Comments about O'Reilly Media Learning Red Hat Linux:

This book certainly got me up and running with Red Hat Linux 7.2. One thing I've noticed about this book, and others, is that there's always some mysterious 'administrator' some where out there that I am supposed to get network info from. (Excuse my dangling preposition.) Well, I am setting up a test network to teach myself about Linux, so I would prefer some instructions that don't say to get info from the mystery adminstrator but rather some instructions that say 'as the administrator, here's what you need to do.' thanks...

Comments about O'Reilly Media Learning Red Hat Linux:

The first thing that impressed me was the way Learning Red Hat Linux was written. It read more like a novel then a technical manual/book, and I found myself excited to see what was on the next page. The book is a quick get-you-started guide that explains what you need to know then moves on and does not spend too much time dilly-dallying.

There were some things that were skimmed over, but the author pointed out web sites that went into more detail. The chapter on shell scripting was a great introduction. For novice Linux users it is a great way to get your fingertips wet with the powerful command line, and shell scripting. The book quickly explains how to set up samba, ftp, email, Apache and SSH, as well as an introduction to the RPM package manager.

Added bonus was the two Red Hat 7.2 CD's so I didn't have to download them.

Microsoft OS readers should NOT pickup up this book, it will make you want to format your OS and install Linux, it did for me!

Comments about O'Reilly Media Learning Red Hat Linux:

Excellent book, for beginners and advanced users alike. I do have one thing to say not about the book but the enclosed copy of Rhat 7.2 would install properly

but when I tried accessing removeable media such as cdroms the system would

give me errors about the devices not existing. even manual configuration of the fstab did not provide a solution. I went to Rhat's web site and found no reference to the problem so one can conclude that since the error occured on two computers that the error lies in the packaging of the distro by O'Reilly.

All in all though, I must say the book is outstanding read.

Comments about O'Reilly Media Learning Red Hat Linux:

This book is more comprehensive and easier to understand than the documentation that comes with most Linux software. I think this book would be valuable to intermediate as well as new users. The secure shell and firewall were very helpful.

My secondary computer is a BSD 4.2 box. This book was helpful, especially for a person not familiar with Red Hat.

Comments about O'Reilly Media Learning Red Hat Linux:

Wonderful book for Newbies using RH 7.2 on a Desktop!

This is the third book about Linux that I've purchased. I'm very glad that I purchased this book! I'd installed Red Hat Linux 7.2, on 2 of the boxes on our home LAN, to dual boot with MS Windows 98 Second Edition. Until now, our use of Linux has been minimal. My wife boots into Linux to play games in KDE and I use the Konqueror web browser. This book will make it possible for me to know what I'm doing with Red Hat Linux 7.2 and eventually discontinue the use of MS Windows. There are many illustrations in the book, which show what the reader will see on their CRT screen and the text explains what to do. The book explains, for example, how to configure the SAMBA server, which will enable us to have File & Printer Sharing, between Linux and Windows boxes. The majority of the book, probably 90%, is very easy reading. There are two chapters about the BASH shell. The first is easy to read and the last chapter in the book, "Advanced Shell Usage and Shell Scripts", is harder to read, but both chapters contain data that's very important to the reader, as do the appendixes. I found one error in the book. On page 100, the author says, "you must be logged in as ROOT to shut down your system". Probably that is true for the "Server" installation, which would be appropriate and necessary, but it is NOT true for the "Workstation" installations which I've done, or the one "Custom" installation I've done. Users on our systems can shut down the system, without knowing the ROOT password. I believe if you want a book that will help you install and use Red Hat Linux 7.2 on a Desktop, this book is an excellent investment. It explains how to do many things that I wanted to do. The other books I'd purchased are: "Linux for Dummies, 3rd edition". It came with CD-ROMs for Red Hat Linux 7.0 and when I tried Red Hat, I discovered that I liked it better than Mandrake. I'd purchased the boxed set for Mandrake Linux before that! "Running Linux, 3rd edition" is a super book, which came highly recommended to me, by a man in Red Hat Technical Support. It's a classic, but tough reading for a Newbie. I've read the first 488 pages, twice.