I’ve written software on Linux, compiled kernels, set up servers, and a whole host of other pretty technical feats. Having been a die-hard Linux user for 10 years, I thought I had handled just about every situation a desktop user is likely to encounter. That is, until I installed Linux…
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Have you ever wanted to design your own catapult? How about a toy robot, or maybe a more complex machine you’ve been layout out in your head? If so, you might already be familiar with Google Sketchup. It’s a simple to use 3D modeling program for Windows and Mac that…
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We’ve all seen them – those ads on nearly every software website that offer to clean your registry or speed up your downloads. Many of us have learned to ignore them. Occasionally, however, you come across such an application that actually does what it says. It really cleans the registry,…
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We’ve talked about Linux software for kids a few times here at MakeTechEasier, but so far we’ve never actually sat down to take a closer look at whole distributions intended for children. Many people are familiar with Edubuntu, the Ubuntu spinoff intended for school and other educational institutions, but you…
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Conky, the amazingly versatile and useful Linux desktop application, has a bit of a reputation. It’s clearly a great app, but getting it configured can be a serious pain. Changing anything about it has always required digging through a long text file and editing cryptic lines like ${offset 240}${time %a,…
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Quick – answer me this: How much swap space is in use on your system right now? How big is the cache on your CPU? What kernel modules are currently loaded? How many total drives and partitions are you running? If you’re running Linux, all these questions (and a whole…
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When most people think OpenOffice, they think of word processing or spreadsheets. What many people do not realize is that OpenOffice also includes Base, a database system roughly equivalent to MS Access. Many businesses and individuals use these systems to allow even non-technical people to enter, store, retrieve and organize…
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If you a web user and don’t already love RSS/Atom type feeds, you’re missing out. Not only can you have all your favorite news sites and blogs pipe into one location for easy browsing, you can even get updates on discounted shopping, or be notified when a new Simpsons episode…
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Gnome and KDE are great – they give you a beautiful desktop with all the tools and utilities you need. On either system, you’ll find a solid window manager, desktop icons, a panel full of applets, the works. That’s all well and good for your average desktop PC, but what…
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Have you ever installed a new Linux window manager or desktop environment, only to find that it doesn’t show up on the Sessions list in GDM? Have you ever wanted to remove items from that list? How about create a new list item so that you can boot into a…
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