Solaris 9 For Dummies

Spencerian writes with a review combining two things you might not expect in one volume: the "For Dummies" label and Sun Solaris. (Raise your hand if you've never, ever looked through a "For Dummies" book.) Read on for Spencerian's summary of Solaris 9 For Dummies, which he says is a good book for the Solaris newbies, but not for everyone. Solaris 9 For Dummies author Dave Taylor pages 354 publisher Wiley Publishing rating 8 reviewer Kevin Spencer ISBN 0764539698 summary A" ...For Dummies" book like Solaris 9 For Dummies will never make you popular with other geeks. However, if you are a Solaris admin, perhaps giving this book to your users might stop them from asking you the same questions over and over.

I'm pretty intimate with the ...For Dummies book formula. I worked at the company a few years ago. The ownership of the book series has changed a bit, as has its cover art, but the basic setup remains.

Solaris 9 For Dummies is, as with many ...For Dummies books, a starter guide and reference. This isn't a book for administrators, and says so. Solaris 9 For Dummies maintains the book series' reputation as strong general references for users who are thrust (sometimes unwillingly) into new or different technology and need the basics in getting around, fast.

Author Dave Taylor is no stranger to UNIX, having written several notable UNIX beginner, intermediate and advanced references on UNIX in general, including books on Red Hat Linux, Solaris, and Mac OS X. Solaris 9 For Dummies works for SPARC hardware as well as Intel-based hardware. More about Dave Taylor's work can be found at his web site, Intuitive.com.

The ...For Dummies series books are pure references. They aren't meant to be read from cover to cover, which gives the author an advantage by writing topics and chapters without a lot of preamble. The information is just shallow enough to understand but never trivial, giving readers typically only what they require. The typical cross-references and tips are available to guide you along. Chapters delve into topics you expect from discussing a UNIX such as Solaris, such as moving about the new GNOME interface (which will replace the old CDE interface over time), running the basic applications and utilities, and the like. In the traditional format of these books, Solaris 9 For Dummies comes with a tear-out cheat sheet. This cheat sheet gives readers a basic CDE and GNOME interface menu command tree to make it easily to find, say, the Empty Trash command.

The book's topics include details on:

• File management
• Making a decent password
• Shells
• Text editors
• Using Writer and StarOffice
• Internet, Web, and Mail access
• Essential system administration

The author knows that UNIX isn't UNIX without a certain level of geekspeak, and so provides readers with a well-crafted introduction in the use of command lines and how they can be a Good Thing when using Solaris often for particular tasks. Many UNIX writers (especially developers) wrongly assume that anyone who uses a UNIX knows where and how to find or do what most might consider a routine task. In a ...For Dummies book, this thinking is not allowed, so the author adds enough background for you to get the gist, guides you on the essentials, and provides information that points you to find more complex answers elsewhere.

Solaris 9 For Dummies will not make your whites brighter, increase your personal intimate pleasure, or bring peace to the Middle East, and it's certainly not flashy. It's just a good book for the Solaris newbies, plain and simple. If you hack your kernel just for pleasure (gotta shave your palms regularly, I'm sure), you can be reasonably guaranteed this isn't the book for you. However, if you are an Solaris administrator and get plagued with user questions about basic tasks, maybe you should have your boss buy a few copies of Solaris 9 For Dummies for your users so you can continue your Quake3 fragfest uninterrupted.

You can purchase Solaris 9 For Dummies from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.

Comments

Oximoron

[Archangel Michael]

or Redundant?

Re:Oximoron

[thomas.galvin]

Either way, this book should contain nothing but the words "Back the hell away from the machine, and call your sys admin."

SCO for dummies

[Virtex]

SCO for dummies: No, not the name of a book. Just making a statement

Real Dummies Pay Too Much For Books

[Anonymous Coward]

Get it from Amazon instead for 30% off instead of 20% off at bn.com

Scary sitting on a shelf

[petronivs]

I've got to say, if I walk into a server room and see a 'For Dummies' book sitting on a shelf, I'll be scared.

Very scared.

I love these titles!

[Dahamma]

My favorite new game - guess which one is NOT a Dummies title:

1. Retired Racing Greyhounds For Dummies
2. Beekeeping For Dummies
3. U.S. Citizenship For Dummies
4. AOL For Dummies
5. Business Plans For Dummies

Other titles to boggle the mind

[D0wnsp0ut]

two things you might not expect in one volume: the "For Dummies" label and Sun Solaris.

Actually, book titles I thought I'd never see:

• Macs for Dummies
• The Complete Idiots Guide to Mac OS X

Re:Well of course

[Anonymous Coward]

No, it proves anyone who buys a Dummies book really is a complete idiot...and you're their king.

Re:Slashdot For Dummies

[mahdi13]

"Slashdot For Dummies... Well, that is redundant isn't it?"

No, it's expected

Re:Well of course

[tomhudson]

the article says:

for users who are thrust (sometimes unwillingly) into new or different technology and need the basics in getting around, fast.

the poster wrote

That's why it's called "Solaris 9 For Dummies"

I kind of think that any company that puts somebody into such a position deserves what they get.

List of other titles we're gonna see soon, and who's going to buy them

1. "GNU GPL for Dummies": SCO
2. "Children's First Names for Dummies": Darl McBride's mother, anyone who names their kid after their fav. soap opera character.
3. "Flipping Burgers for Dummies": SCO shareholders, employees
4. "malloc() for Dummies": Microsoft employees
5. "Flying Jumbo Jets for Dummies": Terrorists
6. "Nuclear Power Station Maintenance for Dummies": Homer Simpson
7. "Accounting for Dummies": Enron, Bush
8. "How Not To Drop Your Bar Of Soap In the Shower for Dummies": Enron executives
9. "Sex For Dummies": Slashdot trolls
10. "Fair Use for Dummies", "Privacy Rights for Dummies", "How To Keep a Web Server Running More Than 1 Day for Dummies": RIAA, MPAA
11. "Spelling for Dummies": h4x0rz

Better Question

[Troll the Bones]

Is this for the dummies who run it or the dummies who buy it?

Re:Slashdot For Dummies

[akbar pasha]

i think it would be a major HIT, if ONLY the author is our popular 'Anonymous Coward'....=]

Next From Wiley Publishing

[Lord_Slepnir]

Look out for thse up-and-coming titles from Wiley Publishing:

• Managing your multinational corporation for Dummies
• Nuclear Engineering for Dummies (available in Arabic and Korean)
• Assembly programing for Dummies
• Genetic Engineering for Dummies
• the Federal Budget for Dummies

What, no Linux digs?

[gorzek]

I've got a few.

"strcat() for Dummies" - Linux developers
"POSIX for Dummies" - LSB architects
"Making Money for Dummies" - Any Linux co.

Don't hate me for my cynicism!

Re:Rethink the title

[Strange Ranger]

> On the other hand, your typical techno-wannabe has a very fragile ego and would generally not be secure enough to even be seen flipping through one at the bookstore.

No kidding! I'll be getting my copy from Amazon.com thankyouverymuch.

Re:Rethink the title

[FueledByRamen]

I wonder how many people went to see that movie expecting to learn about SUN hardware and the people who administer it? I know that I almost did.

Re:Well of course

[Anonymous Coward]

How about

"free() for malloc() dummy users for dummies" - Microsoft Software Engineers