Running Linux, Third Edition

Preface

This is a book about Linux, a free implementation of Unix for Intel 386 (or higher), Alpha, SPARC, PowerPC, Motorola 680x0 (m68k), and other personal computer and server architectures. In this book, we want to show how you can completely change the way you work with computers by exploring the world of a powerful and free operating systemone that goes against the grain of the traditional PC world. Setting up and running a Linux system can be challenging, rewarding, and a lot of fun; we think that Linux brings a great deal of excitement back into computing. We invite you to dive in, enjoy yourself, and be the first on your block to know what it means to tweak your dot clocks and rdev your kernel image.

We aim this book at readers who are inquisitive and creative enough to delve full-tilt into the world of Linux. Linux represents something of a rebellion against commercial operating systems, and many of its users are the kind of people who like living on the edge of the latest technological trends. Sure, the casual reader can set up and run a Linux system (or hundreds of them!) without much trouble, but the purpose of this book is to dig deeper into the system and bring you completely into the Linux mentality. Rather than gloss over the messier details, we explain the concepts by which the system actually works, so that you can troubleshoot problems on your own. By sharing the accumulated expertise of several Linux experts, we hope to give you enough confidence so that one day ...