Front page
Wayland vs X11: What Actually Stops Working When You Switch
A table of the affected tool categories, what replaced each one, and how to switch back to X11 for a single login if needed
01Linux DesktopAll linux desktop →
Sessions, drivers, releases and the parts of the desktop that break first.
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Linux Boots to a Black Screen After a Graphics Driver Update: How to Get Back In
A step order that starts with the least destructive option and says which log line proves which cause
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How Long Each Ubuntu, Fedora and Debian Release Is Actually Supported
One comparison of the three support models plus the command that prints the end-of-life date of the running system
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Fractional Scaling on Linux: What Is Sharp, What Still Blurs, and Why
A per-toolkit list of what is native, what is scaled, and the environment variables that change it
02ThemingAll theming →
Icon themes, cursors, fonts and everything that decides how the desktop looks.
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Where Icon Themes Live on Linux: /usr/share/icons, ~/.icons and index.theme Decoded
An annotated index.theme, the search path in order, and the cache command that has to be run afterwards
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Icon Theme Installed but Nothing Changed: The Checklist
A diagnostic order that ends with the exact reason rather than a list of things to try
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Which Icon Sizes a Linux Theme Actually Needs, and Which Nobody Ever Sees
A size-by-use table with the fallback behaviour when the size is absent
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The Mouse Cursor Stays Default in Some Applications: Why, and the Fix per Toolkit
One table of the source of truth per application family and the setting that overrides it
03HardwareAll hardware →
Laptops, drives, power draw and what an upgrade is really worth.
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Is an NVMe Upgrade Worth It on an Older Laptop
How to identify the slot and link speed before buying, and the tasks where the difference is actually felt
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How Long an SSD Actually Lasts: TBW, DWPD and Warranty Numbers Decoded
The conversion from rating to expected years plus the command that reads the drive's own written-bytes counter
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Laptop Battery Life on Linux: The Mistakes That Cost the Most Hours
A measurement-first order of work instead of a list of tweaks copied from a wiki
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External Drive Not Recognised on Linux: A Step-by-Step Diagnosis
Each command paired with the conclusion its output allows, including the case of an unsupported filesystem
04Apps & ToolsAll apps & tools →
Packaging, containers, self-hosting and the software that replaces software.
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A Flatpak Application Cannot See Your Files: How the Permissions Actually Work
The narrow permission for the common cases instead of a blanket home-directory override
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Flatpak, Snap and AppImage: Disk Use, Start-up Time and Updates Measured
A behaviour table covering disk, start-up, updates, offline use and integration
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What to Use Instead of Adobe on Linux, Matched by Task
Honest limits, including the file formats that will not round-trip
05SecurityAll security →
Certificates, mail authentication, encryption and account recovery.
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Self-Hosted vs Cloud Password Manager: What You Actually Risk Either Way
The failure modes of each side stated plainly, including recovery when the owner is unavailable
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Your Mail Lands in Spam: SPF, DKIM and DMARC in Plain Words
The header lines that identify the failing check, and the minimal correct record for a small domain
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Full-Disk Encryption: What It Protects Against and What It Does Not
A clear boundary between the protected and unprotected cases, plus what happens when the passphrase is lost
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How Long Account Recovery Takes When You Lose Two-Factor Access
Provider-by-provider expectations and the backup measures worth setting up beforehand
06AndroidAll android →
Launchers, icon packs, update policies and life after vendor support.
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How Long Each Android Phone Maker Ships Security Updates
A like-for-like comparison plus the screen that shows the device's real patch level
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What a Custom ROM Gives You, and What Stops Working
The failure list by application category and what can be recovered afterwards
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Android App Won't Install: Signature, Play Protect and Storage Errors Decoded
The error string mapped to the actual cause, with the logcat filter that confirms it
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Wireless ADB: What You Can and Cannot Do Without a Cable
A capability boundary plus the risk of leaving the port open on a shared network
Around the web
Places we link to, and partners who keep the desk running.
This domain has been publishing since 2014. Earlier material, including sponsored placements in six languages, is kept at its original addresses in the archive.