Several months ago my second book came out, Hacking Knoppix. Prior to that, O'Reilly released a (good) book on the same subject titled Knoppix Hacks. Yup, the two sure sound alike. On the CWE-LUG list, JT asked a good question: "What is the differentiators between the books? Do they have core themes or do they just deal with different hacks?" Robert - who was the tech editor for Hacking Knoppix and also wrote an appendix, had this to say as an answer. He nailed it, IMHO.

<begin Robert>

Here's my take:

Knoppix Hacks: a large collection of small hacks
Hacking Knoppix: a small collection of large hacks

So, Hacking Knoppix goes into more depth on a fewer hacks, with a fair amount of emphasis on remastering.

I think the two books complement each other well. But perhaps I'm biased. :)

<end Robert>

(Check out all of our posts on Knoppix.)

I'm such a dork - I forgot to tell you guys that my new book is out, or actually has been out for a few months now. Titled Hacking Knoppix (not Hacking Knoppix, which is also a good book, btw), here's the description I wrote:

Knoppix is one of the great innovations in open source software in the last few years. Everyone that sees it wants to use it, since it is that rarest of software tools: the true Swiss Army Knife, capable of use by unsophisticated, experienced, and wizardly users, able to perform any of several hundred (if not thousand) tasks in an efficient and powerful way. Best of all, it's super easy to employ, ultra-portable, and platform- and hardware-agnostic.

Knoppix camps on your system without canceling out your regular installation or messing with your files. And it's really fun to play with. Hacking Knoppix provides all kinds of ways to customize Knoppix for your particular needs, plus the scoop on various Knoppix distros. Learn to build a Knoppix first-aid kit for repairing cranky Windows and rescuing precious data, or create your own Live CD. In short, Hacking Knoppix will transform your ordinary powerless Knoppix-curious individual into a fearsome Knoppix ninja, able to right wrongs, recover data, and vanquish the forces of ignorance and Windows usage once and for all.

Our approach in Hacking Knoppix is smart, detailed, and fun. We know our stuff, and we want our readers to understand and enjoy all the outrageously cool things that Knoppix makes possible. If a topic is kind of hard to understand, we'll explain it so that lesser experienced readers get it and more experienced readers still learn something new; if a point needs in-depth explanation, we'll give it in an interesting fashion; and if it needs a splash of humor to relieve the tedium, we'll slip in something humorous, like a banana peel in front of Bill Gates.

• Knoppix is an innovative Linux distribution that does not require installation, making it ideal to use for a rescue system, demonstration purposes, or many other applications
• Shows hack-hungry fans how to fully customize Knoppix and Knoppix-based distributions
• Readers will learn to create two different Knoppix-based live CDs, one for children and one for Windows recovery
• Teaches readers to use Knoppix to work from a strange computer, rescue a Windows computer that won't boot, repair and recover data from other machines, and more
• Includes Knoppix Light 4.0 on a ready-to-use, bootable live CD

You can read sample excerpts, including Chapter 1: Unraveling the Knoppix Toolkit Maze (1.7 MB PDF), the complete Table of Contents (135 kb PDF) & the Index (254 kb PDF).

I'd sure appreciate it if you bought Hacking Knoppix. I'm very happy with it - I actually use it myself all the time, which I think is a pretty good endorsement!

(Oh, and I also wrote a book about Firefox - Don't Click on the Blue E!: Switching to Firefox - that you might like, and my next book, Linux Phrasebook, should be out soon.)

(Check out all of our posts on Knoppix.)