Moving to Linux: Kiss the Blue Screen of Death Goodbye! by Marcel Gagne, Marcel Gagni

From Barnes & Noble

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The Barnes & Noble Review
Thinking about moving from Windows to Linux? If so, you won’t be alone. IBM’s currently switching 30,000 of its employees. According to market researchers IDC, Linux’s desktop market share, while still small, grew by nearly two-thirds in two years. And outside the U.S., Linux’s growth is exploding: The Chinese government agreed to outfit a million new PCs with Linux.

Linux isn’t perfect yet, but it’s come a long way, and it has a lot going for it. It’s cheaper than Windows. You can even download it free, legally. Then, you can copy it to as many computers as you like. It now has slick graphical user interfaces that bear a striking resemblance to Windows, which makes the transition much easier. It runs OpenOffice.org, a free Office productivity suite that does 95 percent of what most people want to do with Microsoft’s equivalent tools and can even share most documents with Office users. And Linux has been nearly immune to the viruses that have overrun Windows.

If you’re just starting out, though, you will need some help over the bumps, rough edges, and things that are just plain different. In Moving to Linux, Marcel Gagné aims to give you that help.

Gagné, who won Linux Journal’s Most Favorite Column award for two straight years, first walks you through setting up Linux -- either permanently or temporarily.

Time was, even trying out Linux required you to make massive, scary changes to your computer’s disks: changes that could destroy all your precious data. Some recent versions of Linux make it easier and safer to run Linux and Windows on the same computer. But lots of folks would still like to leave their hard drives alone until they’re sure they’re comfortable with Linux. Moving to Linux solves that problem.

It comes with a specially tweaked version of Knoppix, a Linux distribution that can run completely from your CD-ROM drive. It’s slower than running Linux from your hard drive, but it’s all you need to test a full-fledged Linux environment -- complete with graphical user interface and software.

Once you’re running Linux -- either on your hard drive or CD -- Gagné introduces you to the very Windows-like KDE user interface. You’ll log in, work with menus and windows, run applications, manage your files, and customize your desktop. (So, for instance, the icons you use are always right there on your desktop for easy access.) On your tour, Gagné also points out the Linux command line, which -- he swears -- isn’t as scary as you think.

There’s a full chapter on installing software in the Linux environment (not quite as easy as Windows yet); and another chapter on getting your other devices to work (printers, modems, and so forth). Next, Gagné takes you on the Internet -- introducing tools like Jabber (instant messaging), Konqueror (web browsing), and Evolution (email and a whole lot more).

There are three full chapters on OpenOffice.org word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations, followed by coverage of everything from graphics to CD burning. Oh, and a full chapter on games. (Did you know there’s a free flight simulator for Linux?)

Friendly, encouraging, and focused on what you really need to know, Moving to Linux will get you there. And you might not ever look back. Bill Camarda

Bill Camarda is a consultant, writer, and web/multimedia content developer. His 15 books include Special Edition Using Word 2000 and Upgrading & Fixing Networks for Dummies, Second Edition.

From the Publisher

Praise for Marcel Gagné’s Moving to Linux: Kiss the Blue Screen of Death Goodbye!

“This is kind of a funny book for me to be recommending to readers of a Windows newsletter, but a lot of people ask me about this topic, so here goes. Author Marcel Gagné is a columnist for Linux Journal, and in Moving to Linux he’s prepared a step-by-step guide to converting a Windows PC to Linux—or just trying it! The book includes a bootable CD with a version of Linux that you can poke around in without touching or changing anything about your Windows installation. If your boss is asking, ‘What’s with this Linux stuff?’, moving to Linux is a great way to show that you know what you’re talking about.”
—Brian Livingston, Editor, WindowsSecrets.com

“Pros: Too many to list in the available space. We liked the book from the very first page right through to the end. Gagné has done a solid job of exposing Linux and all its components in a way that is both inviting, useful, and easy to understand... We really liked this book—highly recommended.”
—Howard Carson, Kickstart News, www.kickstartnews.com

“Marcel walks the user through each technique in a very chatty and comfortable style. In fact, when I put the book down, I had a momentary impression that I’d just finished watching a good cooking show with an entertaining chef. (Australian readers may understand if I say that it felt like having just watched Ian Parmenter do an episode of ‘Consuming Passions.’)”
—Jenn Vesperman, Linuxchix.org

“Gagné’s Moving to Linux is a straightforward exposition of just how a non-hacker PC user can get rid of ‘The Blue Screen of Death’. If you have a friend, a co-worker, a significant other, or a relative who periodically screams, sighs, bursts into tears, or asks for help, here’s the simple solution. It comes with a bootable CD of Knoppix, Klaus Knopper’s variant of Debian.”
—Peter H. Salus, writing in ;login: The Usenix Magazine

“This is a book aimed not at you, dear developer/techie/guru, but at your friends, acquaintances, and family who are lowly users of Windows. Yes, such people do exist even in the tightest of families. Fear not, however, because salvation is at hand should any of them decide that this Linux thing might be worth investigating. No longer will you be faced with the unenviable task of walking them through the process of switching OS. Moving to Linux: Kiss the Blue Screen of Death Goodbye! is a big, bold, and friendly guide to help them along. The emphasis is firmly on using Linux as a desktop system—this isn’t a book about Linux as a file, print, or Web server.”
—Tech Book Reports

Say Goodbye to Windows^®-Related Crashes, Viruses, Hassles, and Costs!

Today, Linux is more powerful, useful, and practical than ever before! Moving to Linux, Second Edition, can help you migrate from Windows to the latest and best versions of Linux in just hours. By the time you’re finished, you’ll be able to do virtually anything in Linux—without the aggravation, crashes, security risks, or high costs of running Windows!

This is not a book for techies! It’s for people who write documents, create spreadsheets, surf the Web, use email, listen to music, watch movies, and play games—and want to do it in Linux, without becoming technical experts.

• Convert your Windows PC to a Linux system that does more for less money—one step at a time
• Take control of Linux the easy way, with the quick, efficient KDE graphical environment
• Browse the Internet using Firefox, the fast, powerful browser that’s quickly replacing Microsoft Internet Explorer
• Send and receive email and instant messages using your existing AOL, MSN, and Yahoo! accounts
• Manage all your digital photos, without the hassle, using digikam
• Rip music, burn and play CDs, and watch movies
• Discover the world of Linux games and learn how to run Windows games on your Linux PC

There’s more! Create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations with OpenOffice.org 2.0—the free office suite for Linux that’s now easier, more powerful, and even more compatible with Microsoft Office.

Say goodbye to expensive software upgrades, burdensome Microsoft licensing, Windows viruses, and “blue screens of death.” Say hello to computing the way it’s supposed to be—with Linux!

Product Details

• Table of Contents
• Forewords & Introductions

Table of Contents

Forewords & Introductions

Some time after completing my first book, Linux System Administration: A User's Guide, I said something akin to, "This was an amazing amount of work! I must have been crazy to do this." As it turns out, I may have been wrong. Either that, or the craziness I suspected at the time has taken permanent hold of my senses. With this book, which you now hold in your hands, I've learned that even a difficult undertaking can be exciting, rewarding, and fun, a feeling that I hope will echo in the words and pages that follow.

Nevertheless, I'm not sure that this is something I could have done on my own. Sure, I spent the hours writing the words, testing each command, and taking screenshots, but I was never alone. My wife, Sally, as well as my friends and family—all have played a part in the creation of this book. Their confidence, support, and love helped to keep me going even while I was revisiting my "madness" theory. I'd like to take a moment to recognize some of these people.

First and foremost, I have to thank my beautiful wife, Sally Tomasevic, first reviewer of everything I write. She is my inspiration and my strength.

Special thanks to my friend Robert J. Sawyer, who told me he desperately wanted this book—"I want you to write a book called Kiss the Blue Screen of Death Goodbye for me and people like me who want to move to Linux but don't know where to start." Well, Rob, here it is.

Many thanks to Richard Curtis, my agent. Thanks also to Mark Taub, my editor, and to everyone at my publisher, Addison-Wesley.

Sincere thanks to those people who reviewed my book along the way. They are (in alphabetical order by last name) Henry Ferlauto, Peter Halasz, MarkHalegua, Michael Jarvis, Carolyn Sinclair, and Sally Tomasevic. The process of reviewing is hard work and I truly appreciate their efforts, sharp eyes, and suggestions.