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

SCO for dummies

[Virtex]

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

The burning question...

[Nick of NSTime]

Why? Is there really a need for a Dummies book about Solaris? It's not like you can just walk into CompUSA and pick up Solaris 9. How does Wiley market a book like this?

We have some Solaris users where I work, but all they do is run their applications. They're not power users, and they don't want to be power users. I guess I'm just having a hard time understanding the intended audience for this book.

Re:Amazon has it almost 15% cheaper

[Shivaji Maharaj]

Its 20% cheaper at bookpool - http://www.bookpool.com/.x/sarimkohjr/ss/1?qs=Sola ris+9+for+dummies&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go

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?

C++ for Dummies

[swtaarrs]

The most useful Dummies book I've read is C++ for dummies. I am an experienced C programmer, and I wanted to learn C++. The C++ for Dummies book was designed for people like me, and it was the perfect book for the job. It had very clear explanations of all the new features, especially classes. What I liked most about the book was that it managed to stay clear and very understandable without making me feel like the author assumed I was an idiot. In many cases dummies books are also perfect as quick reference manuals on a subject, and many advanced programmers I know use them often. For those of you who sneer at dummies books, you may want to rethink your attitude and take a serious look at a couple of them.

Re:"For Dummies" is an Insulting Title

[stratjakt]

I agree with you, but it's a hell of a marketing strategy.

Theres some sort of deal with "kids today", it was true even when I was in school. Intelligence and hard work is shunned. It makes you a nerd, or a geek. Ask any 15 year old girl what the square root of four is and she'll giggle and go "i dont know math!". She probably knows, but it's not cool to know math, so the act is that they dont. This drives me nuts, the "im pretending to be dumb because it's not cool to be smart" act.

Such with the dummies and idiots and morons books. You wouldnt want to be caught walking out of a bookstore with a copy of "Advanced Solaris 9 Setup and Maintainance". You'd look like a geek, a nerd.

But a "for dummies" book under your arm broadcasts the message that you dont know, and dont care about the subject, because you're just too cool.

I really cant stand the way ignorance and stupidity is glorified in western cultures. It's not an american thing, since I'm canadian and have lived in the UK - it seems to be a white thing.

We make heroes out of the stupidest people alive and hold them up as role models for our kids. The guy from "Dude wheres my car" is just supposed to be what every teenager wants to be. A fucking idiot who's barely functional.

Oh well.