How-To Geek

Tech that looks like tech is all well and good when it’s a laptop, router, or game console. Designing a good smart home is all about making unobtrusive choices that don’t ruin your home’s decor with flashing lights and LCD screens.

It's no secret that Google Photos is one of the best photo management and storage options on Android, not to mention the obvious go-to for many users. But with storage limits running out, more features turning into a subscription fee, or as a way to de-Google life a bit, many users are looking for an alternative.

Consumer Wi-Fi routers are great at providing a basic firewall, reliable Wi-Fi, and speedy Ethernet ports for your wired connections. However, they really don't offer you much control over your network.

One of the most underrated features that nearly every flagship smartphone had over a decade ago was the humble notification LED. These tiny lights gave you just enough information, like which app or type of alert a notification came from, without pulling you into your phone. Now, with rumors of a new "Pixel Glow" feature tied to the Pixel 11, it looks like that idea might be coming back in a smarter, cooler way—and I’m excited to see it.

If you’re thinking that you need two separate servers for running Plex and a local LLM, think again. Plex and local large language models have more in common than you might think, and that’s why running them on the same hardware actually makes sense.

There are plenty of devices in your home that are obvious candidates for automation, such as smart light bulbs, thermostats, and smart locks. However, there are some devices that you may not have considered automating.

Standard dynamic range (SDR), which has roots going back to the start of television, was hitting its limits and couldn't capture the light and shadows of the real world. High dynamic range (HDR) arrived to TVs and monitors with a promise to show contrast and color more like the human eye does, intending to make films and games look more realistic. It was presented as the next step for anyone who cares about picture quality, fixing the visual compromises we have lived with for decades.

If you're thinking about programming or just learning to code, you might notice that developers tend to favor Linux. Why is that? Here are the reasons you should care about Linux's hold over developers.

Bambu Lab printers are famously plug-and-print, requiring little in the way of setup and only a roll of filament to get started. Upgrades can make your experience even better by optimizing workflow and adding more capabilities to your printer.

Every year, another "Excel killer" shows up claiming spreadsheets are finally on their way out. The story sounds neat: cleaner tools, smarter AI, no more messy grids.

The Toyota Crown Signia lands in a pretty interesting spot that a lot of entry-level luxury SUVs struggle to hit. It’s comfortable, well-built, and loaded with tech in a way that feels more premium than you’d expect at this price.

The Toyota Corolla is the safe, sensible choice, reliable, efficient, and brand new for the price. It’s the kind of car you buy when you want zero surprises. But in today’s market, that same money can unlock something far more exciting, if you’re willing to look in the right places.

You no longer have to shop the Ring lineup if you want an Amazon video doorbell with high-quality visuals. The company's Blink brand has released two new doorbells that promise a 2K resolution and AI alerts to help you learn who (or what) is outside.

Having spent 20 years building PCs from scratch, I've seen all kinds of hardware quirks and innovations come and go. I've been there when every PC without fail had an optical drive bay at the front, and I'm here now when that's just not a thing at all anymore. And while I love the new case aesthetics we were able to achieve by getting rid of that drive bay, I do miss it.

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, vinyl has come back from the digital brink, outselling CDs in the U.S. since 2020 to become the leader in physical media sales. You’d have thought that success was solely on the back of nostalgia and reliving the glory days. But you’d be wrong. Generations that grew up streaming have also decided that holding a black petroleum disc in their hands is more valuable than a Spotify subscription.

Android might be famous as an open ecosystem, but Google has made some features exclusive to Pixel devices. A handful of Pixel-exclusive features have genuinely changed how I use my phone, but a few others are best left undiscovered. Here's every major Pixel exclusive, ranked from the one I can't live without to the one I'd happily never think about.

Affordable electric crossovers aren’t usually where you go looking for a premium experience. Most options in this segment focus on value first, with simple interiors, modest performance, and just enough tech to get the job done. Luxury brands, on the other hand, tend to sit comfortably above that price bracket. At least, that’s how it’s always worked.

Amazon is no longer Rivian's biggest investor. VW (specifically, Volkswagen Group Technologies) has raised its equity stake in Rivian to 15.9 percent, putting it ahead of Amazon's nearly 12.3 percent investment.

Have you ever wanted your life to feel like a video game? Do you want to see XP points pile up every time you do something productive? Me too. And so I built a gamification system using Claude and Habitica to turn my life into an RPG.

Plex's Remote Watch Pass is getting a 50% price hike starting June 1, 2026. Plex introduced the Remote Watch Pass in April 2025 as a cheaper alternative to the Plex Pass. Remote Watch Pass allows users to remotely stream from any Plex Media Server that a user has access to.