Date: Fri, 12 May 2006 20:09:20 -0400 From: "David Stanford" <dthomas53@gmail.com> To: "Michael M." <nixlists@writemoore.net> Cc: FreeBSD Questions mail-list <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org> Subject: Re: Dead tree documentation Message-ID: <f2c91f770605121709v5b79c9b3y16ba079e37ffe131@mail.gmail.com> In-Reply-To: <44651CCA.1050904@writemoore.net> References: <44651CCA.1050904@writemoore.net>
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On 5/12/06, Michael M. <nixlists@writemoore.net> wrote: > I've been using various Linux distros and OS X for a while now, and > Windows before those, and am interested in trying out FreeBSD. Call me > old fashioned, but as an engaged-but-non-technical user, I find it > really useful to have at least some accompanying documentation in book > form when embarking on something like this. Okay, forget > "old-fashioned," just call me "old." :-) Book-learnin' was the only > thing we had when I was a yung-un, and it's what I'm used to. > > I understand that the be-all-and-end-all of authoritative FreeBSD > reference is the online handbook (and, of course, the man pages and docs > included with the OS itself). I was wondering if more experienced users > could give me a few pointers about the best book supplements for delving > into this OS. Specifically, I'm looking for advice about what might be > too outdated to be useful (or worse, might end up being more confusing > than helpful) and what isn't. From looking around and lurking here for > a while, the books that look most promising to me are: > > "The Complete FreeBSD, 4th Ed." by Greg Lehey > "FreeBSD 6 Unleashed" by Brian Tiemann > "Absolute BSD" by Michael Lucas > "BSD Hacks" by Dru Lavigne "The Complete FreeBSD, 4th Ed." by Greg Lehey and "Absolute BSD" by Michael Lucas are fantastic books, but are, unfortunately, a little outdated. "BSD Hacks" is also an extremely useful book, but aimed more at administrators looking to learn a few tricks of the trade. My suggestion would be to wait another week or two when "FreeBSD 6 Unleashed" by Brian Tiemann" is released as it will be the most thorough and up-to-date book out there. > > The latter, at least, seems like something best left for later, if I > really stick with it,. Of the first three -- well, the first is the > most appealing to me, but it's somewhat more dated than the others (I > have seen the regularly posted reminders about online updates). I'm > certainly not averse to buying two books; however, I don't want to drown > myself -- keeping in mind that I'm not the most technically inclined > person and my purpose is to learn to use FreeBSD as a general-purpose > desktop system. I've no special or advanced uses in mind, though I am > hoping that ultimately learning more about FreeBSD will also have the > benefit of teaching me more about making use of the Darwin subsystem of > OS X. If you do plan to purchase two books, I would suggest making The complete FreeBSD the second. As for Mac OS X, I have no clue - never used it. > > Any thoughts, advice, pointers? Anything I missed, especially any > general UNIX books that might go well with one of the above? > > Much obliged. > > p.s. BTW, I did try out DesktopBSD and am quite impressed with it. It > seems like there are still some issues to be addressed; still, it's a > really nice introductory way to get up and running with a FreeBSD > desktop quickly and easily. As a matter of personal preference, I'm not > a big KDE fan, so that tempers my enthusiasm somewhat. I don't think > it's really a substitute for trying to learn the basics of using and > administering FreeBSD, but then that's probably not what it's trying to > be. I hope it progresses and gets lots of support. Have you tried PC-BSD? It also installs defaulted with KDE, which I also am not a fan of, but is really a great fork and looks to have a bright future ahead. http://www.pcbsd.org > > -- > Michael M. ++ Portland, OR ++ USA > "No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions = of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to drea= m." --S. Jackson -David > > _______________________________________________ > freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list > http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions > To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-questions-unsubscribe@freebsd.o= rg" >
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