Many Systems Administrators and Power Users remain wedded to various flavors of Windows because mission critical applications running on Windows, as well as fears of potential downtime, discourage use of the more robust Linux operating system. This book enables that audience to mingle the two, and move in comfortable baby steps to Linux. The freely available Linux operating system runs on multiple hardware platforms, and supports a vast array of Internet and IT infrastructure functions and standards, which the intended audience would like to use. With its accessible and engaging style, this book eases the reader from the world of Windows graphical interfaces to the command-line underpinnings of Linux. The book contains two parts: the first is a set of three essays comparing and contrasting Linux to Windows; the second part contains 12 chapters describing a 12-step program for mingling with, and for overcoming dependence on, Microsoft products. Written for Windows network administrators and power users seeking to overcome the Microsoft habit, this is a small, practical guide to understanding and running Linux. It includes practical direction and advice on: installation and configuration; networking; Internetworking with Windows and NetWare; printing; and advanced topics, including email, user management, and file sharing.