Get access to your favorite podcasts, video or audio, using XBMC. You don’t need any plugin to listen to podcasts, but the method of doing so isn’t entirely obvious and the official documentation isn’t exactly helpful. I spent two weeks playing around with plugins that didn’t really help before stumbling upon this method, so I feel like I should share it.

Try out what may be the best way to install software on Linux – the Deepin Software Center. This software center, named for the Chinese remake of Ubuntu it was built for, offers an amazingly simple way to browse the Linux software you already know and love. You just might find something new. It looks great, functions fast and is intuitive to explore in a way the Ubuntu Software Center isn’t.

How can a single tweet get you stuck in a jail cell overnight and sent on a plane from LA to London? Listen to this week’s Technophilia podcast to find out. Technophilia is a weekly, irreverent look at the past week in tech. We talk about the big technology headlines, highlight applications we’re using and try to have a good time doing it.

Get a quick overview of the periodic table of elements, then zoom in on any element to find out more. It is a simple application to be sure, but one every science student who also uses Linux should check out. We’ve shown you Ubuntu chemistry applications for students, but we somehow missed this extremely simple and information-crammed version of the periodic table.

Make simple changes to any PDF file in Linux. Move pages around, edit the bookmarks, add pages from another PDF or remove pages altogether. It’s a snap with PDF Mod, a simple Linux program that does one thing and does it well. If there’s something PDF files aren’t really supposed to be, it’s editable. The format, originally created as a way to transfer data from a computer to a printer, is essentially a digital piece of paper.

Are you looking for a new place to live? Are you concerned about the cost of living? Consider this – you can save a lot of money simply by walking instead of driving to run errands or to get to work. From getting groceries to shopping for gadgets, walking is good for you and the absolute cheapest way to get around.

Do you like technology, gaming and hilarity? Do you wish these things could be distilled into pure audio form so you can enjoy them on the go? Check out the brand new Technophilia podcast, featuring MakeUseOf writers James Bruce, Dave LeClair and Justin Pot. You won’t be happy until you do.Technophilia is a weekly, irreverent look at the past week in tech.

Watch TV shows and movies from Hulu without leaving the comfort of your couch. If you’ve got an XBMC media center you’d be silly to not install this plugin (assuming you live in the US: Hulu is still blocked in all other countries). A couple weeks ago I discovered that Boxee on the desktop is dead. I was disappointed, but was thrilled to discover that XBMC is not only a capable replacement but better than Boxee.

Edit any text file in your Dropbox from your browser. It’s easy to with TextDropApp, a web-based text editor that uses Dropbox for storage. Whether you want to edit text documents from Chrome OS or just want a simple way to do some writing while on the go, TextDropApp is easy to use and quick. TextDropApp isn’t just useful for programmers. It’s also perfect for the writer on the move.

We’ve shown you before how to install Windows 7 from a USB drive, but the process assumes you have access to a Windows computer to begin with. That’s not always the case, particularly if you’re the kind of person who regularly tries out different operating systems. Also, there are more than a few IT professionals who work on Windows computers but primarily use Linux themselves. WinUSB is perfect for them.