Robin ‘Roblimo’ Miller’s New Book Proves That Linux Is for Everyone
Upper Saddle River, NJ
– November, 2004 – Robin ‘Roblimo’ Miller’s new book, Point & Click Linux: Your Guide to Trouble-Free Computing , is for all computer users who want their computer to be a friend and not a worry.
Drawing on his decade as a technology journalist helping people to better understand their computers, Miller has created the most complete and foolproof beginner-level introduction to trouble-free desktop computing. The book is packaged with a CD-ROM that contains bootable Linux software (no hard drive installation required), and an accompanying DVD-ROM that features Miller instructing readers through each step with small bite-sized tutorials.
This is a book to assure PC users – however novice – that they can get up and running with an inexpensive alternative to the complexities of their current computing experience.
Through words (the printed book), images (the DVD) and the actual software (the CD) Miller demonstrates—using the “point and click†skills all computer users already have— how to perform all the most basic tasks using a Linux desktop. These include: how to view Web sites; exchange email; create letters and other printed material; conduct bookkeeping; and instant message with contacts regardless of their platform. Miller also discusses how Linux users can make their programs- as the situation will sometimes dictate-cooperate with Windows programs.
And why would computer users ever entertain the thought of leaving their current desktop operating system for Linux? As Miller explains in the book’s introduction, “We all want our computers to ‘just work’. Linux is the low-cost key to trouble-free computing… you’ll need to learn some new tricks to use it, but they are not hard tricks, and they won’t take long to learn. In return for that little bit of learning, you’ll be able to perform everyday computing tasks rapidly and easily without worrying about viruses, worms or spyware.â€
The book’s key to unlocking the power of Linux is contained on the bundled CD that contains a distribution of Linux called “SimplyMEPISâ€. This CD holds all the software needed to conduct the above tasks, in addition to working with images, music and videos. What’s more, the CD enables the user to simply “test drive†Linux by booting the operating system in just a few minutes, therefore bypassing the need for a hard-disk installation required for most other software.
The book is over 240 pages and is organized into three main sections, comprising 28 chapters. The first section is a very general overview of Linux and how to use the MEPIS CD. The second section digs into some of the most practical and useful desktop applications created for Linux, while the third section deals with slightly more involved topics such as downloading software, cooperating with Windows and customizing Linux. The DVD contains short clips of tutorials each focused on a specific function.
“I created this book/CD/DVD package for grandparents, artists, cab drivers, and others who want a trouble-free computing experience; who are not obsessed by computers or necessarily interested in their inner workings but simply use them as tools and want them to work with as little fuss as possible,†Miller said. “Come to think of it, I’m a grandfather myself and *I* use Linux all day, every day, as my personal desktop operating system. And don’t forget: I’m a writer, not a programmer!”
Point & Click Linux (ISBN 0-13-148872-4) includes helpful screenshots and comes packaged with a CD-ROM containing bootable Linux software and a complementary instructional DVD-ROM, and has an accompanying Web site: www.phptr.com/title/0131488724 . The book will be available through major chain and independent booksellers nationwide and through online vendors at a suggested retail price of U.S. $29.99.
About the Author
Robin Miller is Editor-In-Chief for the Open Source Technology Group, which includes Linux.com, Slashdot.org, SourceForge.net, and other top technology sites. One of the creators of modern interactive journalism, Miller has consulted on Internet business for many companies and entrepreneurs. He has been known online since the mid-1990s and was one of the first reporters to cover the Linux phenomenon. He has spoken at computing and Internet conferences in Saudi Arabia, Mexico, India, Trinidad, Jordan, and at least a dozen U.S. states. He’s been “the computer expert” for the award-winning Rise and Shine morning show on Baltimore’s WJZ TV, and has been a guest on many radio and several cable TV talk shows.
About Addison-Wesley/Prentice Hall PTR
Addison-Wesley (www.awprofessional.com) and Prentice Hall Professional Technical Reference (PH PTR) (www.phptr.com) are respected publishers of quality computer science and engineering books and software for technical professionals. Both imprints are units of Pearson Technology Group, the world’s largest provider of consumer and professional computer, information technology, engineering and reference content. Pearson Technology Group is an operating unit of Pearson Education, the world’s leading educational publisher. Pearson Education is part of Pearson plc (NYSE: PSO), the international media company.
Other product or service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.”
Link: phptr.com
