| Pocket guide covers popular desktop Linux distros |
Nov. 04, 2005
 David Brickner came to the conclusion that the biggest obstacle to faster adoption of Linux on the desktop was that there's too much information available. So what does he do to remedy this situation? Write another book, of course! It's titled the Linux Desktop Pocket Guide.
"There is so much information on the Internet about Linux, distributions, and basic use that it is hard to sift through it all, to know what is accurate and what is up-to-date," writes Brickner. "This is quite a barrier for new users to overcome. This book provides timely information about the current state of the most important Linux distributions and the current favorite applications for desktop use."
This pocket-sized book introduces GNOME and KDE, the most-used desktop environments on Linux, the publisher says. It also covers the most popular GUI programs for web surfing, email, music playing, video watching, and CD burning, the publisher adds.
Since selecting a version of Linux to run is often the most daunting task for new users, the Linux Desktop Pocket Guide reviews and offers useful instruction on managing the five most popular distributions: Fedora, Gentoo, Mandriva, SUSE, and Ubuntu.
Brickner covers all the hardware-associated topics that users need the most, such as configuring a video card, screen resolution, sound, and wireless networking. Laptop users will find advice on battery life, sleep and hibernate issues, and more, the publisher says.
"Like many people, I found my initial forays into desktop Linux difficult," Brickner recalls. "Until I made the commitment to use Linux fulltime on the desktop, I never really felt comfortable with it. Within a week of running nothing but Linux, I had settled in and found the experience mostly enjoyable. Now, years later, I have a hard time getting anything useful done at a Windows machine, as I just don't feel comfortable with the way it forces me to work. I just can't stand not having virtual desktops."
Chapter 1, "Distributions," is available online, here, as is the table of contents.
The book can be ordered here.
Summary Title -- Linux Desktop Pocket Guide
ISBN 1-59327-064-X
Author -- David Brickner
Length -- 181 pages
Price -- $9.95
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