Latest in Linux

Over the years, Linux has gained the reputation of being one of the safest operating systems to work on. While it's decently safe from viruses, there's still another threat which affects all computers with networking capabilities: attacks through ports. In order to control which ports can accept data and which ones should be closed, operating systems use firewalls. In case your distribution doesn't include an application to control the firewall, what should you use?
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Get quick access to Evernote in Ubuntu. Whether you want to quickly pull up your latest note from the system tray, search every note in your archive from the dash or browse your notes from a lightweight, simple interface, Everpad is the closest thing to an official Evernote client for Ubuntu we're likely to see. And that's not necessarily a bad thing – Everpad is fantastic and fits in perfectly with the Ubuntu desktop.
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We have a lot of media that we need to keep track of before we forget that we even have them. We're also on a constant need for new, fresh media. Ideally, it'd be great to have an application which could do all of this for us, and become our "all-in-one media application". For a large number of people, iTunes fulfills this role fairly well, but some people may not enjoy iTunes for a number of reasons, including its very closed nature.
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It's extremely easy today to record videos, as every smartphone now has the capability to do so. But simply recording may not be the idea, especially when you want to add a couple of extras or crop out boring or other undesirable sections. Among Linux users, the operating system family is well known for not having a professional video editor available for it. However, that doesn't mean that there aren't decent editors available, especially for fairly low-key needs.
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Some people just want to use something that looks really pretty. On the other hand, there are some geeks who want to trick out their systems with the same effects to make a truly interesting user experience. There's a handful of programs for Linux which can manage and execute these desktop effects. One of the most popular choices is called Compiz Fusion.
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When you think of plain text editors, the first thing that may pop into your head is Windows' Notepad application. It does exactly what its job description states - plain features for a plain text editor. But this is a common misconception about what plain text editors should be about. Those who need more out of them deserve something better and that "something better" is called gedit.
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Take control of your hard drives. Whether you want to edit your partitions, clone an entire drive, check SMART data or otherwise manage the way your computer's data is organized, Parted Magic is the tool you've been looking for. It's a live CD with lots of tools baked in. Whether you're an IT professional constantly in need of ways to manage machines or just some guy looking for a simple way to re-partition a hard drive, Parted Magic is simple to use and heavy on features.
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Sadly enough, the famous MP3 format for music is a proprietary product, and all devices which can play them have (or at least should have) a license to legally play them. In order to make a statement that you don't support something proprietary, or to make sure that you are being 100% legal with your playback of music, it's best if you convert your MP3 and similarly proprietary music files into a free format.
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A good number of users highly value the services provided by Google, including emails, calendars, tasks, documents, and so much more. But Linux users also love their desktop applications, and how they often integrate very nicely with the desktop. So what can people do who use Linux but love Google's products? Thankfully, there are a good number of Linux applications which can connect very well to both Google's products as well as your Linux desktop.
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Linux has made some serious headway over the past decade, elevating itself from “that open source operating system” to “wow, this thing is actually usable!” There’s been a gentle but definite trickle of users away from Windows toward the freer option of Linux and maybe you’re thinking about making that leap. But should you? From [...]
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One of the most popular video streaming services is undoubtedly Netflix, because of its vast collection of movies and other video content which can be instantly streamed. Most people can enjoy it whenever they sign up for the monthly subscription. However, there's the problem -- most people can enjoy it. One of the few groups of people which are left out are Linux users. What's the problem, and how can it be solved?
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Everyone likes a good media player, no matter what system they're using. While I still highly recommend VLC media player as one of the best for any system because of its wide range of playable formats and open source nature, it certainly isn't the only media player worthy of your time. In fact, most of the popular Linux distributions come with a very worthy media player which can play a decent amount of formats and is rather simple to use.
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Today, when it appears on top of nearly every Google result, we take it from granted. We occasionally try to bring it down a notch or three over the veracity of the facts stated there. But its presence and use in the pantheon of great bookmarked sites is assured. But this article is not about singing hosannas to the world’s largest collaborative encyclopedia. It is a guide to how you can take Wikipedia offline by downloading pages.
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When you think about it, our Linux desktop environments are pretty smart. Whereas Windows just creates a new folder for a newly installed program in the Start Menu, the Linux desktop environment automatically organize all installed applications into different categories. While this system can work very well, there are some packages that place shortcuts into categories which you deem to be incorrect. You may need to go into the menus and add/edit/remove items, but it can all be achieved using an application called Alacarte.
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Music is a way of life for a lot of people, and their music collections often reflect that to a massive degree. We all enjoy our music, and should be able to keep tabs with what music we have. This requires a good program that can easily organize our music so that perfect song is only a short distance away. Whatever your needs may be, it'd be ideal to take care of it all using just one program.
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