When did graphics drivers get so massive? Take the latest ones from NVIDIA, 416.34, which hover around 500MB. That's half a gig! While there's not much you can do about the download size, it is possible to slim down the installation itself, leaving you with only the core, necessary files on your system.

Since Christmas Eve, Charlie’s* only had five days off of work.

For eight years, he’s been dedicated to his job. He loves his job. It’s challenging and mentally demanding but Charlie knows it inside out. Yet lately, excessive overtime and an increased workload has left him feeling dispirited and disillusioned.

Charlie is a Sydney Train Driver and he’s exhausted.

I can't fathom the number of quirky tricks Microsoft likely has to employ to make Windows work as well as it does... perhaps even going so far as to skip a version number so the world doesn't explode. Speculation aside, there is one odd behaviour we can put to bed -- why do "new" drivers from Microsoft have dates as far back as 2006?

As everyone knows, it is illegal to park your vehicle across a residential driveway -- but what if it's your driveway? There are numerous circumstances where parking across your driveway is more convenient than pulling inside it; from quickly popping inside the house to dropping off another family member. If the driveway belongs to you and nobody else is blocked in, it should be legal. Right?

You probably check your Uber drivers' ratings before you hop in their car, but those drivers pay attention to your rating as well. And a bad rating can make grabbing a ride a lot harder in the future. To keep your passenger rating as high as possible, you need to know what drivers look for in passengers, too.

If your Windows chops extend in any capacity beyond novice, you've no doubt encountered the ever-cryptic Windows Registry, DLL files, User Account Control and other tools with seemingly dark and mysterious powers. Here, we'll explain some of Windows' most confusing features, so you know exactly what's happening when you go to edit them.

Fancy swapping your plastic vehicular permission slip for an electronic one? NSW drivers could find themselves in a few years' time pulling out their smartphones rather than their wallets when asked for ID, if the state government survives this month's election.

Google has expanded its options for using its Cloud Print remote printing service, adding a Windows printer driver and the ability to share printer connections as links.

Recently we covered the then-upcoming release of a new driver update for Intel's Ivy Bridge integrated GPU, which promised performance gains and lowered power consumption. With the drivers now available for download, I decided to see if they were able to deliver.

Dear Lifehacker, I recently updated my video drivers and discovered that a lot of my other drivers were out of date. Do I really need to keep them updated all the time? Will I notice any improvements in speed or features if I have the latest versions?

Windows: Semper Driver Backup provides an easy-to-use driver backup and restoration utility to ensure that if your computer goes kaput, you'll never have to track down hardware drivers again.

Windows: SlimDrivers is a feature-packed drivers management tool for Windows. You can download new drivers and install them, schedule future scans and archive your old drivers for easy rollback in case problems crop up.

Since buying iPads, many PC users and users of USB hubs have found that the iPad doesn't charge at full speed when plugged in (and sometimes not at all). Thankfully, several popular motherboard manufacturers are remedying that problem with driver updates.

Windows: When Windows' Device Manager just can't seem to give you information about a piece of hardware, free, open-source utility UnknownDevices will point you in the right direction, allowing you to find the necessary drivers to get it up and running.

Windows: Keeping all your data backed up is a smart move, but what about the device drivers that are sometimes hard to pin down after a re-install? Driver Magician, a free download today, backs up and restores your Windows drivers.

Windows only: Driver update utility Device Doctor finds outdated drivers on your PC, and helps you download the latest version — without charging you a dime.

If you've been intrigued by Apple's pricey Magic Mouse but run Windows, or want its multi-touch scrolling powers to work in a Windows installation in Boot Camp, you're in luck. Windows-compatible drivers have been extracted to install at your leisure.

Windows only: When you upgrade your video card—or even just the drivers—the old version leaves settings and registry entries cluttering up your system—but you can clean them up.

Windows only: Standing next to Device Remover, the built-in Windows device manager looks like a 90 pound weakling next to the Hulk—it's just that powerful.