MakeUseOf

Every Linux user told me to try Niri, so I finally did and it wasn't for me

Roine Bertelson — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 17:00:18 GMT

There’s a very specific kind of pressure that only exists in Linux circles. Not the loud kind. Not the “THIS WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE” YouTube thumbnail kind. The quiet and dangerous kind. The kind where multiple people you trust casually mention the same thing, as like it’s already part of the furniture. This time, I kept hearing:

This free Nothing tool makes file transfers much less irritating

Dave Schafer — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 16:51:58 GMT

Nothing has announced a new product, but this time, it's not a device — it's a free file transfer tool called Nothing Warp. The tool aims to simplify what is an unfortunately complicated process: moving files between your phone and computer.

I own both a Ryobi and Porter Cable drill, and the winner comes down to one thing

Chris Hachey — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 16:30:17 GMT

When you move, things can get lost very easily. I lived in a two-bedroom apartment with my wife and my dog and we packed it up and moved to the suburbs a few years ago. I had a handful of tools that I'd used to do things like assemble furniture and hang pictures and light fixtures in our apartment.

I installed Zorin OS on an old laptop, and now I get the hype

Rob LeFebvre — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 16:01:38 GMT

After installing Asahi Linux on an Apple MacBook Air M1, I got a lot of comments about how user-friendly Zorin OS is. As I had a friend's old HP Pavilion m6 laptop sitting around, I figured, why not give it a try.

Your router could stop getting updates in 2027 — unless you switch to this brand

Josh Hawkins — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 15:42:48 GMT

If you were worried about what kind of router you might need to buy in the future, or even whether new routers will be sold in the U.S. after the FCC banned the sale of all foreign-made routers last month, then you can rest a bit easier. While the past few weeks have been a bit of a mystery in regard to how the router industry would move forward, we finally have some good news as at least one company has now been approved for conditional formatting, and it's none other than Netgear.

There are 3 great superhero shows on TV right now, but one takes the top spot

Dan Selcke — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 15:30:30 GMT

Ever since Iron Man stormed into cinemas in 2008, superheroes have had a non-stop presence on the big and small screens. But rarely have we been in a situation like this, where there are three terrific superhero shows all running at the same time that all offer something different.

5 reasons you should think twice before upgrading your GPU right now

Dave Meikleham — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 15:00:22 GMT

This is the least ideal time to be upgrading your GPU that I’ve seen in the past couple of decades. Trust me, I should know. My PC cost more than my car. Due to the influence of AI on the consumer PC hardware market, graphics cards that were launched years ago are currently retailing at higher prices than they initially launched at.

I was avoiding Arch Linux for one reason, and this tool fixed it

Dipan Saha — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 14:30:17 GMT

We've all been there at one point, being forced to install a fresh copy of an OS. Installing an operating system is almost always a chore, especially when you take into account the initial setup process. Signing in to your email and social accounts, setting up Steam, and downloading a bunch of games, the list goes on and on.

Windows Search is hopeless — I use this alternative instead

Pankil Shah — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 14:00:16 GMT

It’s no secret that Windows Search hasn’t kept up. It’s slow, inconsistent, and constantly tries to force you into doing things its way. Sometimes it finds what you need, but there are times when it annoys you by prioritizing web results and random suggestions over the file or app you actually wanted. And don’t even get me started on how it keeps nudging you toward Bing and Edge, even if you’ve set different defaults.

After a decade with Google Keep, this one feature made me switch note-taking apps

Abhijith N Arjunan — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 13:30:17 GMT

Google Keep has been my go-to note-taking app for over a decade now, and I have always loved its simplicity, integration, and speed. Sure, I prefer other dedicated tools for research or writing, but Google Keep felt like the ideal place to store important snippets, links, or images I frequently come across.