How-To Geek

Every smart home can fail at some point. When all your lights unexpectedly turn off at once, it's very clear that something has gone wrong. More often than not, however, your smart home will fail silently.

I used to think that buying cheaper filament was a compromise to print quality. After testing both first- and third-party filaments, my stance has changed. Here’s why I stopped buying name-brand filament and what I do instead.

If you use Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Vivaldi, or another Chrome-based browser, make sure you have the latest update installed. Google just rolled out a fix for a zero-day security vulnerability, which is the first of its kind for 2026.

Programmers tend to use a fairly limited set of programming languages in their everyday work, dictated either by a third party or their own preference. Languages come and go, ebbing and flowing according to what’s in fashion, but we only see a fraction of what’s really available.

If your vehicle was manufactured after about 2016, it probably has a built-in Wi-Fi hotspot. Most automakers now bundle Wi-Fi under a broader set of features, often called “connected” or “remote” services. These feature sets may be offered for a trial period after the vehicle is purchased, then billed monthly or yearly once the trial expires.

Rust is not just another programming language — it's a way of seeing code differently. If you've never seen code before and are only now learning about languages from the base level, you should learn Rust because it teaches you how to write "safe" code.

When Apple finally switched the iPhone to USB-C, I was very excited for the possibilities that the more universal port would bring. It’s actually so much more versatile than I ever thought—here are four things that you can do with your iPhone’s USB-C port that you might not have known about.

My system never breaks, but it constantly decays. Caches pile up, duplicates multiply, and filenames slowly turn into nonsense. Keeping things clean became a job of its own.

Brewing coffee at home can give you results that are as good as, if not better than, the drinks that you can purchase from well-known coffeehouse chains. It's not always easy to brew the perfect cup, but there's plenty of technology that can help.

It doesn't always make the headlines, but the performance improvements we've seen since solid state storage went mainstream have been staggering. Which is a little ironic, since most of the things we do on our computers (even most video games) don't really need faster storage than a SATA III SSD provides. Certainly the only time I really get to enjoy my 7GB/s SSD is when I copy files to and from it.

Terminal commands and FOSS philosophies aside, one of the biggest challenges new Linux folks face is just the sheer number of odd and difficult-to-pronounce names for things. I'll explain a few of them and their interesting origins.

In a world where new cars lose value the moment they leave the lot, sports cars are especially brutal. Even names like Ferrari, Porsche, and the Chevrolet Corvette aren’t immune.

Video podcasts are one of the biggest trends in the media space. While many users still listen to their favorite shows, the presence of video adds another element to the podcast landscape. Think of video podcasts as the new form of late-night talk shows.

Let's agree on something: Compared to Windows Spotlight, Ubuntu's dynamic wallpaper feature is not very good. Fortunately, Linux is very customizable, and if you don't want to, you don't have to stare at the same wallpapers forever, not when you can use these five methods to control your desktop's aesthetic and how often the wallpaper changes automatically.

This week, it’s your last shot at a Valentine’s movie recommendation—you know, in case you’re feeling all nostalgic and whatnot. There’s still time to grab your person and settle in for some "holiday" romance, and you can do that with my recommended 2016 Academy Award winner.

ZorinOS has been getting a lot of hype ever since Microsoft dropped support for Windows 10. Turns out the hype is justified. Linux Mint has been my go-to recommendation for Windows users, but testing ZorinOS changed my opinion.

Regardless of how we feel about virtual keyboards, many of us type more words on our phones than anywhere else. If you’re frustrated by the keyboard on your Samsung Galaxy phone, not only can you swap it out for an alternative, but you can even create your own!

If you're encrypting your drives, you're already well ahead of the curve when it comes to backing up your files. But there are reasons to be wary of them, too, and they apply especially if you're not used to the idea just yet.

Tesla Cybertruck owners can stop randomly digging through their vaults and start sliding! Unplugged Performance has released a convenient bed storage system for the Cybertruck with sliding drawers to keep all your gear organized and protected. To match the Cybertruck’s exterior look and overall aesthetics, Unplugged Performance designed the system with a high-strength stainless steel frame and heavy-duty latches and clips for the two sliding drawers.

Back in the late ’80s, when American muscle was all about big V-8s and playing it safe, one tiny manufacturer decided to flip the script entirely. They weren’t trying to beat Detroit at its own game—they were rewriting the whole playbook.