Linux Magazine DVD

As a special bonus for our readers, we are including on this month's DVD a full year of Linux Magazine in a convenient, searchable archive. Look for that article you missed, and relive the best moments of the year in Linux. All articles are reproduced in high-resolution PDF format.

Cover Stories

Each issue features three or more related articles on a special theme. We covered a wide range of topics in 2004. Cover story topics on this month's DVD include:

• DVD Burning: You'll learn about the DVD burning process. We'll show you some GUI applications for writing DVDs, and we'll review six DVD writers.
• Distro Tests: We compare and contrast the most popular Linux distributions, including Mandrakelinux, Suse Linux, Debian, Xandros, and Fedora Core.
• Linux Security: We look at Adamantix, a hardened Debian derivative, and we examine the PaX memory protection kernel patch. We also compare Linux firewalls.
• New Desktops: You'll learn about configuring Gnome and migrating personal data to Evolution, Galeon, and Mozilla. We also look at KDE 3.2, KOffice, and Gnome Office.
• Networking: You'll study tools for the network, including CUPS, DHCP server, and Suse's System Configuration Profile Management (SPCM).
• Hardware Tips: How to buy a printer, how to configure Linux for a digital camera, and how to create an ultra-quient PC.
• Software Setup: We examine Linux software setup tools, such as Suse's YaST and Debian's Aptitude. You'll also learn some new techniques for using configure and make.
• Internet Phones: Topics include Softphones, Voice over IP Basics, and the Asterisk software phone system.
• Spam: Techniques for managing spam on Linux systems.
• Network Options: Network tools and techniques, including NdisWrapper, HostAP, the Postfix mail server, and Samba migration.
• Printing: A deep look at printing in Linux, including in-depth articles on CUPS and the Ghostscript printing system. You'll also learn how to create a pseudo-fax printer, and we'll show you how to use muttprint to format text-based email.
• Scripting Secrets: Advanced Bash techniques and a tutorial on searching text tables with AWK. We also look at what's coming in Perl 6.

Our cover stories will help you build a deeper understanding of Linux.

Figure 1: Nostalgia buffs will love our December story on emulating old computer systems like the Commodore and the Sinclair Spectrum.

Advanced Techniques

Our advanced technical articles teach you new technologies and show you new tools for age-old problems. You'll find articles on BitTorrent, PHP Nuke, VPN security, and filesystem tuning. You'll learn about the network time protocol, and you'll discover how to rescue data you thought you'd lost. Other higlights include:

• Blogging tools
• Apache performance tuning
• Mozilla XUL
• Clustering filesystems
• Powerline and cable modems
• NTFS from Linux
• Palmtop synchronization

You'll also explore technologies such as the APM and ACPI power management standards, and you'll learn advanced techniques for tools such as GnomeMeeting and YUM package manger.

Reviews

Browse for reviews of the latest books and tools. You'll find reviews of several applications and distributions, including OpenExchange, VMWare, Suse 9.1, and Sun Java Desktop, as well as more specialized tools like the Plan Maker spreadsheet and Mount Everything, an application for mounting Windows file systems in Linux.

Administration Tips

Marc André Selig's monthly Admin Workshop column is a tutorial on the tools admins use every day. Also included are tips and insights from columnist Charly Kühnast and special feature articles for working admins. Topics include Big Sister, Mobile IP, Reiser 4, and the smartmontools - an early warning system for failing hard drives.

Scripting

Mike Schilli's Perl Snapshot column brings advanced Perl programming techniques to the everyday. You'll enjoy his February column, in which he shows how to write a Perl script that will monitor an eBay auction, or his November column, in which he shows how to access OpenOffice from Perl. You'll also find other features on scripting topics, including articles on Lua (a language favored by game developers) and PHP.

Figure 2: Views of a penguin with the 3D graphics tool AC3D.

Desktop Tools

We bring you the best of the Linux desktop. Our regular columns cover a broad range of Linux user topics from KDE to the command line. You'll learn about the StreamTuner Internet radio application and the GnuCash money management system. Also included are articles on window managers, retro-gaming tools, and groupware applications such as Kontact.

Figure 3: Each issue includes a UserFriendly cartoon created exclusively for Linux New Media.

Community

Our Community section is your window to the global community of Linux users and developers. Monthly columns such as Brave Gnu World and Projects on the Move raise awareness of promising Open Source projects. You'll walk with the intrepid souls who sallied forth on the Linux Beer Hike. And you'll learn about important conferences, summits, and seminars in the world of Open Source, including events such as KDE akademy, Oscon, and LinuxWorld UK.