Linux Transfer for Power Users
von Whil Hentzen
Redigiert von Chris Herborth

Major Linux distributions such as Red Hat, Mandrake and SuSE, among others, have released mature, full-featured versions suitable for day to day use on an average computer user's day to day computer, including not only a complete operating system but also a Microsoft Office-compatible application suite and a plethora of additional tools available for free download. At the same time, more and more people are become frustrated with Microsoft's continuing security problems and privacy, licensing and pricing issues. As a result, Linux is making serious inroads on the desktop in 2004.

But today's experienced computer user doesn't have time to set up and learn a new operating system and programs alone. This book shows an ordinary computer user who is comfortable with using Microsoft Windows and associated popular applications how Linux works and how using it is similar in many ways to their current software.

Then it guides them through the wonderful world of popular Linux applications that perform the same day to day functions they're used to on their Windows computer - word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics processing, email, Internet browsing, pictures, music and video, and more.

Also included are chapters on file compatibility, how to use Windows programs on a Linux computer, with and without a Windows license, and, for those a bit more technically adept or curious, how things work “under the hood”.

Computer users are discovering that they don't have to pay hundreds of dollars for an operating system, and then hundreds more for common applications, and that the alternatives are less expensive and more secure. But there are a lot of choices out there. This book helps the experienced user get comfortable with those choices and how to use them.

Whil Hentzen Whil Hentzen fills the role of "player-coach" at Hentzenwerke Publishing, a 7 year old Milwaukee-based publisher that specializes in titles covering high-end software development and, more recently, the migration of Windows developers and users to Linux.

Whil started out life as a custom software developer using dBASE II (he still has the original 8 1/2 x 11 grey binder of documentation, much to the chagrin of his wife), and switched to FoxPro in 1990. Besides billing 15,000 hours in the 90's, he presented more than 70 papers at conferences throughout North America and Europe, edited FoxTalk, Pinnacle Publishing's high end technical journal for 7 years, and hosted the Great Lakes Great Database Workshop since 1994. He was a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional from 1995 through 2003 for his contributions to the FoxPro development community, and received the first Microsoft Lifetime Achievement Award for Visual FoxPro in 2001.

He began writing in order to develop credentials to bolster his software development career. His first book, Rapid Application Development with FoxPro, showed up in 1993, and six more have appeared since. He started Hentzenwerke Publishing in 1996 to self-publish a specialized volume on software development, and then began producing Visual FoxPro books when the major publishers abandoned the market in 1998. Sensing the impending acceptance of Linux on the desktop and anticipating a coming demand for custom business applications on those Linux desktops, he turned his attentions to Linux in 2002, and will have eight narrowly targeted Linux and open source books available by the end of 2004. HWP's backlist now numbers over 30, with some 60 authors and editors worldwide on the payroll.

Whil has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and currently spends his copius amounts of spare time with his five kids and volunteering for the local school district. An avid distance runner, he has logged nearly 50,000 miles lifetime, and, pending recovery from a severe injury a few years ago, hopes for one more shot at a sub-15-minute 5,000-meter clocking before age and common sense close the door on that activity. You can reach Whil at whil '-at-' hentzenwerke.com.

Chris Herborth is an award-winning senior technical writer with over ten years of experience in the field of technology (http://www.pobox.com/~chrish/chrish-resume.html), with a background in operating systems, programming, and other interesting areas. When he's not playing with his son or hanging out with his wife, Chris spends his spare time designing and writing video games, enjoying various Nintendo GameCube titles, and fretting over how long it takes him to finish playing games on his PC. Chris can be reached at chris '-at-' pobox.com.

von Whil Hentzen
Redigiert von Chris Herborth

ISBN: 1-930919-42-5
Seitenzahl: 360 Seiten
Format: Paperback, 7"x9" bzw. PDF
Gewicht: 2.0 Pfund
Erscheinungsdatum: April, 2004