Hi. I am looking for a learning/reference book to help me and my linux endeavors out. This summer I purchased SuSE 8.2 Pro and have installed it and windows (both in dual boot and back and forth) many times since, never getting too far. I would still like to really get good at linux, but I fear I will need the help of a book (or two). I wouldnt call myself a windows God, but I can certainly do more than most people I know (maybe my best friend and a couple others can out do me). I am looking for a book that would explain Linux from next to nothing in plain english, yet isnt focused toward complete dummies. I would like to especially learn more about commands and such, as I believe it would be more beneficial than learning through a GUI.

Some books I was looking at were:

Running Linux (4th ed) by Matt Welsh
- someone commented how some of the material wasnt as relevant
toward new distros and such, but good in learning

Linux In a Nutshell (4th ed) by Ellen Siever
- looks pretty good from what i read

Red Hat Linux 9 Bible by Christopher Negus
- would this be good even though i have suse 8.2? relevant?

SuSE Linux Unleashed by Bill Ball
- It tells you about SuSE 6.2.... kind of old?


Well, if anyone has some ideas, feel free to shout, just keep in mind my linux brain isnt developed yet (i'm still facinated by the mount commands )


Thanks to anyone who feels like helping me out

- Jason

I own one of the Red Hat Linux Bible books (I don't remember what version it was, I had it long before 9 came out though), and that book was instrumental in helping me switch from Windows to Linux.
If you were using the Fedora Core (basically the new version of RedHat Linux) I would recommend it, but I'm not sure how relevant it would be to a SuSE user, since I've never used SuSE.

Since you don't seem to be attached to SuSE, I would recommend downloading the Fedora Core, and buying the RedHat 9 Bible, but that's just my opinion.
If you need any help, just let me know. I'd be happy to help you over AIM/ICQ/MSN/Yahoo/IRC any time you need it.

Thanks for the input, but i really dont mind the SuSE that i have. I'm sure that redhat isnt bad either, but correct me if i'm wrong but i think i heard that redhat isnt going to continue making personal editions and that they were going to move more toward the corporate world. Also, what is different about the Fedora Core as opposed to the old one? thx. jason

i always liked the light weight of the following books ( total mass=0kg )

http://www.icon.co.za/~psheer/book/index.html.gz
http://www.soldierx.com/books/networking/index.htm
http://www.dsl.org/cookbook/
http://www.onlamp.com/linux/cmd/

to better follow your question, i've noticed a weathered copy of 'Unix In a Nutshell' in many personal collections, including mine.

unless i can convince a few people to let me borrow a sofa, I think i will need a portable learning tool. The butt print in my computer chair is already quite defined. thanks anyways, i will surely check them out

The best reference I've found on Linux ever is RUTE. Available for free there or on paper at any decent bookstore. It covers anything you'll ever want to know about Linux. My copy of Linux Administration, a Beginners Guide is also quite beaten and tattered. I should probably recommend The Redhat Bible since the author is a friend from the local LUG. But personally I much prefer SuSE over RedHat.

And I don't want to get slapped down my second day here, but I'm guessing that if you put alt.binaries in front of oh, say, e-book.technical you'd find more info than you'd know what to do with.

Art

Red Hat Linux previously was Red Hat's version of Linux for the home user and hobbyist. The Fedora Core is basically a continuation of that, except it's developed by an independent community in addition to Red Hat's programmers. The Fedora website says "The Red Hat engineering team will continue to participate in the building of Fedora Core and will invite and encourage more outside participation than was possible in Red Hat Linux."

All that's really happening is that Red Hat Linux is being made more open, and is no longer an officially supported product of Red Hat. (Which just means that you get free updates instead of having to fill out a survey to get them, and you can't call Red Hat for support.)

Personally, I prefer the Fedora Core to every distro I've tried, but that's the great thing about Linux - there are many choices, and you're free to choose whatever you like best.

hey, i checked out the Rute book and It looks really good. When i went to amazon, one reviewer said some of the stuff is outdated and such, as the kernel 2.2 is explained. Being as 2.6 is now out, will it still be a good, yet relevant teaching tool?

thx

I just took a quick look at RUTE, and it appears that most of it is still applicable and relevant.
If you do get it, just ignore anything that requires a 2.2 kernel, or is a feature of one, since it will no longer be relevant.

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