How-To Geek

Like most people, the last optical drive I had in my computer was a plain old DVD writer. I just never saw the point of a PC Blu-ray drive. In many ways, I think it's a small miracle that you can still readily buy a Blu-ray drive for PC today.

The versatility of thrillers is their greatest strength. These tense movies come in various shapes and sizes. Some are lengthy political thrillers where the dialogue creates suspense and drives the story. Other thrillers rely on action and feature heroic performances that turn actors into stars. Because of its large library, Netflix is one of the best streamers to watch thrillers.

Jellyfin, the popular open-source media server and Plex alternative, just got better on Roku TVs and players. The app’s latest update adds support for more HDR modes and anamorphic video, along with a pile of bug fixes.

Using a hash symbol (#)—also known as a spilled range operator—in an Excel formula is a way to tell the program to consider all results in a spilled range. As a result, even if the spilled range grows or shrinks, the formula containing the # will automatically reflect this change.

There was a time when the Android community was obsessed with modding and customizing their devices. A seemingly endless stream of custom ROMs allowed you to replace your phone's default OS. For an Android enthusiast, it was like walking into a candy shop. Sadly, those golden days of Android are in the past, but I like reminiscing about their charm.

Luxury badges look great in the driveway, but they’re usually brutal on your wallet. Depreciation hits hard, and once the warranty’s gone, repair bills can pile up fast enough to make ownership feel like a gamble.

Windows has a lot of random settings that most of us never dig our way to. For some of them, that's actually a good thing, and one of them is "Turn off write-cache buffer flushing."

Modularity was one of the most exciting phone trends of the 2010s. It promised phones that would work like desktop PCs, allowing owners to upgrade individual components, add new functionalities, and replace broken parts with ease, improving longevity and ushering in a new, sustainable smartphone era.

There's no denying that Android modding isn't as big as it used to be. However, GrapheneOS is one of the most popular modern ROMs today, and it's only available for Pixel devices. That will soon finally change thanks to a new partnership with Motorola.

Home Assistant allows you to assign your own custom labels to areas, devices, entities, automations, and more. While they're a useful organizational tool, there are plenty of clever ways that you can use Home Assistant labels to do much more.

UniFi has just revealed its new indoor and outdoor Wi-Fi access point, the U7 Mesh. It could be a great option for extending your network across yards and other large outdoor areas, though it has at least one glaring omission.

Do you have a NAS that you hate the operating system on? It actually might be easier then you think to replace the stock OS with whatever modern option you prefer.

For years, German luxury brands have been synonymous with engineering excellence and driving prestige. Names like BMW and Mercedes-Benz have dominated the premium market by blending performance with advanced technology. But as vehicles grow more complex, long-term dependability has become a growing concern, and recent reliability rankings suggest a surprising shift in leadership.

Every day, parts of the web are disappearing. Content that isn't taken down is being edited and paywalled. What can you do about it? You can install this open source server and browser extension, which is what I did.

You've finalized your Excel spreadsheet and want to visualize your numbers. A pie chart is a tempting option: it takes 20 seconds to create and makes you look sophisticated. However, it often causes more confusion than it solves. To truly impress your coworkers and make your data pop, ditch the circle and build a bar chart that updates itself.

Apple is kicking off its week of announcements with the iPhone 17e, the company’s latest budget iPhone, and an M4 version of the iPad Air. Both devices will be available for pre-order later this week.

Multi-color or multi-material 3D printing involves combining different spools of filament into a single print. Though it’s easier than ever before, the practice comes with a hefty drawback and some other things to keep in mind.

When I found out my neighbor’s apartment had been broken into shortly after I moved into my new rental, I knew I wanted some way to keep an eye on my place and get notified if motion is detected. At the same time, I also wanted an easy way to check in on my cat while I’m not home.

Do you feel like Ubuntu is holding you back, but switching feels too risky? What if a "niche" distro could give you more power and better stability? Well, here’s how switching to a less popular alternative helped me find my forever distro.

One of the best advantages when it comes to desktop PCs is the ability to reuse parts from your previous build in your new system, but it can also be a trap that ends up costing you extra time and money that could have been avoided if you'd used a new replacement part from the get-go.