Firefox Hacks -- This highly focused book offers all the valuable tips and tools you need to maximize the effectiveness of this hot web browser. It's all covered, including how to customize its deployment, appearance, features, and functionality. You'll even learn how to install, use, and alter extensions and plug-ins. Aimed at clever people who may or may not be savvy with basic programming tasks, this convenient resource describes 100 techniques for 100 strategies that effectively exploit Firefox. Sample Hack 69, Make New Tags and Widgets with XBL (PDF) is available free online (along with five others).

Java in a Nutshell, 5th Edition covers all the extensive changes in Java 5.0. This classic remake has undergone a complete editorial makeover in order to more closely meet the needs of the modern Java programmer. Included among the improvements are more discussion on tools and frameworks and new code examples to illustrate the working of APIs. And, as in previous editions, the fifth edition is chock-full of poignant tips, techniques, examples, and practical advice.

Access 2003 Personal Trainer -- Written in a non-technical and engaging style, this book lets people of any technical level learn exactly what they need to know at their own pace. The book starts with Access fundamentals and then moves up to tables, fields, queries, forms, reports, and advanced topics, like linking information from an external source. Included are detailed diagrams, dozens of task-oriented lessons, and a fully interactive training simulation CD.

SharePoint User's Guide -- This straightforward guide shows SharePoint users how to create and use websites for sharing and collaboration. Learn to use the document and picture libraries for adding and editing content, add discussion boards and surveys, receive alerts when documents and information have been added or changed, and enhance security. Designed to help you find answers quickly, the book shows how to make the most of SharePoint for productivity and collaboration. Chapter 1, Working with Sites and Workspaces (PDF) is available free online.

Apache Security -- This all-purpose guide for locking down Apache arms readers with all the information they need to securely deploy applications. Administrators and programmers alike will benefit from a concise introduction to the theory of securing Apache, plus a wealth of practical advice and real-life examples. Topics covered include installation, server sharing, logging and monitoring, web applications, PHP and SSL/TLS, and more. Sample Chapter 2, Installation and Configuration (PDF) is available free online.

IPv6 Network Administration --This essential guide explains what works, what doesn't, and most of all, what's practical about IPv6. A must-have for network administrators looking to fix their network's scalability and management problems, this book also covers other IPv6 benefits, such as routing, integrated auto-configuration, quality-of-services (QoS), enhanced mobility, and end-to-end security. Sample Chapter 5, Installation and Configuration (PDF) is available free online.

Windows XP Hacks, 2nd Edition is an ideal all-in-one resource for XP beginners as well as experienced power users. Now completely revised and updated to cover Service Pack 2 (SP2), the second edition of this bestseller breaks down the new SP2 features, including IE pop-up blocker, Windows Firewall, and the new wireless client. You'll also find timesaving hacks for security, file distribution, digital media, web browsing, and more. Sample Hack 36, Surf Anonymously Without a Trace (PDF) is available free online (along with nine others).

QuickBooks 2005: The Missing Manual is a comprehensive guide that examines everything the QuickBooks Pro edition has to offer, from invoices and inventory to assets and accounts payable. By covering details in a friendly and lighthearted way, the book explains when and why a feature is useful and then offers indispensable, relevant advice. Each page provides insightful tips and tricks to help readers become more efficient, sophisticated users no matter what the extent of their existing knowledge.

Outlook 2003 Personal Trainer -- This fully illustrated book takes a modular approach to learning, allowing you to start with the fundamentals and then work your way up to advanced topics--at your own pace. Designed to address both beginners and experts, this handy reference is written in a nontechnical style that you're bound to find engaging and informative. The companion CD tutorial guides you through each lesson interactively. Sample Chapter 8, Advanced E-Mail Features (PDF) is available free online.

Python Pocket Reference, 3rd Edition -- With its convenient, quick-reference format, this book is the perfect on-the-job reference that delivers need-to-know information at the flip of a page. This third edition has been refreshed to cover Python 2.4 and also includes an easy-lookup index to help developers find answers fast. The Python Pocket Reference, 3rd Edition serves as the perfect companion to Learning Python and Programming Python.

Opting in to Privacy Problems -- Brian McWilliams looks at yet another way internet users may be putting their privacy at risk. With list brokers now cutting deals with e-commerce sites and internet marketing firms for data that includes home addresses, phone numbers, and corresponding IP addresses, you may be opting in for more than you bargained for when you shop online. Brian is the author of Spam Kings.

Customizing Local Security Policies -- Want to harden server security? Customizing the Security Options policies of Group Policy is a great way to go. Mitch Tulloch shows you the best way how. Mitch is the author of Windows Server Hacks.

A Look at Commons Chain, Part 2 -- In part one of this two-part series, Bill Siggelkow showed Java programmers how certain design patterns help Commons Chain to define and execute sequential sets of steps. In part two, Bill shows how Struts uses Chain to add custom behavior to request processing. Bill is the author of Jakarta Struts Cookbook.

Download Chapters Through Safari -- There are over 2,000 books from the industry's leading technical publishers available on Safari Bookshelf. As the library grows, so does its functionality. Do you ever wish you could download content from O'Reilly books? Just the chapters you want? Now you can, with a Safari subscription. Save time, reduce errors, keep current, and save money. If you haven't yet gone on Safari, enjoy a free trial subscription today.

OSCON Is Coming -- Join us at the O'Reilly Open Source Convention in beautiful Portland from August 1-5. OSCON 2005 will be at the Oregon Convention Center, where we'll have tutorials, sessions, parties, BOFs, and a huge exhibit hall. The Call for Proposals is closed, but registration and hotel information will be available soon. To get the latest details as soon as we have them, sign up for the OSCON newsletter.

O'Reilly Wins Five Jolt Awards (PDF) -- We are proud to announce that in the General Books category, the top prize was awarded to Head First Design Patterns. In Technical Books, the top prize went to Better, Faster, Lighter Java, and Hibernate: A Developer's Notebook took home a productivity award. And finally, in Websites and Developer Networks, the O'Reilly Network received the Product Excellence Award, and java.net (produced in collaboration with Sun and CollabNet) won a productivity award. The winners will all be featured in the June 2005 issue of Software Development magazine.

Hijacked by Spammers -- If you're thinking spammers couldn't hijack your internet account and use it to send junk email, think again. Brian McWilliams writes about how one spammer did just that when he cracked BellSouth's ISP and hijacked dozens of user accounts. Brian is the author of Spam Kings.

Go Wireless -- In this excerpt, David A. Karp shows you how to set up a simple wireless network, connect that network to the internet, connect your wireless devices to other people's wireless networks, and prevent others from sneaking on to your network. All without wires, and the most amazing thing is that it actually works. David is the author of Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks, 2nd Edition.

Save $200 on a Learning Lab Certificate -- Learning programming languages and development techniques has never been easier. Using your web browser and Useractive's Learning Sandbox technology, the Learning Lab gives you hands-on, online training in a creative environment. And for a limited time, when you enroll in any of our four certificate series, you'll receive a $200 instant rebate (and a certificate from the University of Illinois College of Extended Learning upon course completion). Offer expires March 31.

Digital Photography Hacks: Nighttime Photo Hacks --If daytime is the ultimate photo studio for portraits and landscapes, then nighttime becomes the perfect setting for the creative use of light. With a darkened backdrop, you can record eerie glowing objects and streaking lights. You can turn candles into stars, and stars into iridescent bands of light. The hacks in this chapter are designed to bring out both the artist and the scientist in you. If you like this chapter, read the whole book (and up to nine others) on Safari with a free trial subscription.

From the Editor's List: Error Checking -- Should error checking be included in printed books that cover code? Is it worth adding an extra 10% of text to ensure that programmers will not forget to check for error conditions? And ultimately, who's responsibility is it to error check code? In a recent discussion on the Editor's List, four editors contemplated the pros and cons.

Where 2.0 Conference Debut -- Join us at the debut of the O'Reilly Where 2.0 Conference June 29-30 in San Francisco. Explore the emerging consumer and enterprise ecosystems around location-aware technologies--like GPS, RFID, WLAN, cellular networks, and networked sensors--that enable an ever-growing array of capabilities from local search and mapping to enterprise integration and commercial applications. Registration opens in April. To receive up-to-date conference news and information, sign up for the conference newsletter.