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XBMC, the wildly popular, free, and robust open-source media center suite, has a new version. XBMC 11 Eden is bursting with new features, improvements, and is even available as a stand-alone XBMC-centric OS. We’re big XBMC fans around here, so you’ll have to excuse us if we gush a little about how great the new XBMC 11 Eden release is. If you’re currently on XBMC 10, you’re in for quite a few treats with this upgrade....

When working (or playing) on your computer, you probably don’t think much about how you are going to clean up your files, backup your data, keep your system virus free, etc. However, these are tasks that need attention. We’ve published useful article about different aspects of maintaining your computer. Below is a list our most useful articles about maintaining your computer, operating system, software, and data. Organize and Manage Your Data Before considering how you will regularly backup your data, it’s a good idea to organize your files and folders first so they are easier to backup....

This past month we covered topics such as how to make Mozilla Firefox fast again, 11 ways to make your LastPass account even more secure, how to install extensions from outside the Chrome web store, and more. Join us as we look back at the best articles for August. The Best Articles of August Note: Articles are listed as #10 through #1. Your Kindle Is More Than an eReader: 5 Hidden Kindle Features...

If you’re coming from Windows, the Linux file system structure can seem particularly alien. The C:\ drive and drive letters are gone, replaced by a / and cryptic-sounding directories, most of which have three letter names. The Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS) defines the structure of file systems on Linux and other UNIX-like operating systems. However, Linux file systems also contain some directories that aren’t yet defined by the standard....

Every week we bring you new facts and figures from the annals of Geekdom. This week we’re taking a look at the birth of NASA’s forefather, the composition of DNA, and the first telephone. Founding of NACA, Predecessor to NASA The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was the predecessor to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Founded in 1915 it was initially focused on aeronautical engineering and testing....

While there are a myriad of FTP clients available, nothing is easier than sending files to an FTP server with a right-click. Likewise, there are loads of utilities available which add this functionality to Windows, but for a geek it is quite satisfying to uninstall “yet another utility” and replace it with your own tool. If you find yourself uploading files to an FTP site frequently, we have a script which makes this as easy as a right-click with no external utilities needed....

In this article, we’ll look at the characteristics of UUIDs, how their uniqueness works, and the scenarios where they can simplify resource identification. Although we’ll be approaching UUIDs from the common perspective of software that interacts with database records, they are broadly applicable to any use case where decentralized unique ID generation is required. What Actually Is a UUID? A UUID is simply a value which you can safely treat as unique....

You’re likely reading this because you noticed a gigantic hiberfil.sys file sitting on your system drive and you’re wondering if you can get rid of it to free up some space. Here’s what that file is and how you can delete it if you want to. What Is the hiberfil.sys File? Depending on the version of Windows you’re using, you have several options for conserving power when you’re not using your PC....

The Historical Difference Between Enter and Return To understand the difference between Return and Enter, we’ll need to go back to their origins. The Return key comes from typewriters. On an electric typewriter (such as the IBM Selectric series), pressing the Return key executes a “carriage return,” which moves the carriage (the roller assembly holding the paper you’re typing on) back to the start of a line. It also rotates the roller so the paper advances down a line or two at the same time (called a “line feed”)....

If you’ve used Ubuntu a while, you might remember GNOME applets – icons that sat on your panel and gave you access to controls and information. If you miss panel applets, try installing third-party indicator applets for Ubuntu’s Unity desktop. There are a wide variety of indicator applets available for Unity, most of which aren’t available in Ubuntu’s default software repositories. The commands to install the indicator applets provided here were tested on Ubuntu 12....

The above display started life as the personal Christmas light display of Sioux Falls, ND resident Joe Noe. When Noe moved, he donated his display to a local mall in order to preserve the tradition of people stopping by to see it and making donations to the Make-A-Wish foundation. The local mall, Western Mall, expanded the display and added in even more LEDs and controllers. The end result is an impressive display synced to a Christmas rock medley by UK musician Richard Campbell....

Once a week we round up some great reader tips and share them with everyone. This week we’re looking at using your iPhone as a sleep monitor that wakes you at an optimum time, how to test your remote with a digital camera, and a clever way to craft glowing Easter eggs. Track Your Sleep Cycles with an iPhone Play Video Nico saw our Sleepyti.me post from earlier today and wrote in with an iPhone tip:...

Getting Outlook Business Contact Manager 2010 Outlook Business Contact Manager 2007 was available as a stand-alone purchase, and was also included with Office 2007 Small Business, Professional, and Ultimate. Strangely, however, Business Contact Manager 2010 is only available with Office 2010 Standard and Professional Plus. This means you can only get Business Contact Manager through a volume license or a Technet subscription. Or, if you used the Tech Guarantee to get a free Office 2010 upgrade, your upgrade may include the Business Contact Manager if your copy of Office 2007 included it....

We’ve covered a lot of tips, tricks, and tweaks for Windows 8, but there are still a few more. From bypassing the lock screen to instantly taking and saving screenshots, here are a few more hidden options and keyboard shortcuts. Whether you love Windows 8, hate it, or just wish Metro would go away, these options will help you make Windows 8 work the way you want it to....

We’ve always been told that backing up our data is a good idea. Well, that same concept can extend to email as well. You may want to archive your email every so often, such as monthly, quarterly, or even yearly. We’ll show you how to archive email in Outlook 2013 and make it easily available in the program. Your email is stored in a .pst file. To archive email, we will be moving the email into an archive ....

You wouldn’t buy a used car without checking how many miles were on it, and you shouldn’t buy a used DSLR without knowing how many clicks are on the shutter. Read on as we explain why the shutter count of a DSLR camera matters and how to check it. Note: The techniques outlined in this article can be used to check the shutter count on mirrorless cameras, like the compact Nikon 1, as well as DSLR cameras....

Whether you need to divide static integers or data from two cells or the entire contents of two columns, Google Sheets provides a couple of methods to help you calculate the quotient. Here’s how. Using the DIVIDE Formula Fire up your browser, head to Google Sheets, and open a spreadsheet. Click on an empty cell and type =DIVIDE(,) into the cell or the formula entry field, replacing and with the two numbers you want to divide....

Smartphones are convenient, but sometimes it’s more trouble than it’s worth to pick up your phone when you’re already sitting at a computer. It would be nice to do whatever it is you want to do from the comfort of your PC—especially if you work at a desk. Thankfully, there’s a simple (and brilliant) way to completely mirror your Android device’s screen over USB with a Chrome app called Vysor....

What Is Low Power Mode on Apple Watch? Low Power Mode is a successor to the Power Reserve on Apple Watch. As the name suggests, it’s a power-saving mode that works similarly to its namesake on the iPhone and iPad, meaning it extends the battery life of your Apple Watch by turning off or limiting some features. Apple says it can increase the battery life of the Apple Watch Series 8 from 18 hours to 36 hours....

Some of the most powerful Windows features are only available in Professional or Enterprise editions of Windows. However, you don’t have to upgrade to Windows Professional to use these powerful features – use these free alternatives instead. These features include the ability to access your desktop remotely, encrypt your hard drive, run Windows XP in a window, change advanced settings in group policy, use Windows Media Center, run an operating system off a USB stick, and more....