Supporting the Linux operating system are thousands of open source initiatives, building code for everything from word processors, to Web servers, to programming tools.While many of these initiatives help to make Linux the world’s most powerful operating system, others produce software that is just flat-out fun.

Linux® Toys II is here to show you some of the fun stuff! In Linux Toys II, I give you the software, the shopping list, and the steps to put together interesting
projects using open source software and PC hardware. Some projects will run even on a 486 machine with 32MB of memory (for example, a client in the Linux Terminal Server project), while others encourage you to build a completely tricked-out entertainment system–style PC (for example, the MythTV project).

Most projects will run on any standard PC built in the past ten years . . . so you can decide how fancy a computer you want to use. Once you have built your Linux Toys II projects, you don’t have to stop there. You can further enhance your projects because of the way open source works:
The building block nature of Linux—You can continue to add software from the thousands of open source software components available for Linux. So you can add your favorite applications to your custom Linux pen drive, incorporate a database application to store images or music for a server, or include a graphical front end to control your home lighting.

Thriving open source communities—Most of the Linux Toys II projects are built on open source initiatives that have active, thriving communities supporting them. You can learn more about each project by participating in forums or joining mailing lists. You can become a contributor to each effort by creating software or documentation . . . or buying a T-shirt.

If you are new to Linux, you can learn the basics of using Linux in Appendix B and procedures for installing a particular version of Linux (Fedora Core) in Appendix C. All the projects should run on most Linux systems (if you are willing to compile them yourself ). However, if you are a first-time Linux user, following instructions for Fedora Core Linux and using the pre-built software packages (in RPM format) can save you some trouble.

So, welcome to Linux Toys II! To get started, all you need is this book and a PC for the most basic projects. In fact, in some cases, you can just boot the Linux Toys II CD itself (which contains a custom version of Damn Small Linux) to get started. For other projects, you need an installed Linux system and some extra hardware that I describe throughout the book.

How This Book Is Organized
There are five parts to this book. Part I has introductory material. Parts II, III, and IV contain the actual projects. The appendixes contain information on getting and installing software, as well as a few basics on using Linux (in particular, Fedora Core or Red Hat Enterprise Linux).
Here’s a larger description of those sections.

Part I: The Basics
Chapter 1 lays out the approach to the Linux Toys II projects. Chapter 2 goes into detail about finding hardware and software.
Part II: Multimedia Projects
Chapters in this part contain sound, video, and digital image projects. Chapter 3 describes how to set up a Gallery, a Web-based server for sharing digital images over a network. Chapter 4 shows you how to put together the hardware and software to make a MythTV personal video recorder that’s suitable for your home entertainment unit. Chapter 5 shows you how to use eMoviX to turn your personal videos into bootable movies. It then covers how to play a variety
of multimedia content using MoviX2.
Part III: Home Projects
These chapters contain fun and useful personal and home projects. Chapter 6 describes how to create a customized Linux distribution from Damn Small Linux that runs on a pen drive. Chapter 7 shows you how to use Heyu and BottleRocket software to control lights and devices in your home using the X10 protocol. Chapter 8 describes how to set up a gaming server with the BZFlag tank battle game, which you can play in your home, small office, or even over the Internet.To protect your home or small office computer network, Chapter 9 describes how to build and configure a custom firewall device using Devil-Linux.
Part IV: Small Business Projects
While intended more as exercises than as real business opportunities, the projects in this section help you configure a couple of useful server types. Chapter 10 describes how to set up an Icecast server so you can create your own streaming radio station on the Internet or other network. Chapter 11 tells how to use the Linux Terminal Server project to fill a home, school, or small business with fully functional thin client computers for a fraction of the cost of complete
computer workstations.

Appendixes
The appendixes contain supporting information for the rest of the book. Appendix A describes the Linux Toys II CD that is included with the book. Appendix B describes some of the basic Linux skills you need to use this book. Appendix C walks you through installing Linux (using Red Hat Fedora Core or Enterprise Linux as examples).