How-To Geek

Are you ready for another set of weekend homelab project ideas? This weekend, I'm showing you a few things that I wish I had done sooner in my homelab, including setting up a Wi-Fi heatmap, building a drive health dashboard, and spinning up an uptime monitor.

In the past few years, buying a new laptop usually meant choosing between a thin-and-light model with soldered memory or a slightly thicker one that still used upgradeable SO-DIMM RAM. As someone who wants the lightest device possible but also values long-term upgradability, that trade-off always felt like a massive compromise.

AI chatbots such as ChatGPT and Claude are incredibly useful tools that allow you to set up custom projects or dedicated tools to perform specific tasks. Becoming reliant on a single service to access your tools is far from ideal, but there is another option.

Using Home Assistant, you can create powerful automations for your smart home that can do far more than proprietary systems such as Alexa. There are some automations, however, where Home Assistant may need a little help. The n8n workflow automation platform can make your automations even more powerful.

We've all been there. The Wi-Fi acts up, a video call freezes, a download stalls, and the first instinct is to grab the laptop and move closer to the router. It feels logical, right? Closer to the source equals stronger signal equals better internet. Problem solved.

Androids have become fortresses that can stop threats and protect data when powered off. However, they haven't consistently given us the ability to easily and quickly lock down a single, sensitive file, which would make it as secure as possible. It's strange when you think about it, since it's a very old feature that should be possible without any tricks. Luckily, there is a straightforward solution to client-side file protection. You just have to look outside the apps you are given.

It can be hard to convey information in your smart home in an effective yet subtle manner. Mobile notifications work well for some things, but they can be easy to miss, and most of us receive too many of them anyway.

When people build a home audio system, they tend to prioritize raw output and deep bass. It's common, and I've even done it. It is easy to think that bigger is inherently better, and overspending on a single, massive unit that dominates your floor space won't create distortion. However, theater-level bass is really only needed in theaters; it won't do well in your home. By moving away from the temptation of the massive single box, you can get professional-grade audio without the premium price tag.

If you use ChatGPT, you already have access to Codex. At the time of writing, it’s available to both free and paid users. You can download it as a desktop app for Windows or macOS. It’s incredibly powerful, but most people ignore it because they assume it’s only meant for programmers. I understand why—after all, the word “code” is right there in its name—but Codex is too useful to overlook. Here are three reasons why I prefer it over the regular ChatGPT app.

It's no secret that I'm a Windows user, although Linux is catching up fast in my house. I've been using Windows since the Windows for Workgroups days, so I've lived through more Start menu redesigns, control panel reshuffles, and "future of computing" experiments than I can count. I'm not someone who thinks every older version of Windows was automatically better. In a lot of ways, modern Windows is more stable, more secure, and more capable than it has ever been.

Amazon's Alexa is now available on the company's shopping app and website in the US, bringing a wide range of new capabilities. Customers can now visit the Amazon app or website to have Alexa support them with suggestions, guidance, and a couple of useful features while shopping.

Windows 11's April update made several tangible improvements to the operating system which made it a bit easier to use. However, they didn't solve the main reason that I tweak the registry: customization. There are too many customization settings without easily-accessible toggles, and until that changes, the registry will be one of my go-to tools.

I felt the Unihertz Titan 2 was too big, too ugly, and too janky—but the Unihertz Titan 2 Elite may just be the biggest glow-up across one generation I've seen in my entire career of covering Android phones.

Plex has rolled out a new update for Android and iOS, bringing a host of new features alongside fixes. Among the features, there’s a highly requested one that has finally been added. Plex will now allow users to upload custom artwork directly from their mobile app.

Electric vehicles used to come with one major compromise: affordability. If you wanted to stop paying for gas, you often had to accept a much higher monthly payment in return. That gap is finally starting to close, with a growing number of electric crossovers now landing comfortably below the $40,000 mark while still offering solid range, modern tech, and everyday practicality.

Android 17 is shaping up to be one of the biggest and most important Android releases in years. It’s packed with new features and changes. Here’s my personal ranking of the seven features I’m most excited about in Google’s new “intelligence system”—yes, that’s what Google is calling Android now.

It might seem unlikely to compare a Buick to an Acura. For as long as any of us can remember, these two brands have operated on different wavelengths: Buick as a torchbearer of American "attainable luxury" and Acura as the high-tech, performance-oriented Japanese disruptor.

Tom Cruise wants to know if you feel the need for speed. If you're like me, then the answer is always a resounding yes, especially when it involves Cruise and action. Starting on May 13, Paramount is rereleasing Top Gun for one week in select theaters to celebrate the 40th anniversary. The sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, will also head to the big screen during this run.

Modern performance cars have become obsessed with numbers. Every new launch seems to focus on bigger horsepower figures, faster acceleration times, and headline-grabbing lap records. The problem is that all this added performance has come with a major downside: weight. Sports cars are heavier than ever, and many have lost the playful, connected feel that once defined the segment.

Google wants you to see Googlebook as the premium step above Chromebooks. It's the alternative to MacBooks and sleeker Windows PCs for people who want to go all-in with Android and Gemini.