Customer Reviews & Comments This book walks you step-by-step through the process of installing Linux and GNOME, and explains many concepts in layman's language. All well and good assuming that the installation goes smoothly. Unfortunately, with Linux the odds of a smooth installation by a beginner are very slim, since things never happen exactly the same way on any two hardware configurations. Little or no troubleshooting information to deal with the inevitable problems. Very inconsistent regarding the organization of information and the knowledge level expected of the reader. Too disorganized to be a reference book. Essential issues such as network configuration from the command line are barely covered. The entire "Mastering" series seems to be like this. They seem more concerned with making the book thick and heavy than making it useful. My recommendation is "Running Linux" by Matt Welsh. In fact, I'd recommend whenever possible to only buy computer books published by O'Reilly; I have not yet seen a bad one from them.
