How-To Geek

Mesh Wi-Fi systems are marketed as the ultimate solution for seamless wireless coverage. By letting multiple intelligent nodes work together, they promise to eliminate dead zones while maintaining incredible speeds across a home. However, in a small apartment, this added complexity can actually hurt performance rather than improve it. Allow me to explain.

Home Assistant has two main software solutions for connecting your Zigbee smart home devices. Zigbee Home Automation (ZHA) is the native integration built directly into Home Assistant. Zigbee2MQTT is an independent, open-source project supported by a community of contributors. While ZHA is easy to use, there are plenty of reasons why Zigbee2MQTT is my Zigbee solution of choice.

Google is going all in on AI for the search engine. The company recently announced that it's going to soon replace the "ten blue links" with AI Overviews and AI Mode. I was already on the fence, but this pivot finally pushed me to self-host a search engine. And I'm glad I made the switch.

I love experimenting with different audio software, but I'm going to be totally honest here: I really do not like PlexAmp, especially when I'm using Android Auto. I've tried to get along with it. I really have. But there are, in my opinion, far better apps for Android Auto out there.

When Amazon introduced its Alexa smart speakers, it seemed like it was going to change the way we would control our smart homes. I bought several Echo devices for my home, but the reality never lived up to expectations. There are plenty of reasons why I stopped using Alexa.

If you've been manually copy-pasting prompts, jumping between Projects, or settling for inconsistent Claude output, you're doing it the hard way. Skills—Claude's modular, loadable prompt system—are specifically designed to solve this problem. That's evident in the skills catalog growing past 1.5 million entries.

If you own a laser cutter, you've probably run into the same problem: the machine itself is straightforward enough, but creating a good design file can feel like a separate, much more complicated project. Between juggling design software, manually prepping images, and preventing the snapping or burning of materials can bury anyone in technical busywork.

Home Assistant apps are software containers that are deployed by Home Assistant OS. This additional software runs alongside Home Assistant, rather than within it. They’re different to integrations (which only affect Home Assistant by adding new services and devices) and altogether more powerful.

Samsung makes excellent phones, and I've been buying and reviewing them for the last 14 years. A prime example is the fancy new Galaxy S26 Ultra, which is arguably the best Android you can buy. But after getting the Ultra and using it for a while, not only do I regret it, but I inevitably returned it and kept my older, smaller model.

It's 2026. A lot of us have given a whole lot of thought to our network setups. We've gone over settings that might make the network feel slow, addressed dead zones, and probably invested in things like a VPN to make sure the connection stays private and secure.

Milwaukee makes hundreds of excellent tools, but if you're just starting your toolbox or are a new homeowner on a budget, certain tools are must-buys. Whether you've already bought your first tool or need a good drill, here are six capable Milwaukee tools worth adding to your collection.

Most remote access setups ask you to do something that defeats the purpose before you've even started. You poke holes in your firewall, set up a centralized server, and spend time managing configuration just to reach your own machines. Tailscale takes a different approach. It builds a private mesh network across your devices without requiring you to touch a single router setting or expose anything to the public internet. It's worth the quick setup time.

You probably didn’t know your Google Pixel could run a full-fledged AI agent—but it can, and it’s far more practical than it sounds. The kind of automation that once required a laptop now fits in your pocket, and getting started doesn’t require any coding knowledge or command-line experience. I’m not a programmer, yet I’ve been using Claude Code on my Pixel 10 to automate a chunk of my repetitive daily tasks.

It's no secret that Google has commitment issues. It's the sort of company that likes to throw everything at the wall to see what sticks. Most of these failures are software, but the Google graveyard has a fair bit of hardware buried in its cold, hard soil too.

Though there’s a case to be made that the Raspberry Pi isn’t as appealing as it once was from a hardware standpoint, it’s still a powerhouse for projects and is loved the world over.

"There's an app for that" was a great marketing line, and for most of the existence of mobile app stores it's largely been true. Since anyone can develop an app for mobile phones, the diversity of apps that do very niche things exploded.

Scream 7 and Scary Movie are both currently topping the charts on Paramount+ (according to FlixPatrol), but neither of these horror/horror-adjacent movies has been particularly liked by the critics (30% and 25% RT scores, respectively), so you'd be forgiven if you gave them a miss and perhaps opted for one of my suggestions below, this week.

Apple has introduced macOS 27 Golden Gate. And while it includes major features like Siri AI and an improved Liquid Glass interface, the biggest change comes for people who can't even run it.

During the Windows 10 era, I didn't really care about virtual desktops. I tried using them a few times, but quickly moved on. After migrating to macOS for work, however, I started using its virtual desktops and other Mission Control features extensively and realized that virtual desktops can improve productivity by letting you quickly and efficiently separate your personal and professional spaces on a single computer with just a few clicks.

For years, professional detailing seemed like an exclusive club reserved for owners of six-figure sports cars, pristine garages, and bottomless budgets. Want a swirl-free finish, mirror-like gloss, and paint that outshines the factory finish? You had to pay the pros and brace yourself for the bill.