Linux Toys: 13 Cool Projects for Home, Office and Entertainment (Paperback)

by Christopher Negus (Author), Chuck Wolber (Author) "With a spare PC, the Linux operating system, a few added hardware pieces, and this book, anyone from a handy do-it-yourselfer to a Linux guru..." (more)
Key Phrases: home network server, fmpeg command, configure your video card, Red Hat Linux, Linux Toys, Personal Desktop (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"...Linux Format Top Stuff Award...9/10 Lots of ideas for making your machine do cool things..." (Linux Format, February 2004)

"...the book was good fun, entertaining and thought provoking..." (Linux Magazine, January 2004)

"...Linux Format Top Stuff Award...9/10 Lots of ideas for making your machine do cool things..." -- Linux Format, February 2004

"...the book was good fun, entertaining and thought provoking..." -- Linux Magazine, January 2004

Product Description
* Christopher Negus is the bestselling author of Red Hat Linux 8 Bible (0-7645-4968-5) and earlier versions, with more than 125,000 copies sold
* Readers learn to build sixteen fun and useful devices for home and office, using spare parts and free software
* Projects include transforming an answering machine into an e-mail converter, building an MP3 music jukebox, building a car entertainment center, and creating a TV video recorder/player
* Projects work with any version of Linux
* Companion Web site includes specialized hardware drivers and software interfaces, plus music and game software

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (October 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764525085
• ISBN-13: 978-0764525087
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #351,429 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Now I have something to do with those old PCs in my closet!, October 17, 2003

By	hang10web (Midwest, United States) - See all my reviews

Always looking for a something cool to tinker with, I found my perfect match in Linux Toys.

My first project this past weekend was to jump to chapter 10 and build the "Digital Receptionist." Using an unused PC (PII 300, 4GB, 128MB) and an old modem I was able to build the project, and I now get my phone messages from home answered by the machine and emailed to me at work - how cool is that?

There are 12 more projects in the book, and I will probably do the digital video recorder next.

I am not a complete Linux newbie - I have a RH 9 box on my home network, but I am no expert either. However, this is Chris Negus, the same guy that writes the Red Hat Linux Bible (great way to get the CD distro) so I found it very easy to read, and not at all intimidating.

If you have an old PC in the closet, or just like to play with Linux, get this book - it's a blast.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun Stuff, December 11, 2003

By	A. Jackson (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When I first read this book, I thought," This is nothing more than a collection of Stuff he pulled off the web." After going thru it a second time I realised that I never would have thought of most of these projects. If I had thought of them, I would have spent tens of hours serching the web trying to figure out how to do them and downloading te software needed.

If you like to tinker with computers, buy this book. All of the projects are well documented and the included cd has most of the software that is mentioned in the book.

I'm glad I bought it.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, October 7, 2003

By A Customer

I met Chris Negus at a User Group conference in April where he was talking about Linux Toys. I just got this book last week and spent the weekend trying out some of the projects. They are really fun and challenging. If you like to play around with Linux in your spare time or use it regularly, you will really enjoy Chris' book.