment keeps you glued to the screen those extra thirty seconds: thirty seconds of Linux.
Other than that, the Apple Switch Ads have been quite effective on the desktop level, as have the IBM e-Business ads (particular the one with the Universal Business Adapter).
I think it would be great if somehow the Linux community could muster some financial resources and put some TV ads together. That would be cool.
Statistically speaking, there's a 99.998% chance that my IQ is higher than yours. Get over it.
Running Linux by O'Reilly was essential for me. (still is at times!) - it's a great reference book once you've gone thru it all.
LinuxNewbie.org has some nice how-to/help files that were also big for me.
Unfortunately I wasted a week with maddog's Dummies book. Jon's a great guy, but a computer manual for novices author he ain't.
Then I got Running Linux. I was up and going in no time and years later I still refer to it. At this point I don't recommend *any* other book for the newbie. There's no fluff in this book. It's the straight dope, dense but completely readable, technical but not over the newbie's head (at least if they're the sort who's eyes don't glaze the second you say "compiler," but I don't think of The Screen Savers viewers in that catagory), more in depth where it needs to be than any other newbie manual I've ever seen while at the same time running a broad overview of everything you need to at least hear about ( and refering you to other great O'Reilly books that cover the subject in greater depth).
Throw in Linux in a Nutshell and the Armadillo book ( Essential System Administration) and you've pretty much covered everything you'll ever need to keep a basic Linux system ( or network) up and running in any enviroment from your home desktop to the small corporation data center.
These three books are the grand triumvirate. The first to buy, the first to read and the first you'll turn to when all others have failed you in some way. All others are but shadows on the wall of the cave.
Beyond these three the first book a newbie is going to want is a dedicated manual for his choice of text editor, that would be vi of course. Running Linux gives an overview and In a Nutshell gives a reference but nothing beats a dedicated book for learning. Once you know it pretty well you'll keep it on the shelf but really only need In a Nutshell for a quick reference. O'Reilly wins again here with their Learning the vi Editor.
Ok, ok, some wrong thinking people are going to want to go with emacs instead. For them O'Reilly has Learning GNU emacs.
Congratulations, your viewers have just gone from newbies to system admin gurus in just four short books.
Here's where I step away from the crowd a bit. I'm a firm believer that any serious Linux newbie should do a little programing right off the bat, and do it in C, on the command line. O'Reilly loses here. The two volume C For Dummies books are the ones to grab. They're the best Dummies books I've seen. They're the best newbie intro to programing books I've seen for that matter. Not for the hardcore geek, but complete, understandable and fun. They'll have grandma writting her own prank commands in a couple of hours and LIKE it!
Now we've gone up to a full library of Linux books, all the books most people will ever need, including C programing manuals, and we haven't even used up a foot of bookshelf space yet so I guess throw in the Camel book for good measure.
Done, your viewers are now Linux grandmasters and *still* have a couple inches short of a foot of bookshelf space left they can fill with whatever special interest book catches their fancy from what they learned in Running Linux.
What can you do on the show to impress people with Linux? Damned if I know. The most impressive things about Linux aren't visual. In fact the *most* impressive thing about Linux is *philosophy.* Not in the philosphical sense itself, but what that philosophy *means* to the average user. No one really explains that well.
vim doesn't break. vim doesn't change to an incompatible file format to force you to download the latest version. All files written in vim are readable by all versions of vim and *all other text/word processors.* No lock in, no lock out. Ever. If the current maintainers lose interest, because it is open source, *any* programer with the interest can just pick it up and start maintaining it-without even having to ask permission (although this is good form), let alone spend years with a room full of lawyers to make the arrangements. If you don't like something about vim and are willing to put in the work you can bloody well change it yourself, at will, again without even asking permission. YOUR vim is yours to do with as you please.
And because all of this is possible with a Linux system running GPLed software tens of thousands of programers are working at it around the clock, so even if *you* never touch a line of code you directly benifit from its openness.
This is the true power of Linux, this is the part that's truely impressive. You can't show it. You have to explain it. Explain what being ope *means,* and means to *them.*
And what it means is freedom.
What feature is more important than that? Can MS or Apple match Linux, *feature for feature?*
KFG
I agree with your main point, though. I learned most of what I know about Linux on slack; Red Hat 5.0 seemed like my blindly clicking a bunch of dialogue boxes that masked the internal operations of the machine. However, I didn't switch until I felt confident in my ability to navigate man pages and the web to find what I needed.
--All your stolen base are belong to Rickey Henderson
I read this essay a long time ago. I even find myself re-reading it from time totime. It's what made me try linux in the first place. :^)
I wanted a free tank
"player 4 hit player 1 with 0 stroms"
GNU tried to innovate in unix documentation with info, but the results were dismal. This is the year 2002, documentation doesn't have to be like this. We have learned a lot about presenting formatted documents from the web. A replacement for manpages should have hyperlinks, semantic markup, good search functionality, a good command-line reader, a GUI reader, and most importantly, quality documentation. Documentation with good formatting, good use of hyperlinks, and standard sections for quick access to relevant information. A format with these things could blow both manpages and info out of the water. It could even become a standard format for more than just unix commands. It could become a self-contained manual for using a unix system in a way that manpages aren't, and info wants to be but isn't. Wouldn't that be nice?
main(c,r){for(r=32;r;) printf(++c>31?c=!r--,"\n":c<r?" ":~c&r?" `":" #");}
My article Why We Should All Test the New Linux Kernel gives some tips on how to get started building new kernels (although it emphasizes testing the development patches).
The #kernelnewbies IRC channel has a website at www.kernelnewbies.org that you will find helpful.
And finally there is of course The Linux Kernel HOWTO.
Request your free CD of my piano music.
Linux for Windows Administrators by Mark Minasi & Dan York
When I started off with linux (maybe a year ago) i actually never needed to buy a linux book. I found that all information I needed was online often hard to find and often contradictive or outdated (especially howtos etc.). But often times you find some serious pearls.
c hapter/inde x.html
o per/lib rary/l-gloss.pdf
i als_and _books/free_linux_training_materials.html
A power application that is typical for linux/unix i think is a linux X terminal server. Nearly impossible to do for a windows environment (unless you have money out the ass). But with a linux desktop of reasonable size and a couple old machines you can have a whole family on a full scale computer. check out www.k12ltsp.org.
and it isn't too difficult to setup either. this is definitely a linux power app.
O'Reilly Learning Debian GNU/Linux
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/debian/
A brief Linux Glossary for Windows Users
ftp://www6.software.ibm.com/software/devel
More free books
http://www.intelinfo.com/it_training_mater