New to Linux- Book recommendation?

[Mattmilw]

I am anxiously awaiting my Wooted Nokia 770. I've read a lot of posts about all the great apps available and how versatile it is. This is my first Linux device and it's painfully obvious that I've got a lot to learn. I'm wondering if anyone can recommend a good starter book for me. I'm fairly well versed in Windows, but an absolute beginner here.

I appreciate it and look forward to digging in and enjoying the 770.

Thanks,
Matt

[benny1967]

My impression is that the more end-user ready books are very specialized on one or two distributions - desktop distributions of course. Because there is no such thing as "Linux" but only a collection of applications and system utilities usually thrown together (one of whcih happens to be the Linux kernel), distributions like Ubuntu, Suse or (for the 770/N800) Maemo differ quite a bit and you will probably not be able to try out many of the things described in an Ubuntu-centric book on your Nokia Internet Tablet.

I would recommend the Web instead of a book; there are a lot of resources that focus on Maemo, Nokias platform for the 770/N800, and there's always people to ask who will point you to further reading.

If you really want a book, you should go for the type that say "Unix and Linux" on the cover and describe the very, very basics that all Unix-like systems have in common, such as the file system structure, users, file modes, basic commands like copy/move/list directory etc. - These books aren't fun to read (most of them are boring) and its maybe tiresome to try what works on a 770 and what doesn't; you might want to get a Linux Live CD so you can experiment on your PC using a full keyboard, a mouse and a bigger screen.

BTW: The one book I remember that really helped me is available only in German as far as I know. I don't know where you're from, so I'll post it anyway: "Linux / Unix - Grundlagen. Kommandos und Konzepte" by Helmut Herold, Verlag Addison-Wesley, ISBN-10: 3827321123

[gsagers]

There are a couple that I find useful (but keep benny1967's advice in mind, you won't be able to do all of the things that are in the book, and maemo.org and these forums are the best resources I've found for this device).

Anyway, for desktop, "Linux for Dummies" isn't bad, if a little outdated, and also "Moving to Ubuntu Linux" is good, but Ubuntu-specific.

Finally, let me recommend that you install vmware server or vmware player on your windows PC, and then install Ubuntu or another Linux distribution into it, or go with a LiveCD. It's much easier to learn Linux basics, esp. command-line stuff, with a real keyboard!

[Mattmilw]

Thank you both for your excellent replies. I already know more than I did when I started. As I said, this is brand new to me. I am researching what I need/want to do to install it on my current pc. This should help me a lot.

Thanks,
Matt

[huck]

yeah...don't waste money on a book...
if you really want to learn LINUX...install a distro...(debian or ubuntu for similarities with the n770 i guess)...on a home PC...

the n800 might force you to learn a thing or three just to get it up and running with software you will use constantly...but for-going windows altogether and forcing yourself to use ONLY Linux on your main computer...you will/must/be required to learn more about Linux than you ever learned about windows.