This book tells you about 2% of what you need to know to figure out anything in Linux. Linux supports virually nothing in the way of programs, games or software, just get a Mac with OS X leopard or if you want to use windows get XP all the stuff you need a masters in computer science to do is already done you just use the OS and enjoy. Linux as one reviewer said earlier is no where near as easy as Windows or Mac OS X. Linux is for programmers not the average computer user. I use computers with process controls for a living and I don't have time to configure linux to just work so i can get my work done which is way I use XP or OS X. This book has facts like (this is a quote from the book) "If Linux Ubuntu does not recognize your wireless card it can be easily fixed by getting a new one" Thats not how to fix things or use Linux just buy new hardware to suit Linux, I don't think so to hell with linux.

I have tried other Linux programs before this, but I really like this one. Between the book and the included installation disc, you can't go wrong.

A very well structured tutorial for absolute beginners. Written in a friendly, entertaining, companionable style. I am new to Linux and found the book filled in a lot of the background history to the development of Linux and provided enough information about the file structure and concepts such as the Bash shell for me to understand at a basic level what I'm doing. Highly recommended for any non-programmer who is interested in trying out Linux. After following through the exercises in the book you will have a fully functional multimedia system and will be able to confidently customise your Ubuntu system to make it look and feel exactly the way you want it.

The is an excellent resource for new LINUX users. It goes through everything step-by-step to get new LINUX users up and running quickly. Goes great with the LINUX bible.

This book is very easy to understand. I am 70 yrs old and am having no problem learning Ubuntu. The book makes it fun and easy. The disc with the book is Ubuntu 7.04. I have Ubuntu 7.10 on my computer, but the menus, etc. seem to be the same.

Written for the uninformed without being condescending. Covers multiple questions with excellent examples. The kind of book that makes you think "thank goodness someone thought of the reader's needs."

Before I begin I'd like to say that anyone who tells you that Linux is "just as easy as Windows" is lying. If you venture into the land of Linux you should know this first and foremost. Unless you already are adept at Unix or Linux or work with computers for a living be prepared to spend many, many days figuring things out that Microsoft -- bless it's soul -- has already figured out for you.

Now about this book. It stinks. The author spends far too much time on nonsense, explaining that something will not be too hard, and far too little time actually explaining what he's trying to get across. This, by the way, is very typical of computer geeks and a requirement for a Linux expert.

Look up "partitioning" in the index of this book and you get almost nothing. The author's explanation of how partitioning works is almost nonexistent. Instead of positioning this section to 99.9% of his readers -- who already have Windows running and would just like to experiment -- the author completely glosses over the major points of where your files will go and what will happen to your Windows setup.

Second, there is the hardware issue. Have a nice wireless dongle you want to use to connect to your home network? Forget it. They tell you Linux works with everything -- everything but the particular hardware you want to install.

Again, look up wireless networking in the index of this book and there is almost nothing except a long explanation about "WAP". WAP this, WAP that, connect your WAP.

Really, I ask, do you want to figure all this nonsense out for yourself (because that is what will happen) or do you simply want to use Windows XP or Vista and save hours, days, weeks??

I have at this point tried several of the free Linux distributions and one that I stupidly paid for. They all stink. They are approximately at the stage that DOS was in 1983, except for one minor problem: It's 2008 and we're used to our computers working, more or less, from the moment we turn them on.

No Linux expert I have been in contact with (and I have been on several forums) has been able to explain the partition process to me, and what the best way is to split up the disk. Or even what the heck those choices mean when you power up the installer. No linux expert has been able to answer how my networking equipment will work with Linux.

And if you don't get it, tough.

If you're a non-professional computer user, save your money, time, and gastric juices. Learn to get the most out of Windows because until someone comes up w/ a complete Linux distribution that partitions the hard drive without the need to understand "fat/dslso winxp XXyyzz" and gobbledeegook such as that, Linux will foreever be the domain of geeks. There is a reason why "free" operating systems are free. You get what you pay for.

Angelo DePalma

This was a fantastic book. I myself am an absolute newbie to anything other than Windows, as I'm a system administrator for my tech group. I've implemented all kinds of things, from network appliances to full animation workstation clusters. With the newly available technologies in the Linux world, I thought it would be a good idea to look into it, and a friend suggested Ubuntu as a starting point.

I like the idea that an author could write plainly and concisely, and not talk down to the reader. I myself am a big fan of the "Dummies" series, as that's how I've done most of my learning (I have no formal training). After reading all the reviews, I decided to go with this book, and I wasn't let down. After reading about the basic history of linux, it starts into the philosophy of the Ubuntu platform. Mostly the first chapter was background, and the rest was very well though out. The book started off with basic tasks, then graduated to more complex ones, not designed to create a power user, just enough to make you intermediate, bu that's definitely a great start into the research of linux.

I'm very glad I purchased this book, and would quickly suggest it to any beginner in the linux world.

We all know Linux is more powerful, more stable, and more secure than windows. I decided to give it a try, like many first time Linux users, when my copy of Windows became so un-useable I had to re-install it....again. The problem is, how do I do all of the things I do in Windows....in Ubuntu?

Ubuntu for Non-Geeks is nice, easy to follow, project based How To book that get you right into doing what you need to do in Ubuntu. Rather than a chapter on how to install programs, this book actually has you install useful programs several different ways so that you can't help but understand how to do it when you finish the chapter. The same can be said for all the chapters, including even how to make your desktop look just like OS X.

If you have no Linux experience, this is where you should start. Linux bible;s and Linux hacking books are nice, but typically way over the head of the beginner user.

After the overpriced Microbully prices skyrocketed. I decided to look into running Linux. After searching the internet, reading various ratings, and trying various Distro's of Linux out for user friendliness for a beginner, I decided to go with Ubuntu. So I began buying magazines, and Ubuntu Bible, though these are great resources, they didn't give me the feel I was looking for in trying to truly get the best grasp of Ubuntu's capabilities at my Linux Level. I purchased this book, and wow, my confidence began growing and growing. Working along with the author on various projects just gave me the True Jump Start I was looking for. I would highly reccomend this book to someone who is interested in trying Linux out for the first time. I believe when you finish this book, You may just KICK Microbully to the curb.

I've been involved in computers since 1970, first mainframes then the first "portables" that operated on CPM operating system. Still, it wasn't until BG forced Windows Vista down my throat that I finally began looking at an alternative in earnest. Ubuntu (a great alternative to Windows) for non Geeks started off as a really great book on getting Linux up and running on my lap-top. Then beginning with chapter 8 things began going down hill. The projects for using terminal mode did not work. Any of them. Although I prided myself with the ability to effectively use DOS when it was the thing, I was unable to get my hands around the terminal commands.
Then Chapter 9 and getting the Java Runtime Environment. Another failure. And here the author just assumes that everything is going swell and therefore makes no allowances for the event that things don't. Therefore there is nothing to help find the problem of why it doesn't work, or trouble shooting suggestions.
I haven't gotten beyond Chapter 9. My excitement and joy of progressing was shattered by my results of chapters 8 & 9. I will undoubtedly continue on, but "haven't gotten around to it".
Be that as it may, I still recommend the purchase of the book to get started with. And I highly recommend dumping Windows for Ubuntu. Even if I never "get around to it" in finishing up Ubuntu for Non-Geeks, it got me started and I'm using Ubuntu now more than Windows. I am running a dual-boot system and I hope and look forward to wiping Windows off my computer soon.

This book is simplistic and goes step by step. Please understand, it will try to give you a basic/intermediate understanding of Ubuntu and try to teach some things about Linux. It is not trying to teach you Linux itself. Just Ubuntu...a particular 'flavor' of Linux.

I agree with a previous review that this book could have used more pictures, diagrams, visuals. Technical direction without pictures is cruel to the geekiest of people. So, that is why I gave it 4 stars. Also, this book does not go deeply enough into setting up, backing up and protecting your partitions and files. Things that are crucial to know because if done properly, can save you hours of pain! Something Windows users are very familiar with and trying to escape.

Tired of the restrictions and lack of performance from Windows? Tired of needing new, powerful hardware to satisfy Windows' bloated code? Tired of paying money for extra software like cd/dvd burning tools, backup software, MP3 ripping and burning, tired of shelling out $250 to $600 for Microsoft's Office Suite? Come over to Linux!! No digital rights management or privacy invading issues, no network connection restrictions, no slow degraded performance due to not having a brand new computer!!

Yes, it takes time to learn and will require some effort on your part...but the rewards are well worth it.

I've tried to figure out Linux many times before but could just never get it. This book is remarkable. If you're a Linux guru this is not the book for you (it's far too simplistic for a Linux guru), but if you are a person running Windows that is sick of how poorly it performs and how much software costs, and want to switch over to a far superior operating system while making your computer faster, more secure, and never spending a penny of money on software again, this is the book for you. This book is written in plain English for people that aren't computer geeks, and is very easy to understand. It quickly gets you up and running on Ubuntu Linux (which you can download fore free) and them BAM - you're up and running. Everything is easy, works GREAT, and is FREE!!!

This is the book I've ben searching for for years.

Book was extremely easy to follow and helped with every aspect of setting up my new OS. Although I will have to retain Windows for some of the programs I run, Ubuntu will be my main operating system.

I've been trying to install the software all weekend but my system freezes every single time at screen 1/7 (select language) although to be fair, I got to screen 2/7 once before it froze.

Save your money and order the free CD from the Ubuntu website. By the way, there is no website (that I've been able to find) that provides support.

I'm definitely a non-geek so maybe I'm missing something but this book/CD was meant for non-geeks wasn't it?

This is a great book for newbies to Unbuntu Linux. It could have a few more pictures and illustrations. The author knows his subject but he could go a little more in depth as there are thing he assumes you know and if I would have come straight from Windows to Ubuntu I would have had a hard time conprehending certain things. Overall it is one of the best books on Linux I found. I also read his Linux for Non Geeks.

In the end I removed Ubuntu from the hard disk in favor of Fedora), (my printer and graphics card were not recognized by Ubuntu Feisty.
But while I struggled with the distro, "Ubuntu Linux for Non-Geeks" was a great help. Very easy to follow with any number of useful examples.
Recommended.