Quick Links Sometimes it’s useful to make sure a Bash shell script doesn’t run too frequently. Here’s a neat way to set a time limit that must expire before the script can run again. Take a Breather Depending on what it’s doing and which other processes it may launch, a Bash script can consume as much RAM and CPU time as any other resource-hungry process. It can be useful to limit how frequently such a script can be launched....
Summary If you’re a music fan, you probably have shelves of records or CDs. How do you keep track of them? You could use a database, but aren’t they complicated to set up? SQLite is a powerful tool that lets you set up SQL databases without a server. It’s surprisingly easy to set up. Here’s how I did it, despite having a vague knowledge of SQL. Why SQLite? There’s still something about a physical music collection, even in the age of streaming....
Quick Links Summary Roof de-icing cables use about 5 watts per foot and a large installation in a very snowy climate can easily add $100 to your electric bill each month. Roof de-icing kits allow you to harness the power of electricity to keep snow and ice from building up on your roof, but at what cost? Here’s how to estimate how much running a kit on your home will cost you....
Quick Links Summary Purchasing a flashy new graphics card is exciting, but with so many factors to look at, excitement can easily turn into frustration. Today we’ll help figure out which card to buy based on your unique scenario and budget. Take a Look at Your Current Hardware Your first task before buying a new graphics card is to assess your current hardware. Assuming you have a modern gaming computer or are planning to build one,graphics card compatibilityis pretty much a non-factor....
Quick Links The age of streaming hasn’t diminished the appeal of physical media. If anything, the limitations of streaming services have made the perks of owning a Blu-ray more apparent. There’s no worrying about whether or not the movie will be available on a streaming service (or anywhere online) if you own a physical copy. Another major draw for physical media is the quality of the film’s presentation, for both the disc and box art....
Quick Links Summary First, add a chart to your Google sheet. you’re able to then edit the chart—in the Chart Editor, select the “Customize” tab in the sidebar, select “Series,” check the “Trendline” box, and customize your trendline’s settings. If you want a simple visual to help your audience see the direction of the data in your chart, consider a trendline. You canadd different types of trendlinesin Google Sheets and customize their appearance....
Quick Links Picture this: you’re at a café in Paris, about to tell your friends back home that your morning croissant wastrès magnifique, when suddenly your phone buzzes with a notification. Panic sets in as you wonder, am I about to rack up a massive bill? Don’t worry, fellow traveler—we’ve got you covered! In this guide, we’ll walk you through the ins and outs of checking and managing international data roaming so you can focus on enjoying your experiences without the concern of coming home to a shocking phone bill....
Quick Links Microsoft Excel’s Data Validation tool lets you add a drop-down list to a cell based on existing data in a column. However, how this works depends on whether the source data is part of a formatted Excel table. Let’s take a look at some examples. Using a Column in a Formatted Excel Table Imagine you have this formatted Excel table named “Scores” containing player names, nations, and scores, and you need to extract some summary data....
Quick Links Want to try or install a Linux distribution (distro) on your computer? Making a bootable flash drive with an image of the distro is the simplest route these days. I’ve done it dozens of times, and it’s easy if you know what software to use. First, Make Sure You Have Everything You Need Before we get into the specific steps, let’s make sure you have everything you need. Generally it’s three things:...
Summary Whereas the graphics card is the most important component in any gaming PC, the CPU can also make a big difference. You might not even notice a CPU bottleneck in some cases, but a severe CPU bottleneck can ruin your gaming experience just as much as a major GPU bottleneck. Explaining CPU Bottleneck Before I dive into the deep end, let me explainCPU and GPU bottleneckswith the following analogy: Imagine that yourCPUandGPUare two parts of a restaurant....
Quick Links With aging power infrastructure worldwide and rolling blackouts becoming more common, there’s a real chance that your internet connection may go out when the power does. Satellite internet services could be the answer to staying connected in those dark times. Satellite Internet Has Never Been Great Putting all the cards on the table,satellite internethas never been anyone’s first choice regarding internet connectivity. In general, these services have offered a small amount of bandwidth and a large amount of latency....
Quick Links Punctuation is an extremely important part oftext communication, and I’m not talking about grammar. You may think a simple period is the correct way to end a message, but it can mean a lot more than you realize. You’ve probably experienced the difficulty of conveying emotion in text conversations. Emoji can help with that, but so can thepunctuationandformattingyou use. One of the most powerful punctuation marks intext messagingis the humble period....
Quick Links IVPNis a bit of a dark horse in the VPN market. It doesn’t have the marketing clout of big players likeNordVPN and ExpressVPN, and it’s only slowly gaining the name recognition of independent players likeMullvad. I took it through its paces to find out what IVPN could do. As it turns out, IVPN can do a lot, and it’s definitely one of thebest VPN servicesout there. It’s secure, easy to use, and it’s as fast as greased lightning....
