May 27, 2003
Beginner's Linux Book Recommendation?
My Dad, a long time DOS and now frustrated Windows user, is looking to experiment with Linux. He'll probably try Knoppix, Mandrake, and maybe Lindows (after version 4.0 is out).
However, he'd also like a good book--one that doesn't assume he's a complete moron but also doesn't assume any knowledge of Unix. He gets directory structures, text vs. binary files, and so on. He's not a programmer. He wants to use e-mail, browse the web, use his printer, scanner, and camera. He'll need to organize pictures and perform other "normal people" tasks. Despite what neighbors and relatives think, he's not a computer expert (anymore).
Since I'm clearly not the target audience for such a book, I'm seeking recommendations. Ideally the book would focus more on concepts and low-level skills rather than being distribution specific. Then again, if the only good books are about a specific distribution (RedHat), we'll have to go with that.
What should I suggest?
Watsonville Air Show Pictures
I spent most of Sunday at the 39th Annual Watsonville Fly-In and Air
Show. I was officially there as a "crew member" for the Hollister Gliding
Club, which was displaying their Duo Discus
glider. Drew Pierce, the club owner, flew a demo flight in the
Duo.
(As a crew member, I got to help launch and retrieve the glider.)
I had a good time at the show. I got to talk to a lot of people about flying gliders, see some great performances, and generally enjoy the day.
I used my brand new Canon PowerShot S400 to take these pictures at the show. I haven't had time to put in captions yet.
I'm definitely going again next year!
Wow, DayPop #2
What a surprising thing to see first thing in the morning!
Apparently it the blog world rewards people who say
ridiculous things. My PageRank is
Dead article is now at #2 on DayPop.
I really hadn't expected this.
Heh. I wonder if I'll hit #1? I bet I could. Come on, help me out! All I need is a link from your blog to my PageRank entry.
Oh, wait. That'd be cheating. Don't link to me. Really. Google might further punish my PageRank.
Ok. Make up your own mind. Yeah, just pretend I never mentioned it. Instead, think about how getting on to DayPop is likely to further propel one up the DayPop list.
Or not.