Everyone loves web video, but all too often it’s used for entertainment instead of enlightenment. I previously highlighted sites with free lectures from top US colleges, and that’s a great way to stretch your mind.  But it’s also worthwhile to keep up with the news. With that in mind I thought I’d highlight a few [...]

Portable Apps for Windows and Mac have been around for a long time, but are less common in the Linux world. Due to the complexity of Linux dependencies, and the different way different distributions locate these dependencies, the portable Linux application long seemed like a pipe dream. Until now. New website PortableLinuxApps features a number [...]

Every operating system has its own strengths. Windows is ubiquitous, and offers access to a wide range of software. OSX is rock-solid, and typically behaves exactly as the user expects. Linux gives you access to millions of open source programs that can’t always be found elsewhere. Many of these free applications are amazingly useful, even [...]

Think Ubuntu is useless? Think again. Ubuntu can be an extremely effective tool for repairing and working on computers, even if you consider yourself a Windows purist. This is because Ubuntu is capable of loading completely from a Ubuntu Live CD, giving you access to your computer in ways Windows can’t – or when Windows [...]

I love my netbook, and talk about it to no end here at MakeUseOf. I also love reading. While I prefer the feel and aesthetic of actual books to any ebook reader or laptop, I have to admit the digital world offers certain advantages: namely, unlimited access to every public domain work in existence. But [...]

LoJack is a device that’s made life harder for would-be car thieves. Here’s how it works: a GPS chip capable of calling home is hidden somewhere on a given car. If that car is stolen, the police now have the ability to track where it is via GPS. Wish you had something like this for [...]

Ebook readers are pretty fantastic, but if you’re more into newspapers and magazines than books you may think your only option is to stick to what sites offer subscriptions for your device. That’s not true. Calibre can download entire websites and convert them to any eBook format, meaning you can read your favorite news articles [...]

Gmail is superior to desktop clients like Outlook or Thunderbird in almost every way. It’s faster, accessible from any browser and (being from Google) includes amazing search capabilities. I’ve given up email clients altogether in favor of Gmail, and I don’t think I’m alone. One shortcoming of Gmail, or so I’m told by people considering [...]

You can’t just use any image you find online on your blog, and doing so can lead to a legal mess. This is because most of the photos on the Internet are subject to copyright, meaning the photographer who took the photo has the exclusive legal right to use the image. Some images aren’t subject [...]

Plug your camera into your computer and it should automatically organize those pictures in such a way that you can easily find them later. This is the idea behind photo album managers, but not everyone agrees about which ones are best for the job. This is just as true on the Linux platform as any [...]