Unless I’m mistaken (and I may be), there are three major types of Unix-like kernels you can download and use for free right now. There’s GNU/Linux, BSD and one you probably haven’t heard of, GNU Hurd. What’s the Hurd? According to its web site, it’s described as "…the GNU project’s replacement for the Unix kernel....

So, you want to do some gaming, do you? If you’re planning on taking to the online arena, there’s a few things you should know-and, likely do- beforehand. This short tutorial will help you to quickly and efficiently get the most out of your internet connection, ensuring you can spend more time doing what you love, and less time having to prepare....

Periodically a web site will change up its design, such as the recent minor redesign on PCMech that happened recently. With the PCMech site, tests are performed with various browsers on both Windows and Mac to make sure the site loads right and looks right before it goes live. With other web sites, let’s just say they don’t do as much testing as...

This Linux distribution may be mini at an under-500MB size, but it packs in a lot of OS for something so small. In fact, PCLinuxOS 2011.07 could easily be mistaken for a full-sized distribution given there’s nothing in it that feels slimmed down/compromised for size. Personally, I think this is definitely one of the better smaller distributions out there....

Recently I had to upgrade the BIOS on my PC to the latest version to enable support for something specific to GIGABYTE motherboards called On/Off Charge. This isn’t a big deal as I’ve flashed more than a few BIOSes over the years, however the way this one was done was, shall we say, a bit unique. 1. Motherboard software utility or bootable USB? Most...

Can Linux be retro? Sure it can, since it’s been around since 1993. In the video below, I take a quick overview of Red Hat Linux 9 release, the last desktop version of Red Hat before the company decided to go "all corporate" and it became Red Hat Enterprise Linux or RHEL for short. RHL 9 was released March 2003, back at a time when Windows XP was...

In Windows 7 (and assumedly Vista), if you search for anim, the beginning of the word animation, the option to "Turn off unnecessary animations" pops up:Click this brings up the Ease of Access Center portion of the Control Panel. If you scroll down, there’s the check box "Turn off all unnecessary animations (when possible)":I...

Peppermint OS is a lightweight Linux distribution that is making its way up through the ranks because of it’s fast operation, ease-of-use and bundling apps in the distro that people actually use. The latest version is Peppermint OS Two. It’s definitely better than Peppermint One, but is a tad rough around the edges. See video below for...

Got a vintage PC you want to put on display but want something a little better than just a screen saver to show activity? If the computer is internet-capable, use an IRC client and load up the #ubuntu channel on the irc.freenode.net server. It’s easy, only takes minutes and for Windows in particular can work anywhere from 3.1 to present. See video below...

Ever wonder what would happen if you installed all the from-service instant messenger client you could get your hands on? Nothing good, that’s what. There are three and only three instant messenger clients that are worth using anymore. Pidgin, Adium (which is Pidgin for Mac) and Miranda. None of these store your account credentials in the cloud (everything...