XDA

5 hard lessons I learned in my first week on Linux, and I'm better off for them

Simon Batt — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 13:00:16 GMT

Breaking three decades of Windows usage in the space of a week was not easy. All those years had given me years of muscle memory and expectations, and throwing all that away to start anew took a lot of work. However, I honestly believe that the first week I experienced moving from Windows to Linux made up 90% of the reason why I didn't rebound to Windows. The other 10% came from polishing the 90% I had developed during that week.

I emulate every console I wanted as a kid on a single mini PC, and I never have to deal with Windows

João Carrasqueira — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 12:30:15 GMT

Gaming wasn't the most accessible hobby to me as a kid, since I couldn't afford either many consoles or a ton of games for the ones I did have. And these days, coming to those old games in person is just extremely unlikely, even if I could afford them.

Your Windows 11 default hibernation file is quietly eating 32GB of SSD write cycles, and here is the one-command fix

Jasmine Mannan — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 12:00:16 GMT

One issue PC builders might face is installing Windows 11 on a fresh 1TB or 2TB NVMe SSD. You install a handful of essential apps, Open TreeSize or WizTree, and suddenly you discover a massive locked system file called hiberfil.sys quietly devouring 16GB to 32GB of root C: partition space. This isn't just wasted capacity. It can also lead to wear and tear on your SSD as every time Windows initiates fast startup, hybrid sleep, or full system hibernation, it dumps the entire contents of your active system RAM directly into that file on your flash storage. This is a feature that was designed decades ago for slow mechanical spinning hard drives and low-power laptops and is now enabled by default on high-end desktop gaming rigs and workstation PCs equipped with 32GB, 64GB, or 128GB of high-speed RAM and blazing Gen 4 or Gen 5 NVMe SSDs.

I tried using one browser for work and another for everything else, and it fixed a problem extensions never did

Patrick Hearn — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 11:30:16 GMT

As someone who grew up with the internet, browsers were originally a way for me to surf the web, chat with friends, and spend way too many hours on Neopets. The idea of using a browser for work came about later, when I started freelancing. I also grew up with only one option for browsers (others existed, but I didn't know about them). In other words, I'm used to using a single browser for absolutely everything, but that created distractions in my day-to-day workflow.

6 lightweight tools I install before anything else on a new PC

João Carrasqueira — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 11:00:15 GMT

I've used my fair share of PCs, and having to hop between them or reset them every now and then often means I have to reinstall a lot of the things I'm used to. Some things are more essential than others, though, and they'll be the first things I install on a new PC before I get deep into properly using it. I have a handful of relatively light tools that I always need on my PCs when I plan to use them frequently.

I finally went through Google Maps' location settings, and I had no idea how much it remembers

Megan Ellis — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 10:00:15 GMT

Google Maps and location data go hand-in-hand. After all, Google Maps can't navigate without you enabling certain location settings. But you may be surprised by just how much it keeps track of, from your quick searches to the places you visit during the month. This is even more prominent when Timeline is enabled.

This Raspberry Pi 5 e-ink project listens to your garden and draws the birds it hears

Simon Batt — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 04:36:48 GMT

These days, it's really easy to identify bird calls; all you need is a bird identification app on your phone, and you can ID a call in a moment's notice. But what if you could have a system that passively listened for bird calls and showed you which ones it heard using beautiful art? That's the goal of this project, which uses a microphone, an e-ink display, and genuine art from the 1800s to create an immaculate set piece.

You, too, can turn your old NES into a flight tracker that receives internet data in real time

Simon Batt — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 04:14:28 GMT

If you've got an NES collecting dust and you're looking for a way to track flights on your TV screen, then boy, do I have the project for you. Someone has figured out a way to track flights using a Nintendo Entertainment System, and yes, it requires data from the internet to function. Fortunately, the person who made this tracker found a pretty ingenious way to get data from the World Wide Web onto the NES, meaning it can track flights in real time.

I gave Windows 11 an old-school makeover by restoring its classic icons

João Carrasqueira — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:16 GMT

With every iteration of Windows comes a new set of icons that changes the overall look and feel of the OS. It can seem small, but these icons can be something you remember fondly, so if you grow up with a particular era of Windows, you may miss seeing those old icons on your desktop.

I automated backups for my self-hosted services, and I finally stopped worrying about data loss

Yash Patel — Sat, 05 Sep 2026 23:01:15 GMT

I love the freedom of self-hosting, but it also means I am responsible when something goes wrong. As my Docker setup grew, I started thinking more about how easily a failed drive or bad update could cause problems. I wanted backups that could run quietly without adding more work to my routine. And for that I had to replace my temporary script-based backup approach. That's when I set up a backup strategy for my Docker services to protect the data I actually care about. I also introduced a self-hosted backup tool into my workflow to automate the backup process.