You have no idea what it takes to get an advanced copy of a book...particularly a book on a popular subject. I hope you'll all still be interested in my review of 'The Official Ubuntu Book, Third Edition'. Let me explain.
A few months ago, I could hardly swing a cat (no, not literally) without hitting someone talking about Ubuntu 8.04, the Hardy Heron. All of the Linux news sites were just 'abuzz' with Hardy Heron this and Hardy Heron that. It was as if the entire Linux world (and sometimes beyond) really couldn't get enough of this long-awaited, latest version of Ubuntu. I figured that any book published about Hardy Heron within a month or so if its official release would be able to name its own price.
With that in mind, I went on a search for such a book and found one. Alas, it wasn't going to be available until July...a virtual lifetime away in computing terms. I emailed one of my contacts at Prentice Hall who said she could get me an advanced copy of 'The Official Ubuntu Book'. I'd reviewed the first editon and had high hopes. She initially was talking about something that would have to be photocopied, so I'd be reviewing something of a "diamond in the rough". No matter. Who cares if everything is nice and pretty, as long as the content is intact.
Time passed. No book. I can only imagine there were various technical snags on the publisher's end. I really wanted to 'strike while the iron was hot' (pardon my repeated forays into clichedom) but such was not to be. Finally, with about a month left before the book's official publication, Fed Ex delivered a draft manuscript.
Meanwhile, all of the Linux news sources have gone more or less silent (well, not entirely silent) on the subject of Hardy Heron. The latest version of Ubuntu is mentioned now about as often as Ubuntu ever gets mentioned (which is to say, more often than most other distros). Still...are you out there? Are you interested? Do you want to know what Benjamin Mako Hill and company have to say about Hardy Heron? After the wait, I was sure curious.
Eagerly, I tore open the packaging and started thumbing through the pages. Actually, I halted briefly at a familiar name...mine. Part of my review for the first edition was quoted on the opening page. Yes, of course, I praised it, but it creates the illusion of my having reviewed the Third Edition when I hadn't had the opportunity yet to do so. Gee, after all the nice things the book says I said about it, I hope I really don't think it's lousy. Tongue firmly in cheek and book firmly in hand, I proceeded.
I blew past all of the stuff you'll find in just about any Linux book (such as the history of Linux and Open Source) and the stuff you'll find in just about any Ubuntu book (such as "What is Ubuntu?" and the history of Canonical) and started looking for material on what is supposed to be the latest and greatest version of Ubuntu.
I decided to look at this book through the eyes of my personal priorities. I still run 6.06 on my main desktop and 7.10 on my work desktop. I want to upgrade to 8.04 but have heard that there may be a few "gotchas". What can the book in my hands tell me about the upgrade process vs. a clean install and particularly, what will Hardy Heron do for me that the prior versions of Ubuntu I now use can't?
I was a little surprised that I couldn't find the answers to those questions very easily. In fact, the "magic number" of "8.04" doesn't even appear in the book until page 23, and then, only in brief and in the context of "Ubuntu Promises and Goals". I'm looking at this book as someone who is already a daily Ubuntu user. I know "the basics" and I want to learn the "new stuff". Where is it?
I got to Chapter 2, "Installing Ubuntu". I went looking for the chapter that should offer the flip side of the coin; upgrading from 7.10 to 8.04. Lo and behold, it didn't exist. I went back to the Preface and revisited the part that said that the authors had to pick and choose what to include in the book. That makes sense, especially if you don't want the book to weigh in at 1500 pages. On the other hand, with several prior editions of Ubuntu in existence, I would have thought that presenting information on an upgrade path would have been important enough to include.
Incidently, the installation chapter is pretty much what you'd expect and it's quite detailed...at least detailed enough to show the reader step-by-step what they'll experience during the installation and configuration process. I don't know if my expectations of both this book and Hardy Heron are skewed, but I was expecting something that offered more upgraded information and didn't find it.
I read through the parts that show you the beginnings of using OpenOffice and GIMP (I use both applications on a day-to-day basis at work and each subject is worthy of a book in their own right). I don't object to that information being included in a chapter on the desktop; I was just looking for something I didn't already know.
I'm not sure I'd have included the section on Blender. I've read through one of the publications on this application and it's one of the most "unintuitive" interfaces I've ever encountered. I'd almost not have tried to explain anything to a new user for fear of having them get frustrated in trying to actually use Blender. Still, it's in the package, so I'm sure readers will want to know that it's there.
What comes new with Hardy Heron was mixed in here and there in the general content of the book, but there was no way to zero in on that content, which was a pity. I will say that I found the book, like it's previous editions, to be quite accurate and easy to access for the new Ubuntu user. Maybe that's also part of the problem. I'm not a new Ubuntu user. There wasn't much there for me. I know about Synaptic. I'm very familiar with Firefox. None of this is a revelation.
I finally did find the upgrade path but the information was hidden in Chapter 4, was less then 2 pages long, and contained virtually no real information. Basically, the reader is told to click the 'Upgrade' button, read the release notes, and restart the computer when the upgrade is done. The chapter then moves on to the next sections on portable media and then printer setup.
My experience with Ubuntu has matured since I reviewed the first edition of this book. It's given me a different set of expectations of 'The Official Ubuntu Book'. I'm not an Ubuntu 'newbie' anymore and need a book that takes the content beyond that level.
Oh, there are more 'advanced' portions of the book, but they don't address the particular areas I look for as an experienced Ubuntu desktop user. I don't think it would have taken much to satisfy me. I would have liked to see something built into the book that let the reader hone in on the 'Hardy Heron' material. The authors could have created a 'What's New' section in each chapter or if need be, just created a chapter or appendix that focused on the current release. More details about the upgrade path including potential gotchas would have been a welcome touch as well.
Kudos as always to the writing team for providing a well written, well organized book for the first-time Ubuntu user and even to the first time Ubuntu Server user. A word of advice though, guys. For the fourth edition, please remember those of us out here that have been using Ubuntu for awhile and try to see the world through our eyes. Once you are looking through those lens, write a couple of chapters for us. Thanks.
