My new book has been published! [Archive]

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keirthomas

September 25th, 2008, 07:55 AM

Hey, guys! I wrote a book about Ubuntu and it just got published! It's called Ubuntu Kung Fu and it's published by Pragmatic Programmers (the guys behind various Ralis/Ruby books you might have heard of).

To quote the official blurb:

Keir Thomas gets down and dirty with Ubuntu to provide over 300 concise tips that enhance productivity, avoid annoyances, and simply get the most from Ubuntu. You’ll find many unique tips here that can’t be found anywhere else. You’ll also get a crash course in Ubuntu’s flavor of system administration. Whether you’re new to Linux or an old hand, you’ll find tips to make your day easier.

Most of all, I wrote it to be a fun book. You can buy it at all good bookstores but it's also available as a PDF for a recession-busting $22. See the official website: http://www.pragprog.com/titles/ktuk/ubuntu-kung-fu

I'm also the "star" of this week's Pragmatic Programmer podcast (http://pragprog.com/podcasts), and talk about the book some more. I also put in some time as an advocate of Ubuntu and explain its benefits (entrenched Microsoft-loving friends who heard the podcast have declared they're now ready to switch! Yay!).

http://www.pragprog.com/images/covers/140x168/ktuk.jpg

keirthomas

September 25th, 2008, 08:12 AM

If anybody wants to review the book on their blog, let me know:

ubuntukungfu AT gmail DOT com

The publishers tell me they have a limited number of copies to send out for review. Ensure you include a link to the blog so I can forward it to them.

Joeb454

September 25th, 2008, 01:16 PM

What are the contents of the book?

I.e. what kinds of topics are covered in it?

keirthomas

September 29th, 2008, 04:38 AM

What are the contents of the book?

I.e. what kinds of topics are covered in it?

Hi Joe -- there's a little bit of everything. Although I didn't write the book as a series of themed tips, they split roughly into the following categories: Command-Line, GUI Enhancements, Productivity Tricks, Windows and Mac Interoperability, Hardware Tweaks, Application Enhancements, Images/Multimedia/Docs, System Maintenance, Security, and Misc.

Some tips are really quick, while others are lengthy and in-depth (this was the only way to get 300+ tips into 400 pages!). The best thing to do is to take a look at the table of contents (http://media.pragprog.com/titles/ktuk/toc.pdf) (PDF), although we're in the process of updating this from an earlier draft and one or two tips are missing from the list.

You'll also find a few of the tips on my blog: ubuntukungfu.org/blog/ (http://www.ubuntukungfu.org/blog/). The blog is part of a larger tips site arranged a little like Digg, where people can submit links to tips they've found, and vote them up/down: ubuntukungfu.org (http://www.ubuntukungfu.org).

Sef

September 29th, 2008, 06:54 AM

congrats on getting it published. What kind of license is it under? Standard Copyright? Copyleft? Other?

forger

September 29th, 2008, 07:50 AM

keirthomas

September 29th, 2008, 10:17 AM

Looks great from the excerpts
er.. forgive me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't there be a note in the cover that Ubuntu and the Ubuntu logo are trademarks of Canonical? Or are those supposed to be inside the book? :)

(flamebait: open source (http://oreilly.com/catalog/docbook/book2/docbook.html)! open source (http://packages.ubuntu.com/hardy/docbook-defguide)! :KS)

You can use the Ubuntu logos with permission, provided you ask for it (as we did -- with none other than Jane Silber at Canonical HQ). :) There's a mention inside that they're registered trademarks. Again, we took advice from Jane on this matter.

The book's copyrighted, like just about any other. With a handful of notable exceptions, most computer book publishers are a little wary about taking on other types of licenses.

3rdalbum

September 30th, 2008, 05:32 AM

Congratulations! If I see it in my local Borders bookshop I'll be sure to get a copy.

Svenstaro

October 2nd, 2008, 09:34 AM

What a cute kitten :D
Also, good work with the book, will take a look, looking for excepts though.