Here is a great reference for Linux newcomers. It starts with Linux history and an Ubuntu installation guide, and then continues with setup, administration, office software, multimedia applications, and continuing maintenance. A double-sided DVD is included. It is a handy reference tool that includes multiple flavors of the latest Ubuntu release.

According to the “Apress roadmap” on the back cover of this book, two other books [1,2] are the entry points to the publisher’s Linux reference library. Both books share the same structure and format; both were coauthored by Thomas, for Apress; and both introduce Linux to newcomers. One would expect them to be almost identical except for small, distribution-specific variations in the interfaces. However, I much prefer Beginning Ubuntu Linux [1] to Beginning Fedora [2] because of the wonderful DVD.

Multiple versions of Ubuntu Linux are included for multiple hardware systems (including Apple Macintosh) and multiple applications, such as educational use or use on low-performance systems. Not only are the various forms packaged conveniently together, but an appendix was added to this third edition to describe these various versions. As a consumer, I feel that Apress and the authors made a special effort to add value to their product and give me more for my money.

The Ubuntu version is more than 200 pages longer than the Fedora tome, already long at 500-plus pages--and I don’t like long technical books. However, the type is noticeably larger and more readable, and even the screen captures seem larger and clearer. The overall result is a book that is easier to read--an improvement that outweighs the added length.

The most noticeable improvement is less Windows bashing. The slightly older Fedora version seems to wallow in it, whereas the Ubuntu version points out problems with Windows up front, and then gets on with the task at hand. I don’t like Windows, and I think that Microsoft and Windows both deserve some bashing, but it should be done elsewhere. In reference books, it is just clutter.

Experienced Linux users will be happier with a book further along on the roadmap, but, even for them, it’s easier to buy the book for the DVD than to spend time downloading all the components.