| | |  | | Home » Linux Desktop Hacks: Tips & Tools for Customizing and Optimizing your OS | | | | | | | 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.
| | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Nicholas Petreley | | Paperback:
| 352 pages | | Publisher:
| O'Reilly Media | | Publication Date:
| March 28, 2005 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 0596009119 | | Product Length:
| 8.16 inches | | Product Width:
| 5.38 inches | | Product Height:
| 0.79 inches | | Product Weight:
| 1.04 pounds | | Package Length:
| 8.8 inches | | Package Width:
| 6.0 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.0 inches | | Package Weight:
| 1.2 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 13 reviews |
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| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 13 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 20 found the following review helpful:
Good, but not quite as focused as other Hacks titles...Apr 14, 2005
By Thomas Duff
"Duffbert"
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...
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
 A "must have" book if you use Linux or are moving to LinuxMar 16, 2006
By Race Vanderdecken
First, I write software professionally. I write software, I am not a Sys Admin (which is hard work I might add; System Administration is for hardcore people.) This book saved me money by giving me answers to problems that would have taken me days to find the answers to by searching the internet.
Hack #30 How to setup up VNC
Virtual terminals are great. I use them to cut out using an expensive and wires of a KVM switch. I can get to my servers from anywhere in the house or securly across the Internet (with the right passwords as this books shows.)
I can fix my wife's computer problems without having to go to her desk. I can run my Windows apps on a Windows machine, but control that from my Linux terminals.
Or vice-a-versa, it is much easier to use a Windows laptop while sitting on the couch sipping a Martini then having to sit in a dark cold server closet trying to fix a problem with a server.
It took me 3 days to search and read about VNC on the net. Then trying to find an example on a web page that worked and was edited properly. This book gave me the answers I needed in 5 pages of well written text.
A simple enough hack but time is money in this business and this book save both time and money.
Also the book is a "good" read. The authors write well and that keeps you reading. Not a dry manual.
If you are doing Linux for fun or work you need will need to buy this book. It allows you more time to sleep at night.
14 of 17 found the following review helpful:
One hundred awesome tips and tricksJun 25, 2005
By Jack D. Herrington
"engineer and author"
This is an excellent hacks book. It's one hundred fairly short, but well explained and appropriately illustrated, hints and tips that cover the gamut of Linux issues. Don't let the Desktop word in the title fool you. Certainly there is a lot of information on Desktop tweaks, but the information is more than skin deep. There is security, networking and systems administration information.
As with all of the hacks books, take a look at the table of contents and if you find ten or so that interest you, then check it out.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Book Review: Linux Desktop HacksMay 10, 2005
By Dan Clough
"Linux Desktop Hacks", by Nicholas Petreley and Jono Bacon, is a recent book published by O'Reilly in March 2005. It provides 100 "hacks" to improve the workability, performance, and cosmetic appeal of your Linux desktop environment. Be advised that "hacks" in this context might be better defined as "customizations" or "configuration improvements". It's just over 300 pages, and has a list price of $24.95.
The book seems well organized, and includes chapters on booting and login, console functions, general X usage, the KDE and Gnome environments, commonly used applications, hardware tweaks, and system administration (including compiling a kernel). There is also a decent index at the end of the book.
I must admit that my first impression of the book after picking it up was that it was yet another "Intro to Linux" book for newbies. After spending a little time with it, however, I have come to find that there are many tips and tricks in here that will prove very useful even to experienced users. Some of the improvements discussed have become items that I now use frequently.
One of the procedures that I have already used was the taking a screenshot of an X session screen from another login console. This can be very helpful with showing the progress of an installation routine, for example. I had known this capability existed, but this "hack" was explained very clearly and was very easy to use. Another section that cleared up some mysteries for me was how to run X applications remotely over a network (VNC), allowing me to run a program on one machine, and display it on another. Very handy for less capable machines on the LAN.
Some of the other tips that I look forward to trying are getting some keyboard "multimedia keys" to work properly (using the program Lineak), converting email client mailboxes from one format to another, scanning for wireless networks in the area, getting email notifications for certain system events, and doing backups over the local network. There are many other tricks that may be useful to some people too, such as playing restricted media formats (DVD's), making KDE more pleasant to use, customizing bootloader splash screens, and using the iPod and iRiver devices.
Overall I've found this book to be fun, interesting, and helpful. One good feature given for each "hack" is an indicator that tells the relative skill level needed for each procedure (beginner, moderate, expert). In any case, though, the steps are well explained and should be quite clear to anyone wanting to try it. I would recommend this book to Linux users of all skill levels. It appears to me that O'Reilly has another winner here in it's excellent "Hacks" series of books. More details about the book can be seen in the O'Reilly catalog, here: http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/linuxdeskhks/ . Well done (as usual) to O'Reilly Publishing!
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
very flexible linuxApr 20, 2005
By W Boudville
For linux sysadmins and users, the operating system offers a huge amount of flexibility and customisation. Alas, many might not be fully aware of the numerous tweaks you can perform. So this book tries to educate you. Naturally, a lot of the hacks relate to the desktop. The book allocates a chapter each to the KDE and Gnome desktops. It does not play favourites by suggesting one is better than the other. So the authors pragmatically support both.
As a sign of the book's recent vintage, there is one hack involving Firefox. But given that this browser's rise has scarcely halted, if there is a future edition of this book, we can expect far more hacks on Firefox.
Perhaps it is a good sign of linux's security that the only mention of viruses in the book is in the context of running Microsoft Windows emulators or in reading Microsoft Windows documents.
See all 13 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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