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There are a wide variety of Linux distributions, but there are also a wide variety of distributions based on other Linux distributions. The official Ubuntu release with the Unity desktop is only one of many possible ways to use Ubuntu. Most of these Ubuntu derivatives are officially supported by Ubuntu. Some, like the Ubuntu GNOME Remix and Linux Mint, aren’t official. Each includes different desktop environments with different software, but the base system is the same (except with Linux Mint....

Over the last 36 years, the Apple Macintosh has had three different CPU architectures, and it’s poised to potentially migrate to a fourth. As rumors about a switch to ARM swirl, let’s take a brief look at the history of CPU architectures on the Mac. Motorola 68K (1984-1995) In 1984, Apple released the first Macintosh computer (called, unsurprisingly, the Apple Macintosh). It used an 8 MHz Motorola 68000 CPU. While in development, an early Mac prototype used an 8/16-bit Motorola 6809 CPU....

Every week we dig into our reader mailbag and share the tips and tricks you email in. This week we’re highlighting a how to extract audio from any video file with VLC, sneaking around news site paywalls, and how to delay Windows Live Mesh from loading right away. Extract the Audio from Any Video File with VLC Earlier this week we shared a guide with you on using VLC to resize videos for your Android phone....

It’s a Thursday afternoon and that tip-time-of-week again. This week we’re looking at managing audio profiles on Android phones, accessing Google Bookmarks on Android, and vintage organization with Cable Lacing. Manage Android Audio with Toggle Settings Profiles Lite Want to manage and create audio profiles for distinct situations on your Android phone? Gulshan writes in with the following tip: AudioManager is a great little app but the profiles feature is only available in the premium version....

After naming Windows 10 releases after Halo and Minecraft, Microsoft decided to get serious. Windows 10’s upcoming April 2019 Update is codenamed 19H1. But, Microsoft has reportedly changed its mind and will embrace Marvel with “Vanadium” and “Vibranium” after that. This news comes via Microsoft watcher Mary Jo Foley. She notes that the Windows engineering team was merged with the Azure cloud computing team, and Windows is just embracing Azure’s naming conventions:...

By adding a bot to your Discord server, you can automate many tasks like monitoring member behavior, generating memes, and managing customer service queues. We’ll show you how to add one to your server. First, Enable the “Manage Server” Permission To add a bot to your Discord server, you need the “Manage Server” permission for your user account. Your server’s admin can grant this permission to your user role from the server settings menu (the steps on how to do this are below....

Internet Explorer 9 has a minimal interface by default, with the tab bar and the toolbar and address bar on the same line. However, you can gain even more viewable space by pressing F11 to go to full screen mode. If you like full screen mode and want to use it most of the time, you can have Internet Explorer open in that mode automatically, by editing a setting in the registry....

We’ve previously written about a tool that allows you to create a bunch of folders at one time from a list of words or phrases. However, what if you want to create one or more folders from a bunch of selected text files? There’s a simple, free tool, called Files 2 Folder, that allows you to do that. Installing Files 2 Folder adds an option to the context menu for Windows Explorer....

It’s easy to customize and move all the Windows tiles around, but what if you want to create your own shortcuts for portable apps, or something really useful, like adding the missing Shutdown or Reboot shortcuts back? Here’s how to do it. Note: we’re sure that as Windows 8 is improved over time, there will be better methods to do this, but this is the method that we used. If you know of something else, let us know....

Ubuntu displays an informative message, known as the message of the day, when a user logs in at the terminal. The MOTD is fully customizable — you can add your own text and other dynamic data. When a user logs in, the pam_motd process executes the scripts in the /etc/update-motd.d directory and dynamically creates the message of the day. You can customize the MOTD by modifying the scripts, removing them or writing your own scripts....

You can delete your Spotify account from a web browser on your smartphone or from your computer. The option is not available on mobile or desktop apps. Keep in mind that once you delete your Spotify account, you’ll lose all your playlists and your followers. If you have a student discount, you won’t be able to use it for another year. RELATED: How to Cancel Spotify Premium Because of the way that Spotify works, you won’t be able to claim the same username again either, but you can create a new account with the same email address....

If unwanted friend requests on the Nintendo Switch are getting on your nerves, it’s easy to disable them completely in Settings without affecting your current friend list. Best of all, you can still add friends later if you need to. Here’s how to do it. First, on the Nintendo Switch Home Menu, select your user profile icon in the upper-left corner of the screen. In the sidebar menu of your profile page, select “User Settings....

Note: obviously if you need to access more advanced PDF features, you’ll still need the Adobe plugin. For most of us, however, the built-in viewer is fine, or you could download PDF files and read them in the offline Adobe Reader. Enabling Firefox’s Built-in PDF Reader Open Firefox and navigate to about:config. This will bring up a sarcastic warning telling you that you might void your warranty, just click the “I’ll be careful, I promise!...

The grep Command The grep command searches text files looking for strings that match the search patterns you provide on the command line. The power of grep lies in its use of regular expressions. These let you describe what you’re looking for, rather than have to explicitly define it. The birth of grep pre-dates Linux. it was developed in the early 1970s on Unix. It takes its name from the g/re/p key sequence in the ed line editor (incidentally, pronounced “ee-dee”)....

A Case Study: GRUB 2:2.06.r322 A system update for Arch and Arch-based Linux distributions in summer 2022 included a new version of GRUB. GRUB stands for grand unified bootloader. A bootloader is an application that kicks off the boot-up process when your computer is turned on. Several software tools and utilities need to be launched—from the right partition and in the right order—to eventually result in an operational and accessible operating system....

You can easily get Nest Hello video doorbell notifications right on your phone, but if you’re at home lounging on the couch, you can also receive alerts right on your Google Home Hub. RELATED: How to Have Google Home Notify You When Someone Rings Your Nest Hello This is a feature that Google Home users have been able to take advantage of for a while now, but with the Google Home Hub and its built-in screen, you can now have the Nest Hello video feed automatically pop up whenever the doorbell rings, which is way better anyway....

Minecraft is favorite game of many geeks, but not everyone has heard of it. Here’s what it is, why geeks love it so much, and how to get started for yourself. If you’d rather see the game for yourself, scroll down to the bottom for a How-To Geek video tutorial. What Is It? Minecraft is a game created by Markus Persson, AKA “Notch,” and the Mojang development team. It’s a free-form sandbox creation game; you can think of it like a virtual Lego world with aspects of Doodle God/Alchemy....

Implementing Web Push into your site or PWA requires the combination of two distinct browser APIs. The code responsible for subscribing to and receiving notifications uses the Push API component of service workers. This code runs continually in the background and will be invoked by the browser when a new notification needs to be handled. When an event’s received, the service worker should use the Notification API to actually display the notification....

Windows 8 and 10 includes Hyper-V as a virtualization platform, but since not everybody will use this feature, it’s not enabled by default. Here’s how to enable it on your Windows 8 or Windows 10 PC. Confusion Hyper-V only allows you to create a new virtual machine on 64-bit versions of Windows 10 or 8, but the client tools are available on both versions. If you are running 32-bit, you’ll be able to do the installation, but you won’t be able to actually use it to create a new VM....

Microsoft now includes Flash along with their Internet Explorer browser in Windows 8. Flash has been known as a big culprit when it comes to security vulnerabilities in the past, so here’s how to disable it. Note: We have outlined two methods for achieving the same goal, there is no need to do both. Through Internet Explorer The first way you can disable flash is through the Internet Explorer add-on options....