Free Software Linux

When the heat turns unbearable this weekend, get the kids outside anyway: head to the hardware store and pick up some PVC pipe, joints, and small plastic "mister jets." With those supplies, after...

When you've got your Windows XP or Vista setup running perfectly, you don't want to lose all your painstaking customizations to a reckless tot, an experiment-minded friend or spouse, or a rogue...

Summer is a season to kick back, take things a easier, and indulge in pastimes and projects you couldn't enjoy while hunkered down for the winter. If you've got the DIY bug, that means trips to the...

Windows XP/Vista only: SteadyState, a free Windows utility offered by Microsoft, is a handy tool to have if you've got kids, friends, or just a program or two that could possibly wreak havoc on your...

While YouTube may be a great place to answer your toddler's requests to see video of a baby panda, there is also tons of content more risqué than adorable baby animals. Video site Totlol...

The folks over at the Unclutterer blog are on a war against toy clutter in the house that inevitably builds up with toddlers. They offer a few "duh!" alternative activities to commercial toys, like...

Have a little fun in the backyard this weekend with the kids blowing enormous, three-foot-plus bubbles. How-to site Instructables offers a tutorial on making your own bubble wand capable of producing...

It's going to be a few years before your toddler's LiveJournaling, but for now you can share the latest baby news and developments with webapp TotSpot. TotSpot incorporates features of many popular...

Windows only: Programmer and dad Scott Hanselman wanted an easy way to let his toddler play on his computer without deleting files or quitting programs, so he put together baby-proofing software,...

You've already seen how to make a giant wall calendar using two shades of chalkboard paint; now Real Simple magazine suggests making a wall mural for the kids' room with chalkboard paint. Make huge...

Editor: Meet io9 contributor Lisa Katayama. When she's not blogging about robots and futurism, she's spreading the word about how to GTD in the most unexpected ways. Here's a sampling of a few...

Web-based account manager Zefty helps kids understand spending and parents manage what they owe the little ones. Manually or automatically "deposit" money into kids' accounts, and they (and you) can...

There’s nothing worse than hearing how an entire school district is switching operating systems from Mac to Windows (or vice versa) because that’s what the “business” world relies on or some other blather. The costs associated with the transition are enormous and the whole ‘to do’ is unnecessary, because features on applications mimic one another. read more

Windows/Mac/Linux (All platforms): Phun, a free open-source, cross-platform 2D physics simulator, makes you want to pick up blocks, or maybe crayons, and learn more about the way things fall and move...

We are leaving for a short vacation week, I’ve been begged not to leave my laptops at home. Here are the reasons why