This book explains how to manage a small stand-alone system under Linux. Most of the operations, tools, and applications discussed in the book are presented as the Linux counterparts to the same Windows operations, tools, and applications.

The book is divided into five parts, covering Linux installation and configuration, system administration, and system use for everyday tasks. The first part explains how to partition a hard disk, how to install Linux and some needed packages, and how to use the shell, the most basic Linux interface.

The second part explains Linux system administration via two popular graphical user interfaces (GUIs), which are bundled with Linux: the K Desktop Environment (KDE) and the GNU Network Object Model Environment (GNOME). System administration includes file management, text and file editing, performing simple calculations, drawing, and screen capturing. Some more advanced operations include managing users and groups, scheduling tasks, making Linux coexist with other operating systems (OSs), deciding which OS to start with at boot time, and configuring security options such as firewalls and authentication methods. The author correctly stresses that these last operations are used only at the server level, lack direct Windows counterparts, and make Linux somehow harder to use than Windows.

The third part describes the Linux version of the most common office automation applications. It presents OpenOffice, the most common Linux office automation suite, and compares its components to its Microsoft Office counterparts. It also presents the main differences between the two suites.

The fourth part describes GIMP, the graphical editor found in most Linux distributions, and a few miscellaneous applications, as well as Linux’s built-in Web, mail, and file transfer protocol (FTP) servers. These applications, too, have no direct Windows counterparts, and are used at the server level only.

The fifth part explains shell programming. It stresses that, unlike Windows, Linux GUIs are only tools, however convenient; real Linux control is indeed achieved only by shell programming. This last part can be viewed as an introduction to some serious system administration for somebody who has, so far, only used PCs in stand-alone mode. It lets readers glimpse the full potential of a Linux system.

The intended reader of this book would be someone already familiar with fundamental computer tasks, like the use of common office automation applications, and basic system administration, performed on a Windows-based system. This person, however, is led to the gradual discovery of many more aspects of computer use, and is left only at the edge of serious system administration. This book explains that a Linux-based system can perform the same tasks as a Windows-based system, and, with a bit of patience and a grain of salt, a few more tasks; it also lets its audience glimpse what real-life, heavy-duty computer systems look like.

It is a good tutorial for those seeking to move from Windows to Linux, and for those who want to discover some of the advanced capabilities of a computer system. The writing style is plain, clear, and free from technical jargon. However, the book does not provide in-depth coverage of either Linux or Windows; this is left to other Web resources, extensively listed in Appendix A. It is not a reference book, either. The best way to use this book would be to read it sequentially, from the first chapter to last, followed later by rapid visits to single sections as the need arises.