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A Practical Guide to Ubuntu Linux
Th> The #1 Ubuntu server resource, fully updated for Ubuntu 14.04 (Tasty Tahr)-the Long Term Support (LTS) release many companies will rely on for years!Updated JumpStarts help you set up Samba, Apache, Mail, FTP, NIS, OpenSSH, DNS, and other complex servers in minutesHundreds of up-to-date examples, plus comprehensive indexes that deliver instant access to answers you can trust Mark Sobell's "A Practical Guide to Ubuntu Linux(R), Fourth Edition, " is the most thorough and up-to-date reference to installing, configuring, and working with Ubuntu, and also offers comprehensive coverage of servers--critical for anybody interested in unleashing the full power of Ubuntu. This edition has been fully updated for Ubuntu 14.04 (Tasty Tahr), a milestone Long Term Support (LTS) release, which Canonical will support on desktops until 2013 and on servers until 2015. You'll find full chapters on running Ubuntu from the command line and desktop (GUI), administrating systems, setting up networks and Internet servers, and much more. Fully updated JumpStart sections help you get complex servers running--often in as little as five minutes. Sobell draws on his immense Linux knowledge to explain both the "hows" and the "whys" of Ubuntu. He's taught hundreds of thousands of readers and never forgets what it's like to be new to Linux. Whether you're a user, administrator, or programmer, you'll find everything you need here--now, and for many years to come. Includes DVD! Get the full version of Tasty Tahr, the latest Ubuntu LTS release!
1268 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 28, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 13, 2018
Okay. This book is a little dated, but I purchased it for under a dollar at a going-out-of-business sale of our local Half Price Books store. And it helped me orient myself towards the most recent Long-Term Support (LTS) of Ubuntu (version 16.04, Xenial Xerxes) which I have installed on a fifteen-year-old laptop.
For most tasks, Ubuntu is as easy and intuitive to learn and use as Windows or Apple operating systems. And Linux, of which Ubuntu is a "flavor" of, is quite safe, since 1) there are so few Linux machines out there running Ubuntu, and 2) Ubuntu updates it's core OS frequently, with thousands of programmers crawling through the open-source code to locate vulnerabilities, making it more secure than Microsoft of Apple's offerings, which are proprietary and closed-source.
And best of all, Ubuntu is FREE.
That said, Linux is far from Shangrala. There are drawbacks. To do some things that you can do on a PC or Mac easily, like install an Apache/ MySQL/ PHP stack to develop a test server, you'll need to use the command-line, called "terminal" in Linux. And the syntax is loads different than the Microsoft commands most techies are used to.
That's where this book was invaluable. Because it highlights the basic syntax of core tasks you'll need to do in order to succeed in running a Linux machine. And even where the syntax has changed, you'll understand enough about the basic terminal syntax, and what Linux can do, to Google a look at the current code.
Three stars. It didn't knock my socks off, but it familiarized me with the basics.
For most tasks, Ubuntu is as easy and intuitive to learn and use as Windows or Apple operating systems. And Linux, of which Ubuntu is a "flavor" of, is quite safe, since 1) there are so few Linux machines out there running Ubuntu, and 2) Ubuntu updates it's core OS frequently, with thousands of programmers crawling through the open-source code to locate vulnerabilities, making it more secure than Microsoft of Apple's offerings, which are proprietary and closed-source.
And best of all, Ubuntu is FREE.
That said, Linux is far from Shangrala. There are drawbacks. To do some things that you can do on a PC or Mac easily, like install an Apache/ MySQL/ PHP stack to develop a test server, you'll need to use the command-line, called "terminal" in Linux. And the syntax is loads different than the Microsoft commands most techies are used to.
That's where this book was invaluable. Because it highlights the basic syntax of core tasks you'll need to do in order to succeed in running a Linux machine. And even where the syntax has changed, you'll understand enough about the basic terminal syntax, and what Linux can do, to Google a look at the current code.
Three stars. It didn't knock my socks off, but it familiarized me with the basics.
February 2, 2009
I use various versions of Ubuntu Linux for both work and home, so I consider myself well qualified to review a book on this topic. The following is a reprint of the review I wrote for my blog:
I upgraded my Ubuntu VM to 8.10 just for this review (well, not "just" for this review, but mostly). Of course, Sobell's second edition of this "I-weigh-a-ton" tome covers both 8.04 and 8.10, but I run 8.04 on my production machine, so I figure I've got the book covered. Judging by the size of the book though, I'd have to assume that Sobell has it covered as well. But does he? Unlike Godzilla, size doesn't always matter. Let's have a look.
A casual viewing of the book's back cover tells the reader that they can expect to find out just about everything there is to know about anything they can do with Ubuntu. While most folks think of Ubuntu as the most "desktop user" friendly version of Linux, and the most likely contender to chip away at Microsoft Windows' death grip on the home desktop market, there's a lot more to consider. At least according to the blurb I read, the server aspects of Ubuntu are well covered here. The list includes Apache, DNS, LDAP, NIS, and Samba, and that's just for starters. This isn't a "switch from Windows to Ubuntu Linux" text written for the average home PC user. It's, at least in theory, an "all-in-one" guide for everything you ever wanted to know about Ubuntu (but were afraid to ask).
The rest can be found at A Million Chimpanzees.
I upgraded my Ubuntu VM to 8.10 just for this review (well, not "just" for this review, but mostly). Of course, Sobell's second edition of this "I-weigh-a-ton" tome covers both 8.04 and 8.10, but I run 8.04 on my production machine, so I figure I've got the book covered. Judging by the size of the book though, I'd have to assume that Sobell has it covered as well. But does he? Unlike Godzilla, size doesn't always matter. Let's have a look.
A casual viewing of the book's back cover tells the reader that they can expect to find out just about everything there is to know about anything they can do with Ubuntu. While most folks think of Ubuntu as the most "desktop user" friendly version of Linux, and the most likely contender to chip away at Microsoft Windows' death grip on the home desktop market, there's a lot more to consider. At least according to the blurb I read, the server aspects of Ubuntu are well covered here. The list includes Apache, DNS, LDAP, NIS, and Samba, and that's just for starters. This isn't a "switch from Windows to Ubuntu Linux" text written for the average home PC user. It's, at least in theory, an "all-in-one" guide for everything you ever wanted to know about Ubuntu (but were afraid to ask).
The rest can be found at A Million Chimpanzees.
January 25, 2011
Purchased this book intended to learn a bit more about Linux in general. At the time I read this book I was already familiar with Linux, just wanted to go in deeper. Working with Ubuntu on my laptop and Arch on my desktop. I believe it's well written for the beginner as for the more advanced user.
If you want to learn more about the Linux system; directory structures, linux filesystem, shell (a little bit of bash scripting), security and even compiling your own kernel, then this book is a good way to start.
If you want to learn more about the Linux system; directory structures, linux filesystem, shell (a little bit of bash scripting), security and even compiling your own kernel, then this book is a good way to start.
November 25, 2009
Good to for beginner
April 29, 2011
We are using this book for one of my college classes and it makes learning Ubuntu Linux easy to grasp, and that's no small feat!
March 5, 2017
All right for review of Linux and some specifics about Ubuntu.
August 30, 2010
I sure am enjoying Ubuntu!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews