when running jnrdev1.exe it says SDL.dll is missing
you have to download SDL.dll before running the example: you can either get directly from here: SDL-1.2.7-win32.zip. or you can browse through www.libsdl.org.

i can't compile your example source
you need the sdl development package and set up your ide to use it.
you can get it from the official sdl site www.libsdl.org.
note: you will have to add an include path and a library path in VC++, take a look at VisualC.html which comes with SDL.
i've written a howto on setting up devcpp and sdl.

i know a better technique than you described in jnrdev #x
i'm always looking for better ways to solve problems.
i would be very glad if you post it in the forum.

why do you use sdl and not directx?
my first encounter with directx was directdraw7.
it was unreliable and required lots of unneccessary startup code.
SDL did the same stuff faster and with a neat and clean api.
and i get cross platform support for free (which is a good thing in times of tcp/tcpa/palladium/ngscb coming up...)

just lowercase?
yes.
if you don`t like it start a thread in the forum and i'll make it sticky too see how people think about it.

the jnrdev 5 link doesn't work
i'm reworking the old tutorials and merging them with the (sometimes better) german developia.de articles) and my blog articles.