Blocking Spam: Spammers continue to develop new ways of harvesting email addresses and slipping unwanted messages through filters. This month, we look at techniques for fighting spam. You'll learn how to protect your email addresses, create a tarpit, and build a trainable spam filter. We'll also test out some spam-prevention tools and services.

Rockbox: This firmware alternative for iPods and other music players adds new features to your MP3 device.

Upstart: The Upstart project promises a new start for the Linux boot process. We'll discuss why the legacy System V boot scheme is past its prime, and we'll show why many experts believe that Upstart is a better and faster way to start Linux.