The new Fast Startup feature of Windows 8 puts the filesystem's integrity at risk if other operating systems are used to write to Windows partitions. Data loss is particularly likely with dual-boot configurations that involve Linux and Windows 8.

To avoid data loss and filesystem inconsistencies, users who run Windows 8 and Linux on the same computer should disable the Fast Startup feature that was introduced with Windows 8 and is active by default. The Fast Startup feature creates an issue because it doesn't shut Windows 8 down completely but switches it to a special hibernation state instead – although it looks like it has been freshly booted when switched back on because all applications have been closed. However, for the Fast Startup feature's hibernation state, Windows 8 will store Windows session information – such as the cache with the current filesystem state of any mounted FAT and NTFS partitions – in a memory image that is restored during Fast Startup.

A savvy sneak slipped into a Microsoft campus, stole five iPads and left all the Microsoft products untouched, according to cops.

Microsoft Open Technologies, the open-source-oriented Microsoft subsidiary, has announced a public preview of VM Depot, a repository of open-source-based virtual machine images to run on Windows Azure. The company believes that this will make it easier for open source developers and Linux users to make use of Microsoft's cloud platform and create new open source stacks on it.

Grsync does a great job of turning countless command-line options into a manageable collection of check boxes and text-entry areas. When you add the nifty "sessions" feature that remembers settings along with source and destinations, it turns into the perfect filesystem sync tool. If you've ever felt rsync was powerful but too complex to use on a regular basis, I highly recommend Grsync. For making such a powerful tool accessible to the unwashed masses, Grsync gets this month's Editors' Choice Award. Now go copy some files!

Note: You can edit the font, size and the color code in the .gtkrc-2.0 file to meet your preference.

Steam for Linux is finally out. Whether you’re an old Linux user who’s never cared much about gaming performance or a new user dipping your toes into Linux gaming, we’ll help get those games running as smoothly as possible.

A variety of things can impact performance, from the versions of the graphics drivers you have installed to the desktop environment you’re using and the way you’ve installed Ubuntu on your computer.

1. Archos FamilyPad

CES is a sea of tablets, most of them hard to distinguish from one another. The Android-powered Archos FamilyPad caught my eye with its ginormous 13.3-inch screen, which means it's not really intended to be portable, but rather a tablet that lives on kitchen counters or sits in laps by the TV. (Heck, it could be the TV.)

I looked, I liked, and then I waited for the bad news. Surely a tablet of this size would cost $500-600. But guess what? It's $299. That's less than the price of any iPad. Or a 10-inch Google Nexus. The display resolution is perhaps a bit anemic at 1,280 x 800, but it does appear to be an IPS screen, and to my eyes it looked pretty dazzling.