Blogroll

I thought I needed a bigger chainsaw—I was wrong

How-To Geek - 1 hour 45 min ago

I love shiny gadgets as much as the next person, but few things bring me as much joy as splitting wood. As someone conditioned to look at specs, I thought a bigger chainsaw would be a better chainsaw for the job, but I’ve since purchased a tiny one, and I’m quite glad I did.

Categories: IT General, Technology

5.1 vs 5.2 Surround sound systems: Is the extra 0.1 better?

How-To Geek - 1 hour 45 min ago

If you're looking to upgrade your home theater setup, you've likely encountered the terms 5.1 and 5.2 (or 7.1 and 7.2) being tossed around. So, what's the difference between these two systems, and more importantly, does it actually matter?

Categories: IT General, Technology

The only sporty SUV that’s truly worth $25,000

How-To Geek - 2 hours 45 min ago

For most of us, SUVs are just the smart choice for daily driving. They handle everything from school runs and commutes to weekend trips with ease.

Categories: IT General, Technology

This one upgrade fixed the most annoying part about my Raspberry Pi

How-To Geek - 3 hours 15 min ago

Raspberry Pis are popular because they're small, don't consume much power, and are extremely versatile. However, the default method of booting one—from the microSD card—is best avoided if possible. Here's how you can do it.

Categories: IT General, Technology

5 things you should never do on Android

How-To Geek - 3 hours 45 min ago

People have been using Android phones for nearly two decades, and some bad habits have been passed down over the years. Even some of the oldest myths persist today. The good news is that it’s really very easy to avoid these mistakes once you know about them.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Social media reacts as Alex Honnold climbs Taipei 101 skyscraper

Mashable - 3 hours 52 min ago

One of the most jaw-dropping athletic feats in recent memory happened this past Saturday, when legendary rock climber Alex Honnold free soloed the Taipei 101 skyscraper live on Netflix.

Formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center, the building stands 1,667 feet tall, making it the 11th-tallest structure in the world. From 2004 to 2009, it actually held the title of tallest building on Earth, before the Burj Khalifa took that crown. Late Saturday night for U.S. viewers, Honnold climbed the entire thing without ropes, harnesses, or safety equipment, finishing in just over 90 minutes and becoming only the second person ever to pull it off.

It’s hard to overstate how unhinged this is. Thousands of people tuned in to watch the pure, panic-inducing spectacle of a 40-year-old man scaling a skyscraper with nothing but his hands and shoes, the kind of thing your brain immediately rejects as a bad idea. And yet, Honnold made it look almost routine.

When he finally reached the top, his first words summed up the whole experience perfectly: “Sick.”

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Naturally, social media had a field day. Clips and screenshots spread almost instantly, equal parts awe and disbelief, with people marveling not just at the physical feat but at how casually it was presented. A historic athletic achievement, broadcast live, that somehow still felt deeply ridiculous in the best way possible.

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For anyone unfamiliar with Honnold — and mild spoilers, I guess — this isn’t his first time doing a stunt like this. He’s best known for becoming the first person to free solo climb El Capitan, a nearly 3,000-foot vertical granite wall in Yosemite that has killed multiple climbers over the years. That ascent was documented in Free Solo, the 2018 film that went on to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary.

All of which is to say: Alex Honnold isn’t reckless. However, he is, in the most respectful way possible, absolutely out of his mind and also extremely good at what he does.

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Categories: IT General, Technology

Stop storing everything on your main SSD: A guide to Hot vs Cold data

How-To Geek - 4 hours 16 sec ago

Not all of your storage is the same, and you shouldn't treat it as such. There are many advantages to tiering, and organizing said tiering, over just dumping everything on your storage in no particular order.

Categories: IT General, Technology

5 uncomfortable truths about smart TVs everyone needs to hear

How-To Geek - 4 hours 15 min ago

If you want a good TV, or any TV these days, you're inevitably going to buy a "smart" TV. On paper, a smart TV sounds like an upgrade over a "dumb" model, but in practice, smart TVs have turned out to be of limited value. The list of cons is indeed long, and it's why I disable the smart functions on my own TVs completely.

Categories: IT General, Technology

How to install Windows CD-ROM games on Linux

How-To Geek - 4 hours 45 min ago

Running old CD-ROM games on modern Windows isn't too hard if you know how to manage Windows' compatibility software. But what if you have a Linux desktop and don't want to leave your old Windows games behind?

Categories: IT General, Technology

I finally ditched Windows search for these 3 free tools, and I’m not going back

How-To Geek - 5 hours 15 sec ago

Windows' built-in search has never really clicked for me. It’s often slower than I expect, mixes in results I didn’t ask for, and somehow still struggles to surface the exact file or app I’m thinking about. Over the years, I’ve tried to make peace with it, tweaking settings and changing habits, but I always end up feeling like I’m working around search instead of letting it work for me.

Categories: IT General, Technology

I absolutely hated how Stranger Things ended, so I coped by watching this Netflix masterpiece

How-To Geek - 5 hours 15 min ago

One of the biggest shows available to stream concluded in 2025, with a finale that sparked mixed reactions and criticism. But the reactions were not surprising, nor was the way the finale fell through.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Confidence class gets derailed in SNL sketch

Mashable - 5 hours 37 min ago

In this Saturday Night Live sketch featuring this weekend’s host, Teyana Taylor, the Golden Globe winner plays one of several overly inquisitive students in a confidence class led by Ashley Padilla.

SEE ALSO: 'SNL' Cold Open presents the Trump Awards

Padilla’s character explains she started teaching confidence after bombing a job interview, a seemingly simple confession that immediately sends the class spiraling. What begins as encouragement quickly devolves into an aggressive group interrogation, with Taylor, Mikey Day, Kenan Thompson, and Marcello Hernández fixating on every possible detail.

Naturally, the questions get unhinged fast. What was she wearing? Leather gloves and "nice leather pants." What was the job? Michelle Obama’s speechwriter. The room grows increasingly skeptical, especially after Padilla’s résumé comes into play, which proudly lists skills such as "do voices" and 9 years of experience as a Dolly Parton impersonator.

Asked to do the former, she does a questionable Yoda voice. Then, when asked to do the latter, she refuses as it's too close to the Yoda voice. Amazing stuff.

Categories: IT General, Technology

This hidden Android feature is one you probably forgot existed

How-To Geek - 5 hours 45 min ago

Android has evolved by leaps and bounds since the early days, and as a result, dozens of helpful features are hiding all over the place. Whether you're a long-time user or just switched from the iPhone, here's a hidden feature I use daily that most people have forgotten even exists.

Categories: IT General, Technology

How I used QR codes and Google Sheets to organize my home

How-To Geek - 5 hours 45 min ago

We all dream of having a perfectly organized home with a place for everything and everything in its place. Achieving that dream is harder than it seems, but I've found a techie solution that's extremely cheap and easy to set up.

Categories: IT General, Technology

SSD prices are skyrocketing: Why I'm going back to external hard drives

How-To Geek - 6 hours 16 sec ago

The prices for PC storage drives have been on the rise lately, particularly fast NVMe drives, so people are looking for alternative ways to meet their data storage needs without breaking the bank. One storage upgrade that’s a lot cheaper and more appealing than it seems at first glance is the humble external hard drive.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Why I keep a "privacy-hardened" Linux distro USB on my keychain

How-To Geek - 6 hours 15 min ago

Imagine an operating system that forgets everything you did once you shut down your computer. One that not only erases all traces of your activity, but also protects your privacy online. That's exactly what Tails is meant to be.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Save up to 78% on ExpressVPN when you commit to 2 years

Mashable - 6 hours 15 min ago

SAVE UP TO 78%: If you commit to a two-year plan, you can save up to 78% on ExpressVPN and get four extra months for free. It's one of the best VPNs for streaming sports — including the NFL.

ExpressVPN deals: ExpressVPN Basic (2-year subscription + 4 months) $78.18 (save $285.54) Get Deal ExpressVPN Standard (2-year subscription + 4 months) $100.58 (save $291.14) Get Deal ExpressVPN Pro (2-year subscription + 4 months) $167.78 (save $391.94) Get Deal

A VPN hides your real IP address and connects you to a secure server in another location. It may not be the most honest way to watch sports, but it does often make it the cheapest. And as of Jan. 23, one of the best VPNs for streaming is running a winter sale that knocks the price down even further. There's just one catch.

ExpressVPN's winter sale lets you sign up for as low as $2.79 per month (Basic plan), which is 78% off its usual cost of $12.99. The catch is you'll have to commit to a two-year plan to score that price. The Standard tier is down to just $3.59 per month (reg. $13.99) and the Pro tier is down to $5.99 per month (reg. $19.99). As a bonus, when you sign up for two years, you'll get an extra four months for free.

The VPN's new tier pricing structure is a little confusing, but what it boils down to is the longer you commit, the cheaper the monthly price — especially during the sale.

With the NFC and AFC Championship games this weekend, and the Big Game coming in just a few weeks, it's a great time to lock in a VPN subscription. ExpressVPN, a top choice for uninterrupted streaming, essentially lets you watch NFL games for free (including the playoffs) by unblocking international streaming sites like Australia's 7plus from anywhere in the world.

ExpressVPN offers all the stuff you want in a VPN, including ad blocking, malware detection, and password management. But its ability to unlock streaming sites really sets it apart. It's usually a bit pricey compared to other options, but this winter sale knocks it down to a much more wallet-friendly price.

Categories: IT General, Technology

SNL Cold Open presents the Trump Awards

Mashable - 6 hours 23 min ago

James Austin Johnson doing Donald Trump in Saturday Night Live’s cold open. Name a more iconic duo.

Or, depending on who you ask, a more overplayed one. Either way, Johnson’s Trump impression once again kicked off Saturday night with a brand-new fictional awards show: The Trumps.

The premise was exactly what it sounds like. Much like Trump’s being given the Nobel Peace Prize second-hand or FIFA creating an entire award just for him, the Trumps exist solely to celebrate Trump, by Trump, for Trump. Among the evening’s "prestigious" honors were Best Picture and Best Kiss, both of which Trump, unsurprisingly, won himself.

The biggest surprise came with the Lifetime Achievement Award for Comedy, which — based on the title alone — you could probably guess went to Elon Musk (played by the always amazing Mike Myers).

Categories: IT General, Technology

This amazing HBO Max feature helps me discover what's actually worth watching

How-To Geek - 6 hours 45 min ago

As a frequent user of HBO Max, I love how easy—effortless, really—it is to explore and discover all the content its library has to offer. One of my favorite features to dive into is the streamer’s unique Discover Our Collections category, which contains a heck of a lot more than just random collections of content. The service also offers a rabbit hole into entertaining experiences and insider information.

Categories: IT General, Technology

This 3-year-old Italian sports sedan now costs less than $25,000

How-To Geek - 7 hours 15 min ago

If you’ve always wanted an Italian sports sedan but assumed the price would be out of reach, there’s now a compelling opportunity in the used market. The 2023 Alfa Romeo Giulia, in its non-Quadrifoglio trims, has depreciated enough that well-equipped examples can now be found for less than $25,000. That’s a rare price point for a European performance-leaning sedan with distinct style and engaging dynamics.

Categories: IT General, Technology
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