Gaming Hacks -- It doesn't take long for an avid or just wickedly clever gamer to chaff at the limitations of videogame software and hardware. If you want to go far beyond the obvious, there's a tremendous amount of free fun you can have by following the creative exploits of the gaming gurus. Gaming Hacks is the indispensable guide to cool things gamers can do to create, modify, and hack videogame hardware and software. Five Sample Hacks are available free online.

DVD Studio Pro 3: In the Studio -- This indispensable book gives you the tools and know-how to master DVD Studio Pro 3. Oversized and in full color, it's a highly visual book that's ideal for Macintosh ProApps developers--those who use Final Cut Pro 4 and Shake 3--as well as for prosumer and professional filmmakers who wish to transfer their projects to DVDs. The book goes well beyond the program's features list to demystify the entire process of DVD design and authoring. Sample Chapter 5, An International DVD Project, is available free online.

Windows XP Power Hound -- Windows XP power users troll the web, documentation, and friends for useful tips and tricks--a keyboard shortcut here, an undocumented double-click there--to eliminate annoyances, save time, and take control of their Windows XP machines. There's an easier way. This insightful and amusing book is packed with hundreds of power tips, cool tricks, and workarounds in one organized, easy-to-use resource--for everything from the desktop to Office programs to the registry. Sample Chapter 6, The Internet, is available free online.

Spam Kings -- The mounting onslaught of email pitches for porn, pills, and penis enlargement has some techno-pundits declaring that spam is on the verge of destroying the Internet. In Spam Kings, author and veteran investigative journalist Brian McWilliams delivers a compelling account of the cat-and-mouse game played by spam entrepreneurs (including the notorious Davis Wolfgang Hawke, "Dr. Fatburn," and Scott Richter) in search of easy fortunes and the cyber-vigilantes who are trying to stop them. Sample Chapter 1, Birth of a Spam King, is available free online.

iPod and iTunes Hacks -- Some people are content to use their iPods simply to play music. Some of the curious and clever among us want to do much more. If you want to get under the hood and tap every iPod trick available, this book will take you beyond the obvious with 100 undocumented tips, tricks, and trade secrets that will delight, entertain, and add astonishing power to your iPod and iTunes experience. Explore, experiment, create shortcuts, and unearth cool and unexpected things. 10 Sample Hacks are available free online.

JUnit Pocket Guide -- While there are bits of documentation all over the place, there is no go-to manual that serves as a quick reference for JUnit. Until now. This Pocket Guide meets the need, bringing together all the hard-to-remember information, syntax, and rules for working with JUnit, as well as delivering the insight and sage advice that can only come from a technology's creator. Programmers and developers of any level that write Java Code and use JUnit to do their unit testing will find this an indispensable reference.

SELinux covers the wide range of knowledge you need to secure your system with SELinux (Security Enhanced Linux), the security-related extension to Linux that embodies the key advances of the security field. This book covers SELinux concepts and its security model; installation instructions; system and user administration; and understanding, implementing, and developing your own SELinux security policies. With SELinux, a high-security computer is within reach of any system administrator, and this book provides the means. Sample Chapter 4, Using and Administering SELinux, is available free online.

SWT: A Developer's Notebook -- Learn how to take SWT out for a spin, make it work for you, and turn it upside down--without tripping over wasted words and space. Each lab in this notebook details a specific task; you can read from the first page to the last, or look up just what you need to know. And then you can stick this book in your laptop bag so you have a quick reference when you forget how to create a multi-tabbed view. Sample Chapter 15, SWT CoolBars, is available free online.

Real World Web Services -- The core idea behind this book is simple: after years of hype, what are the major players really doing with web services? Standards bodies may wrangle and platform vendors may preach, but at the end of the day, what are the technologies that are actually in use and how can developers incorporate them into their own applications? The answers are here in this field guide to the wild and wooly world of non-trivial deployed web services. Sample Chapter 6, Project 3: Billing and Faxing, is available free online.

iPod Fan Book -- This compact and beautifully packaged guide is for iPod users who want a quick, fun way to learn all the features and capabilities of the device. It takes readers through the process of loading the iPod with music and then organizing, playing, and even burning those tunes onto CDs and DVDs. The book also discusses ways to use the iPod on-the-go, such as playing it through a car stereo, and shows how to use the iPod as a PDA for storing things like addresses and personal calendars. The iPod is more than a digital music device, it has become a cultural phenomenon and a fashion statement, and this book is the perfect gift for people living the iPod lifestyle

Hacking iPod and iTunes -- Your favorite toy just got better. Push the envelope of your iPod's capabilities: turn it into a universal remote, permanently install it in your car, run Linux on it, make smart playlists, and tame iTunes with AppleScript. These hacks are excerpted from O'Reilly's iPod and iTunes Hacks.

Pick the Hat to Fit the Head -- Larry Wall once said, "Information wants to be valuable." The form in which information is presented contributes to that value. At O'Reilly Media, we offer a variety of ways for you to get your technical information. Tim O'Reilly talks about some of them in his quarterly letter for the O'Reilly Catalog.

Gaming Hacks for Geeks, Part 2 -- Learn the basics of computer animation before creating your own masterpiece. Covered here are installing Python and PyGame, drawing frames, drawing images, and simple animation. This is an excerpt from the recently released Gaming Hacks.

Advanced Synchronization in Java Threads, Part 2 -- J2SE 5.0 introduces new utilities for coordinating multiple threads. But where you have synchronized threads, you run the risk of deadlock. Here's a look at deadlock and some guidelines for preventing it, excerpted from O'Reilly's recently released Java Threads, 3rd Edition.

Book Review: Adobe Photoshop CS One-on-One -- In this DPnow.com book review, Ian Burley writes, "[this book] is an ideal resource for anyone who is serious about getting serious with Adobe Photoshop." He offers everything from content highlights to a look at the book's layout and structure, giving it Excellent ratings across the board. See why he calls it "a 'let's do it' book" that gives you "a lot for your money." Adobe Photoshop CS One-on-One.

Getting Started with Safari Web Services -- Joining the ranks of Amazon and Google, Safari Bookshelf recently exposed a web service for developers to integrate Safari's vast content of technical books into their web sites. Wei-Meng Lee shows how to create an application for the Safari Web Services API using the .NET framework. Enrich your website by becoming a Safari Affiliate.

Mac Modding Shortcuts -- You can add, remove, and change keyboard shortcuts to meet your personal computing needs, making repetitive tasks simpler and maximizing ergonomic efficiency. Learn the philosophy of keyboard shortcuts, get step-by-step instructions on creating them, and have a look at speakable items, complete with shortcut management tips and screenshots, in this excerpt from Modding Mac OS X.

Cooking with Access -- Here are four recipes that offer practical solutions to common problems Access users face. Learn how to perform a mail merge from Access to Word, create a web front end to an Access table, build an object inventory, and export columns to an HTML table. It's all from Access Cookbook, 2nd Edition.

Transferring Files to Your Pocket PC Using Infrared -- It may be old tech, but using infrared is still a handy way to sync up your PC and Pocket PC on the road. See how it's done in this tutorial from Wei-Meng Lee, author of O'Reilly's Windows XP Unwired.

TenCon Fly-By -- Over the past weeks, conference chair Derrick Story has been pointing out some of the new content being added to the lineup for the O'Reilly Mac OS X Conference. Now he's pulled together this collection of What's New blurbs and weblogs to create a convenient fly-by of event highlights. We hope to see you next week at the Mac OS X Conference.

Advanced Synchronization in Java Threads -- J2SE 5.0 introduces sophisticated new options for coordinating multiple threads. Here we look at new scheduling strategies represented by the java.util.concurrent package, in this excerpt from O'Reilly's recently released Java Threads, 3rd Edition.

PC Hacks for Windows -- Here are three must-have hacks for Windows users: give your Plug and Play a lesson in playing well with others by tweaking your BIOS parameters; pick up CPU speed by applying proper CPU cooling techniques; and help your hard drive perform better with less wasted space by setting it up the way you want it. After you've whet your whistle, get all the tips you need to tame your PC from O'Reilly's PC Hacks.

Wil Wheaton Book Reading -- At this year's Gnomedex, actor, author, and geek Wil Wheaton did a 90-minute reading from his two books, Just a Geek and Dancing Barefoot. Wil released the performance under a Creative Commons license, and audio and video of the reading are available from IT Conversations. Join the tens of thousands who've listened, and then get the full story of the man who's Just a Geek.

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 Unix 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 expires October 31.