Author: Marcel Gagne'

Format: Paperback, 512 Pages

Published: Addison-Wesley Professional; 2nd edition (August 1, 2005)

ISBN: 0321356403



Review by James Pyles

April 11, 2006



Even a casual look at the front and back covers of this book tells you that the author is serious about converting the Windows faithful to the Linux bandwagon. While the subtitle Kiss the Blue Screen of Death Goodbye! is perhaps more overstated now than in the days of Windows 98, Marcel Gagne' is passionate and driven about the benefits of Linux as a home desktop platform. This book is written for the average home user who is tired of dealing with the downside of the Windows 98 or XP (how many home users boot Windows 2000 Pro in their dens or family rooms?) and has heard there is an alternative to the Microsoft machine. With that in mind, I put on my “Linux newbie” hat pretending I didn't have a clue about Linus Torvalds' brain child, cracked the cover and was on my way.



The introductory chapter was kind of slow compared to what I expected. I was taken through the standard history lesson regarding Linus and his “now-famous” Usenet group message of 1991 as well as the GNU GPL. This chapter seems to be the “housekeeping” part of the book where the “necessary evils” had to be explained. I did like the fact that there was a Resources page at the end of the chapter (and every chapter) informing the reader of where on the Internet, they can find out more regarding what they've just read. Given the energy and humor I sensed was lying just under the surface of this author's work, I sat back, braced myself, and launched into the next chapter...the real story.



A couple of things; you will get experience on the KDE desktop and only the KDE desktop. I know about 50% of you out there are Gnome fans but the author isn't within your ranks. Also, there is no way to use the CD that comes packaged with this book to actually install Linux onto a computer. The CD contained in the book is a somewhat modified (by Gagne') version of a Knoppix Live CD. The best you can do is take Linux out for a test drive on your Windows box. While this is a safe solution for someone who doesn't want to risk setting up a dual boot Windows/Linux machine, you will have to go the extra mile if you want to do a permanent Linux install. Fortunately, Chapter 3 is devoted to instructing the reader on the different methods of acquiring Linux installation disks and other ways to run Linux. All that having been said, the first steps in moving from Windows to Linux can well be taken on a test drive. Ladies and Gentlemen, start your engines.



What do you have to do before you use Linux? Install and configure Linux. As I mentioned previously, installation isn't an option, but Chapter 2 does take you through the steps of configuring your Knoppix experience in a way the total Linux newbie will understand. This sets the stage for finally taking the plunge and using Linux.



Gagne' is orderly and logical in the step-by-step approach he takes to introduce Linux to the uninitiated. This is not to say that he's mechanical at all. His style is very personable and he is warm and humorous in his approach. He gently leads the reader into the beginning steps of using the KDE desktop and the shell (a mild shock to most Windows home user, but what is Linux without the shell?) to get to know their new operating system.



As the book progresses, most of what the reader is instructed to do is done from the GUI. Anything done from the shell is indicated in “Shell Out” callout boxes. This draws attention to any shell activity the reader will have to invoke and provides an easy separation between GUI and command-line functions. I also like the fact that most of the chapters are relatively short. I remember reading an article recently that said people tend to learn information in relatively short amounts. The information Gagne' presents is in easy understandable and digestible containers.



As you progress through the book, it's very noticable that Gagne' is acting as the world's Linux good will ambassador. Regardless of whether you are reading the chapter on software installation, email clients, or photo editing, the author continually touts the advantages of a Linux home desktop and its superiority over Windows. His enthusiasm is infectous and it's likely that many readers will feel swept along on a tide of discovery and adventure as the book presents new (to the reader) Linux features with each turned page.



Saying that, it does appear in spots that Gagne' tends to gloss over...at least a little bit...the fact that there are some things a home user will find harder to do on a Linux platform than on Windows...at least in part because the reader is used to Windows. While reading the book, I started to think that the sheer amount of information that was being presented would surely confuse and overload the reader, no matter how well the book is organized and written. Then I thought that if the same reader were being introduced to Windows XP for the first time by a similarly formatted book, they would be facing the same challenge. It's not that Linux is so much harder...it's just so much different.



I was a little disappointed that Gagne' only covered a few of the software installers, focusing on SUSE and Mandrake (Mandriva). However, he seemed to do a very complete job on all the other major elements. The book from this point on, addresses the various features a typical home user would want to have available such as printing, surfing the Internet, email, and multimedia. The chapters on OpenOffice.org Writer, Calc, and Impress (he missed Base, Math, and Draw but you can't have everything) stand alone as good beginner tutorials and he does include a chapter for the GIMP.



After Digital Art, Multimedia, and Linux Games, you think you are at the end of the book but instead of staring at the index, you're looking at another almost 80 pages of appendicies. Appendix A contains the GNU General Public License. While I can understand why Gagne' included it, I wonder how many readers will take the time to peruse it (and how many people download software from the Internet to their PCs everyday, clicking "Yes" at the bottom of a license agreement they never read)?



Zipping through those few pages, you arrive at Appendix B which holds the instructions for installing Mandrake, Fedora, SUSE, and Xandros. In most general Linux books, the installation chapter is typically near the front of the book and usually is Chapter One. It's placement here indicates that the entire purpose of the book is to sell the reader on what a great desktop Linux is and how they won't miss a thing by migrating from Windows. Once they're sold, they're ready to read about having to install it themselves.



Appendix C is really the chapter about using the command line. This might have scared off the home user if they'd read it within the first hundred pages or so, but as I mentioned above, once the sale has been made, you can share this sort of information. This isn't a book for someone wanting to learn to administer Linux as a career or for a technician wanting to improve their Linux skills. If it were, the material presented in the appendicies section would have been in the main body of the text. The book is very deliberately organized to put the prettiest face on Linux, like showing off the new hot, red paint job on a sports car you're selling before explaining how an internal combustion engine works. With that in mind, the book concludes with Appendix D, covering text editors such as Kate (naturally since KDE is the showcased desktop), vi/vim, emac, pico, and nedit, although the last three only get an honorable mention.



Summary



Marcel Gagne' has written an engaging and user friendly book designed to show off the best qualities of Linux as a desktop platform for the average home user. He carefully explains how by migrating to Linux, the reader won't be missing out on anything they could have done on Windows. He does a great job of setting the stage and then presenting all of the features and applications that a typical home user would want to access. Playing music, photo editing, creating a slideshow presentation; nothing seems beyond the capacities of Linux. This is most certainly a book aimed at the mind and heart of the home computer user.



Conclusion



Most of the books I read target technicians, sys admins and similar critters as their audience so I tend to be used to how those books are written and organized. However, this isn't a book for techs...it's a book for their parents or grandmothers, or neighbors. These people use a computer the way they use a car; they find it convienient tool and they just want it to work...they don't care what happens under the hood unless it breaks. In this case, the book succeeds wonderfully. Gagne' presents his subject with wit and enthusiasm and I can see his readers really enjoying not only learning about Linux, but enjoying the book's style as well. I do admit that he does ask the reader to at least consider doing a very scary thing. He asks them to use a computer that you can't buy with the operating system and all the application software pre-installed (ok, you can...but your options are severely limited). They'll have to be excited enough to go a few extra steps (or asking a tech savvy relative or friend) to get what the book promises. Nevertheless, I give Moving to Linux two thumbs up or five popcorns or a big, gold star. If you're tired of cleaning the viruses and adware out of your aunt's Windows 98 computer for the thousandth time, you might consider buying this book for her. You might make a convert.



By the way...this is the first review in a series of three of books on migrating from Windows to Linux. Stay tuned for the next review and we'll see how Gagne's book stacks up against the next contender.

Title: Moving to Linux, Second Edition
Category: Linux
Sub-Category: Linux Books
Author: tripwire45
Related Link: Find it on Amazon
Added: April 11th 2006
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