Synopses & Reviews
GNU/Linux is an immensely popular operating system that is both extremely stable and reliable. But it can also induce minor headaches at the most inopportune times, if you're not fully up to speed with its capabilities.
A unique approach to running and administering Linux systems, Linux Annoyances for Geeks addresses the many poorly documented and under-appreciated topics that make the difference between a system you struggle with and a system you really enjoy. This book is for power users and system administrators who want to clear away barriers to using Linux for themselves and for less-trained users in their organizations.
This book meticulously tells you how to get a stubborn wireless card to work under Linux, and reveals little-known sources for wireless driversand information. It tells you how to add extra security to your systems, such as boot passwords, and how to use tools such as rescue disks to overcome overly zealous security measures in a pinch. In everyarea of desktop and server use, the book is chock full of advice based on hard-earned experience.
Author Michael Jang has spent many hours trying out software in a wide range of environments and carefully documenting solutions for the most popular Linux distributions. (The book focuses on Red Hat/Fedora, SUSE, and Debian.) Many of the topics presented here are previously undocumented or are discussed only in obscure email archives.
One of the valuable features of this book for system administrators and Linux proponents in general is the organization of step-by-step procedures that they can customize for naive end-users at their sites. Jang has taken into account not only the needs of a sophisticated readership, but the needs of other people those readers may serve.
Sometimes, a small thing for a user (such as being able to play a CD) or for an administrator (such as updating an organizations' systems from a central server) can make or break the adoption of Linux. This book helps you overcome the most common annoyances in deploying Linux, and trains you in the techniques that will help you overcome other problems you find along the way.
In keeping with the spirit of the Annoyances series, the book adopts a sympathetic tone that will quickly win you over. Rather than blaming you for possessing limited Linux savvy, Linux Annoyances for Geeks takes you along for a fun-filled ride as you master the system together.
About the Author
Michael Jang, RHCE, Linux+, LCP, specializes in books on Linux and Linux certification. His experience with computers goes back to the days of jumbled punch cards. He's written or contributed to more than a dozen books on Linux, Linux certification, and Red Hat Linux, including "RHCE Red Hat Certified Engineer Linux" (McGraw-Hill), and "Mastering Red Hat Linux 9" (Sybex).
Table of Contents
Dedication; Preface; ; Conventions Used in This Book; Organization of This Book; Using Code Examples; Safari® Enabled; How to Contact Us; Acknowledgments; Chapter 1: Configuring a Desktop Environment; 1.1 I Want the Advantages of Both KDE and GNOME; 1.2 I Need a Custom Login Menu; 1.3 I Can't Configure a Standard Background; 1.4 I'd Like Desktop Icons for My Applications; 1.5 The Desktop Is Too Big for My Monitor; 1.6 My Mouse Doesn't Do What I Want; 1.7 My Users Mess Up Their Desktops; 1.8 My CD/DVD Is Locked; 1.9 I Can't Get to the GUI; 1.10 User Downloads Are Overloading Workstations; 1.11 I Need to Manage Sound Events; Chapter 2: Configuring User Workstations; 2.1 I'm Afraid of Losing Data; 2.2 My Boss Insists on Real-Time Backups; 2.3 I Lost Data When I Removed My Floppy/Memory Stick; 2.4 That Command Doesn't Write to My DVD; 2.5 I Don't Remember Where That File Is; 2.6 I Need to Search Within a Bunch of Files; 2.7 I Can't Copy from the Command Line; 2.8 How Do I Deal with Spaces and Odd Characters in Filenames?; 2.9 Users Are Complaining There's No ZIP; Chapter 3: Optimizing Internet Applications; 3.1 Firefox Isn't Working as It Should; 3.2 I'm Drowning in Good Email; 3.3 I'm Having Trouble Converting from Outlook; 3.4 I'm Having Trouble Chatting on AIM, Yahoo!, or MSN; 3.5 I Need a Simple Web Browser; 3.6 I Keep Having to Start an FTP Download from Scratch; 3.7 I Need to Connect via Modem (GUI Tools); Chapter 4: Setting Up Local Applications; 4.1 So Many Options for Applications; 4.2 Microsoft Word Documents Don't Work on Linux; 4.3 I Need My Microsoft Office; 4.4 I Can't Read PDFs or PostScript Documents; 4.5 I Want My Quicken; 4.6 I Need a Screenshot; 4.7 Making GUI File Managers Work for You; 4.8 I Need a Movie Viewer; Chapter 5: Installation Annoyances; 5.1 Linux Won't Work with All My Hardware; 5.2 I'm Having Trouble with Microsoft-Dependent Hardware; 5.3 Making That Laptop Sing with Linux; 5.4 My Wireless Card Works on Another Operating System, but Not Linux; 5.5 So Many Distributions, So Little Time; 5.6 Downloading New Distributions Takes Too Long; 5.7 Too Many Computers on Which to Install Linux; 5.8 I Need Help and Am Afraid of Asking Online; Chapter 6: Basic Start Configuration; 6.1 It Takes Too Long to Boot; 6.2 Rooting Out the Bootloader; 6.3 Dual Boots Can Be Troublesome; 6.4 Dual-Boot Recovery; 6.5 My Computer Won't Stop Rebooting; 6.6 User Passwords Are Too Weak; 6.7 I Lost the Root Password; 6.8 My Server Is So Secure I Can't Log In as Root; 6.9 There Are Too Many Ways to Log In; 6.10 The Boss Told Me to Secure the Server Without Locking the Room; Chapter 7: Kernel Itches and Other Configuration Annoyances; 7.1 The Kernel Needs an Upgrade; 7.2 Recompiling the Kernel; 7.3 I Can't Boot Because of a Kernel Panic; 7.4 I Can't Boot Because of Some "File Not Found" Error; 7.5 I Need to Add a Custom Kernel Module; 7.6 My Files Are on That Other Computer; 7.7 Regular Users Can't Mount the CD/DVD Drive; 7.8 I'm Having Trouble Connecting to an Existing Network; 7.9 I Need to Work with Microsoft-Formatted Partitions; Chapter 8: System Maintenance; 8.1 I Can't Boot Because the Partition Is Corrupt; 8.2 My Hard Drive Is Failing and I Need a Backup--Fast; 8.3 A Windows User Reinstalled Windows on a Dual-Boot System; 8.4 My /home Directory Is Too Small; 8.5 My Hard Drive Is Too Slow; 8.6 Find the Right Update Repository; 8.7 Avoid Dependency Hell with yum; 8.8 Avoid Dependency Hell with apt; 8.9 I Need Those Microsoft Applications on Linux; 8.10 Keeping Up with Security; 8.11 My Firewall Blocks My Internet Access; Chapter 9: Servicing Servers; 9.1 Too Many Options for Services; 9.2 Users Need to Download Files; 9.3 Users Are Still Demanding Telnet; 9.4 I Can't Send out Email Because the ISP's Server Is Down; 9.5 I Need Multiple Web Sites but Have Only One IP Address; 9.6 I Can't Remember Which Printer to Use; 9.7 BIND Is Too Complex for My Growing Network; 9.8 The Windows Computers on My Network Don't Show Up; Chapter 10: User Management; 10.1 The Boss Wants to Set Up a Special Group of Users; 10.2 There Are Too Many Users Accessing the Internet from the Office; 10.3 Some User Is Taking Too Much Disk Space; 10.4 Too Many Tasks, Too Few Qualified Administrators; 10.5 Former Employees Keep Accessing the Server; 10.6 Securing by User; Chapter 11: Administration Tips; 11.1 Too Many Computers to Update over the Internet; 11.2 My Favorite Service Is Not Included with My Distribution; 11.3 Configuring a Linux Gateway; 11.4 My Other Computer Has No Monitor; 11.5 I Need to Run an X Application Remotely; 11.6 So Many Server Logs; 11.7 The Logs Are Overloading My Hard Drive; 11.8 Administration Is So Repetitive; 11.9 I Don't Want to Work Late to Do That Special Job; Colophon;