How-To Geek

There's good news if you've ever had Android apps scramble your contact list, or change contacts behind your back. Google has outlined how the upcoming Android 17 QPR2 update will limit how apps can modify contacts.

Looking to build your first software application but not sure where to start? Web development might be the best place. That's where most developers start, including me. After so many years of programming, I think it was a wise decision.

One dodgy text message can ruin your day. Scammers are getting better at making fake messages look legitimate, and the red flags aren’t always easy to spot at a glance. As an Android phone user, I want better protection without having to second-guess every text that lands in my inbox.

I've been using Calibre for at least eight years to manage my eBook collection. It's done the job really well. But as a Jellyfin user, I like the convenience of having all my content on a single media server and want something similar for my books. The recent updates in Jellyfin 12 have introduced eBook and audiobook enhancements that now make it much more practical.

I've been using Windows long enough to accumulate an embarrassing list of software recommendations that didn't last. I've tried apps that looked revolutionary for a week, productivity systems that demanded more maintenance than the work they were supposed to organize, and utilities that seemed essential right up until I stopped opening them.

I didn’t take to smart home tech right away, but solar is different — I’ve always loved the idea of solar panels. Now I have plenty of them, and as it turns out, solar and smart home tech go hand in hand.

Microsoft offers a wide range of apps on various platforms, but most people only think about Office. While Word and Excel are pretty good on Android, it's Microsoft's other apps that are probably more useful to most people. Let's check them out.

Are you wanting to start building out your homelab, but aren't sure where to start? The best approach that I've found is separating your services from the beginning with a two-system setup. Thin clients are cheap and readily available basically everywhere, and it's not hard to find a NAS, either. So, if you're wanting to kickstart your homelab setup, try the two-tier approach I lay out below.

I got pretty bored the other day. So I said to myself, “Self, you should build an ambitious project today and share it with the world.” My Raspberry Pi was on the fritz, so I came up with something even better: a budget, self-hosted media streaming project. And I did it using second-hand hardware and open source software.

You no longer have to go through the company website to get one of Samsung's second-hand devices. Samsung has made some Certified Re-Newed (read: refurbished) Galaxy phones available through Amazon, making it that much easier to buy a previous-generation model at a discount.

3D printing doesn't have to be difficult or expensive when you can get a beginner-friendly model like the Creality K2 Combo at 19% off on Amazon. This 3D printer includes everything you need to get started and can print up to four colors at a time with the included CFS filament unit.

Self-hosting is awesome, because you own the hardware, and you have control over access and uptime. However, unless you've also written the software that runs your self-hosted services, there's still much of your homelab that depends on a third party to function.

Your Pixel phone came with a nice USB-C cable, but Google didn't include a power adapter in the box. So, you resorted to using one that happened to be sitting around your house, and your expensive Pixel phone is charging half as fast as it should.

If your favorite website is down for maintenance today (October 21), you now know why. The developers of the PHP scripting language have released emergency patches for two "critical" vulnerabilities that hackers can use to compromise web servers.

In early September 2026, Microsoft announced Project Zenith, an effort to provide developers with a ready-to-code, distraction-free Windows configuration out of the box, equipped with a suite of useful developer tools.

I absolutely love my Bambu Lab 3D printers—but they could be a lot better. Not in hardware. I think the hardware is fantastic. But the software that runs the printers could use a lot of work. Thanks to the open source community, my Bambu Lab 3D printers got a free upgrade that made them a lot smarter.

Managing the constant influx of emails manually can feel like a full-time job. That’s why it makes sense to automate your inbox. With features like quick steps and email filters, you can streamline routine tasks and let Outlook do the heavy lifting. Here's how I automate my Outlook inbox.

Have you ever shown up to a party only to realize that you're about 10 years too late? While I see some potential in the ASUS Googlebook 14, it feels like a clumsy effort that should've happened a long time ago. The extreme pricing certainly doesn't help, nor does my growing impatience for "early adopter" quirks.

Microsoft has released PowerToys 0.102, following a major update in August that introduced Window Hopper along with several other improvements. This time, the focus shifts to two new mouse utilities, an upgraded Command Palette, voice-assisted screenshots, and a fresh set of command-line tools.

Amazon just made it easier to secure the farthest reaches of your home — even if you have a giant yard. Blink has introduced five new security cameras, including two with extra-long range.