Keeping track of my bits and pieces of information across several computers running Linux and Microsoft Windows has long been a problem. CherryTree is a sweet solution that keeps my information local and cloud-free. CherryTree is an outliner-style hierarchical note-taking application that features rich text and syntax highlighting. It stores data in a single xml or sqlite file.

With countless high school and college students heading back to school at roughly this time of year, now is a good time to get acquainted with Zotero, a great cross-platform tool for collecting, organizing, citing and sharing research sources. I have spent considerable time working in academic settings helping students manage their research assignments.

ExtFS is a cross-platform application that can make using Linux much easier in multiple-OS platforms. As much as I try to stay exclusively in the Linux OS world, every so often a work situation arises that puts the comfort zone of staying with Linux to the test. When I absolutely must cross the Great Divide, Paragon’s Universal File System Driver in ExtFS comes to my rescue.

“Enigma” may be the nickname of the latest release of the Netrunner Linux distro, but there’s actually nothing enigmatic about it. In fact, Netrunner 13.06 — also known as “Netrunner 5” — delivers one of the most satisfying out-of-the-box desktop experiences I have had in quite some time. I spend an inordinate amount of time testing and using different Linux distributions.

“Enigma” may be the nickname of the latest release of the Netrunner Linux distro, but there’s actually nothing enigmatic about it. In fact, Netrunner 13.06 — also known as “Netrunner 5” — delivers one of the most satisfying out-of-the-box desktop experiences I have had in quite some time. I spend an inordinate amount of time testing and using different Linux distributions.