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NVIDIA provides a proprietary driver for Linux, which generally provides better performance compared to the alternative FOSS driver -- Nouveau, as well as better functionality for newer models of its GPUs. For desktop computers, enabling the proprietary driver is straightforward. However for Optimus laptops running Linux, the situation is …

For Linux users with NVIDIA/Intel hybrid graphics laptops, having everything working perfectly or at least to the extent that their needs are met from the computer sometimes requires intervention by the user if the chosen distribution does not set it up. Sometimes this includes adjusting the system configuration to prevent …

Firefox is an excellent browser with many useful and innovative features that is created by an organization that respects and strives to protect its users' privacy. It is also a GTK based application which means that it will use GTK elements in dialog windows for browsing files to upload to …

KDE's Dolphin file browser is widely regarded as the most customizable. But it also has a lot of advanced built-in functionality and is extensible to add even more capability. Among its most useful functionality is the ability to access and manage remote files directly in the file browser using the …

Phoronix Test Suite is a Free and Open Source automated benchmarking program developed by Phoronix Media, which also publishes the Phoronix website. Linux enthusiasts most likely have seen the output of the PTS software on Phoronix in their benchmarking results. In this article, we provide an overview of the installation …

rsync is a file transfer and file synchronization program for Unix and Unix-like computers that provides efficient transfers and synchronization "by sending just the differences in the files across the link, without requiring that both sets of files are present at one of the ends of the link beforehand," according …

Installing and configuring GRUB for an EFI system is a simple matter of a few commands to make the EFI System partition available, to install the appropriate version of the GRUB package, to install GRUB (the bootloader not the package) in the EFI System partition, and to update the configuration. …

Generally, an EFI is an interface between the hardware and its firmware and the loader of the operating system. Practically, what a user interested in dual booting or multi booting Windows 8/8.1 and Linux needs to know are that an EFI system can only be used with a GPT disk …

Nearly all distributions make Firefox available through their default repositories. Some also make the beta, developer, and nightly editions available through non-default repositories. For distributions that don't provide these editions, or for distributions that make only one or some of the other editions available -- in the case of openSUSE, …