Windows users who want to change the icon size in the operating system need to dive deep into the Control Panel to find the preferences where the size of the icons can be changed. The Window Color and Appearance menu controls the default icon size and font in Windows. The icon size can be changed [...]

Only specific programs can be pinned to the Windows 7 Taskbar by default, there is no option to pin files, folders or drives to it. We have already demonstrated how to pin files and folders to the windows 7 Taskbar, and today we are going to explain how to add drives to the taskbar as [...]

“In the beginning was the command line” is not the just name of a great book by Neil Stephensen (read the text here), but a way of life for many Linux users. The command line is the tool for just about any level user. However, the power user takes the command line to newer and [...]

The MAC address is a very important string of characters that your computer depends upon in order to be networked. MAC stands for Media Access Control and represents the true address of a machine on a LAN. The MAC address of an ethernet device is a 6-byte number that is expressed as a 12 digit hexadecimal [...]

One of the goals of the Windows Live Wave 4 release was to improve interaction between Windows Live components. One of these improvements is the better integration of Windows Live Messenger into web services such as Hotmail. Windows users who open the Hotmail website in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer will for instance notice that Windows Live [...]

Desktop gadgets, love them or hate them. Some can be pretty useful in specific contexts while others are plain dispensable. Who for instance needs a clock gadget if a clock is displayed all the time in the Windows 7 Taskbar. Gadgets are displayed on the desktop all the time. It is possible to hide them [...]

For those with disabilities, using a computer can be a serious challenge. Whether it’s a vision impairment or physical challenge making the most of the PC seems nearly impossible. That is why, on every platform, you will find accessibility tools that strive to make the use of the PC desktop possible, even to those with physical disabilities [...]

We all like wallpaper. Some people even search for days for the perfect wallpaper. But why not create your own wallpaper? You say you don’t have the talent? That’s okay when there are tools like Fotowall out there. Fotowall is a create tool that lets you work with images in a very creative way…helping you [...]

Security sometimes equates to sanity. You have to keep sensitive information from prying eyes for various reasons. You might have a folder that needs to be given access only to certain people and it lives within a public folder. Or you have a folder on your desktop machine that you want to ensure no one [...]

Do you administer Linux machines? Or do you just need the ability to remotely connect to your Linux machines from other Linux machines? If so, are you looking for an easy solution for this task? There is one, if you are a fan of the GNOME desktop. Vinagre is a remote desktop tool with plenty [...]

As you well know, I am a big fan of the Linux command line. Because of this I use the terminal a lot. I am also a fan of Linux eye candy and making my desktop as clean and sleek as possible. I don’t like to have things in the way and I like easy [...]

Microsoft Word can be used to load local or remote documents. Remote documents can for instance be hosted on a network drive or removable storage device. Word users who often work with remote documents may have experienced data loss in the past if the connection to the network drive or storage device was lost while [...]

I have been bragging to everyone how user-friendly Fedora has become with it’s most recent release for a while now. Some people are prone to believe me and some are not. No matter where you stand, if you have any experience with Linux, you know there are certain aspects that can be a bit of [...]

There are a number of reasons why you would want to restrict network access. You run a cafe with web access or you have young or teenage children and you want them to only be able to use the network at certain times. Their are certainly tools out there to do this on a PC-by-PC [...]

Recently I covered the addition of RGBA support in Ubuntu (see my article “Enable RGBA support in Ubuntu“). I’ve had a lot of people contact me about various tweaks to that desktop to further refine the look. So I thought I would take the time to show you just how to tweak a Ubuntu desktop [...]

For any open source advocate, one of the biggest needs is an Exchange-like server. There are plenty of them available, some of them offer less-than enough features to really be viable. Some of them offer plenty of features but are insanely difficult to install. And then there’s Zarafa. Zarafa is an open source collaborative software [...]

In a recent article I introduced to the Ghacks readers the latest release from Fedora (see “Fedoras Lucky 13“). In this article I mentioned a number of features that helped to make Fedora one of the more user friendly Linux distributions available today.  One of the reasons this is so is the inclusion of some [...]

You know what it’s like when you’re sitting on really great news for several months but you can’t tell anyone?   This is even worse writing for gHacks every day knowing I’m sitting on a great nugget  :} Well after a long period of frustration I can now officially announce that I’ve been signed by Microsoft Press to write [...]

If you are new to Fedora, or if you are now returning to Fedora from a long haitus (since Fedora 9 for me), Fedora 13 has been a welcoming experience. Not only has it reached near-Ubuntu-like levels of user-friendliness, it includes some of the best tools around for certain jobs. One of those tools is [...]

Windows Update is an essential Windows service that will by default automatically download and install updates. This ensures that Windows users are always getting the latest security updates whenever they are released by Microsoft. Windows update will prompt to restart the computer so that the updates can be applied. The Internet is full of users [...]

The write speed of Solid State Drives is usually lower than the read speed. Many write operations on SSDs can slow down the system performance and reduce the longevity of the drive. Specialized programs such as SSD Drive Tweaker or Flash Fire aid the user in optimizing the system for Solid State Drives. We have [...]

If you do much bash scripting then you know there are some pretty nifty tricks you can pull off with it. Bash is a very flexible tool. Most Linux users don’t realize how powerful it is and rarely use it. But when you do need it, it is always there. I play around with bash [...]

Tired of having to get clever with your bash scripts so that you can be notified when something happens? What if you want instant notification on an event? Say you run a regular backup sync every, oh, 30 minutes and you want to be notified while you’re sitting at you computer the minute it happens. [...]

One of the things I really like about Linux is how it handles a file’s ability to be executable. If you create a script and you want that script to be executable, you just set the permissions as such. Say you’ve created the script myscript.sh and you’ve placed it in your home directory. To execute that [...]

I get this question a lot. And generally speaking the answer is a resounding “no”. I have gone nearly twelve years using Linux without defragging a drive and I’ve never noticed a slowdown on a system. But just because you don’t need to doesn’t mean you can’t. I have found  it possible to actually check [...]

Many experienced Windows users do not use the default Uninstall A Program control panel applet in Windows. Not so much because it is not comfortable to use but more because of it solely relying on the uninstall routine of the application itself. Data leftovers in the Registry and file system tend to clutter the system [...]

I’ve done a few articles about the Evolution groupware client here on Ghacks and I promise more. As Evolution is, essentially, the Outlook of Linux, it deserves plenty of attention. In this article I am going to show you how to tackle the task of handling junk email in everyone’s favorite open source groupware client. [...]

I can’t tell you how many times I have used a man page only to find either an error (due to author not updating) or that the man page itself was confusing and needing my own personal tweaking. Now, if you are unsure as to what a man page is, you should know that Linux [...]

I wanted to continue with the rescue theme, but since Partimage is limited in it’s file system support, I thought I would go another route. That route? Gparted. Gparted is an amazingly flexible tool that serves as a graphical partition editor built for the GNOME desktop environment. But Gparted can do much more than just [...]

Microsoft have made great strides in making the search and organise features in Windows 7 easier to use than ever before but despite the best efforts of Microsoft to make search in Windows 7 as easy and as intuitive as possible the use, a great many people still find some aspects of using search, especially [...]

In my last article I showed you how to save a partition from a drive to a local image file using the Partimage tool (see my article “Copy partitions on your system with Partimage“). And although (as a reader did point out) Partimage is limited by not supporting ext4 file systems, it still has plenty [...]

Partimage is a unique open source rescue tool in that it can be used as an installed application or as a stand alone rescue tool with SystemRescueCD. So if whether your system is working or not, Partimage might be able to save you. But what does Partimage do? Partimage saves partions (in various formats) to [...]

How many times have you migrated from one Linux box to another, only to say goodbye to your email and knowing you were going to have to set your email client up all over again. Oh sure you could tar up that ~/.evolution directory and hope that it worked. Most likely you would wind up [...]

So far in our OpenSuSE series we have covered OpenSuSE (see “Why not try OpenSuSE“), YaST (see “YaST: Yet Another Setup Tool“), and Installing software (see “Installing software in OpenSuSE with YaST“). This time around we are going to take a look at how to install software in OpenSuSE using the command line. I realize [...]

Let’s continue our hayride with OpenSuSE. The last time we visited this operating system we took a look at the stellar YaST tool (see my article “YaST: Yet Another Setup Tool“). From within that tool you could easily access the YaST Software Installation tool for OpenSuSE. This tool is about as user-friendly as any of [...]

A long time ago, in order to scan your Samba shares, you used a tool called LinNeighborhood. That tool was essential if you wanted your Linux box to be able to see any Windows shares (unless you were brave enough to know the command line equivalents. Well years have passed and LinNeighborhood is now pyNeighborhood. [...]

For those who are less than fortunate and have severe vision problems, using a computer can be a task that is nearly impossible without either the help of others or some form of assisted technology. There aren’t tons of options available, but at least the options that are there work well and allow those who have [...]

Are you tired of that pesky GNOME keyring reminder popping up everywhere you go? You know what it does right? The GNOME keyring manager manages passwords for things like ftp connections, email password logins, wireless network authentication, and much more. Typically this is set up encrypted – by default this is the case with the [...]

I’ve owned a Kindle 2 for nearly a year now. I have to say I do love it and am not impressed with the iPad’s ability to allow the user to read books. Why? The Kindle doesn’t offer distractions and I can happily sit by and and read as long as I like with no [...]

On my phone (Android based) I use Google maps like crazy (I’d get lost in my own house I’m convinced). It keeps me from getting lost and misdirected. When at home, however, I like to refer to Google Earth to aid me in my quest to know my surroundings a bit better. Now, Google Earth [...]

If you are looking for a command line utility to handle all of your Linux backup needs, you really need look no further than this tool that bases itself off of the perennial backup favorite rsync. Rsnapshot takes the rsync utility and makes it more useful than it already was. With rsnapshot you can retain multiple [...]

If you’ve read me long enough, you know I like my eye candy. And one of my favorite bits of eye candy is Compiz (check out all the Compiz-related content here on Ghacks). And although Compiz can really saturate your desktop with 3D effects, it doesn’t actually offer anything within the applications themselves. Fortunately there [...]

File managers can get a bit over-crowded in their layout and in their use of space. Although I am a big Nautilus, I am a bigger fan of efficient, clean workspaces. To that end, I like to have a file manager that is quick, easy to use, and looks good. Naturally, because Nautilus is open [...]

If you haven’t experienced Pandora radio you don’t know what you’re missing. Pandora can stream music to your web browser specifically tuned to your tastes. Imagine having that ability right on your desktop – always at your fingertips? Pretty cool eh? Well as of now there is no stand alone Pandora client for Linux nor [...]

It’s Friday and that means we’re all ready for the weekend. But that also means we’re ready for some fun. Because of that I thought it would be fitting to do an article on some of the cooler Linux tips and tricks that I have come across over the years. This article will be a [...]

For those that use Flckr, it’s always easiest when you have a simple tool that allows quick and painless file uploading. Although logging onto the web site and using the built-in Flickr uploader isn’t difficult, when you have a number of images, or when you upload frequently, this can be a real hassle. So having [...]

Today we continue on with our Wallpaper theme! You’ve already seen how to Manage your wallpaper in GNOME as well as how to set up a changing rotation of wallpapers with Wallpaper Drapes (see “Desktop Drapes for GNOME“). Now it’s time for something a bit different. Most wallpaper applets pretty much do the same thing: They [...]

If you open Windows Explorer in Windows 7 you see a left sidebar with the items Favorites, Libraries, Homegroup, Computer and Network. This sidebar is called the navigation pane. Each item in the navigation pane can contain links to folders, drives or other computer systems. The computer section will for instance list all partitions of [...]

The latest “series” of articles for Linux here on Ghacks revolves around beautifying your desktop…specifically, desktop wallpaper. The first article was all about Managing wallpaper in GNOME.  I wanted to continue that particular subject by introducing a simple little tool (that hasn’t actually been updated since 2008 – but still works like a champ) called [...]

System Restore has been designed by Microsoft to provide the user with an option to restore the operating system into a previous state. Restore points are for instance created when software and new updates are installed, when a driver that is not digitally signed is installed or by user request. System Restore is only backing [...]