Watch Netflix on Linux with These 4 Tricks

A shiny new Linux installation is on your computer, all prepped for hours and hours of free and open source office work. But there’s something wrong. “What happened to putting the fun back into computing?” you may be asking yourself. “If only I could watch Netflix!”

Here are four ways you can watch Netflix in Linux, and the benefits and downsides of each method. In Linux, you have the power or choice, so make your pick… or choose them all!

Watch Netflix Using Google Chrome Browser

Perhaps the most popular web browser in a vast field of options on Linux, Google’s Chrome browser has been changing the way people view the web for the better part of a decade now. Up until somewhat recently, Google Chrome had only been available on Windows and Mac, but is now available on most Linux distributions and derivatives, through native binaries for Debian and Red Hat based systems, or through compiled source for distros like Arch Linux.

Why you might want to use Google Chrome Browser to watch Netflix

Installing Google Chrome is easy. It is a self contained application, which comes with the necessary available plugins baked right into the app. By installing Chrome, you can watch movies and television shows from nearly any streaming site, including Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant Video, without installing any additional software. You also have access to the vast library of Chrome extensions, the wide variety of web applications in the Chrome ecosystem, and the excellent web and JavaScript rendering engine, Blink.

Why you might want to skip using Google Chrome to watch Netflix

Google Chrome is closed source. The Free Software Foundation and the GNU Project (big names in the Linux world) believe users should be able to acquire and run software freely, while also being able to study and redistribute the underlying code. Some Linux users value the openness found in the Linux community and refuse to install closed source software and drivers.

Chrome can slow down your entire system by sandboxing every tab open and extension installed, and even running in the background after you have closed Chrome completely. This could be a deal breaker if you are running older hardware, or value snappiness from your operating system and applications.

Google. Google hoards your data like a Viking hoards treasure. For instance, if you have the auto-complete feature turned on to save time when searching the web from the address bar, that data is sent to Google. Some would call it a keylogger. You may want to steer clear of Google Chrome if you value your privacy.

Watching Netflix Using the Widevine Plugin

The Widevine plugin is an HTML5 video player developed by Google to allow streaming playback of encrypted DRM files without the use of Adobe Flash or Microsoft Silverlight. Widevine was released with support for all major operating systems, through Google Chrome, and is not officially supported on any other browser. But, due to some enterprising Arch Linux developers, Widevine has been successfully modified to run in Chromium (the open source version of Google Chrome ), and has begun being modified for use in the Firefox and Vivaldi (Opera based) web browsers.

Why you might want to use the Widevine plugin in Chromium or Firefox web browsers

The freedom of choice. Using Linux is all about the freedom to choose what software you run on your system and how that software is configured. Installing plugins which enable you to view content on the web should apply as well.

The Firefox web browser is open source. Chromium Browser is open source. Again, these browsers fall in line with the philosophy behind using Linux.

Why you might want to skip the Widevine plugin in Chromium or Firefox web browsers

Installing an unsupported plugin could have negative effects on your system. In this case, Widevine might not work correctly, or at all, leaving you with a black screen instead of a streaming movie. Additionally, browser updates or Netflix updates could be incompatible with your installed version of Widevine, forcing you to wait until someone in the Linux community uploads a new version of the plugin. While this could only take a few hours, there is no guarantee Widevine will be updated at all.

Watching Netflix Using Pipelight

Another option providing you the ability to watch Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant Video content is Pipelight. Pipelight is an open source version of the Microsoft Silverlight plugin, which Netflix used for streaming videos, and Amazon Prime Instant Video currently uses to stream video. This plugin is available for nearly all web browsers, and is usually included in the repositories for whichever Linux distro you are using.

Why you might want to use Pipelight to watch Netflix

Pipelight is readily available for nearly all major web browsers in Linux, and most of the time, just works. Pipelight works with Flash, Shockwave, Silverlight and the Unity Web Player, allowing you to stream just about any video content and play games powered by the Unity game engine, all through your web browser.

Why you might want to skip using Pipelight to watch Netflix

Pipelight is not 100% Linux code. It is actually a compatibility layer which allows you to run Windows code inside Linux, and actually requires Wine (a Windows compatibility layer application) to run at all. If you are running a slim operating system, or do not need to run additional Windows applications in Linux, you might want to steer clear of this plugin.

How to Watch Netflix Using a Virtual Machine

Another option you have to watch Netflix in Linux is through a Virtual Machine. A Virtual Machine runs a copy of Windows or OS X in a virtualized environment, allowing you to open up a native version of your chosen web browser with all the native plugins available to that browser.

Why you might want to use a Virtual Machine to watch Netflix

You have a dual boot setup installed on your computer and want to run native applications off your existing Windows or OS X installation. Your virtualization software creates a virtual machine using the hard drive partition containing your Windows or OS X installation. This is very handy if you use Linux for testing or developing software, but your OS of choice is Windows or OS X.

Why you might want to skip using a Virtual Machine to watch Netflix

Hard disk space. When installing a virtual machine, you must allocate a certain amount of physical space to your virtual hard drive. On older systems with small hard drives, this might not be an option.

Your computer must support virtualization. Some older hardware lacks the ability to virtualize machines. Most newer hardware supports this, but if you installed Linux because Windows no longer supports your hardware, you may not be able to virtualize.

While just a few years ago, watching streaming video from a Linux based operating system was difficult; today it has become easy to watch Netflix in just about any web browser. Any one of the four choices discussed will display picture perfect movies, in a matter of minutes!

How to Prioritize Ethernet Over Wi-Fi on Mac OS X

By default, if you have an OS X device that’s connected to both Ethernet and Wi-Fi, it should prioritize the Ethernet connection over the Wi-Fi one. Sometimes it gets wonky though, in which case you’ll always be on Wi-Fi no matter what.

How do you fix such an issue? The steps are actually quite simple. First, launch System Preferences (using Spotlight is fastest), then select Network:

At the bottom left of that window, look for the gear icon with the down arrow. Click on it to open the menu, then select Set Service Order:

Here you can drag-and-drop each item to change the priority order of your internet connections. Move Ethernet to the top to get the system to always use Ethernet over Wi-Fi when both are active. Wi-Fi will be a backup.

Click OK and then Apply and you’re done!

This is especially useful for when your Wi-Fi is unstable, but it’s also a good solution when your Wi-Fi is slow in general and there’s nothing you can do to improve the speed — when even this trick won’t work!

Windows 10 Settings Search not working

The Settings app in Windows 10 offers you a search bar that let you quickly search for any setting. But some users have reported that the Windows 10 Settings Search Bar is not working, with the settings themselves not getting indexed. Even if your search using the taskbar search bar, you will not see any Settings listed. It may be not finding Control Panel or Settings app items or simply show no results. If you are facing any issues, try this solution.

First of all open your Computer folder, right-click on your system Drive which is C, and select Properties. Ensure that theAllow files on this drive to have contents indexed in addition to file properties box is checked. If not, select it and then select Apply changes to subfolders and files.

C:\Users\username>\AppData\Local\Packages\windows.immersivecontrolpanel_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState

Here, right-click on the Indexed folder, and select Properties.

Next, click on the Advanced button and check the Allow files in this folder to have indexed in addition to file properties setting.

If it is already checked, uncheck it and click OK. Then again check it and click OK > Apply and exit.

Restart your computer and see if it has helped.

If this does not help, you may want to run System File Checker, repair System Image or rebuild Search Index and see if that helps you.

Windows could not complete the installation

In this post I’ll describe two simple method using which will resolve a reboot loop issue in Windows 7.

This problem usually occurs when a fresh Windows installation is interrupted before a user account is created.

The following error message is displayed

Windows could not complete the installation. To install Windows on this computer, restart the installation.

On clicking okay the system reboots and again the same error message “Windows could not complete the installation” is reported. This loop continues in the same fashion.

Method 1

1. Press SHIFT + F10 to bring up command prompt.
2. Then type CD C:\windows\system32\oobe
3. Hit Enter
4. Then type msoobe
5. Hit Enter
6. This will open up the windows account creation wizard
7. Using the wizard create a generic user account and then reboot the system

After following these steps you will not see the error message Windows could not complete the installation. However if you still continue to see that error message head on to methods 2.

Method 2

1. Again press Shift + F10 to display the command prompt
2. Then type MMC
3. Now Click on File -> Add/Remove Snap-in…
4. Select Computer Management
5. Click Add
6. Select Local Computer and Click Finish and then Ok.
7. Click on Computer Management -> System Tools -> Local Users and Groups -> Users
8. Double Click on Administrator
9. Then UnCheck Account is disabled and Click OK
10. Now right click Administrator and click on Set Password…
11. Set a decent password to get started.

How to Run Microsoft Edge Web Browser in Mac OS X

Microsoft Edge is the latest web browser from Microsoft, which aims to replace Internet Explorer in the latest versions of Windows for desktop PC, Surface, and Windows Phone. While most Mac users may not need to access or use the Microsoft Edge web browser, others in OS X may require using Edge to access specific websites, and it’s particularly common for web developers and web designers to need to use a wide variety of web browsers for testing purposes. Thus, we’re going to show Mac users how they can easily run Microsoft Edge directly in Mac OS X, and entirely for free.

This walkthrough will focus on using a virtual machine to run and test Microsoft Edge in OS X, which at the moment is the only way to run Edge on a Mac without using Boot Camp or a complete Windows 10 installation. Eventually Microsoft Edge will be available through Azure similar to how OS X users can run Internet Explorer 11 on the Mac through Microsoft Remote Desktop, but for now the VM approach is how we’ll be running the Edge browser on a Mac. If you’ve had an IE VM before, you’ll find this is very similar, but with differing Windows and browser versions.

How to Run Microsoft Edge in Mac OS X in a Virtual Machine for Free

System requirements are light and this is widely compatible, but for better performance you’ll want a newer Mac with a lot of RAM. The first few steps involve getting VirtualBox and the appropriate MS Edge virtual machine with Windows 10, both are free downloads:

1. Get VirtualBox for free from Oracle if you haven’t done so yet and install it on the Mac
2. Head to the official Windows VM page and go to the “Mac” tab
3. Select “MSEdge for Win10” from the dropdown menus, then choose the big “Download .zip” button, the file will be somewhere around 5GB and may take a while depending on your internet connection speed
4. When the MS Edge virtual machine zip file has finished downloading (it’ll likely be in ~/Downloads/), open the zip archive in The Unarchiver* to decompress it, then double-click the extracted virtual machine disk image to open it within VirtualBox
5. At the “Appliance Settings” screen in VirtualBox, click the “Import” button to bring the Windows 10 and Microsoft Edge virtual machine into VirtualBox, this will expand to around 11GB

   6. When finished importing, you’ll be at the general VM VirtualBox Manager screen, select the “IE        11 – Win10” option from the left side (yes it says IE 11 despite being Microsoft Edge) and click           the “Start” button

     7. Wait for the Microsoft Edge Virtual Machine to load, you’ll be greeted by a thank you message          in a virtual Windows PC with the Edge browser open, you’re now ready to use Microsoft Edge            on the Mac as need be

The Mac is now running a complete version of Microsoft Edge atop a Windows virtual machine, it’s fully featured so open up the Edge browser if you haven’t done so already and access the web as usual.

The complete Microsoft Edge Developer Tools set is available as expected, which is perhaps why many Mac users will be accessing this VM to begin with.

You can quit and shut down the virtual machine at any time which requires a normal boot, or create a saved state if you wish to return to the exact place you left off in the VM.

Running a Windows VM like this has some benefits over using the Remote Desktop approach to running Internet Explorer, including offline access, but perhaps the most obvious downside is that you’ll be using more system resources and the virtual machine takes up about 11GB of disk space. But, given this is primarily aimed at developers and designers, or those who need MS Edge to access a particular web site, that shouldn’t be much of an issue, particularly when compared to the ease of running virtual machines versus dual booting with a complete Windows 10 installation aside OS X in Boot Camp.

* You are welcome to attempt to decompress the Microsoft Edge virtual machine zip file with any other extraction app, but don’t be surprised if the zip file turns into a cpgz, thus we recommend using The Unarchiver which avoids that issue. Additionally,The Unarchiver has vast compatibility for extracting archives of all sorts and makes a great addition to any Mac users app toolkit.

How to Take Screenshots in Windows 10

A screenshot is an image taken by a user to record the visible items displayed on the monitor, mobile device, or other visual output device in use. Today we’re going to show you how to take a screenshot in Windows.

All the major platforms have some level of support for taking screenshots. There are many tools out there for taking screenshots in Windows. If your needs are pretty basic then you don’t have to install a third party application. In this article I’ll show you different ways on how to take a screenshot in Windows 10.

Method 1 — Print Screen (PrtScn)

You can use the print screen method to take a screenshot and automatically save it as a file, take a screenshot without saving it as a file, or take a screenshot of only one window (instead of the whole screen). The print screen button may be labeled as “PrtScn,” “PrntScrn,” “Print Scr,” or something similar. On most keyboards, the button is usually found between F12 and Scroll lock. On laptop keyboards, you may have to press the “Function” key to access “Print Screen.” You will not receive any confirmation that the screenshot has been taken.

To Take a Screenshot and Save It as a File

Press the “Windows logo key + PrtScn.” If you’re using a tablet, press the “Windows logo button + volume down button.” The screen will dim for a moment when the screen is copied and saved as a file in the Screenshots folder (in /Users/User Name/Pictures). If the Screenshot folder does not exist, Windows will automatically create it. The screenshot is automatically labeled with the file name as “Screenshot (Number).png” with number indicating the screenshot index counter. Each screenshot you take increases the counter by one.

You will only see your screen dim if you have the “Animate windows when minimizing and maximizing” turned on in your visual effects settings (System > Advanced system settings > Click the Advanced tab > Click Settings under Performance section). Note — On some laptops and other devices, you may need to press the “Windows logo key + Ctrl + PrtScn” or “Windows logo key + Fn + PrtScn” keys instead. Check the manual that came with your laptop or device for more information.

To Take a Screenshot of Display Without Saving

Press the “PrtScn” key. A screenshot of your display is now copied to the clipboard, paste it wherever you like. The dimensions of the image will be the same as your desktop resolution. Note — On some laptops and other devices, you may need to press the “Ctrl + PrtScn” or “Fn + PrtScn” keys instead. Check the manual that came with your laptop or device for more information.

To Take a Screenshot of Only One Window

Click on the title bar off the window that you want to take a screenshot of to make it the active window on your screen. Press the “Alt + PrtScn” key. A screenshot of your currently active window is copied to the clipboard, paste it wherever you like. Note — On some laptops and other devices, you may need to press the “Alt + Fn + PrtScn” keys instead. Check the manual that came with your laptop or device for more information.

Method 2 – Using Snipping Tool

The Snipping tool has been a part of the Windows for long time. This tool was included in Windows Vista and from there onward it never gained any new features, apart from few bug fixes. Snipping tool can take screenshots of an open window, rectangular area, a free-form area, or the entire screen. Snips can then be annotated using a mouse with different colored pens or a highlighter, saved as an image file or MHTML file, or even emailed.

We have already shown you how to use the snipping tool to take screenshots. Snipping tool has one limitation though, it can only be used to capture items that don’t involve mouse movements. To capture anything which involves mouse movement e.g., pop-up menus and tooltips, the process is tedious:

Grab the entire screen with the “PrtScn” key on keyboard.

Load the captured screen in an image editor and clip out the portions you want.

Save that to a file.

With the new “Delay” option in Windows 10, you can now grab screenshots of pop-up menus and tooltips easily. Open the Snipping Tool app and click Delay option. From the drop-down list, click on the number corresponding to delay time you want to set in seconds (from 0–5 seconds).

Now choose the type of snip you want to make by clicking the arrow next to “New.” You can choose from one of four types of snip — free-form, rectangular, window, and full-screen

Unlike a regular snip, the screen will not immediately fade out. Instead, you will have between 1–5 seconds, depending on the delay you chose, to setup your screenshots. Now open that pop-up menu or tooltip you want to capture. Once the delay time is reached, the screen will freeze and fade out so you can create your snip. If you chose window or full-screen, your snip will be automatically created when the screen freezes.

Method 3 – Take Screenshots With Game Bar in Windows 10

Windows 10 ships with game DVR capabilities to record gameplay footage and take screenshots of Windows PC games. The game bar generates screenshots in PNG format, and saves them in “C:\Users[your username]\Videos\Captures.” Before you start using the Game bar, launch the “Xbox app” and configure settings for the Game DVR feature. Toggle “Take screenshots using Game DVR,” and replace the default keyboard shortcuts with hotkeys of your choice.

While you have an open game or app window active, press the “Windows key + G,” and click or tap on the “Yes, this is a game” box if prompted. Now press the “Camera icon” or “Win+Alt+PrtScn” to take a screenshot. Note — The keyboard shortcut will only work if you have previously checked the “Yes, this is a game” box for this specific game. You will see a notification letting you know “Screenshot saved.” If you click or tap on the notification, it will open to “Xbox app > Game DVR > On this PC” to see it.

There are indeed lots of ways to take screenshots in Windows 10, each method has their own pros and cons. But if you don’t want to bother with third party screen capture tools, then it does quite well for taking basic screenshots