How-To Geek

What if shutting down your Linux PC, launching apps, or locking your screen were as easy as tapping your phone? I did exactly that using a free, open-source app that turns any terminal command into a one-tap Android shortcut.

Ubuntu is probably the Linux distro I keep coming back to most frequently. It's also many people's first distro. It's really good, and really customizable. But I'm not fully okay with some of its defaults.

Buying a new TV is an exciting time. You can’t wait to take it out of the box, get all the accessories out, mount it, and throw away the box. Except that last step is something you should seriously reconsider—the box is far more valuable than you might realize.

We've all built a rainbow spreadsheet in Excel, but in reality, your data shouldn't look like a bag of Skittles. While color-coding feels productive, it's hard to audit, impossible to automate, and invisible to formulas. Here's why you need to stop painting and start automating.

I didn't have my heart set on a book-style foldable phone right away. Like many, I wrote them off as too expensive. But after taking a chance on one this year, it has turned out to be quite the cost-saving investment.

Back before we could check the weather forecast with our phones or computers, we used to be able to check it by turning on the TV. The Weather Channel's automated local weather info would tell you what you needed to know while playing a smooth jazz musical number. I was able to bring that back in my homelab.

IKEA has gone all-in on Matter, ushering in a new era of affordable smart home devices that use low-power Thread mesh networking. This is great news for anyone who has been holding out for Matter devices, and it’s hard to deny the value proposition when these devices cost less than the Zigbee accessories they’re replacing.

You're playing a video game and notice it has microstutters, or occasional hitches, or your computer isn't quite so snappy as it was before when you open the Start Menu, or click an app icon to open it.

Your Kindle can do way more than just read e-books. Modern Kindles come with a web browser, which can load basic websites and web apps. Today I'll show you how I play chess on my Kindle, and why it rocks.

Hybrid SUVs increasingly promise efficiency and refinement, but few manage to blend long-term dependability with premium comfort as effectively as one new contender in 2025. It delivers the proven reliability many buyers associate with Toyota, while offering interior quality and refinement that rival entry-level luxury models, creating a rare combination of trustworthiness and upscale feel in a single package.

When it comes to Linux, have you only ever used Ubuntu? Have you noticed that your “Linux skills” break the moment you try another distro? Here are four reasons why Ubuntu-only users are missing the real Linux experience.

If you're a skier or snowboarder, you know that you just can't beat the thrills and awe-inspiring views that come with ripping groomers or backcountry powder on the mountain. It's my happy place. But when you're gone from dawn to the last gondola home, traversing miles of mountain ranges, there are a lot of things to contend with that can make or break your day.

You might have noticed that some new games are starting to recommend, and in some cases even require 32GB of RAM, and yet the console version of that game will run using nothing more than 16GB RAM total, including VRAM.

The dream for anyone dealing with office work is to press a button, have a device record everything in a meeting, and then transcribe it and distill it into actionable tasks. The Comulytic Note Pro is a device trying to do just that, and keep track of your customers.

The Nintendo Wii Remote (or Wiimote) is a device that everyone associates with casual games and just shaking the controller. However, it actually hides some serious technological muscle that makes it perfect for repurposing. If you still have that plastic wand tucked away somewhere, you can turn it into a perfectly functional, if unconventional, computer mouse.

Mazda’s reputation for blending engaging driving dynamics with thoughtful design has never been clearer than in one specific 2026 trim that bridges two worlds many drivers assume must be separate. The 2.5 S Premium version pairs a true enthusiast’s feature, a six-speed manual transmission, with a cabin that feels plush and refined, offering luxury-leaning touches you rarely see in cars at this price.

With storage prices climbing, now's the perfect time to stock up on USB flash drives. They're small, portable, convenient, and come in various capacity sizes that can easily store all types of data you can throw at them: text documents, slideshow presentations, music, movies, video games, apps—you name it.

Much like our phones and smartwatches, earbuds are one of the most important pieces of tech we carry everywhere. They’re often expensive, as high-end earbuds with amazing sound and features like ANC can set you back a pretty penny.

Compact pickup buyers used to choose between bare-bones utility and full-size capability, but one newer truck has quietly redefined practical expectations. The Hyundai Santa Cruz blends the versatility of a truck with the ride quality and everyday usability of a crossover, making it surprisingly capable without demanding the compromises that come with larger pickups. For many drivers, it might be all the pickup they actually need.

You'll often spend hundreds or thousands of dollars between your processor, graphics card, and RAM. Don't endanger the entire setup by buying an inexpensive power supply that can't keep up with your system's needs.