Live Linux(R) CDs: Building and Customizing Bootables [Paperback]

Christopher Negus (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 24, 2006

 Dream the perfect computer system, then build it to run on a Linux live CD!

 

A Linux live CD is more than just a Linux system you carry around. Start with a live CD that has all your favorite applications. Include and play photo slideshows, presentations, Web content, and music collections. Incorporate your own designs, colors, and images to appear everywhere from the boot prompt to the desktop.

 

When you are done, you have a perfectly customized CD or DVD that can run on almost any PC that you can reboot. In Live Linux® CDs, bestselling Linux author Christopher Negus guides you through the free software tools and toys you need to try out and create specialized Linux live CDs for security, presentations, gaming, multimedia, firewalls, and clustering. It is the first start-to-finish guide to using, creating, building, and remastering your own live Linux distributions.

 

Working from live CD technology on the accompanying DVD, you can

• Boot and run live Linux versions of KNOPPIX, SLAX, Gentoo, Damn Small Linux, and other live CDs
• Burn and boot Linux live CD ISO images of Ubuntu, KNOPPIX, SLAX, MoviX, BackTrack, and more
• Build your own live CDs from instructions based on KNOPPIX (Debian), Fedora, Gentoo, Damn Small Linux, and SLAX
• Create multimedia players that are customized to include your own video or music
• Customize live CD rescue toolkits to analyze and repair data on compromised networks, Windows PCs, and Linux systems
• Configure personal firewalls to protect from Internet intruders
• Control the processing power of a group of computers, using live CD clusters

Whether you want to customize the perfect live Linux for your own use or distribute it to the world, Live Linux® CDs gives you all the knowledge, tools, and software you need.

 

 

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Most of all, I recommend this book to any Linux user who enjoys tinkering with the operating system and wants to build something truly their own. I know one guru who created a special distribution for his forum members. The possibilities are endless. Let Live Linux CDs be your guide to a new enjoyment of your Linux system."–Jack Carlson, Reviewer, Lockergnome.com

From the Back Cover

 Dream the perfect computer system, then build it to run on a Linux live CD!

 

A Linux live CD is more than just a Linux system you carry around. Start with a live CD that has all your favorite applications. Include and play photo slideshows, presentations, Web content, and music collections. Incorporate your own designs, colors, and images to appear everywhere from the boot prompt to the desktop.

 

When you are done, you have a perfectly customized CD or DVD that can run on almost any PC that you can reboot. In Live Linux® CDs, bestselling Linux author Christopher Negus guides you through the free software tools and toys you need to try out and create specialized Linux live CDs for security, presentations, gaming, multimedia, firewalls, and clustering. It is the first start-to-finish guide to using, creating, building, and remastering your own live Linux distributions.

 

Working from live CD technology on the accompanying DVD, you can

• Boot and run live Linux versions of KNOPPIX, SLAX, Gentoo, Damn Small Linux, and other live CDs
• Burn and boot Linux live CD ISO images of Ubuntu, KNOPPIX, SLAX, MoviX, BackTrack, and more
• Build your own live CDs from instructions based on KNOPPIX (Debian), Fedora, Gentoo, Damn Small Linux, and SLAX
• Create multimedia players that are customized to include your own video or music
• Customize live CD rescue toolkits to analyze and repair data on compromised networks, Windows PCs, and Linux systems
• Configure personal firewalls to protect from Internet intruders
• Control the processing power of a group of computers, using live CD clusters

Whether you want to customize the perfect live Linux for your own use or distribute it to the world, Live Linux® CDs gives you all the knowledge, tools, and software you need.

 

 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 456 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall (November 24, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0132432749
• ISBN-13: 978-0132432740
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #496,728 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Christopher Negus has been one of the world's leading writers of Linux books for nearly a decade. His Red Hat Linux Bible series has sold more than one-quarter million copies worldwide. Chris also authored or coauthored the books Linux Bible (2005 through 2007 editions), Linux Toys, Linux Toys II, and Linux Troubleshooting Bible for Wiley Publishing. For Prentice Hall, Chris is the editor of the Negus Live Linux Series and author of that series' flagship book, Live Linux CDs. Before becoming a full-time author, Chris Negus worked on UNIX operating system development teams at AT&T Bell Labs, UNIX System Labs, and Novell in the 1980s and 1990s. In particular, Chris worked in the areas of UNIX system administration and networking. When not working on computer books, Chris likes to spend time with his family: Sheree, Seth, and Caleb. Chris also enjoys playing soccer, singing opera (when nobody can hear him), and making things out of old computers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A top pick for any user seeking the most versatility from a portable system., February 3, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live Linux(R) CDs: Building and Customizing Bootables (Paperback)

A Linux live CD is more than just a portable Linux system: it is quite versatile, offering a live CD with photo slideshows, presentation capabilities, and customization options - and can run on nearly any PC. LIVE LINUX CDS tells how to use the free software and tools needed to create a customized Linux live SD. Its instructions are step-by-step and specific and offers plenty of tips on configuration and customization. An accompanying DVD includes a bootable live Linux CD set, too, making it a top pick for any user seeking the most versatility from a portable system.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Using and making live CDs, January 22, 2007

By 

Chris Negus (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live Linux(R) CDs: Building and Customizing Bootables (Paperback)

The book describes how to take the included live CDs (or use related technology) to build custom live CDs that contain the software and data (music, video, documents, etc.) you choose. Along the way you will learn how to customize every aspect of the CD, from the boot process to personalized desktops and applications.

Insert the DVD that comes with this book into your computer and reboot. From the boot prompt that appears, there are six remastered Linux live CDs you can launch. Trying them will help you understand the kinds of live CDs you can make before you start customizing or building your own live CD.

For low-end machines, SLAX and Damn Small Linux generally run well. With those CDs, you can add software from the Internet as you run live and save your customizations (to a pen drive or hard disk). KNOPPIX is considered the best full-featured Linux desktop live CD. The Gentoo live CD lets you install that live CD's contents to your hard disk.

If you only have a CD drive, complete images of Ubuntu, MoviX, BackTrack, and other live CDs can be burned from the DVD to run separately. GeeXboX can be remastered to make bootable movies, while Devil-Linux lets you make a custom firewall.

To stimulate ideas about the kind of live CD you might build, the book describes special types of live CDs for security, presentations, gaming, multimedia, and clusters. Once you know the basics for building a live CD, you can pick the packages you want to include from the thousands of software packages available from online software repositories.

If you enjoy tinkering with software, making live CDs is a fun way to spend some time that can result in a completely personalized computer system you can carry in your pocket. I hope you enjoy my book. -- Chris Negus

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, March 16, 2007

By 

V. Sanches (Sao Paulo, SP BR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Live Linux(R) CDs: Building and Customizing Bootables (Paperback)

I recommend this book for those who want to learn not only how to make bootable linux cds/dvds, but to learn about linux as a system. It has nice tips abaout mini-distros. And it's good for fedora fans. Great book.