This book has been revised and updated to cover Ubuntu 16.04, and comes with an installation DVD for the 64-bit (AMD64) desktop version thereof. The back cover promises that readers will “learn how to reliably install, customize, and update Ubuntu for any home, business, school, or government environment.”
If the reader can endure 40 pages of preamble about the origins of free software in general and Ubuntu in particular, he will reach a chapter in which he can actually learn how to install Ubuntu. There are some useful screen shots to assist in understanding the process. However, the manner in which some options are introduced might lead to some confusion; it is suggested, for instance, that one might want to manually partition his root disk, but no guidelines are offered concerning partition sizes.
The default desktop for Ubuntu is Unity--something I have never fully understood. The book has a chapter about it, and I found the screen shots therein helpful. The chapter also illustrates how additional users can be created, and shows how some popular browser, office, and email applications can be used. Readers will also learn how to configure printers and manage software updates. There are a couple of paragraphs about backup procedures, but the information in those is too general to be of much value. The reader may wish to install additional software to address job or pastime needs, and there is a chapter showing how this can be accomplished using either the GNOME Software Center program or the Synaptic package manager tool. The GIMP graphics package is a common requirement, and several pages are devoted to demonstrating its capabilities. There are also some screen shots illustrating how Inkscape and Scribus can be used.
In the “Becoming a Power Ubuntu User” chapter, one can learn how to manage user capabilities and modify the settings that determine which applications will be used to open files of various types. There are a few paragraphs about mounting Windows partitions and a somewhat inadequate section showing how software can be compiled from a source. In a similar vein, the short chapter “Welcome to the Command Line” discusses several filesystem navigation commands and some simple file operations. The stream edit example will not actually work as described in the text. There are better books for learning this sort of thing.
“The Ubuntu Server,” a 40-page chapter, includes descriptions of installation procedures, RAID setup, and logical volume management (LVM) arrangements. The reader is also shown how one might acquire and edit the source code for an application and then build a custom package from it. At the end of the chapter, there are a couple of paragraphs about virtualization and cloud computing. It is a pity that there are no screen shots or diagrams in the entire chapter, and I was disappointed at finding no mention of Systemd and how it operates in the startup and management of servers and other processes.
There are those who find the Unity desktop difficult. I was therefore pleased to see some coverage of Kubuntu, XFCE, Lubuntu, and a few other distributions that offer alternative desktop and content experiences. The authors also observe that Ubuntu derivatives have found their way into mobile phones and devices like drones and refrigerators. I have some doubts about the book delivering on its back-cover promise; there are too many areas where its coverage is short on detail. But it does present a comprehensive picture of Ubuntu capabilities, and should inspire its reader to look elsewhere for whatever detailed information he may require to reliably install and manage the particular software that most appropriately addresses his particular requirements.
More reviews about this item: Amazon
