Linux Tips, Tricks, and How-Tos

Mount a Windows Shared Folder on Linux with Samba

If you want to “map a drive” from a Linux computer to a shared folder on a Windows computer or a shared folder on a Linux computer running Samba, there’s a simple way that you can do this from the command line….

Lowell Heddings Jul 16th, 2010

Keep rsync From Using All Your Bandwidth

If you use the rsync utility to keep your backups synchronized from your database server over to your backup or secondary file server, you might want to prevent the script from using too much bandwidth. Here’s how….

Lowell Heddings Jul 16th, 2010

How to Create Your Own Customized Ubuntu Live CD

We love Live CDs, but it’s a hassle installing the same packages every time you need to do a virus scan or recover accidentally deleted data. We’ll show you how to roll your own Ubuntu Live CD, with all the packages you w…

Trevor Bekolay Jul 15th, 2010

Give Ubuntu a Fresh New Look with Bisigi Themes

Are you bored with the default brown, orange, and purple of Ubuntu? Here’s how you can give your Ubuntu desktop a quick refresh with a new Bisigi theme.

Matthew Guay Jul 14th, 2010

Rescue Old, Damaged CDs with an Ubuntu Live CD

Your old CDs – especially ones you’ve burned yourself – degrade over time, to the point that they’re unreadable. We’ll show you how to squeeze as much data out of them as you can, before it’s too late!…

Trevor Bekolay Jul 13th, 2010

Download and Watch HD Video, Internet TV, and Podcasts with Miro 3.0

Are you looking for one application to handle all your digital media needs from podcasts to torrents to Internet TV? Today we’ll take a look at Miro, a video player and podcast client that can play almost any media file….

Andrew Gehman Jul 13th, 2010

How to Switch Between Release, Beta, and Dev Versions of Google Chrome

Would you like to try out the nifty features in upcoming versions of Google Chrome, or would you rather switch back to the stable version? Here’s how you can quickly switch between the dev, beta, and release versions …

Matthew Guay Jul 12th, 2010

Keep Your IM Conversations Private With Off-the-Record

There may be times when you don’t want “the man” knowing what your IM conversations are. Today we look at an Instant Messenger plugin that will keep your conversations completely private.

Brian Burgess Jul 12th, 2010

Transfer a Drive Image Over a Network Using an Ubuntu Live CD

Drive images are great to have, but hard to store if you don’t have a big external hard drive. We’ll show you how to create and transfer a drive image to another computer in one step.

Trevor Bekolay Jul 7th, 2010

How to Enable Icons on the Ubuntu System Menu (Minor Annoyances)

If you’ve spent more than five minutes using Ubuntu, you might have noticed that the System menu doesn’t have any icons, but the other ones do. Why? Who knows! Either way, here’s how to enable those missing icons….

Lowell Heddings Jul 5th, 2010

How To Restore the Wubi Ubuntu Bootloader

Has Ubuntu disappeared from your Windows Boot Manager list after installing it with Wubi? Here’s how you can quickly restore it and use your Ubuntu as before.

Matthew Guay Jun 30th, 2010

How to Batch Edit Photos with Phatch

If you have ever needed to edit a whole folder of photos with the same effect or need to repeatedly crop, add watermarks, or drop shadows to images for the web, Phatch is the tool for the job. Phatch is a photo batch editor w…

Justin Garrison Jun 29th, 2010

Use Ctrl+Alt+Del for Task Manager in Linux to Kill Tasks Easily

In Windows you can easily kill any task by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del and bringing up the task manager. Linux running the GNOME desktop environment (i.e. Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint, etc.) has a similar tool that can be enabled to …

Justin Garrison Jun 28th, 2010

Quickly Rename Ripped or Downloaded TV Series Files

Media center applications, like XMBC and Boxee, often require certain naming conventions to properly pull cover art and metadata for TV episodes. Here’s how you can organize your TV shows by quickly with TVRenamer….

Andrew Gehman Jun 24th, 2010

Install Linux Mint on Your Windows Computer or Netbook

Would you like to try out the popular Linux Mint OS on your Windows computer or netbook? Here’s how you can do it even without a CD/DVD drive with the Mint4Win installer.

Matthew Guay Jun 24th, 2010

Rip Audio CDs in Linux with Sound Juicer

There are a plethora of programs that can rip audio CDs on Linux, but very few are as simple as Sound Juicer. Sound Juicer is a GUI front-end for the command line only tool cdparanoia, but it adds quite features that make it …

Justin Garrison Jun 23rd, 2010

How to Manage Your Movies in Boxee

Boxee is a free cross platform HTPC application that plays media locally and via the Internet. Today we’ll take a look at how to manage your local movie collection in Boxee.

Andrew Gehman Jun 17th, 2010

How to Assign a Static IP to an Ubuntu 10.04 Desktop Computer

If you have a home network with several computers, assigning them static IP addresses can make troubleshooting easier. Today we take a look at switching from DHCP to a static IP in Ubuntu.

Brian Burgess Jun 15th, 2010

Make a Drive Image Using an Ubuntu Live CD

Cloning a hard drive is useful, but what if you have to make several copies, or you just want to make a complete backup of a hard drive? Drive images let you put everything, and we mean everything, from your hard drive in one…

Trevor Bekolay Jun 14th, 2010

Access Windows Home Server from an Ubuntu Computer on your Network

If you’re a Windows Home Server user, there may be times when you need to access it from an Ubuntu machine on your network. Today we take a look at the process of accessing files on your home server from Ubuntu….

Brian Burgess Jun 11th, 2010

Clone a Hard Drive Using an Ubuntu Live CD

Whether you’re setting up multiple computers or doing a full backup, cloning hard drives is a common maintenance task. Don’t bother burning a new boot CD or paying for new software – you can do it easily with your Ubunt…

Trevor Bekolay Jun 9th, 2010

Ubuntu Control Center Makes Using Ubuntu Easier

Users who are new to Ubuntu might find it somewhat difficult to configure. Today we take a look at using Ubuntu Control Center which makes managing different aspects of the system easier.

Vivek Jun 8th, 2010

How to Make Ubuntu Play MP3 Files

Because of licensing issues, Ubuntu is unable to play MP3s out of the box. We’ll show you how to play MP3s and other restricted file formats in about four mouse clicks.

Trevor Bekolay Jun 8th, 2010

Run Windows in Ubuntu with VMware Player

Are you an enthusiast who loves their Ubuntu Linux experience but still needs to use Windows programs? Here’s how you can get the full Windows experience on Ubuntu with the free VMware Player.

Matthew Guay Jun 2nd, 2010

How to Browse Without a Trace with an Ubuntu Live CD

No matter how diligently you clear your cache and erase your history, web browsing leaves traces on your computer. If you need keep your browsing private, then an Ubuntu Live CD is the answer.

Trevor Bekolay Jun 1st, 2010