In the land of Linux applications have what is called their "nice" value. This value sets the priority that any given application receives. The nice value ranges from -20 to 19. The […]
If you are looking for a VPN solution for your Linux machine or network you have more than likely examined such solutions as OpenVPN. Many of the Linux VPN solutions require complex, […]
If you are looking for a tool that can give you a graphical, interactive representation of what is taking up all of that hard disk space on your Linux machine, look no further than […]
If you are a fan of Pandora Music and a user of Linux you know that Linux is a bit behind in the app space for this service. There are only a […]
As most of you know, Samba allows your Linux machine to work with Windows machines (and vice versa). Without Samba Linux would be locked in an unable to play nicely on heterogeneous networks. So […]
For many, the introduction to the Ubuntu Software Center was a breath of fresh air for the installation of applications on the Linux desktop. With the ability to install thousands upon thousands […]
So you finally made the plunge and have a brand spanking new Ubuntu Linux desktop. You feel far more superior and safer than you did prior to using Linux. So much more […]
Seahorse is a very powerful tool for the creation and managing of various keys. Seahorse is the default keyring manager for the GNOME desktop. I have covered Seahorse here on Ghacks before […]
There are certain applications, such as MySQL and Apache that are configured upon installation. The most familiar to you might be MySQL. At the point of installation you configure the server address, […]
If you've been reading Ghacks long enough, you know my favorite console-based text editor is Nano. Nano is simple to use, efficient, and extensible. Nano can be used for many things: Writing, […]
As far as killing time with games is concerned, you will be hard pressed to find a better game than Gridwars. Gridwars is very much like the secret game Geometry Wars that […]
I love menus. Actually, I love to be able to configure menus in order to make the Linux desktop be as efficient as possible. The problem with that is, I tend to […]
The task of joining Linux to a Windows domain can be a challenge. I have covered it before here (see my article "Join a Ubuntu machine to a Windows domain"), but many […]
I use the terminal A LOT. Why? Because I'm an old-school Linux user. Because of this I like to have multiple ways to quickly access my terminal. In my never-ending search for […]
Many administrators/users prefer to set up their servers as headless machines. If you're not sure what a headless machine is - it's a PC without a monitor. This is an outstanding way […]
There are many ways to preview your files in Linux. Most often there is a single application used to preview a different file type. You have the Eye of GNOME for images, […]
I will preface this by saying I am not a champion for any type of censorship. But when there are children involved, there are times when this is very appropriate. But parental controls […]
Let's face it, when you opt to use certain Linux distributions, you do so knowing that there are going to be bugs. Fedora is one such distribution. Since Fedora is a testing […]
There are many reasons why you might want to lock down a desktop. Say you run an internet cafe and you don't want your users to be able to do certain things. […]
Linux is resplendent with administration tools. No matter what you need to monitor, Linux has a tool to suit your needs. You can monitor everything from file I/O, to network processes, and […]
The Japanese term "byobu" means a decorative, multi-paneled screen that serves as a room divider. You've probably seen them all over the place. When it comes to Linux, byobu is a small […]
Printer sharing was once a big challenge for Linux. It almost always involved manually configuring Samba to share out your printers. That is not so now. With the latest releases of the […]
If you've come across an application or a process that just won't die, and you're thinking that you might want to reboot your machine - STOP! There is no need for rebooting […]
Linux, being a multi-user system, begs for you to configure it such that all users initially experience exactly what you want them to experience. One option you have, which is very easy […]
I have been a fan of Enlightenment for a long, long time. It's one of the most elegant desktops available today. But not only is it elegant looking, it's a joy to […]
If you are a Linux user who frequents the command line, you will most likely have heard of the bash history. This is a special system that keeps a history of all […]
The Linux command line is one of the most versatile tools you will ever use. It can do just about anything you can image for a machine. With such a large scope of […]
Mark Shuttleworth has announced that Ubuntu is dropping the GNOME desktop as the default and switching to it's own, in-house desktop. That desktop is the Unity desktop which was designed for the […]
The dictionary is a tool that any writer or student should have on their computer. And Linux users are not immune from this need. But if you look through the possibilities of […]
I do enjoy the terminal. Although it's not necessary in modern Linux iterations, it's always great to know that terminal is there when you need it. Terminal power users have TONS of […]
Your first question might be "Why bother changing your grub splash screen?" The answer? Why not! Well, actually there are plenty of reasons you might want to change your Grub splash screen. […]
The desktop screensaver is one of those gray areas that does nothing for productivity but people always seem to want to tweak, change, and otherwise toil over. For some it's just a […]
That's right ladies and gentlemen, Ubuntu 10.10 is officially out and officially hot. With plenty of features to make everything ooh and ahh as well as stability built upon the 10.04 release, […]
There are many reasons why you would want to enable a text to speech feature on a computer. You could suffer from poor (or no) vision, you might need the feature for […]
According to Ubuntu >= 10.04, left is the new right. It's old news by now, but I'm sure there are plenty of you out there who have battled to try to acclimate […]
You computer's clock does more than just tell you the time. This clock also stamps your email with the correct time as well as documents and much more. So when your PC […]
You've probably already heard the news. OpenOffice has officially forked into LibreOffice. This fork is thanks to the way Oracle has botched nearly everything it has touched and the OpenOffice community wants […]
If you are currently using Ubuntu 10.04 and are interested in 10.10 you have choices - you can burn yourself an ISO and do a complete, fresh installation, OR you can upgrade […]
Recently I did an introductory "walk around" GNOME (see "A walk around the GNOME desktop") which offered the new users to Linux a look from the ground level at one of the […]
Recently I had a reader request a bit of a "how to" on the GNOME desktop. After giving it some thought, and at first wondering why anyone would need a walk around […]