I've dabbled with Linux before. Of course, there's the Steam Deck and SteamOS more recently, but even as a younger tech enthusiast, I toyed around with the tools in Kali Linux and live-booted Ubuntu to see if I was capable of switching. Even after trying a handful of distros and learning some basics about Linux and how it works, I never took the plunge. I never committed to actually using Linux, and I wanted to change that. Much to my surprise, it wasn't much of a change at all.

What started as a passion for editing and creating turned into a burden. I was getting tired of the endless subscriptions, unwanted updates, computer bloat, paywalls for basic features, and constant privacy policy changes. So I wanted an editing system that gave me more control over my workflow and projects. What I’ve built over time is a library, editing, and file management suite powered entirely by free and open-source tools. Here’s what ended up working for me…

Setting up a new Windows 11 machine can be complicated, and when issues arise somewhat frequently, it can waste a lot of time in certain scenarios. It's common these days to have your life based on data from the cloud, so when it comes to the operating system, you mostly just need to install the OS, change the settings as needed, and install the programs you want.

Usually, deciding on which monitor to get comes down to various factors. Except, that's not what I did the last time I got one. I had one overarching consideration for my purchase, and that was that it had to be OLED. It could be QD-OLED or OLED or WOLED, but it had to be self-emissive without a backlight.

With the Nintendo Switch 2 launch firmly behind us, now feels like a great time to reflect on some of the best launch games in history. While there are examples of games that absolutely drove the console's success, like Wii Sports, for this list, we're focusing on the games that have aged well, entering the pantheon of the best games ever made, launch game or not. The Nintendo Switch 2 launch day games may have satisfied gamers, but there isn't anything that can match some of the best launch games in history. Any game that was available on Day One for a new console, and not available prior to that, is eligible for this list.

Remote access tools are nothing new, but few offer the same level of control and reliability that PiKVM brings to the table. With a Raspberry Pi, a bit of DIY effort, and the right accessories, you can build a hardware-based KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) over IP solution that lets you take control of your PC as if you were sitting in front of it. That includes BIOS-level access and rebooting, not just remote desktop sessions after the OS loads. For home office users, tinkerers, or anyone who runs a headless system, it can be a game-changer.

There's a certain kind of heartbreak only '90s gamers know — the kind that comes from getting hopelessly addicted to a brutally difficult game you downloaded from a random CD that came with a magazine, only to never beat it. For me, it was Claw. A 2D platformer about a pirate cat in search of the Amulet of Nine Lives. Claw wasn't your average platformer with a basic premise, no. It was soul-crushingly difficult, and gloriously punishing.

Moving from Windows to Linux isn't as hard as you might initially think, but you'd be forgiven for having some worries. Switching to a totally different desktop environment is hard, especially when some of the apps you're used to may not be available.

As someone who uses Home Assistant all the time, one of the most challenging (but fun) aspects of the software platform is figuring out ways to integrate it into my existing hardware and software services. As I've gone further down the rabbit hole, I've found increasingly weird and interesting ways to make it work, and one of my favorites has been the implementation of a "game mode." There are two separate ways to make this work, and I combine both of them to work with both Steam and non-Steam games.

I recently tested out the Govee Table Lamp 2 Pro, which features a built-in Bluetooth speaker with audio from JBL. I lamented the lack of internet streaming capabilities for a smart speaker, given that Bluetooth audio was the only way to stream music to it. Well, I've worked out a solution, and it's surprisingly perfect, if a bit overengineered. I'm using my old phone as a proxy with a Snapcast client, which in turn routes the audio to the speaker. And it all works through Home Assistant and Music Assistant.

Buying a used server motherboard, especially the dirt-cheap models, can be a great start to your home lab. You get cheap access to enterprise performance and features, and can run all the self-hosting services you'd want. And dual-CPU motherboards can power your virtualization and high-end multi-threaded workloads without you worrying about upgrading to something more powerful anytime soon. That said, the process of securing a used server board is often marred by uncertainty — make sure you do your research and know exactly what you're buying.

I have started to travel light, with nothing more than what I need, both physically and digitally. While I keep a portable SSD handy, everything else stays at home, on my NAS. And that doesn’t mean I’m not able to access my files while traveling. In fact, I have set up my NAS to let me view and manage my files no matter where I am. It has helped me replace a bunch of apps and services that I used to depend on.