The Official Ubuntu Book is written by some of the people in the Ubuntu organization, and it is a great book for explaining all the details of Linux. It also comes with a Ubuntu 10.04 CD that you can install on your computer with dual booting capability so that you can choose which operating system you want to use on startup. I did have a problem getting the instructions to work on my Vista laptop, and that may have been related to Microsoft or security software issues. However, I was able to get around this by going into my computer setup mode and booting directly from the CD. At that time, I chose to permanently install Linux on my computer, and the Ubuntu CD did everything automatically from that point including setting up partitions. One thing I need to mention, though, is that one of the progress setup bars does not work, and it will look like your computer is not proceeding with the installation while it really is doing it. Just be patient if it looks like nothing is happening for five to ten minutes. Booting from the CD will definitely work well when it has completed its installation.
You will also be very happy with the Ubuntu 10.04 version. You have all sorts of computer applications just like Windows such as Firefox internet, word processing, spreadsheets, printing, and file management. Simply click on the toolbar tabs to see drop-down menus for anything you want to do.
The book also discusses the various Linux file system extensions and how to use Ubuntu in the terminal mode using command lines.
Kubuntu Linux fills a chapter of the book. This is a combination of KDE Linux and Ubuntu, and it combines the best of both worlds. The KDE desktop is liked better than the Ubuntu desktop by some people.
I have been very pleased with the entire book and the CD. This is a great way to jump into the world of Linux!
