Linux may not be the world’s most popular desktop OS, but that doesn’t mean it has to take a back seat to its proprietary brethren. Here are our best Linux downloads and posts from 2011.
How To Control Multiple Computers With A Single Keyboard And Mouse
If you have two or more computers at one desk, you don’t want two or more sets of keyboards and mice cluttering up your workspace, too. You can buy a hardware gadget that lets you share a single keyboard and mouse with several computers (which involves a mess of tangled wires), or you could use a free software solution called Synergy. More »
Become A Command Line Ninja With These Time-Saving Shortcuts
The command line can be quite powerful, but typing in long commands and file paths gets tedious pretty quickly. Here are some shortcuts that will have you running long, tedious, or complex commands with just a few keystrokes. More »
How To Turn Your Computer Into The Ultimate Remote Access Media Server
If you’re out of the house a lot but still want access to files on your home computer, one of the best ways to solve that problem involves setting up your computer as a remotely accessible home media server. More »
Power Up Your XBMC Installation With These New Add-Ons
In its latest update, much-beloved media centre application XBMC added one-click add-on installation, bringing browser-like extensions to your Media centre. More »
Set Up An Automated, Bulletproof File Back Up Solution
More and more, the fragments of your life exist as particles on a disk mounted inside your computer — disks susceptible to temperature changes, power surges, fire, theft, static, and just plain wear and tear. More »
First Look At Ubuntu Linux 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot Beta
Like most Ubuntu updates, version 11.10 isn’t a huge overhaul; rather, it improves on the big changes made in 11.04, by cleaning up the Dash, overhauling the Ubuntu Software centre, and bringing in some new default software. More »
Five Best Desktop Customisation Tools
Your desktop is your virtual home, and much like you’re real home, customising it to fit your needs and style can make the difference between between a drab and depressing workspace and one you’re excited to work on. More »
Lock Down Your Computer Like The NSA
Want to secure your computer with the same techniques used by the National Security Agency? Turns out the NSA has published guides for securing Windows, Mac, Linux, and Solaris operating systems using methods that “are currently being used throughout the government and by numerous entities as a security baseline for their systems.” More »
How To Turn Your Netbook Into A Chromebook With Chromium OS
Google recently released their own line of Chrome OS-clad netbooks, but with only a few choices and a somewhat high price tag, you might be more comfortable running Chrome OS on your own machine. More »
Getting Started With Linux: The Complete Guide
If you’ve been meaning to try out Linux but felt too overwhelmed, we’ve got all the info you need to get started. Here are our five lessons on getting a working Linux partition up and running. More »
Lifehacker Pack For Linux: Our List Of The Best Linux Downloads
Linux may not be the most popular OS around, but we’re not about to sit here and ignore it. Here are our favourite downloads for everyone’s favourite open source operating system. More »
Linux Desktop Faceoff: GNOME 3 Shell Vs Ubuntu Unity
The popular Linux distribution Ubuntu recently finalized its move to the new Unity interface, while other Linux distributions are moving to the new GNOME 3 shell. More »
WTF Desktop Environments: GNOME, KDE And More Explained
You can customise nearly every last inch of your Linux installation to fit your liking, and it starts with choosing the right desktop environment. Whether you’re a Linux beginner or you’re just looking for a new interface, here’s an overview of how desktop environments work and how to pick the right one for you. More »
Lubuntu Gives You A Full-Fledged Desktop On Your Netbook
Netbooks aren’t the fastest computers, but they can be useful-as long as they’re usable. If you want your netbook to work and feel like a real computer rather than a toy, I can’t recommend Lubuntu enough-it makes my netbook feel like a whole new machine. More »
Lightweight Portable Security Is A Portable Linux Distro
Lightweight Portable Security (LPS-Public) is a bootable live CD designed by the Department of Defense so that government employees can access data from a public computer without worrying about security violations. More »
E4rat Seriously Cuts Down On Linux Boot Time With A Few Simple Commands
Whether your computer already boots pretty quickly or you’re trying to eke some extra spee dout of your old computer, free command line tool E4rat will seriously decrease your boot time. More »
Learn Ubuntu 11.04’s Keyboard Shortcuts With This Wallpaper
The Unity-powered Ubuntu 11.04 is finally out, and with it comes a slew of new keyboard shortcuts for the Unity interface. They can seem a bit overwhelming at first, so spend a few days getting acclimated with this wallpaper-formatted shortcut list. More »
ArchBang Brings Arch Linux’s Greatest Features To Your PC Without The Stress
If you’re in love with Arch Linux but are tired of the painstaking installation process, ArchBang is the perfect distribution for you. It has everything you love about Arch, but installs in just a few minutes with everything you need. More »
Learn To Love Your *nix Command Line With Obscure Tools
Kristóf Kovács put together a list of 20 hugely useful command-line tools, most of which are available for Linux. Many of them are somewhat obscure, improved versions of simpler (more ancient) tools, while others are staples for experienced command-line users the world over. More »
Ask LH: What Kind oO Maintenance Do I Need To Do On My Linux PC?
We’ve gone through Windows and Mac maintenance, but what about Linux users? Luckily, it’s pretty simple. More »
There you have it. Despite its lower popularity, Linux is full of great tools and endless possibilities. Note that we left out a few of our more cross-platform posts to make room for the Linux-centric stuff we know you guys wanted to see — so you might want to take a quick gander at our most popular Windows and Mac posts of the year to check out some other Linux-compatible projects we covered this year. And, whether your favourite made the list or not, we’d love to hear about the Linux downloads and posts you loved this year in the comments.
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