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The Linux OS has a number of nimble apps that take the hassle out of getting photo images and documents from a flatbed scanner to a hard drive or USB storage device. Two worthy examples reviewed in Linux Picks are Xsane and Simple Scan ...

One key area of frustration for newcomers to the Linux OS is using document scanners. Most hardware makers do not provide Linux drivers on discs that accompany their scanner models. So Linux users have to struggle to find solutions on distro-specific help forums ...

The concept of reading literature -- except for technical documentation -- on a computer screen has come a long way in the last few years. No doubt the growing popularity of EBRs, or e(lectronic)-book readers such as the Amazon Kindle and the Barnes & Noble Nook are having a big impact on our reading habits ...

One of my biggest concerns when I adopted the Linux OS over Microsoft Windows was Linux's ability to supply me with a robust presentation program. I did lots of lecturing and instructional seminars. Those activities required a product that closely mimicked Microsoft PowerPoint quality. The resulting file also had to be compatible with PowerPoint ...

Desktop and laptop computers are great tools for organizing our worlds of things and ideas. The FOSS world of Linux applications offers perhaps more choices for cataloging and categorizing our collections than any other platform. This week's Linux Picks focuses on applications to help you track your stuff. The software handles a variety of both material and intellectual collections...

Project management applications are a popular inroad for winning business converts to the Linux desktop. The software category provides some well-endowed tools to maximize business knowledge and techniques for project planning and progress monitoring ...

Mind map tools offer users a system to graphically think through complex ideas in a somewhat controlled space on the computer screen. This type of software makes it easy to link related ideas with lines, branches and multiple colors in much the same way you would "think" about a topic with a scratch pad and pencil. Think of mind mapping as a form of electronic brainstorming...

The advantages of open source software really become evident when it comes to using design applications. This category of software is one that not everyone needs -- that is, unless you need software to help you create illustrations for Web design or print publication projects ...

New app choices have a habit of getting in the way of older favorites. Sometimes, a new approach or design can tempt you to give up one approach to solving a computing need by replacing it with another. That is the case with personal information manager (PIM) apps ...

It used to be that only hard-core film buffs carried video recording equipment on vacations. Unless your job required working with film, film editing software was not on most computer users' must-have list of tools. Maybe that is why until recently, few really useful film editing apps existed for the Linux platform ...

The Linux platform has several really good financial applications that are more than capable of handling both personal and small-business accounting operations ...

One of the lingering concerns potential Linux users have is the worry of leaving behind Windows software they have relied on for playing audio and video files. That used to be a valid concern. But it isn't something to worry about any more ...

Do you ever marvel at those step-by-step how-to product demos of software apps that end-users post on places like YouTube? It is often easy to spot these demo videos shot with cellphone cams or PC eye cams placed over the user's shoulder ...

Capturing a screen image is a basic computing task -- so basic, in fact, that almost every computer keyboard has a dedicated key to grab a picture of what the monitor is displaying in the instant the key is pressed ...

Have you cleaned up your Linux installation lately? On its face, that question might wrongly mark me as a Linux newbie, much like a Linux newcomer asking about antivirus and antimalware software. But I am far from being a newbie to Linux. That said, three program packages designed to clean out your Linux dustbins can keep your OS working like new ...

One of the hallmarks of using the Linux operating system is the ability to choose. The choices do not end with opting not to use Microsoft Windows or Mac OS X and instead choosing from among dozens of Linux distros. You also get the freedom to decide which individual software tools and applications are the best fit for your daily routine ...

One of the best productivity tools I had when I used Microsoft Windows was a collection of portable applications. I missed those tools when I migrated to Linux. Now several open source projects could make portable apps available to mainstream Linux users ...

Typically, we use computers to help us track our information and organize our data. Most everything else involves the computer functions related to accessing and processing all that information ...

Audacity, an open source multitrack audio editor, has versions for Linux/Unix, MacOS and Windows. If all you do with audio files is play them, then Audacity could be much more than you need. This is not an application for organizing your music collection ...

Have you run a virus scan lately? Nope? Don't need to, you say. That's because you run a Linux OS ...