Product Description
Ubuntu, an African word meaning “humanity to others,” is the hottest thing in Linux today. This down-and-dirty book shows you how they can blow away the default system settings and get Ubuntu to behave however you want. You’ll learn how to optimize its appearance, speed, usability, and security and get the low-down on hundreds of hacks such as running Ubuntu from a USB drive, installing it on a Mac, enabling multiple CPUs, and putting scripts in menus and panels.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 12 reviews)

Somewhat disappointed

I ordered this book as an add-on to my primary purchase, and was pretty disappointed. It really added no new information, and really did not provide any "hacks" which were not already known, or in the other book I purchased. Moreover, I found the author wrote far to little on far to much. In other words, nothing was covered in detail, and he tried to cover a lot of ground in very few pages.

I would have been happier if he covered less in more detail, and brought something new to the table. If this had been the only book I purchased, I would have been left wanting more information and detail, and felt like Ubuntu was a lot harder than it really is to use and customize.

I would not recommend this book, particularly as a sole reference.

October 05, 2008

Not quite good enough

There is nothing wrong with this book. There just isn't a lot right with it. It sells itself as a book to hack Ubuntu, making it sound like it has all kinds of secret ways to make Ubuntu do whatever you want it to. Unfortunately, it is just a run-of-the-mill how-to book, only slightly advanced beyond the beginner stage. Coming from ExtremeTech, I expected better. It was more like it came from PC Magazine. All the information is easily found online faster. As I said, it isn't a bad book; it just has an overinflated opinion of itself.
May 15, 2008

One of the most useful Linux books I own

This book is a gem. Most other Linux books are heavy with theory but don't get you where you need to go. By contrast, this book is chock full of really practical mods (hacks) that are easy to do, yet provide great enhancements to the usability and security of your new Ubuntu system. If you're new to Ubuntu, get this book!
February 06, 2008

Not comprehensive enough for me

I hope for the book that will clearly tell me step by step how to hack/customize things in Ubuntu. This book tries to cover too many topics thus not details enough to be successful on the first try. I still have to go to various forum to read more. It is only introduce me to various topics. For the really confusing things such as network sharing, it doesn't go into details at all. Very disappointing.
August 06, 2007

Comprehensive and Clear

The popularity of Ubuntu has given rise to a deluge of Ubuntu books. Most are of an introductory nature; this is one of the few that rises to the level of a system administrator's needs.

The choice of content is excellent and, perhaps more importantly, the narrative is effective in building a cohesive understanding of the software systems that comprise Ubuntu. In this, it is clear that this book has benefited from having a single, expert author following a rational path of exposition.
August 04, 2007

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