How-To Geek

I use all sorts of software when I travel: a VPN, streaming music apps, cloud storage, and more. I turned my Raspberry Pi into a one-stop-shop travel router that combines all of those uses into one device, so I don't have to worry about them individually on my phone, laptop, or console.

Home Assistant includes a large number of native integrations that can do everything from allowing you to connect specific smart home devices to tracking daylight hours from sunrise to sunset, so your lighting automations know when to turn on and off. Here are some lesser-known Home Assistant integrations that are worth exploring if you're not already using them.

If you’re chasing performance on a budget, the used car market holds some hidden gems. One $20,000 used Japanese sports sedan delivers acceleration that can rival, and in some cases surpass, a brand-new luxury competitor, offering surprising thrills without the sticker shock.

You might have seen some noise on the internet among car enthusiasts about the Toyota Hilux Champ, a simple bare-bones pickup that many US customers clearly want.

RSS feeds used to be the premiere way to get personalized news delivered directly to you from your favorite websites prior to the rise of personalized algorithms on social media. Despite the fact that RSS feeds aren't quite as popular as they used to be, they are still my favorite way to keep up to speed on topics I'm interested in. Here are three RSS Feed apps from Windows.

Are you in the market for a new NAS, but can’t decide between ARM and Intel/AMD? There are several reasons why you should go with ARM—most notably, it's way more power efficient. But traditional x86 does have one advantage you’ll want to consider.

Do you wish you didn't have to take your PC to computer technicians? I'm regularly opening my PC to replace parts, clean dust out, and check for lose connections, and I can tell you the most important aspect is having the right tools for the job.

There’s a particular annoyance that goes along with turning your phone sideways and watching as...nothing happens. Some apps just don’t want to rotate into landscape mode, but as is usually the case in the Android world, there’s a solution available right in the Play Store for free.

Most Linux distros are intentionally minimal to avoid bloat, offering a fresh and clean environment. While this is a major perk, knowing what to install first can be tricky for newcomers. So, to help kickstart your journey, here are five essential apps that belong on every new Linux PC.

The Raspberry Pi 500+ is the latest iteration of the best-selling single-board computer with 16GB RAM and 256GB of solid-state storage, all wrapped up in a keyboard that’s beautiful to type on, and I love it.

If there's one single PC component that's always outrageously expensive, it's Nvidia's RTX 5090 graphics card. It launched at $1,999, but good luck finding it for less than $2,300, and some models hit over $3,000.

The MacBook lineup is one of the best-performing laptops, but at its price, it’s not the most appealing to the average consumer. Apple released a 12-inch laptop in 2015 that fit the mold of a budget-friendly MacBook, but it was poorly received because it lacked key features and cost too much.

The world of Linux and its open source ecosystem of software is riddled with acronyms, initialisms, and just plain weird words. Some of them are hard to pronounce correctly without guidance, or if you're not in the know on the word origins.

Physical keyboards on phones aren't really a thing anymore, and that's a shame. Not because they were better than virtual keyboards, but because they allowed for some truly strange phone designs. Take the Motorola Backflip, for example.

Are you on the fence about paying for a password manager? Let me help you out: pay for one. I’ve used quite a few password managers over the years, including the one built into my browser. I’ve happily paid for 1Password for nearly a decade, and would have it no other way.

Writers and programmers have had a similar experience: staring at a blank screen, the blinking cursor mocking you. I've found a way to get that cursor moving. You might not think that statistics would be a good motivator for programming ideas, but you'd be surprised. You might find your own ways to get your programming ideas flowing.

New car prices have soared over the past decade, with the average transaction now topping $48,000. Budget-friendly options have all but disappeared, as automakers chase bigger profits with crossovers and trucks.

The battery inside your laptop is slowly degrading, and there's no way to prevent it from happening. The catch is that some bad habits can expedite the process. If you're practicing one of the following habits, there's a good chance your laptop's battery is degrading faster than it should.

Ever wanted to stop a specific app from going online—whether to protect your privacy or block suspicious activity? Me too—and that’s why I use Portmaster, a free, open-source network monitor that lets you see every connection your apps make and blocks anything you don’t trust with a single toggle.

Are you a disgruntled Mac user grumbling about how some software is Windows-only? It’s easier than you might think to solve that problem: buy a cheap Windows mini PC.