How-To Geek

The start of July means it's time for Netflix to unveil its latest lineup of new shows. Per usual, it's a mix of returning shows and brand-new programs. Kicking things off is a new iteration of Netflix's Worst Ever franchise, and this version will make you look at your neighbor differently. Then, the streamer launches an adaptation of beloved children's novels.

Running your own LLM is surprisingly easy. Using software such as Ollama or LM Studio, you can install and run local AI models that work completely offline. The size and speed of the models will depend on your hardware, but you can run small models even on modest hardware; the real challenge is deciding what to do with your local LLM once you have it up and running.

The internet is an amazing thing. You can build incredible internet-connected projects using cloud services, but there's always a risk that if your internet connection goes down, your project will stop working. There are plenty of useful ESP32 projects that don't depend on cloud servers and can communicate locally or directly with other devices, so they'll keep working even when you can't get online.

Using text suggestions when writing on a physical keyboard? Is that even a thing? That was my exact thought until I started using it myself. What started as a curious experiment ended up being a daily convenience.

Happy birthday, America. Nearly 250 years ago, delegates representing the Thirteen Colonies gathered in Philadelphia to adopt the Declaration of Independence, severing America's ties to Great Britain. It's a monumental moment in U.S. history, which is why there will be many celebrations across the country this weekend. If you have some downtime during the holiday weekend, it's the perfect time to stream a documentary centered on America's 250th anniversary.

It's been 17 years since Plugable introduced its first universal docking station, the humble UD-160-A. It was a uniquely functional and intuitive USB 2.0 device that expanded a laptop's capabilities without any proprietary connectors or mental guesswork.

As of writing, my NVMe SSD is about four years old—old enough to make me think about replacing it. That said, with sky-high storage prices right now, part of me wants to hold off until the market settles down. The sensible move in that situation is to check whether your drive really needs replacing—but I didn’t expect I’d have to switch operating systems just to find the answers I was looking for.

For the past couple of years, I have been a big fan of Samsung's One UI design language on Galaxy phones. That changed with the update to version 8.5. I'm not alone. Many people are swapping out their home screens for custom launchers and replacing Samsung apps with alternatives. What did Samsung get so wrong?

CPUs and GPUs are the two components that have the biggest impact on your PC's performance, provided everything else is fine. They also tend to age pretty quickly in the grand scheme of things, as we ask more and more of them every single year.

I've been using my Pixel 10 Pro for more than three months now, and I'm mostly loving it. However, I've realized that Pixels aren't nearly as customization-friendly as Samsung Galaxy phones. The one thing I miss is Good Lock, and I recently discovered a similar suite of tools for my Pixel.

If you've spent any time with Python, you've probably used it for data work, scripting, or maybe some automation—but image editing likely wasn't on your radar. It turns out Python can handle a surprising amount of what Photoshop does, and with way less code than you'd expect. This includes resizing or cropping, removing backgrounds, or even animating a still image into a GIF. Here are seven ways I use Python to edit and animate images. I'm also sharing the code snippets to help you get started.

Many people don't ever change their Wi-Fi password. Out of those who do change theirs, many think that that's it, they're done, their connection is now super safe.

July’s lineup on Paramount+ features a hearty mix of high-stakes live sports, major season and series finales, and brand-new originals dropping all month long. There is no shortage of must-watch moments, including the return of fan-favorite shows, gripping documentaries, and UFC showdowns like McGregor vs. Holloway.

Ever since routers became commonplace, people have been experimenting with weird DIY tricks that promise to boost their Wi-Fi signal. Many of them involve common household objects, like aluminum foil and mixing bowls. After trying a few of those ideas myself, I decided it was finally time to see whether the classic soda can trick actually works.

If you have an old phone lying around or like to experiment on your current devices, Termux is probably my favorite app. I decided to use an old Samsung phone, specifically my wife's old Samsung phone, to build a pocket Linux server. My plan is to use the server as a home for my Syncthing drive that's more convenient and portable for my purposes.

When I first tried Claude after using ChatGPT for some time, I was shocked the first time I hit my rate limit. Having to wait a couple of hours before I could pick up where I left off was really frustrating. Claude's projects can help; aside from being a useful organizational tool, using projects can help you use your quota more efficiently and make it go further.

Mesh Wi-Fi networks can make using Wi-Fi in your home better, especially if you have a lot of devices that are a long way from the router. Your Wi-Fi devices can connect to the nearest mesh node instead of having to communicate directly with the router. If you have the right mesh network, you can even use your Echo smart speakers to extend your Wi-Fi.

There’s almost certainly a good open-source alternative for most apps and services you depend on. Not all of them are comparable to paid software, and some require significant setup or technical knowledge, but all are worth considering.

Changing your sudo implementation is about as interesting as changing your underpants, but switching to an entirely new operating system is far more exciting. While people debate the intricacies of sudo and setuid, one vendor leaves the door open to attackers—but it's not what you think.

The Mercedes-Benz GLC might wear a luxury badge, but for most owners, life looks a lot more like school runs, Costco trips, and weekends away than carving up a racetrack. Chances are it's carried more golf clubs and strollers than racing helmets.