The DSL book
Forum: User Feedback
Topic: The DSL book
started by: mort
Posted by mort on Jan. 10 2006,21:04
I ordered the book Fiday evening and it was in my mailbox Monday after work.The book is a product of work with grade school kids. I missed alot in grade school I guess. A lot of linux details have been filled in for me.
The how to of DSL core applications got me productive quickly.
There is a line of switches next to XMMS display I never saw before on my 24 inch monitor. Seeing them on a laptop would probably be impossible. One of them doubles the size of XMMS, Thank you.
emelfm is much more sophisticated than I imagined and efficient too.
How to basics of networking and security are welcome topics.
With SuSe I got alot of things running without really knowing what was going on. That makes it hard to troubleshoot problems. DSL is running on my newest hardware and oldest.
I am just delighted.
Mort
Posted by AwPhuch on Jan. 12 2006,00:45
So on a scale of 1-10 how would you rate the book and would you recommend people actually "purchase" the book for say a "quick referrence" guide?I along with many others would like an honest oppinion on this...perhaps it would make me actually take that leap and get the book
Brian
AwPhuch
Posted by mort on Jan. 13 2006,03:54
I give the book and 8/10 easily as a get the os up and running.If you have been into Linux and computers in general, you forget how much other people don't know. Technology makes idiots out of all of us at times. The DSL book will remind you of the basics needed to teach others.
For example: dot files are hidden in linux. They need to be edited. How do you find them? I could find them at the CLI because I am framiliar with old DOS swithces. In the GUI filemanager I didn't see the button to reveal hidden files. I still haven't figured out how to open them directly with Beaver. But the book showed me how to open them quickly with Beaver from the filemanager.
Where to look for script files helped me.
The explaination of make and make install clarified a few things.
The secure shell is very helpfull.
Rootkit discussion is educational.
Even if you know all the material the method of teaching to others is worth the price.
mort
Posted by RoGuE_StreaK on Jan. 13 2006,05:13
| Quote (mort @ Jan. 12 2006,22:54) |
| I still haven't figured out how to open them directly with Beaver. |
Quick tip, browse to the directory that the file is in, type "." (minus commas), and hit tab - this will bring up the hidden files and directories.
Posted by AwPhuch on Feb. 07 2006,06:24
I ordered the < DSL 2.1 Book > and I am absolutely blown away...Yes it does look like the front cover and website was made by amateurs..however the book itself is freeking absolutely brilliant!
It covers damn near everything..let me give you its table of contents:
1. Using the Live CD
2. Hardware Evalutation
3. Hard Drive Installation
4. The Desktop
5. History of Linux
6. File System
7. Applications
8. Networking
9. Wireless Networking
10. Secure Shell (SSH)
11. Shells
12. Setting up a web server
13. Commands
14. vi Editor
15. Backups
16. Printing
17. Security Evaluation
and some pretty neat Projects With DSL (Backup Server, Firewall, Building an Embedded System, Build a Mini-ITX, Creating a USB boot drive)
I must say this is the book to get if you need/want to get one hell of a jumpstart on using DSL and Linux in general, 350 pages of pure knowledge (DSL for dummies +1
) I give it a 9.5/10.
The book came with a copy of DSL on CD (not the purdy business card cd..but a copy of the distro, and another one with numerous flash video "HOWTOs"
I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone/everyone that truly wants to learn DSL and linux! Two thumbs up totally.
The website and book should also be referred to as "The Transformer" because its more than meets the eye!
P.S. This is an excellent way to support DSL and get almost all the knowledge you need at your fingertips for less than 25 bucks
Brian
AwPhuch
Posted by AwPhuch on Feb. 09 2006,00:31
Anyone else gotten one!?!Brian
AwPhuch
Posted by Rupert on Feb. 09 2006,12:32
AwPhuch,I'm a little worried about buying a hard-copy book for a distrobution that updates itself every month.
Do you think the book will be out of date in 4 months?
Posted by cbagger01 on Feb. 09 2006,18:07
Some parts of it will.But most of the basics should be still relevent.
It's not a bad way for a new user to get a structured learning experience for DSL.
Or else you can save your $25 and self-learn or use the forums, wiki and especially irc for guidance.
Posted by TruBlueEQ on Feb. 15 2006,19:40
I ordered the book yesterday and was told it is already on its way.I plan on reporting my experiences with the book in helping me get up to speed with everything DSL.
I am a complete newbie to Linux, so my review should be a good indicator of how basic the book gets. When I say complete newbie, I mean complete newbie. I've only started messing with a command line just recently. =P
I've tried knoppix, fedora core 3, 4, suse10, and FreeBSD. I want to learn to be self sufficient with Linux but I've found that either the OS is too graphical (and big for my old 600e) to let me know what's going on(suse, FC) or it's way too complicated with not enough newbie friendly literature out there(FreeBSD).
So, I'm really looking forward to trying out DSL with this book as a guide. I'll let everyone know how it goes. Perhaps there's someone else out there who has the same needs as me?
-Ernest
Posted by hs7sv on Feb. 16 2006,02:00
I cannot get the book. They do not send it to Malaysia. 
Posted by dtf on Feb. 16 2006,03:29
I found the book to be very useful and hope it expands to include more topics. I would like to learn how applications are built for DSL and more on user projects. This book is a good starting point for individual interested in Linux and DSL.
Posted by TruBlueEQ on Feb. 24 2006,09:42
I can only give a partial NOOB review of the book, for now. I bought the book for two main reason. The first was to guide me though the HD install because I was never able to really figure that out :P . The second reason I bought the book was to help me get Megatunix software installed. I can only comment on the install, for now. I haven't had the time to work on installing Megatunix.The book was excellent at explaining the partitioning and actual installation process. I was able to begin using DSL installed to my HD very very quickly. Don't laugh but the procedure for partitioning was something I was never able to figure out. ( I told you I was a newbie )
After the installation, the book was handy in helping me navigate through the desktop enviorment effectively. Before, I never understood the advantage to different workspaces and such.
Soon I hope to get more apps installed, i'll report how good the book is at explaining the procedures to this noob.
Posted by AwPhuch on Feb. 25 2006,00:02
I can tell you this...everyone and I mean everyone started off as a NOOB...the reason I posted my review of the book is I remember floundering and knowing I needed something to helpNow that I am more experienced (still a beginner..just not a NOOB)I now know "what" I need when I am looking for assistance and knowing what I needed when I began, so when I looked at the book I knew that a NOOB would get incredible assistance from the book because it may have had snippets of linux technobable in it, it was written plainly enuff that a NOOB would understand it and be able to absorb the information
Just remember, you are a poweruser in windows, but you are a NOOB in linux
Unlearn what you have learned you must, to begin learning
-not yoda...but this is what he would have said damnit!
Knowing is 1/2 the battle, YO JOE!!!!
Brian
AwPhuch
Posted by trebliG on Feb. 27 2006,01:22
good reviews... and informative comments. will place my order shortly.dsl here i come.
