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For beginners to Linux the range of distributions can be daunting. Should I investigate Ubuntu, Arch Linux, openSUSE, elementaryOS, or even try Solus, the best newcomer to the scene? A good way to experiment with Linux distributions and find the one that best fits your needs is to create a bootable SD card or USB drive flashed with the Linux distros. The tools featured in this article make this process simple and safe.

The purpose of this article is to identify our favourite ASCII based games. There are no fancy graphics here, just great gameplay coupled with the urge of always having just one more play.

Google Drive is a very popular cloud storage service. Files can be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection.

File comparison compares the contents of computer files, finding their common contents and their differences. The result of the comparison is often known as a diff.

Time tracking software is a type of computer software that records time spent on tasks. This category of software can enable users to run billing reports, and prepare invoices for clients.

There are many web services that allow users to upload pictures to a hosting site. The image host stores the images on its servers, and shows the individual different types of code to allow others to view that image.

Screencasts have a wide variety of uses. This type of software is often deployed to describe software projects, demoing instructions (the user can cut and paste), report bugs, and for evaluating technical skills. Plain text screencasting lets you explain and perform commands at the same time, simultaneously offering a tutorial and showcase. Further, plain text screencasting uses less bandwidth than flash video, and provides a powerful educational tool. It also lets users share all their proficient terminal hacks.

IRC is a good way of engaging with the Linux community. Being able to tap into the wealth of knowledge of individuals logged into IRC enables users to engage directly with developers and other users of distributions and applications. IRC is not just limited to obtaining and giving technical support to others; it can be used for many other activities.

Console based applications are light on system resources (very useful on low specified machines), can be faster and more efficient than their graphical counterparts, they do not stop working when X is restarted, and are perfect for scripting purposes. When designed well, console applications offer a surprisingly improvement in productivity. The applications are leaner, faster, easier to maintain, and remove the need to have installed a whole raft of libraries.

The cd command is a command-line OS shell command used to change the current working directory. A directory is a logical section of a file system used to hold files. Directories may also contain other directories. The cd command can be used to change into a subdirectory, move back into the parent directory, move all the way back to the root directory or move to any given directory.

Linux is blessed with some excellent mature music players. My favorites are Amarok, Audacious, Banshee, and Tomahawk. Awesome open source applications. In particular, I have been a devotee of Banshee for a decade, using it as my main media player. But I am keen to explore potential replacements and have tried almost all available music players. My journey has identified some very promising music players which are worth exploring.

One important step to protect a system is using a firewall. Essentially, this is a network security system, acting like a security guard between internal and external networks. The firewall controls incoming and outgoing network traffic using security rules. The rules specify which connections you want to allow and the ports and zones through which the connection can be established.

Since late 2014, Adobe's proprietary but useful Adobe Acrobat Reader DC has been no longer supported under Linux. Adobe's website still only lists Windows, Mac OS and Android as supported operating systems. This is one of the many dangers of closed source software - at the whim of corporate bosses, development and distribution can simply disappear overnight, possibly never coming back. Fortunately, there are some excellent open source alternatives to Adobe Acrobat Reader DC. The software featured in this article offer more than displaying PDF files; they are versatile document viewers.

You may have read the story about a man deleting his entire company with one mistaken piece of code: accidentally misusing rm -rf in Ansible. It was a fairly obvious hoax designed to be a viral marketing effort. It achieved that goal as scores of media sources carried the story. But at least it will have alerted readers to the importance of making sure their data is safe.

There is a wide range of competent note taking software for Linux, and this article seeks to cover the finest open source solutions. I have compiled this roundup of my pick of 17 excellent note applications for organizing, sharing, and taking notes.

We previously published an article on the best open source editors in 2008. Given the length of time that has elapsed, and the new projects that have come forward, it's prudent to update the article. Here's our updated list of the finest open source editors available for Linux. Naturally, it's largely a matter of preference, but it's extremely likely you'll find your ideal editor below.

Do not think home automation is just for geeks. It is now mainstream and a burgeoning industry. Become an home automation expert and try out these finest open source software for home automation. There are some real gems here. Many users flock to Domoticz and openHAB, but one of the others listed here may be a better fit for your requirements.

A download manager is computer software that is dedicated to the task of downloading files, optimizing bandwidth usage, and operating in a more organized way.

Microsoft Office still dominates market share of office suites. Businesses have often rejected free Office alternatives. However, whether this will continue is uncertain. With the cost of a price plan for Microsoft Office, the average home user or small business will welcome a free alternative. Fortunately, there are some truly excellent free alternatives available for Linux (and other operating systems).

I have selected my pick of desktop environments that are excellent candidates for older hardware. They typically run well on low-spec machines, even a system with a Pentium II 266MHz CPU, a processor that is now 16 years old. All of the desktops are released under freely distributable licenses. If your Linux box feels sluggish in general use, try one of the desktops featured below. It may just save you from discarding a perfectly good machine.