Clone Pong, Using Only SDL (and Your Brain) -- One of the great things about the games of yore is that they tended to be pretty simple, and as Josh Glover explains, Pong is one of the simplest to implement. In this first article of a three-part series, Josh shows you how to clone Pong all by yourself. Josh contributed a number of the hacks in O'Reilly's Retro Gaming Hacks.

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What Is the X Window System -- Developed at MIT in 1984, the X Window System has been the standard environment for Unix windowing systems. Ellen Siever provides some historical context for X's staying power, then discusses its major features: working with X, the X server, and X clients; configuring X; and much more. Ellen is a coauthor of Linux in a Nutshell, 5th Edition.

Linux for Video Production -- Linux is traditionally good for developers and system administrators, and recently good for business users. When will it be good for multimedia users? A handful of projects are making video production and editing possible (and useful), PiTiVi and GStreamer among them. Jono Bacon examines the present and future of video production with Linux and open source software. Jono is the coauthor of Linux Desktop Hacks.

What Is the GNOME Desktop -- Nope, it's not some elfish paperweight for the home office. GNOME is a desktop software environment designed to look familiar to anyone who has ever used a computer. Aaron Weber distills what the GNOME desktop is, what apps users will find as well as what platform development tools developers will find, and the resources to help you get started using it. Aaron is a coauthor of Linux in a Nutshell, 5th Edition.

Hacking the Linux Desktop, Part 2 -- In Part 1 of this two-part excerpt, we offered hacks on controlling desktop access. In this second installment, learn how to view Microsoft Word documents in a terminal and how to create an internet phone. If these excerpts whet your Linux appetite, there are plenty more in Linux Desktop Hacks.

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History of Programming Languages -- For 50 years, computer programmers have been writing code, and now, there are more than 2,500 documented programming languages. O'Reilly has produced a poster called History of Programming Languages, which plots over 50 programming languages on a multi-layered, color-coded timeline. The poster is available online in PDF format, but while supplies last, U.S. residents can also get a hard copy of the poster free when purchasing two books through oreilly.com.

Hacking the Linux Desktop -- Modifying stuff to suit individual desire is the credo of hackers everywhere. In these two excerpts, Nicholas Petreley and Jono Bacon let you modify Linux to suit your desires. The first hack uses Virtual Network Computer (VNC) to access Windows and Mac OS X from your Linux desktop. The second shows how to lock down KDE with Kiosk mode, allowing you to control exactly what users can and can't change. Nicolas and Jono are the authors of Linux Desktop Hacks.

Freedom, Innovation, and Convenience: The RMS Interview -- Since 1984, Richard M. Stallman has fought for software freedom as coder, project leader, and philosopher. Read about Stallman's views on freedom, the GNU project, the Linux kernel, and GNU/Linux distributions, in this interview by Federico Biancuzzi on LinuxDevCenter.com.

Trust and Zeal in Open Source Advocacy -- Advocacy is critical to the spread of open source and free software. Good advocates build trust in their audiences, explaining how, and if, F/OSS can help them solve their problems. Jono Bacon explains how to build trust and avoid overzealous advocacy. Jono is the author of Linux Desktop Hacks.

Linux Cookbook: Installing Programs from Source Code --Even with all the package managers out there, there are times when building from sources is preferable. For example, a program you want may not be available in a packaged version or you may want to optimize it for your architecture. In Chapter 4 of Linux Cookbook, you’ll be introduced to the basics, including preparing your system and using CheckInstall. If you like this chapter, read the whole book (and up to nine others) on Safari with a free trial subscription.

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 Max subscription. Save time, reduce errors, keep current, and save money. If you haven't yet gone on Safari, try a free trial subscription.

Fear and Loathing in Information Security -- "Society has always treated innovators and whistle blowers with ambivalence," writes author Michael D. Bauer in reference to hackers. In this article, Michael defines and analyzes hacking. He then discusses why information security professionals demonize hackers and why that tendency is both irrational and counterproductive. Michael is the author of Linux Server Security, 2nd Edition.