Linux and Open Source are attracting unprecedented attention in the high tech world. Debian GNU/Linux is a remarkable demonstration of what the Open Source model can produce: Debian is an all volunteer organization, and their distribution contains only open-source software. This exciting new world can be intimidating for those whose primary computing experience is Microsoft Windows. In Learning Debian/GNU Linux, Bill McCarty has written a book for this new audience, aimed at introducing them to a Unix style operating system. Learning Debian GNU/Linux will guide any new user of Linux through the installing and use of Debian GNU/Linux, the entirely Open Source version of the Linux operating system. It demystifies Linux in terms familiar to Windows users and gives readers only what they need to start being successful users of Linux. Learning Debian GNU/Linux takes the reader step by step through the process of installing and setting up a Debian system, and provides a thorough but gentle introduction to the basics of using Debian GNU/Linux. Because the book is written specifically for the included CD, the reader needs nothing else to get started with this exciting new operating system.

Learning Debian GNU/Linux Review,  February 04 2001
Submitted by Frederick R. Hanhisalo   [Respond | View]

A good book crippled by a rotten choice of components on the CD. Debian is a very good distribution but (as others have noted) the CD is a mishmash of bits 'n' pieces from release 2.1 (Slink) and an early alpha version of 2.2 (Potato). Nothing quite works.

XF86Setup destroys the video options in XF86Config -- even if you just change the mouse settings.

route doesn't work with the add option.

Get a real Debian release and don't waste your time with the bogus release included with this book.




Learning Debian GNU/Linux Review,  November 27 2000
Submitted by Anonymous   [Respond | View]

This book is so disorganized and lacks of details of setting up X windows. To make matters worse, the accompanying CD does not have complete gnome packages required to walk through this book.

O'Reilly has published many excellent books, but not this one. This looks like a very rush homework. O'Reilly should do better.


Learning Debian GNU/Linux Review,  July 05 2000
Submitted by E. M. Collins   [Respond | View]

I must say that I was truly disappointed by this book, and by debian for that matter. I have benefited greatly from some of O'Reilly's other computer books however, Mr. McCarty's book is far too general in its coverage of Linux (but not as comprehensive as Running Linux, a far better book), the specifics of the debian distribution, whether they be the file structure, which is different to other distros in many specifics, the unique debian package management facilities, and debian specific configuration issues, are covered in only the most cursory fashion.

I purchased the book as part of the VALinux/SGI/O'Reilly boxed set in hope of having to avoid printing out reams of debian man pages, I was truly upset when I had to log back in to Red Hat, mount my debian partition and print out scores of pages of debian documentation in a vain attempt to diagnose the problems I was having getting apt-get to work and find out what the obscure 'no MMap' et al error messages meant. Unfortunately I can report no succes here, both the book and debian's documentation let me down. This is a real shame, because debian's package management system is touted as one of its greatest advantages over other distributions and should compenstate for the fact that the current official distribution 'slink' is in Linux terms hopelessly out of date.

The age of slink is another issue, the version of Xfree86 that is included doesn't seem to support my video card, nor a great many other cards currently on the market, I had hoped to do an upgrade to a more current version but apt-get failed me. Why not ship with the newer version instead of the half-updated version include? And why not include some of the non-free utilities like Netscape and Acroread for which there exist no suitable 'free' replacements, on a separate cdrom if need be?

I won't talk about the other problems I had with debian, but I've gone back to using Red Hat, or SuSE, Mandrake, Slackware, etc., after my lost long Forth of July weekend in debian's dungeon.


Learning Debian GNU/Linux Review,  June 15 2000
Submitted by Michael P. Soulier   [Respond | View]

I picked up this book primarily on the O'Reilly name, which rarely fails me. I was quite disappointed with this book however. The author makes broad assumptions that every step during installation will succeed, saying nothing about what to do if it fails. Most of the problem in working with Linux is getting it installed, and yet a small percentage of the book is actually put towards installation and possible problems. Canned commands are offered without explaining them fully, and meanwhile the actual CD is not truly Debian 2.1.

I bought the book hoping for the usual O'Reilly excellence, such as UNIX Power Tools. Unfortunately I found it far below par.


Learning Debian GNU/Linux Review,  February 10 2000
Submitted by R. Coleman   [Respond | View]



This is a good intro to Debian GNU/Linux. The book itself is well written and touches on most of the major points of Debian for the beginner. The biggest complaint I had with it was the included CD-ROM. I had purchased it with the intention of getting an official Debian GNU/Linux 2.1 {slink} workstation up and running. Unfortunately the version included with this book, although labeled "Debian 2.1" wasn't. Apparently VA Linux compiled a non-standard version they refer to as "slink and a half" that combines parts of the stable Debian 2.1 release {slink} with parts of the unstable 2.2 {potato} release. Nowhere on this web site, in the actual book, or on/in the accompanying CD-ROM is any of this mentioned.

Why O'Reilly chose to do this, I can't say. I had come to expect much better from them.

If you already have a CD-ROM set of the "Official Debian GNU/Linux 2.1" this book may prove very helpful getting it up and running. If you were looking to purchase this book with the intention of installing a stock Debian workstation from the included CD-ROM, you would be advised to look elsewhere.

Hopefully O'Reilly will either correct the version of Debian GNU/Linux included with this book, and/or CLEARLY label both the book and this website with the reality of VA Linux's "slink and a half".



Learning Debian GNU/Linux Review,  October 13 1999
Submitted by Don Royer   [Respond | View]



This book would have saved me countless hours, had it been available during the life of my very first Linux host. Kudos to Bill McCarty and O'Reilly books. It's good to see O'Reilly support Debian as a viable alternative to Red Hat as a newbie distro. Nothing against the good folks working with Bob Young, mind you. I just believe that Debian can provide a little better platform for folks who are, or grow into, serious Linux/Unix afficianados. My only complaint (and it's truly trivial :^) is with the colophon. A steer calf of that size wouldn't have fully developed horns. A rodeo bull would be about twice the size of the animal shown.


Learning Debian GNU/Linux Review,  October 13 1999
Submitted by Paul Wright   [Respond | View]



Great Book! This and the box set are a pleasant suprise to all who already use Debian Gnu/Linux! This will be wonderful addition to Debian and Linux as a whole. (Aside to charles who posted Reader Review dated oct 12, RTFM!! As in any Linux, users can belong to many groups. as root you can do this: root@your.computer> usermod -G dialout username Also- man usermod(8).) --ptw--


Learning Debian GNU/Linux Review,  October 12 1999
Submitted by Charles Hixson   [Respond | View]



Much of the book is very good, however I strongly dislike setting up root as the internet connection. This feels very dangerous, but if there is a location in which a different way of setting this up is discussed, I didn't notice it. I feel that ideally root should never be logged on as the internet connection, although I realize that this would probably render the apt-get process much more cumbersome. Certainly, however, root should not be the default id to use with which to log onto the internet. Perhaps I have misunderstood this, and I hope so (if so, I would like to be informed).


Learning Debian GNU/Linux Review,  October 06 1999
Submitted by Martin   [Respond | View]



This is *GREAT* stuff! Bill McCarty and O'Reilly & Associates did a wonderful thing when they released a Debian version of this book along with the RedHat Release! Thank you!


Learning Debian GNU/Linux Review,  July 08 1998
Submitted by Mark Ralls   [Respond | View]



Until O'Reilly puts the correct distribution on the CD that comes with this book you should avoid it. It is incredibly frustrating to get X installed, and then find that the necessary Gnome files are not on the cd. Do not buy this book until this issue is resolved.