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One of my biggest problems in managing appointments, to-do tasks, notes and reminders is that I work on a variety of desktop and laptop computers in multiple locations. To bridge the access gaps, I rely on a tablet computer and a smartphone tapped into cloud storage. When I find a really good PIM ap...

Canonical, the commercial developer of the Ubuntu Linux operating system, seems at times to be stuck between a rock and a hard place. Some testers and industry watchers alike have praised the company's innovative Unity desktop shell and the Heads Up Display (HUD) bolted on top of it in this month's ...

It's no wonder that the Linux desktop operating system is not attracting hordes of new users from Microsoft Windows and the Mac OS X platforms. Linux has almost too many desktop choices, and most of them are far from good. One clear exception is the Lightweight X Desktop Environment, or LXDE. I am b...

The Clementine Music Player is an up and coming application that could replace your default music app. It is a close cousin to Amarok with just enough of its own personality to make it stand apart from the crowd. On any computing platform today, users have ample choices of music players. Most of the...

Canonical expects to start rolling out the first phase of Ubuntu's new heads-up display in the April release of Ubuntu 12.04. But HUD will supplement Unity, Ubuntu's default desktop interface, rather than fully replace it. The move to radically change the desktop's default interface is being made ou...

The recently announced Spark tablet might prove to be the first Linux-running open source tablet fully capable of being modded by users. It has an open Linux stack on unlocked hardware, and it will come with an open content and services market. The Spark will come under the GNU General Public Licens...

My interest in desktop eye candy vacillates with the seasons. The added productivity it brings to a particular desktop design is also a factor. Now that GNOME 3 forces a desktop without icons, I took a look at how useful the gDesklets Project might be. When it comes to little desktop applets or widg...

Canonical will release its upgrade to Ubuntu 11.10 on Oct. 13. If you suffered through version 11.04 in hopes that something better would arrive in 11.10, you suffered in vain. For the typical user, very little of anything new is bundled into this latest Ubuntu upgrade. To be honest, my early hands-...

Burning optical platters can be frustrating and time-consuming. Show me a computer user who doesn't have a trash bin filled with spent CDs and DVDs, and I will show you a user who doesn't burn discs. Linux users have several good CD/DVD burning apps available -- and a pile of not-so-good choices. Th...

Eqonomize is a personal accounting package that is fast becoming my app of choice for all things financial. It is packed with features and is simple to learn. Plus, its KDE interface makes it an ideal solution to handle my small household economy. Keeping track of personal and business finances is o...

When I first left the Big Blue OS behind for the world of Linux, I wallowed in guesses over how my disk space was filling up. One thing that was hard to replace from my Windows XP days was the colorful pie chart of disk ingredients that resulted from right-clicking the lettered drive names. Linux of...

The face of the Linux desktop is drastically evolving. While the Linux communities struggle to bring more business and home users to the Linux desktop, existing users face choices about adopting redesigned desktop shells or finding suitable replacements. The fallout might well be the start of a Grea...

The Linux OS makes listening to your music collection quick and simple. For instance, Xine, MPlayer and Amarok let you track and play your musical selections with a point and a click. In fact, we have reviewed these and other audio players in this space. Not so easy to manage, however, is labeling y...

It is rare that I lament about a task I cannot do in Linux better than when I used that Redmond OS that rhymes with lindows. But you can hear me pining for those commercial and shareware programs every time I have to create a printing job around business cards or mailing labels on my Linux rigs. Fo...

I've gotten the impression over the years of working with people who use any operating system that most of them do not want to get involved with tinkering. I understand that, especially with the Linux platform. It is very configurable, but much of its have-it-your-way appeal is reached outside the G...

My reaction to the latest version of Ubuntu can be summed up in just three words: Far from awesome! That impression largely results from the switch to the new Unity desktop. Canonical, the developer of the Ubuntu Linux operating system, released version 11.04, also known as "Natty Narwhal," on April...

Xfce is a niche desktop environment. But given the moves developers are making with changes to KDE 4 and Gnome 3, not to mention Ubuntu's new Unity desktop, Xfce may be just the ticket to take you to a calmer, more satisfying computing environment while staying with your favorite Linux distro. Think...

Sometimes the number of choices the Linux operating system provides can be overwhelming. I am starting to look at other options for my preferred desktop environment as GNOME 3 and KDE 4 go in directions that might be unsettling to my computing routine. One obscure yet interesting replacement candida...

Occasionally listening to music files or watching videos with lightweight media apps the likes of Gzine, Alsaplayer or Gnome Player is fine if you are not ultra demanding of your listening environment. If you do not fall into that category, Banshee is a much better multimedia option. The Banshee M...

Having multiple choices of desktop environments is one of the Linux OS's strong points -- as well as its potential nemesis. This lack of a uniform desktop strategy means confusion for Linux newcomers and frustration for seasoned users. For example, the two most used desktop environments are GNOME an...