Let me start by saying that I only wish that I had access to a book like this when I first started using Linux. Yet again Red Hat have done something really worthwhile, only this time not an operating system, but a complete manual to get a new user up and running Red Hat Linux from scratch, while teaching them all the basics that they will need to know.
The only bad point that I really have about the book , is the way that some of the chapters are structured, for instance, you are told how to connect to the Internet in Chapter 12, and yet only told how to configure a basic firewall in Chapter 17. Overall though, I would honestly say that Red Hat should include this manual in their boxed releases of their operating system, as I feel it would give them a much greater edge on their competition.

Chapter 1: Installation Options And System Requirements.

This covers checking whether your current hardware is compatible with Red Hat Linux. How to check your current hardware using Microsoft Windows Device Manager, whether you have enough disk space for the various types of installations, and whether or not you’ll need a device driver disk, also how to create one should you require one. It also briefly covers the various Red Hat Linux installation classes.

Chapter 2: Installing Red Hat Linux.

Here you start getting introduced to the different install options, text or Graphical User Interface (GUI). The various kernel boot options, and selecting an installation method, as well as how to get your installation started using whichever method you choose. It them holds you hand through the rest of the installation process, leaving you at the end of this chapter with Red Hat Linux installed on your computer. Not at all bad for 2 chapters later. One of the parts that I felt would be particularly useful for some beginners here was that it tells you how to change your BIOS boot options.

Chapter 3: Upgrading Your Current System.

This discusses upgrading from a previous version of Red Hat Linux, what to look out for, how your original configuration files are saved and renamed. As well as configuring your Boot loader, either LILO or Grub.

Chapter 4: After Installation.

I was particularly fond of this chapter, as it’s about trouble-shooting your installation, should something have gone wrong. Covering aspects from, not being able to boot, X-Windows, printing, sound cards, and logging in. It is also done in such a way that a new user would easily understand how to fix these problems.

Chapter 5: Getting Started.

If the words, “shell prompt”, and “logging in” seem foreign to you, this chapter will definitely enlighten you. This is probable one of the shortest chapters in the book, but it does provide some very helpful information to new users.

Chapter 6: Using The Graphical Desktop.

Shows you the basics of getting used to the Graphical Desktop, although the focus here is on the GNOME Graphical Desktop, there is an appendix dedicated to the KDE Graphical Desktop. Aside from showing you how to add things to the taskbar, open files and set up your own desktop icons, this chapter mainly covers how to personalize your Desktop, backgrounds, themes, screensavers, etc. Nonetheless, this is a great chapter to get acquainted with X-Windows and the desktop that you choose to install.

Chapter 7: Diskettes And CD-ROM’s.

Chapter 7 tries to gradually introduce the user to how to mount removable media, instead of just expecting it to show up after you have inserted it. There is also a really good section on CD writing and how to do it from either the shell prompt, or from your Desktop.

Chapter 8: Shell Prompt Basics.

This is where the user starts getting exposed to the true power of Linux, giving you reasons as to why you’d want to use the shell prompt, and the basics of using it. Things like changing to another directory, file and directory permissions are covered here.

Chapter 9: Managing Files And Directories.

Here you are exposed to the different file types on Linux, how to compress and uncompress files, and how to move files from one location to another. A very concise chapter really, but giving you a wealth of information.

Chapter 10: Managing User’s And Groups.

As you would expect from the title of this chapter, it covers adding new user and group accounts, as well as removing any old ones from your Linux system, they don’t go into too much detail here, but you are given enough to do the basics.

Chapter 11: Working With Documents.

This chapter may as well have been titled Open Office.Org, as that is what is covered here. How to read and write documents, spreadsheets, and do presentations on Linux. I feel that this chapter could have contained quite a bit more information, as only the bear minimum is covered here, but the do tell you where to find all the documentation on Open Office.Org.

Chapter 12: Getting Online.

This is where you are shown how to set up the various network connections, Ethernet, Modems, xDSL Modems, and wireless devices. In my opinion this chapter could have been quite a bit more in-depth as it really only shows you where to add a couple of settings to get online, and there is also no troubleshooting section here, but the rest of the book does make up for what this chapter lacks.

Chapter 13: Choosing Your Internet Software.

Here you are introduced to some of the many web browsers, and e-mail clients that Linux has to offer. You are also given an overview of what the differences are between them, as well as how to configure them and use them for daily use. The nice part about this chapter is that it also covers the console based applications such as Lynx and Mutt.

Chapter 14: Audio, Video, And General Amusement.

Chapter 15: Working With Images.

The two chapters, and the eight pages that that they encompass may as well have been left out of the book, as the way that they cover the multimedia side of things is really poorly done. They give you a brief introduction to The GIMP, and Xine, but nothing really worthwhile is mentioned here.

Chapter 16: Printer Configuration.

I thought that this chapter was especially well written as it guides you through setting up your printer in various ways, as in directly attached to your computer, on a Unix network, and on a Microsoft Windows Network. Whereas some books only tell you how to set your printer up locally, this one really gives the info to make up your own mind.

Chapter 17: Firewall Configuration.

Here you are told how to set up a basic firewall, using the firewall configuration tool. I found this chapter really good, as it does tell you where to look online to find what ports you would need open for the various different applications, although it does tell you the basics, like mail and web.

Chapter 18: Time And Date Configuration.

There’s not too say about this chapter really, it covers setting the time, time zone, and date on your computer, that’s all there is to really.

Chapter 19: Package Management.

Here you are introduced to RPM (Red Hat Package Management), and the Package Management Tool. It shows you how to add more software packages, and how to remove the one’s that you don’t use or need any longer. It also shows you how using the Red Hat Network can keep your system current with all the latest updates and security fixes. This chapter serves as a brief introduction to RPM, and it’s X-Windows interface.

Chapter 20: Package Management With RPM.

Here you are given a bit more of a lowdown on RPM’s, why you would want to use them, how the configuration files are handled, etc. You also get shown hot to use RPM from the shell prompt, which gives you access to a lot more options. I really like the fact that a lot of time is spent here on showing you a great deal of different command line switches, and how to find out more information about the packages that you already have installed. Aside from the actual RPM man page, I would say that this is one of the best references that I have read.

Chapter 21: Frequently asked questions.

These are some of the questions that anyone new to Linux is bound to have at some point in time, with very ‘to the point’ answers. Subjects such as editing your PATH, and how to mount a Microsoft Windows partition manually, make this a rather useful chapter.

Chapter 22: Keyboard and Shell Prompt Shortcuts.

These are a couple of pages of the most common and widely used shortcuts, layed out in table form for a quick and easy reference, I really appreciated this as I made my own one of these up to stick on my desk when I first started using Linux.

Chapter 23: System Directories.

Now this is yet another chapter that I really would have liked to have had handy when I first started using Linux. It goes into quite a large amount of detail about what the various Linux system directories contain, and the permission on these directories. What a virtual file system is, and above all, where the kernel source code is stalled. I think that this chapter in particular would be very useful to a new Linux user, and make a great reference for System Administrators.

Chapter 24: Comparing MS-DOS and Linux Commands.

This further iterates the point that the change may be drastic at first, but there are a lot of similarities between Windows and Linux. And this chapter shows you just that.

Chapter 25: Gathering System Information.

Here you are shown how to check what processes are running on your machine, how much memory is in use, the amount of hard drive space you’ve used, etc. And also what hardware your machine is running, this is mainly all shown to the user from the command line, familiarizing them with this even more.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about Linux, but not knowing where to begin. As you can see, this book gives you the basics, and then a bit. I feel that a lot of people are afraid to try Linux, and a book like this can do a lot to eradicate that fear. Well done Red Hat, this was definitely a worthwhile read!