How-To Geek

There are lots of Linux distros to choose from. While some have fallen by the wayside, these distros were around from almost the beginning yet are still going strong.

As you settle in for what is hopefully a long holiday weekend, do so with some high-quality character-driven shows that will make you laugh, keep you guessing, and fuel your adrenaline. With strong female leads nestled in high-stakes environments and stylized storytelling, each of these series explores themes of control and reinvention with a sharp focus on identity, ambition, and evolving power dynamics.

I'm not the biggest fan of Google services at the moment. So, when I discovered Gemini was going to be incorporated into my beloved Android Auto, it wasn't exactly my favorite thing. After an unexpected update prompted me to test it out a little bit, I figured out why I feel that way.

I recently wrote about buying a mini-PC for under $300 and using it to run a local LLM. I expected that process to be interesting, but I also expected it to feel a little rough around the edges. Local AI has always sounded useful in theory, but it also carried a lot of baggage. You had to think about system requirements, model sizes, command-line tools, and whether your computer was actually powerful enough to do anything meaningful.

I’ve never been one for tabletop roleplaying games or wargaming. Even so, when I used to attend PAX every year, I’d always frequent the free “paint a miniature” area. It’s a lot of fun.

We live in a world where free and open-source (FOSS) apps can often outperform their paid alternatives. But despite being powerful and free, many of them go unnoticed because they lack the marketing budgets behind commercial software—a tradeoff of being free to use. That’s the gap I’m trying to close with this series. Here are three more hidden gems that deserve more attention—and maybe a spot on your system.

Desktop CPUs have been evolving at a relentless pace for decades. Intel and AMD have introduced a new processor generation roughly every one to two years, with each bringing architectural improvements, higher core counts, better thermal efficiency, new platform features, and, often, a more advanced manufacturing process.

These days, we all want better battery life and a little more privacy on our smartphones. But what if I told you there's one Samsung feature hiding deep in the settings menu that not only drains your battery but also collects your data?

You might still spot the Ford Edge in dealership lots, but it’s officially done—production wrapped up in 2024 after an 18-year run. Built in Canada at Ford’s Oakville plant, it never got a replacement lined up, and there’s no new generation coming.

In 1976, as the country marked its bicentennial, Chevrolet built an entire ad campaign around a simple visual: nothing says American summer like baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and a new Chevy.

Your 3D printer proudly advertises a maximum print speed, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should actually use it. When print quality, durability, and printer longevity are your priorities, speed takes a backseat.

Excel can do much more than crunch numbers. If you've got some spare time this weekend, why not explore its creative side? From interactive 3D maps to custom image charts and heat maps, these three projects will help you create visuals that are as useful as they are impressive.

If you carry an older ArkFeld, the iUltra, or a tiny I1R 2 Pro, you know why OLIGHT is one of the best. There's a reason people call them the "Apple of flashlights," and the new OLIGHT ArkPro Ultra is no exception. It has a floodlight, spotlight, UV, and a laser, and is a better, brighter, do-it-all flashlight I can easily recommend.

Just days after the rumors, Tesla has released the Model Y L in the U.S. market. However, the initial version of the three-row, six-seat electric SUV is more expensive than some expected.

Happy Fourth of July to all of our American readers celebrating this weekend. Many parts of the country are experiencing heat waves, so some of you might try to spend some of your time indoors. If you're inside with some AC, there are several noteworthy television releases to check out. Our top selection is the third season of an excellent sci-fi show based on Hugh Howey's novels.

Many affordable cars promise a little extra excitement through sporty styling packages, but most fail to deliver anything meaningful once you're behind the wheel. That's what makes the shrinking pool of genuinely fun, budget-friendly sedans so refreshing—and so easy to overlook.

The automotive industry has spent years convincing buyers that SUVs are the only body style that matters, with crossovers steadily replacing sedans in driveways across America. That shift helped create some dominant sales leaders, but 2026 is proving that consumer tastes aren't always as predictable as they seem.

I used to think backing up my photos to an external drive once a year counted as taking my data safety seriously. Then I found out it's a lot harder than it seems to give your digital assets away. I've changed a few things about how I store and pass on my files, instead of just relying on an SSD, so they don't quietly disappear once I am gone.

Building the perfect smart home isn’t cheap. It’s a process you want to get right first-time, since sinking a lot of money into an imperfect solution will require even more expense to put right later.

Home Assistant can do a lot, but a simple ‘when this happens, do that’ doesn’t always feel simple to set up. So, if you’ve ever gotten stuck picking between a state trigger, a numeric state trigger, or a device trigger, the open-source smart home platform’s newest update is aimed squarely at you. Home Assistant 2026.7 removes that automation friction, while also making it easier to understand what happened and speeds up how you handle device updates.