Linux: Clearly Explained

Linux Clearly Explained is the first book to help beginners take Linux and the GNOME desktop seriously as an alternative to Microsoft Windows and Mac OS. Instead of dragging the reader through outmoded text-based shells and applications, Linux Clearly Explained shows you how to set up a convincing, usable alternative to the Microsoft or Mac system you're already using. By explaining the concepts of Linux usage as well as which button to click, this book gives you a solid conceptual foundation that will pay off handsomely as your knowledge of Linux grows.

Included with the book is a CD-ROM featuring Red Hat 6.0, the market-leading Linux distribution, which will help you learn how to install Red Hat Linux smoothly and optimize its performance on your system. Also included is the productivity package, Corel WordPerfect for Linux 8.0. With this free software, you'll be able to explore the beautiful new GNOME desktop - something so easy to use that any Windows or Macintosh user will feel quickly at home.

From there, you'll learn how to obtain and set up free software that will enable you to do everything you're doing right now with commercial products, including browsing the Web, using e-mail, and running office suite applications. You'll learn how to connect your computer to the Internet, how to obtain and install new software, and how to keep your system running smoothly.

Break your dependence on pricey commercial software and frequent system upgrades. Run the hottest operating system around, and explore the GNOME desktop that's posing a genuine threat to Windows dominance. With this book as your guide, you'll learn the Linux skills that will enable you to say, "Bye-bye, Bill."

Join the rebellion!

Bryan Pfaffenberger, author of more than 100 books on computing, is the author of AP Professional's best-selling Netscape Communicators series, as well as Discovering HTML 4 and XML for Web Authors in Six Easy Steps, also published by Morgan Kaufmann. A recognized national authority on the Internet, he is an Associate Professor in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Virginia, and lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.