The Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA) provides Linux computers with audio support. Popular distros such as Ubuntu and Arch Linux run it by default, so there’s a good chance you’re using it right now to play music through your speakers or headphones. In this article we’ll show you two ways to adjust the volume of … Read more
If you are a seasoned Linux user, you most likely know what a “Ubuntu-based distro” means, but for new users, it is often very confusing. So is “Linux Mint” another version of Ubuntu, or is it another version of Linux? This article will explain the significance of Ubuntu-based distros compared to Ubuntu itself and what … Read more
Suppose you share your laptop with various classmates or coworkers. You have administrative rights on the machine, but you have a small fear that their prying eyes could get into a directory you don’t want them to see. It may be in your interest to password-protect that folder. When using Linux you can restrict users … Read more
Adobe’s suite of Creative Cloud apps are relied upon by many people for professional and personal use, but these programs have not been ported to Linux officially despite incessant requests from Linux users. This is presumably because of the tiny market share that Desktop Linux currently has. Despite this, the community has found ways to … Read more
Google Drawings isn’t as popular as Google Docs, Presentation, Form and Spreadsheet, but it’s packed with creative uses you’re probably missing out on. Google Drawings is a free, web-based tool for creating and editing images. Anyone you share links with can edit your content on Google Drawings, so users can collaborate in real-time on the … Read more
Customization is a big part of the Linux experience, and your desktop theme is no exception. The world of Linux desktop themes is an ever-evolving one, with new ones replacing old favorites all the time. Of course, the desktop environments and GTK itself are always changing, so that adds another dynamic element to consider. That … Read more
Do you use Firefox or Chrome and find that your Linux web-browsing experience is a bit bloated? Surf could be the minimalist paradise you didn’t know you’d been waiting for. Surf’s official site says the browser “is able to display websites and follow links.” That’s it. There’s no built-in support for tabs and no included … Read more
There are loads of screenshot utilities available for Linux, and many of them are very good. That’s why it seems sort of odd that none of them are capable of taking a screenshot of the login screen. That’s really just not how Linux works. There are a couple of ways to get that illusive screenshot, … Read more
One of the most important skills any Systemd newcomer can learn is how to manage their computer’s services. For the purposes of this article we will discuss the basics: starting, stopping, enabling, and disabling services from the Linux command line. These tasks aren’t difficult to master, yet they become an undeniable need when you’re forced … Read more
Abcde is an application for Linux and Unix systems. It makes it easy to rip a CD. Maybe you want to create a digital backup of your old music collection. Or maybe you just want some songs accessible on your smartphone. For any such task, Abcde can grab the raw data from your disk and … Read more