How-To Geek

Most Linux users settle into a stable setup. Pick a distro based on convenience or support, install it once, tweak it slowly, and then try not to think too hard about what is happening under the hood. That is fine, and often sensible, but sometimes, it is worth looking at the edges of the ecosystem, where people are asking stranger questions and building operating systems around them.

When the day is over, in comes the fun, so make sure you have plenty of popcorn in stock for this week’s movie recommendations on Amazon Prime Video.

With a smart thermostat, ceiling lights plus fans we can control via a voice assistant, and doors I can unlock remotely, our home is clearly smart. The question is—can anyone in the house make sense of it all but me? This is a question it's vital to ask as early as possible in your smart home journey, or you will find yourself swapping out technology like I am now.

I used the NETGEAR Nighthawk 5G M7 Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot every day for close to two weeks. This hotspot is ultra-portable and delivers reliable speeds for moderate use, making it an excellent mobile option for workers on the go. Speeds vary by location and network conditions, so it may not always hit peak performance. But its functionality is top-tier.

Sterling K. Brown exudes consistency. The multi-talented performer won an Emmy a decade ago for portraying Chris Darden in the fantastic crime drama, The People v. O. J. Simpson. Brown has also earned critical acclaim on the big screen, earning an Academy Award nomination in 2023's American Fiction. Brown is now the star of the post-apocalyptic thriller Paradise, which returns to Hulu for its sophomore season on February 23.

LIke most people, I don't have any more spinning mechanical hard drives inside any of my computers. However, I have more external hard drives than I can count without taking off my shoes and frankly I've never followed the supposed best practices for these devices.

Sometimes Apple TV can feel like a dormant streaming service, where not much happens on it, until it does (The Studio, Pluribus, I'm looking at you). But with a back catalog of some pretty great shows to binge—from prestige dramas to big-budget sci-fi epics—if you'd rather skip the scrolling and get straight to the good stuff, I've got three for you this week that cover a bit of everything.

Bloatware—all those useless apps that were installed on your phone before you got it—can take up a lot of space, even if it's just a bunch of visual icons. Deleting these apps is a good idea, and not just for your personal sanity and satisfaction.

What does a brand name on the outside of a TV actually mean? For many people, a brand is associated with a specific country of origin, a certain expectation of quality, and a particular design philosophy. That's by design, but ultimately a brand is just a word printed on the box. The actual facts about a product can be rather complicated.

Before SD cards became the default (well, one of the defaults) in removable storage, that whole part of the storage market was a mess of tiny, incompatible formats that only really worked with specific devices or brands.

Termux is awesome, but the one thing that slowed me down (or at least used to slow me down) was having to look up documentation or commands. So I found a way to bring an AI assistant (not a coding agent) into Termux. Now I can look up commands and search for stuff on the fly without leaving the terminal.

When you're trying to get perfect audio at home, it's really easy to spend a ton of money upgrading your main speakers. You might think that a bigger unit or a higher price tag automatically equals better sound quality. That common assumption is honestly the biggest mistake people make in modern home audio setups.

The average new vehicle price has risen steadily over the last five years, reaching a point where even a six-figure salary may not provide enough room when factoring in other living costs. Gone are the days of ultra-affordable cars, as consumers can expect to pay, on average, $50,000 for a new vehicle today.

You might not realize it, but your 3D printer has a single point of failure that can keep you from printing—the PTFE tube. It seems like an inconsequential part, but after having mine fail, I now keep it on hand so my printers are never down again because of this simple wear part.

You may not know it, but your phone could be dying faster than it should be. Conserving your battery in the short and long term can be extremely important to maintaining device health, but are you doing it right?

Does your Windows PC lack USB-C? Or, maybe you only have a single USB-C port and want more. There are quite a few ways to add the latest connection standard to your desktop or laptop. Here are a few of my favorite ways to add USB-C to any Windows PC.

Car depreciation is one of the biggest hidden costs of ownership, quietly eroding a vehicle’s value long after the excitement of buying new wears off. While some models manage to hold onto a large portion of their original price, others lose value at a shocking rate within just a few years. After five years on the road, the gap between the best and worst performers can amount to tens of thousands of dollars.

Spotify aims to provide a consistent listening experience that uses minimal data. As a result, your audio quality might be less than ideal, especially if you’re using a pair of high-fidelity headphones or high-end speakers. Here’s how to fix that.

JSON has become the de facto universal data format, used for everything from local configuration to remote API responses. But the more you depend on JSON, the more you need to deal with any related problems that may occur.

Another day, another hybrid SUV rolls onto the scene—but this one’s called the Starray EM-i, and it comes courtesy of Geely Automotive. Yep, another new name to get your head around.