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Linux Desktop Hacks: Tips and Tools for Customizing and Optimizing your OS (Hacks)
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by Nicholas Petreley and Jono Bacon
Sales Rank: 472013
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List Price: $24.95
$18.21
At Amazon
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Paperback: 342 pages
Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc. March 28, 2005
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0596009119
ISBN-13: 978-0596009113
Product Dimensions:
8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
Product Description
The KDE and Gnome desktops have developed into mature operating environments. These technologies not only act as interfaces between the user, the powerful Linux kernel and GNU operating system, but they do so in a fun and intuitive way. Many users are content with the tools and facilities included with these desktops, but--for those who are ready to probe a little deeper--much more functionality can be found by going under the hood. With hacks that any user can follow, Linux Desktop Hacks demonstrates how easy it is to modify Linux to suit your desires. The book is packed with tips on customizing and improving the interface, boosting performance, administering your desktop, and generally making the most out of what X, KDE, Gnome, and the console have to offer. From the practical to the whimsical, and some things you never thought of trying, the hacks in the book include the following, and more: - Kill and Resurrect the Master Boot Record
- Jazz Up Your Debian System Boot
- Energize Your Console with Macro Music Magic
- Konquer Remote Systems Without Passwords
- Run KDE on the Bleeding Edge
- View Microsoft Word Documents in a Terminal
- Read Yahoo! Mail from Any Email Client
- Motion Capture and Video Conferencing Fun
- Automate Your Life with cron
- Protect Yourself from Windows Applications
- Make an Internet Connection Using Bluetooth and a Mobile Phone
- Print to Unsupported Printers
- Accelerate Your Gaming
If you're yearning for information to make the Linux desktop easier, more powerful, and more fun, Linux Desktop Hacks is just the ticket.
About The Author
Nicholas Petreley began his career in computing in 1983 as an Assembly-language programmer for a signal-processing research and development firm called Adaptronics, located in McLean, Virginia, and he hasn't been able to escape the field since. After getting a taste of writing as a weekly columnist for the Times in New Jersey, Nick began spending more time with the English language than with Pascal, C, C++, and the dozens of other languages that previously dominated his life. Nick's former lives also include conference advisor for LinuxWorld Expo, creator of the Golden Penguin Bowl quiz show, editorial director of LinuxWorld, editor-in-chief of Network Computing World, executive editor of the InfoWorld Test Center, award-winning columnist for InfoWorld, and regular technical columnist for ComputerWorld. You can find his current articles on Newsforge and in other publications under various pseudonyms. He is a columnist for Tux magazine, the author of the Official Fedora Companion, a part-time Evans data analyst, a freelance writer, a creator and maintainer of the VAR-oriented web site (http://www.varlinux.org), and a professional open source consultant.
Jono Bacon is an established writer, developer, and musician. Jono has been working as a full-time writer and technology consultant/developer since 2000, for a variety of publishers and companies. They include Linux Format, Linux Pro, Linux Magazine, Linux User & Developer, Linux Journal, PC Plus, MacFormat, MacTech, Digital Home, Newsforge, Sitepoint, and ContentPeople. Jono has also worked as a writer/consultant/developer for Trolltech, Apple, theKompany.com, the University of Wolverhampton, Delta Institute, and others. In addition to this work, Jono has been a part of the Linux community since 1998 and has worked for various free software projects including KDE and Kafka, and he founded Linux UK, the KDE Usability Study, KDE::Enterprise, and the Infopoint Project. He currently works on various free software projects, as well as for OpenAdvantage in Birmingham, UK, as a professional open source consultant.
Customer Reviews & Comments
One of the latest Hacks titles from O'Reilly takes on the Linux desktop - Linux Desktop Hacks by Nicholas Petreley and Jono Bacon. It's good stuff, but not quite what I thought it would be... Chapter List: Booting Linux; Console; Login Managers; Related to X; KDE Desktop; GNOME Desktop Hacks; Terminal Empowerment; Desktop Programs; Administration and Automation; Kernel; Hardware; Index Like all Hacks titles, this book is made up of 100 tips and tricks that you can do and that are related to the subject matter of the book... in this case, the Linux desktop. I was expecting to pick up a lot of hints and tips like #55 - Reduce OpenOffice.org Startup Time, #72 - Start Desktop Applications Automatically, and #80 - Protect Yourself From Windows Applications. Those are some cool things, and they relate directly to what I usually think of when I envision the Linux desktop. But you'll also find things like #81 - Build a Custom Firewall Computer, #88 - Compile a Kernel, and #2 - Kill and Resurrect the Master Boot Record. Once again, all very good and interesting stuff, but it seems to stray somewhat from the "Linux desktop" premise (or at least what I was expecting it to be). There are also plenty of instances where you need to be up to speed with scripting skills so you can change config files or compile and install software. I realize that the Linux desktop isn't all automated installers and such, but there seemed to be a lot of times where you always ended up back at the command line console. Perhaps not being a Linux or Unix geek yet, I'm inclined to think of "desktop" as graphical user interface when it actually can be a number of things. So... I like the book, and if you're into running Linux as your main operating system at the desktop level, you'll get a lot out of this book. Just be forewarned that it may not contain exactly what you expected...
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Linux Desktop Hacks: Tips and Tools for Customizing and Optimizing your OS (Hacks)
List Price: $24.95
Available from Amazon
Price: $18.21
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