If you read my columns regularly, you’ll know that I’m a second-screen proponent. For those unfamiliar with the dual-screen concept, it suggests that tablet or phone often accompanies big-screen television watching, resting on the viewer’s knee and acting as a two-way, interactive, Internet-connected screen. Where the concept breaks down, however, is that no one really knows how second screens are used.

Korora Linux has the potential to grow in popularity among users looking for a better, more user-friendly Linux distro that reaches beyond Fedora’s enterprise appeal. Korora 19, released on July 2, is an interesting Linux OS based on Fedora, the community version of parent company Red Hat’s Enterprise Linux. Korora is packed with lots of additional packages, however.

Here’s another app that takes personal analytics to the maximum. I’ve already looked at Android workout app Runtastic Pro, which allows for elaborate analytics to be run on exercise routines, conceivably enabling a honed fitness regimen. Well, here’s an app that lets you do the same kind of in-depth data-crunching on another element of life: sleep patterns.

Don’t think that a live version of a Linux desktop with the ability to save configuration changes is better than an operating system fully installed to a hard drive? Think again. Its persistent memory feature, unlike regular live distro sessions, lets you carry a complete Linux desktop with all of your files and special application settings in your pocket to run on any computer.

Google Reader was popular for a reason: It was fast, and it allowed news fans to rapidly assimilate news, synced cross-device, using a super-efficient visual RSS headline-only scan. The lack of lofty white space in the Google product and the crammed-in text housed in tightly packed headers are unusual among newer magazine-style and visually rich apps.

Joe’s Own Editor is an endearing text editor that brings old-school charm to any Linux distro. Do not mistake being old-school for being outdated: JOE has been in use on the Linux desktop since 1988. It is a standard item in most repositories and is readily available in the Synaptic Package Manager as well. Unless you know about JOE, however, you will not be drawn to it, because it has no fancy GUI.

Since time immemorial, the Windows computer has been subject to RAM issues — in particular, the issue that there’s generally never enough. RAM is the fast-accessible headspace, or breathing room, in a personal computer that’s used by programs to do their thing, as opposed to hard drive storage that’s usually used for slower, mechanical file storage.

The latest release of Linux Mint 15, nicknamed “Olivia,” tries really hard to reach new design goals but is marred by a series of petty flaws. The latest rendition of Linux Mint’s flagship desktop environment, Cinnamon 1.8, is ambitious but immature in its execution. If you choose the new MATE 1.6 desktop instead, you get a very workable GNOME 2 fork that may not be worth wallowing in yesteryear.

Music management programs for Linux often leave me wanting more — more flexibility, more file type options, more friendliness towards large song collections, etc. Guayadeque, on the other hand, is a music player that proves that less can be more. Guayadeque is light on system resources but still manages to offer much more in the way of useful features.