Linux Kernel 5.0 shipped in March 2019 as a symbolic milestone—the first major version bump from the 4.x series. The kernel project switched to semantic versioning at that point, so the jump to 5.0 was more about naming convention than revolutionary technical changes. That said, the release included several features and hardware improvements worth understanding,…
EncFS is a FUSE-based encrypted overlay filesystem that was once popular for transparent file encryption. However, its use on Android has become impractical due to Android’s security architecture. Here’s what you need to know in 2026. Why EncFS Doesn’t Work Well on Android Anymore Android’s evolution has made direct EncFS usage difficult: Scoped Storage (enforced…
Backing up text messages from Android works best through Google Messages for real-time web access, or via ADB and third-party tools for local archives. Your approach depends on whether you need cloud sync, local storage, or both. Google Messages for Web (Easiest) The simplest method for most users is Google Messages, which syncs SMS and…
Firefox on iOS has improved significantly since the early days, but understanding what syncs and what doesn’t remains important for managing bookmarks across devices. Current sync capabilities As of 2026, Firefox sync does support bookmarks across iOS and desktop, but with important limitations. When you enable Firefox sync on your iOS device and link it…
When you wrap your WordPress site in a native Android app using WebView, Google’s AdSense policy prohibits serving those ads through the app wrapper. You need to hide AdSense on mobile views while keeping them on desktop, and ideally detect when your site is loaded inside a WebView to block ads there too. Detecting Mobile…
Deleted photos from your Samsung phone aren’t necessarily gone forever—they remain on disk until overwritten. Here’s how to recover them. Act quickly to preserve data The moment you realize photos are deleted, stop using your phone. Every new photo, message, or app activity risks overwriting deleted data. Turn off WiFi and mobile data to prevent…
Firefox Sync lets you keep bookmarks, passwords, history, open tabs, and settings synchronized across all your devices. It’s built on Mozilla’s infrastructure and doesn’t require a separate account beyond your Firefox account. Prerequisites Firefox 22 or later (current versions are 2024+) A Mozilla Firefox Account Devices running Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, or Android Initial Setup…
MKV files encoded with AC3 or DTS audio won’t play sound on most iOS and Android devices. These are proprietary formats with licensing restrictions—mobile players either don’t support them or refuse to decode them by default. The video plays fine, but you get silence. The solution is straightforward: re-encode the audio track to AAC or…
Google Apps accounts can connect to Google Talk through XMPP, and Pidgin handles this well. Here’s how to configure it properly. Adding the Account Open Pidgin and create a new account. You’ll configure it across two tabs. Basic Tab Settings: Setting Value Protocol XMPP Username eric (local part of your email) Domain example.com (your domain…