Moving To Linux: Kiss the Blue Screen of Death Goodbye by Marcel Gagné

Michael J. Jordan, Linux Online Staff

Some time ago, I reviewed another excellent book by Marcel Gagne. His Linux System Administration was the best book I had read for someone technically inclined (ie. the curious and willing to learn) to get Linux up and running and then be able to do some interesting things with it.

As I mentioned, that was some time ago - and "some time ago" is an eternity in this business. And in this time Linux just hasn't stopped. It's been rising like the foam in your beer mug. To prove my point, I just finished posting a story here at Linux Online about the fact that Microsoft now needs Akamai and its extensive Linux server farms to keep its beleaguered public websites on line. We've come a long way since Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer called Linux a "toy". Who'd a thunk!

Linux's next big date with destiny is the desktop. Microsoft controls over 90% of that market. Unfortunately for 90% of the public, that same percentage of viruses seem to be attracted to their products. Last week, three major viruses targeted Microsoft end users and did varying levels of damage to their machines. For some it was impossible to even get a patch to combat the viruses. One tech pundit recommended using Knoppix, a Linux distribution that runs from a CD, (a copy of this comes with the book) to download the patch. If you're tired of going through the computer world's version of the Black Plague, then I recommend getting Marcel's book. The subtitle is "Kiss the Blue Screen of Death Goodbye". This is an allusion to the ubiquitous blue Windows error screen. That is, the one that you see when you're just about to lose that report you've been working on for 3 hours. I have been using Linux as a desktop operating system since 1997 and although Linux wasn't pretty in those days, I stopped seeing blue forever. Now in 2003, still crash-free, I am sitting here writing this on something which is very, very nice looking. But better than being nice looking, it is easy to use and reliable. Now, there is really nothing to stop you from adopting Linux for daily use. If you're contemplating the switch, Marcel Gagne's book will be a great companion to take you through the process.

The first chapter starts off with a great observation: ...anyone who is familiar with a computer can learn to use Linux. The book, as I mentioned, comes with a CD that can be used for booting your computer right into Linux, without any need to futz with your hardware. Not being able to see what Linux "looks like" and what it "feels like" has been a major obstacle to Linux adoption and Marcel has done well to include live CD version Knoppix with the book. To someone who wants to start working with Linux on a regular basis, Knoppix is not going to be the ideal version of Linux, however. So in Chapter 3 we jump into installation of Linux on the hard disk. The book deals with some issues that you might have in mind. One of them is dual booting. This means having both Linux and Windows on the same machine. This is sometimes necessary for migration to using Linux completely. The book talks about some of the hairier aspects of dual booting, like repartitioning your hard drive. These are some of the things that scare off Linux wannabes but Marcel walks you through this. After, the book deals with installing three of the most popular Linux distributions: Red Hat, Mandrake and SuSE. Though the book was sent to the printer before the release of Red Hat 9 and Mandrake 9.1, the latest of these companies' offerings, I have installed of both of these - Red Hat 9 on my workstation and Mandrake 9.1 (yesterday as a matter of fact!) on a friend's laptop. I can safely report that when Marcel says that it is easy, he is not just trying to sell books. It is trivially easy to install these two Linux brands. SuSE, on the other hand, which I must say was my first love, scorned me with their 7.x series and being jilted, I have not used subsequent versions. If Marcel includes it here, I'll take his word for it and include it in the easy camp.

One of the things that we're truly blessed with in the Linux world is diversity. Nowhere is this seen better than in the variety of graphical user interfaces that come with Linux. Chapter 4 introduces you to KDE, which is one of the two most popular "windowing" environments for Linux. This segues into Chapter 5, which I consider one of the most important - a complete guide to using Konqueror, which is KDE's version of the Microsoft's file manager Explorer. Like its Microsoft counterpart, it is also bound to a WWW browser. Again, Linux suffers from the fact that people think that you have to know how to use commands in a terminal in order to use Linux. I will always point out that experienced Linux users are able to do more faster and easier with the command line. That doesn't mean that you're forced to use it. With Konqueror, you've got a great tool for managing your files and Marcel does a great job getting you up to speed with it.

Chapter 7-9 deals with those issues that have traditionally made people run for cover when they heard the name Linux, namely updating programs, configuring hardware and getting on to the Internet. In the good ole days when I started out, these aspects of Linux use required long hours of studying documentation and how-tos. This is no longer. Marcel correctly points out that the number of things that work right way is impressive. I recently purchased a cheapo HP printer and I had that working with Red Hat 9 in a matter of minutes. Webcams and pen storage devices and scanners that I have get recognized right away. At any rate, Chapter 8 will be able to clear up any doubts you might have about that.

The rest of the chapters are dedicated to showing you how to use all those applications that Linux has for getting your day-to-day work done - email, word processors, spreadsheets, web browsers and others. If you're artistically inclined, there's quite a bit on using available Linux programs for bringing out your creative side: a program in the OpenOffice suite to create "Power Point" style presentations and the GIMP, a complete image creation/modification program 'a la Photoshop'. The section ends off with an overview of the multimedia programs available so that you can listen to music, burn CDs, listen to and create MP3s and watch video.

If you're feeling adventurous, you may want to peruse Appendix 2 and then fire up a terminal and try out some of the command line examples. If you've had any experience with MS-DOS, this will be familiar for you (even if somewhat dated). It will bring back that feeling of "I've got this bull by the horns" computing that Windows unfortunately has almost made extinct.

Marcel Gagné, true to form, has written another excellent book. What's more, its release couldn't have been timed better and the formula he proposes for Linux migration is just what we need right now. With his book you have the possibility of trying Linux with no pain and no strings attached. If you like what you see, you can get yourself some Red Hat or Mandrake CDs and then, using this book as your guide, you'll be "Moving to Linux" and handing the hat to viruses and lost productivity and of course, kissing the blue screen of death goodbye.

Marcel Gagné's book can be purchased at Amazon through our website. The Linux Distributions mentioned in the book are available there as well. We receive a small commission that helps defray the costs of maintaining Linux Online.

Michael J. Jordan, is the webmaster of Linux Online and has spent nearly 6 years helping people "move" to Linux. He can be reached at Michael.Jordan**AT**Linux.org