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Contents 1 Novell Linux Desktop 9, User's Handbook (A book review) 1.1 Overview of the book 1.2 Section One, NLD basics 1.3 Section Two, NLD and The Internet 1.4 Section Three, Being Productive with NLD 1.5 Summary

Novell Linux Desktop 9, User's Handbook (A book review)

Review by Bill Bodine

Overview of the book

Novell Linux Desktop (NLD), which is powered by SUSE Linux, is a very viable option for users who would like to use a desktop operating system that includes, at no extra charge, a wide variety of productivity applications. Joe Habraken has written a new user's handbook that can be used by all users who may be new to NLD and more specifically NLD 9.

The handbook is very complete in that it covers nearly everything that may be of interest to the NLD user. While topics cover everything from basic system calls to using applications like OpenOffice, the author does not attempt to transform the reader into a Linux system administrator or even a word processing wizard. For each of the topics that he discusses, Joe gives a brief overview and then he uses examples, accompanied with screen shots, to illustrate how to use the command, application, tool, or whatever else he may be covering. The handbook is divided into three main sections.

Section One, NLD basics

In the first section, that covers NLD basics, a reasonable overview of Linux itself is given along with general topics like the GNU project and the GNOME desktop (KDE is mentioned, but not really discussed since GNOME is the default desktop for NLD). The following is a sampling of the topics covered in the section.

• System initialization (bootup, shutdown, logging on, loggin off, etc.)
• Hardware requirements
• Basic file and system commands commonly used in a Terminal window (ls, copy, ps, kill, etc.)
• Personalization of the desktop (changing themes, backgrounds and screensavers, adding menu and panel items, locking the screen and maintaining preference settings)
• Configuration of hardware settings (primarily local printers, but keyboards, mice, sound and screen settings are also covered)
• GNOME's graphical shell, Nautilus, is covered to show how to manipulate files
• Archival of files using CD/DVD burners, File Roller and other techniques
• Installation and removal of software using Red Carpet and YaST

Section Two, NLD and The Internet

Section two deals with accessing the Internet. A few of the topics covered are:

• Using Mozilla Firefox (including bookmark and cookie management, browsing the web, using tabbed browsing, etc.)
• Using and setting up Internet Email
• Configuring Gaim instant messaging
• Internet Newsgroups

Section Three, Being Productive with NLD

The last section covers a broad range of topics since it deals with many of the productivity and collaboration products included in NLD. Some of the tools and applications discussed are:

• The OpenOffice.org suite of applications, including Writer for word processing, Calc for spreadsheets and Impress for presentations
• Novell Evolution, the groupware client included with NLD that provides email, scheduling, task and contact management features
• Novell iFolder, the tool that allows access to protected folders from any workstation on the network.

Summary

In summary, if the reader's objective is to find a resource that will help them become 'Certified' as a Linux system administrator, there are other books, or even info and man pages that may be of more use. However, if the goal is to ensure that the desktop user will understand their way around the NLD environment, they will find that this handbook is a very good resource to have nearby.

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