Linux for Beginners: Why You're Not Using Linux yet and How to Overcome Command Line Fear Kindle Edition

I had an "ah hah" moment while reading this morning and actually had to look up a definition that I JUST READ from this book.You, the author, said that sda stood for SCSI drives and my whole world stopped! I thought that all my years of experience were based on a lie! What else did I learn that has been wrong all these years??I'm kidding but I still needed to be sure. You might try to think of sda today to mean SATA drives OR SCSI drives. I only mention this because my son was reading with me and asked "Dad, what's scuzzy?". I tried explaining it to him. He's never seen a SCSI drive in his life! I then asked him if he knows what a Sata drive was and he blurted out the answer in 2 seconds, and got it right too!I told him to look at sda like any internal sata drive he's used or a SCSI drive, if he should ever work with one 😂.Just a suggestion to the author that you might want to expand your definition of sda for your younger readers.The book was nice and concise, just like I like them.

This book will probably teach you what you need to know about the Linux operating system as a beginner (if you already understand the basics of Linux--but then you wouldn't be a "beginner", would you?). The explanations rely on the reader already being familiar with the terminology and general processes; no explanation of these "beginner" matters is offered. Anywhere. In a book titled "Linux for Beginners". That makes it rather difficult to write a review.The problem is not "command line fear": the problem is the near-total lack of usable documentation/training FOR THE BEGINNER on how to set up and use Linux. The book was authored by an "expert programmer with over 20 years of experience in the software industry". Like many programmers, Mr. Clark seems to have the expectation that everyone will have the same programming background. He's seemingly forgotten (or perhaps never believed) that most people who use computers are using them as a tool to accomplish other purposes.This book might be useful to a professional, or a hobbyist. As a beginner, "Linux for Beginners" was a complete waste of time (including 15 hours spent trying to get Debian downloaded/installed/usable).The author had several questions for the reader, and asked for reviews. The review is above, questions are answered below.1) what were my expectations for when I bought this guide? As a beginner, I wanted usable information to set up a Linux-based system for my own use, including explanations of the various terms thrown about in discussions of Linux.2) Did the book live up to them? I think the review makes clear that it didn't.3) What would you change? Actually providing the information the cover suggests is contained would be nice but is probably too much to ask for. Inclusion of an index would be of great value in making the book useful. A glossary of terms used, developed with a beginner in mind, would be invaluable. (Spending hour after hour trying to find definitions online that fit the context of the text was. . . frustrating.) Perhaps you could substitute "Second-year Programming Students" for "Beginners" in the title?

I consider myself a fiddler when it comes to programming. I know a little to get me by, but I often have to go back and look things up, which is why Nathan's series of books has been such a great tool for me. They always have an easy-to-use Table of Contents, and the book is parsed out in very simple language with lots of definitions and explanations. It doesn't jump around a lot.This well-organized book covers the history and setting up Linux as well as terminals, commands, and getting help. I have been a fan of this series for years now, and I would highly recommend them to anyone trying to pick up software coding.

Linux is the second book of Clark's I've read, and he hasn't let me down. I'm a complete programming novice and even I could understand and learn all there is to know about Linux. His explanations are clear and concise, I had no trouble following along. Mr. Clark is my one stop shop in solving all my questions as a novice programmer. I had only one caveat: some of the darker illustrations were difficult to view on my Kindle (7th gen), however, it could simply be my kindle and didn't lessen my ability to take away my new found knowledge of Linux.

This is the one of Nathan Clark’s excellent series written on programming languages.Nathan Clark has a knack for taking a complex subject and making it easy to understand.This book goes into the basic topics related to Linux, including its history and evolution from UNIX, step by step installation instructions, and then later more complex subjects like Commands for Directories and Process Management.This book is a great guide for anyone who want to learn about this topic on their own or for instructors who are looking for a good instructing book.Highly recommended!

Book is okay, there are better intro books on linux. For a true beginner, start with online how to videos and keep books like this around for quick reference.

Technology does not come easy to me, but my job has forced me to become familiar with Linux. I have read several of Nathan's programming books because he makes this subject that is so confusing to me understandable. He does not assume that the reader was born with any technical skills and explains the concepts exceptionally well. It is a great resource for a novice like myself.

Nathan has out done himself again. this is a very comprehensive look into the history and workings of the Linux, among other systems. The wording was easy to follow and the use of pictures, where needed was not overused. I found the tutorial well laid out, easy followed and in a format that I found it understandable at a first read through. Looking forward for similar tutorials by Nathan.

Used both Ubuntu and mint in the past which are debian based and all I can say is they are both much easier to use. Debian is a Linux distro that feeds the thinking that Linux is not for everyone. Trying to install vnc client which is usually easy to do on mint but here it managed to delete my user account. An absolute pig of an OS for the average user. And why do some things involve about a dozen terminal commands when Windows can do the same thing in 2 mouse clicks. Avoid this book and get one for mint or Ubuntu.

Only really applies to Debian Linux, lots of filler and little structure. If like me you've got Ubuntu then pay the extra and get a book dedicated to that flavour of Linux.

Good, clear guide. Well written and easy to use. Just what you need as an introduction to the subject. Recommended.

Your killing me. I bought this book to learn how to install software and using terminal command lines. On page 72 you had me all set to get how to install/run .sh scripting files and you left me dead in the water. I am lost in how to install all my software I created this box for. However the first 100 pages were very valuable in content and easy to clearly understand how to fix issues I have with my new install.

So far looks good let you know when i finish it