The Linux Enterprise Cluster (No Starch) -- This practical guide takes you through the real-world construction and installation of a reliable, cost-effective Linux cluster that uses commodity hardware and open source software to run mission-critical applications. If you're looking for a low-cost server solution with unlimited scalability, high availability, and stress-free maintenance, this book will show you exactly how to build the cluster you need.

Classic Shell Scripting -- The ability to program and customize the shell quickly, reliably, and portably is important for anyone operating and maintaining Unix or Linux systems. This book gives you everything you need to master these essential skills. The authors provide the tips, tricks, and organized knowledge necessary to create excellent scripts, as well as warnings of the traps that can turn your best efforts into bad shell scripts. Sample Chapter 5, Pipelines Can Do Amazing Things (PDF), is available free online.

Infosec Career Hacking (Syngress) -- Do you code for the sheer joy and challenge? If you want to refine your skills and learn new ones to build an InfoSec career, this book is for you. The authors have all applied their inherent hacker skills to build successful InfoSec careers. From them, you will learn about the variety of available jobs and the skills required to excel in each one.

Learning Java, 3rd Edition -- This bestselling hands-on tutorial delivers a no-nonsense approach to Java 5.0 features, such as "generics," loops, and threads. It addresses all of the important uses of Java, such as web applications, servlets, and XML, that are increasingly driving enterprise applications. The accompanying CD includes the Java 5.0 SDK for Windows, Linux, and Solaris, plus the Eclipse IDE, the NetBeans IDE, and the many example programs from the book. Sample Chapter 8, Generics (PDF) is available free online.

SSH, The Secure Shell: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition -- Written for a wide, technical audience, this book covers several implementations of SSH for different operating systems and computing environments. Whether you're an individual running your home system or a corporate network administrator with thousands of users, our indispensable guide has you covered. It starts with simple installation and use of SSH, and works its way to in-depth case studies on large, sensitive computer networks. Sample Chapter 8, Per-Account Server Configuration is available free online.

Designing Embedded Hardware, 2nd Edition -- This book steers a course between books dedicated to writing code for particular microprocessors and those that stress the philosophy of embedded system design without providing any practical information. Loaded with real examples, it also provides a roadmap to the pitfalls and traps to avoid. If you want to build your own embedded system, or tweak an existing one, this invaluable book gives you the understanding and practical skills you need. Sample Chapter 6, Building Hardware (PDF) is available free online.

Database in Depth -- This concise guide sheds light on the principles behind the relational model, giving you an unbiased view that's not influenced by any vendor or product. Featuring an extensive set of exercises, this book is ideal not only for database developers and designers, but also for a diverse field of professionals and academics, including database administrators, information modelers, database consultants, and more.

MySQL in a Nutshell -- This book clearly documents every detail you need to master MySQL. In addition to providing a thorough reference to MySQL statements and functions, the administrative utilities, and the most popular APIs, this book even includes several tutorial chapters to help newcomers get started. This wealth of information is conveniently packed into a concise, comprehensive, and easy-to-use format. Sample Chapter 6, Date and Time Functions (PDF) is available free online.

GDB Pocket Reference -- Covering several popular programming languages, this handy guide details the essentials of using GDB in a testing environment. This book shows you how to specify a target for debugging, perform a careful examination to find the cause of program failure, and make quick changes for further testing. Having a quick way to refer to GDB's essential functions is the key to making the process work smoothly, and this book is the only reference you'll need.

Deploying Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Server 3.0 (Syngress) -- This book covers all the topics needed to plan, design, and implement a reliable, scalable server-based computing solution in a Citrix/Windows 2003 environment. Whether you're building thin client environments for disaster recovery purposes or rolling Citrix MetaFrame out as the network model for the day-to-day activities of a company, you will find this book to be a great resource. It also offers invaluable advice and direction on optimization, redundancy, troubleshooting, and scalability.

Network Security Tools: Writing Network Sniffers -- An important function of many security tools is to capture network traffic and then either reassemble it or extract information from the packets flowing across the network. Chapter 10 of Network Security Tools provides a quick and practical introduction to packet capture using the commonly available libpcap library on wired and wireless networks. If you like this chapter, read the whole book (and up to nine others) on Safari with a free trial subscription.

Copy Scheduled Tasks to Remote Machines -- There are times when for ease and security reasons, you'll want to schedule a task to run on a remote PC. Where to begin? Mitch Tulloch gives you step-by-step instructions for getting it done. Mitch is the author of Windows Server Hacks.

Developing for the Web with Ant, Part 1 -- Developing for the web is bread and butter for Ant developers. In part one of this two-part excerpt, Steve Holzner covers the tasks specifically designed for packaging web applications, including war, cab, ear, and jspc. Steve is the author of Ant: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition.

The Geospatial Web: A Call to Action -- What needs to happen to build a sustainable geospatial web? Mike Liebhold offers ten steps designed to help tap the unharvested business opportunities in a geospatial web. If this topic gets your creative juices flowing, you belong at O'Reilly's Where 2.0 Conference, June 29-30 in San Francisco. Register by May 30th and save $400.

Hacking Visual Studio -- In this excerpt, author James Avery shares five hacks that really stood out to him from his recently released book. Learn to create comments faster using GhostDoc, to refactor your code with Visual Studio 2005's new Refactor menu, and more. James is the author of Visual Studio Hacks.

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 now, 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 upon course completion). Offer extended through May 31st.

Generic Types, Part 2 -- In part one of this two-part excerpt, David Flanagan described how to use generic types. This week, David details how to write your own generic types and generic methods, and concludes with a tour of important generic types in the core Java API. David is the author of Java in a Nutshell, 5th Edition.

The Future of Textbook Selection: An Interview with Jon Preston -- Professor Jon Preston teaches the advanced course on testing and quality assurance for the BIT degree program at Clayton College in Georgia. Jon runs his class like a software engineering practicum, and has spent years looking for a textbook versatile and comprehensive enough to be of real value to his students. Jon explains how SafariU helped him create the ideal custom textbook.

Hacking Windows XP -- In these three excerpts, Preston Gralla teaches you how to make better use of the XP login screen, how to give Internet Explorer a face lift, and how to build your own Firefox search engine. Preston is the author of Windows XP Hacks, 2nd Edition.

EuroOSCON CFP Now Open -- The O'Reilly European Open Source Convention 2005, to be held on October 17-20 in scenic Amsterdam, will explore the best and newest open source technologies. We're interested in all aspects of building applications, services, and systems that utilize the capabilities of the open source platform. Session and tutorial proposals are due by midnight, May 23rd. Submit your proposal today.

Dan Gillmor Launches Bayosphere -- Award-winning tech journalist Dan Gillmor recently left the San Jose Mercury News to push citizen journalism to the next level and start a grassroots journalism project called Bayosphere. Bayosphere is a community space that will reflect on the news and ideas of the San Francisco Bay area, the technology sphere in particular. To explore the effects of grassroots journalism on the future of the media, check out Dan's book, We the Media.

Five Things I Love About Spring -- For hardcore enterprise development, Bruce Tate turns to Spring, the topic of his fourth Java book. In this article, Bruce describes five reasons why he is hooked on Spring. Bruce is the coauthor of Spring: A Developer's Notebook.

A Firefox Glossary -- Brian King, with some help from Nigel McFarlane, covers everything from about:config to "zool" in this fun, fact-filled Firefox glossary. It's by no means exhaustive, but you'll find references to specific chapters or hacks in Nigel's book, Firefox Hacks, for when you're ready to dig deeper.