Technology

Using a Large Language Model (LLM) with Home Assistant has a number of benefits. It can add natural language understanding, power your voice assistant, and even analyze images. A local LLM can help maintain privacy, but you don't always need to use the largest model.

The Google Play Store has a treasure trove of apps, but it's not the only game in town. In fact, some of the most innovative and privacy-focused Android apps are hiding just beyond Google's official storefront.

Believe me, I know the pain of troubleshooting 3D prints to the point where I just feel like throwing my printer in the garbage and buying a new one.

Another day in 2026 means it's time for a streaming service to raise its prices. This time, it's YouTube, which is raising subscription fees for YouTube Premium and YouTube Music. Netflix, Spotify, Paramount+, and Prime Video have all announced price hikes this year, and it's only April. When will it end?

PLA, or polylactic acid, is the most common material of choice for filament deposition modelling (FDM) 3D printers. It looks like plastic, smells like plastic, and probably tastes like plastic. It’s the filament that most of us start with, and it’s the one that many of us should stick with in all but the most exceptional circumstances.

Over time, Android phones and tablets accumulate a lot of junk files that take up space and clutter your storage. I found a wonderful free app that makes it easy (and fun) to clean up the mess. It even has a "feature" for keeping or deleting personal files just by swiping right or left on them.

We've all gone through the soundbar upgrade cycle. You start off with a cheap soundbar that's at least better than your TV's built-in audio but later buy a much nicer unit or even go all out with a surround setup.

I love foldables. After taking a break from smartphones, foldables caught my eye and led me back in. But there are downsides—some I reflected on, and some I didn't!

Windows 11 looks sleek and modern, but it still suffers from usability and quality-of-life shortcomings that make running it daily a bit tedious. Luckily, several developers have created free programs that make up for those deficits.

If you're a Ryobi fan and own several of those bright green tools from Home Depot, there's one type of tool from the company you don't want to miss. Have you ever seen Ryobi's "Hybrid" tools that work with or without a battery? If not, you'll want one.

When you first start using Windows Subsystem for Linux, everything appears to work. You can clone a repository, install dependencies, run your app, and even convince yourself that you now have "Linux on Windows."

If you have an internet outage—presumably not right now, because you're more than likely reading this article on the internet—it's a common misconception that the network part of your computer is completely out of use.

For your morning commute, Waze is unmatched. It's a dynamic, social marvel that uses crowdsourced data to pinpoint a stalled car or a police officer, dependably shaving precious minutes off your drive. However, it has one major drawback compared to Google Maps.

Dealing with a mounting pile of digital data can feel like a never-ending battle, especially when you're stuck performing every bit of file organization by hand. The volume of daily downloads, project assets, and documents turns your workspace into a cluttered mess. If you find yourself clicking through generic filenames or navigating a labyrinth of deeply nested folders just to find one spreadsheet, you're managing files the hard way. Use the hidden power of built-in Windows automation to organize your files and finally stop wasting time.

Some of my favorite documentaries focus on the world of sports. From the thrill of victory to the agony of defeat, athletic competitions are more dramatic than soap operas. This weekend, spend some time perusing the documentary section on Paramount+. I picked three documentaries that should appeal to most fans.

Home Assistant continues to add great new features with every update. In Home Assistant 2026.4, a new Infrared integration was added that can enable you to control dumb devices in your home that use infrared remotes. These include devices such as TVs, air conditioning units, audio devices, and more.

A premium Obsidian subscription gives you access to Obsidian Publish, a platform where you can publish Obsidian vaults as websites. You can write in Markdown, hit publish, and the platform will automatically publish it as a website. However, if you don't want to buy the subscription, there is a way to get this exact feature for free.

Your old smartphone isn’t doing much good just sitting in a drawer, so why not turn it into a portable security camera for your Home Assistant server? That’s exactly what I did with my old iPhone, and the same trick works with Android smartphones too.

Shell scripting is full of secrets and hidden tricks, so it pays to have a few patterns up your sleeve. For inspiration, try these scripts from real projects, including Homebrew, BashBlog, and nvm. By learning from these examples, you can improve your own shell scripts and master new techniques.