How-To Geek

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We explain technology. Learn more with our articles, reviews, tips, and the best answers to your most pressing tech questions.
Updated: 3 min 33 sec ago

My $750 graphics card developed a huge hotspot problem—here's what I should've checked

Wed, 09/02/2026 - 17:30

A lot of gamers are understandably concerned when they first boot up their new gaming PC and discover that their expensive graphics card is hitting temperatures north of 80°C.

Categories: IT General, Technology

These 5 movies prove Netflix is the king of thrillers

Wed, 09/02/2026 - 17:00

Most of us sit on our couches to watch movies or shows, just to get out of our routine lives bound by work, household chores, tasks, and duties. And what better way to do it than watching a thriller that keeps us hooked until the end? I love the genre, especially the thrillers that play with my mind.

Categories: IT General, Technology

These 4 Windows tools helped me regain 16.1GB of storage without deleting a single file

Wed, 09/02/2026 - 16:30

Running out of storage usually means one thing—hovering over the downloads folder with increasingly desperate intent and looking for anything you can move to an external drive. But unless you’ve genuinely run out of files to delete, the problem likely isn’t what you have; it’s how much space Windows is quietly using behind the scenes. It turns out that a surprising amount of storage is tied to temporary files, recovery data, old updates, and system clutter. The good thing is that you don’t need another PC cleaner because Windows already has a capable cleanup kit built-in.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Cheap smart LEDs look tacky, here's 3 easy ways to give them more ambient elegance

Wed, 09/02/2026 - 16:00

LED strip lighting is all the rage, and for good reason. It’s cheap, versatile, easily integrates with smart home platforms, and it’s easier than ever to make your own.

Categories: IT General, Technology

10 anime series for people who don't like anime

Wed, 09/02/2026 - 15:30

Me? I'm a hardcore anime fan. You've probably never even heard of the anime I like. You? I guess you're not really into this anime stuff. It's all spiky hair, big swords, and too much fan service. Right?

Categories: IT General, Technology

I traveled the world to visit an SSD factory and learned why they keep getting more expensive

Wed, 09/02/2026 - 13:30

As a tech journalist, it's easy for me to go ahead and criticize RAM and SSD makers for price hikes, and ignore the reasons as to why that might be happening.

Categories: IT General, Technology

I saved over $1,000 after building this simple Excel subscription tracker

Wed, 09/02/2026 - 13:00

I realized I didn't have a single place where I could see all my subscriptions, so I built a simple Excel tracker to bring them together. Since I set mine up, it's helped me cut more than $1,000 from my recurring expenses by showing me what I was paying, highlighting overlaps, and giving me time to act before renewals.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Your Android Auto launcher is a mess, but these 4 tweaks fix it

Wed, 09/02/2026 - 12:30

Android Auto can be frustrating if you don't want it to do anything more than the basics. It quickly fills up with apps, it bombards you with notifications, and generally feels bloated and cluttered. All I need is for it to tell me where to go and play some music until I get there. And by changing a few key settings, that's exactly what it does.

Categories: IT General, Technology

"Torture tests" used to be everything in 3D printing, here's why you don't hear about them anymore

Wed, 09/02/2026 - 12:00

As the popularity of 3D printing has grown, the prevalence of so-called “torture tests” for 3D printers has waned. This is not a coincidence; these two trends are interlinked (and it’s a good thing).

Categories: IT General, Technology

The 14S is Dell's next answer to the MacBook Neo—and it should be more affordable, too

Wed, 09/02/2026 - 09:00

Dell has another answer to the MacBook Neo just months after unveiling the redesigned XPS 13. The PC maker has introduced a new, overhauled 14S laptop that it claims is a better pick than Apple's most affordable model—if you're willing to make a few tradeoffs.

Categories: IT General, Technology

I let my Galaxy Watch control my day—this feature did the heavy lifting

Wed, 09/02/2026 - 01:30

I wear a smartwatch so that I almost never have to hear my phone. My watch tells me when someone's calling, when someone's texting, and other important things. Just as importantly, my watch can know when not to tell me as well.

Categories: IT General, Technology

This BIOS setting has been throttling your RAM since day one

Wed, 09/02/2026 - 00:00

It's 2026. Who on earth is buying RAM right now?

Categories: IT General, Technology

Claude forgets that my ESP32 isn't a full computer. Here are my 4 fixes

Tue, 09/01/2026 - 23:30

Most of the vibe coding projects I encounter are written in high-level languages like C, C++, or Python. However, Claude can also write decent MicroPython—you just need to be a little careful.

Categories: IT General, Technology

I changed one Pixel Watch setting, and notifications finally make sense

Tue, 09/01/2026 - 23:00

I don’t know about you, but the main reason why I wear a smartwatch is for notifications. It allows me to pull out my phone less often, which is always a good thing. On my Pixel Watch, though, there was one setting that made the experience more cumbersome than it could be.

Categories: IT General, Technology

The 5 best documentaries of August 2026—on Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, and more

Tue, 09/01/2026 - 22:30

August is kind of the year's runt of the litter when it comes to streaming—it's often a slow stretch between summer tentpoles and the wave of new and exciting programming coming in the fall. But it appears that August 2026's documentaries didn't get the memo. Over the past four weeks, HBO Max, Netflix, Paramount+, and Hulu each came to the table with some compelling and fascinating nonfiction, some of which may end up on best-of-the-year lists.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Eero's silent cloud syncs are turning your router into yet another tracking device

Tue, 09/01/2026 - 22:00

Your internet router has a very specific job, and it's perfectly reasonable to assume that all it's doing is that job and nothing else. The reality, however, is never that simple.

Categories: IT General, Technology

3 Linux phones you can actually buy and use right now (and why you probably shouldn't)

Tue, 09/01/2026 - 21:09

Linux phones have come a long way from the days when that meant installing rough software and hoping for the best. You can now get polished devices that largely work as well as their Android and iPhone counterparts, just with truly open-source code.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Don't waste time trying to block Fire TV ads—Amazon has already won

Tue, 09/01/2026 - 20:31

The Amazon Fire TV series of sticks and (literal) televisions has been popular for years thanks to low price points for decent-quality hardware.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Android's September update finally fixes motion sickness in your car

Tue, 09/01/2026 - 20:00

Google is rolling out its Android feature drop for September, and it will be ideal if you need help in a store or just get queasy on a road trip. The release notably adds a Motion Assist feature that, like the iPhone's longstanding Vehicle Motion Cues.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Windows makes me click through multiple menus for everyday tasks, so I made my own shortcuts

Tue, 09/01/2026 - 20:00

There are some things I do in Windows so often that I can't believe they don't have keyboard shortcuts. After clicking through the same menus over and over every day, I decided to stop waiting for Microsoft and use AutoHotkey to make my own.

Categories: IT General, Technology

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