How-To Geek

You’ve probably seen carbon fiber used in high-end products, like on race car wings and road bike frames. Many modern 3D printers have nozzles that are tough enough to print filaments that are infused with carbon fiber, but not everyone is aware of the potential dangers associated with doing so.

If you ever used a computer in the '70s, '80s, and '90s, your first foray into programming was most likely with BASIC. Here are the reasons why Python has taken its place as the language of choice for people learning to program.

Some Android apps do one thing really well, and that’s it. No ads, no in-app purchases—just providing a feature that Android itself doesn’t have. Caffeine is one such app, and it’s been following me around for years on countless phones.

Your Home Assistant server can seem fine on the surface, while deep down it’s crying out for some attention. This can range from missing entities and services to performance problems that are slowing down your whole home.

If you're still typing long, comma-heavy CONCATENATE formulas to merge text in Excel, you're doing more manual work than necessary. Since switching to four alternatives that make combining data faster, cleaner, and far less frustrating, I haven't looked back.

Laptops are getting kind of expensive these days. Sometimes, they can also be a bit of a pain in the neck to travel with, depending on the situation.

Bosch fans know the company makes all sorts of excellent corded and cordless power tools, especially for masonry trades or woodworking. And while many of you likely own a Bosch drill, random orbit sander, or other basics, the brand also makes several lesser-known tools with a lot to like.

For years, some of big appeals of Google's Pixel lineup were that the devices came with a clean version of Android, some exclusive, cutting-edge features, and generally solid hardware specs. These exclusive features—like the clever AI camera tricks and seamless integrations—were one of the biggest perks of choosing a Pixel over other Android devices. For a long time, even most older or cheaper models would eventually receive the best new tricks via software updates.

Your Fire TV can get slow and start to stall over time, which is one of the most annoying things. These devices start fast out of the box, but they quickly turn into a headache as you install more apps. The problem is usually just limited hardware struggling with hidden background tracking and files that take up too much space, and I don't mean your router. You just need to adjust your settings, kill those background tasks, and clear out space to make it fast again.

Over the past year, I've gone down the homelabbing rabbit hole, and as a result, I've tried quite a few server operating systems. Two weeks ago, I assembled a new home server because my old DietPi wasn't cutting it anymore. Instead of going with the usual Debian or Ubuntu server, however, I decided to give Proxmox a try. And I'm so glad I did.

As a happy Bambu Studio user, I’ve long wondered why some users prefer to use OrcaSlicer for their 3D printing needs. So I did some digging, downloaded OrcaSlicer, and found out for myself.

When you buy a new car today, you're not just buying a vehicle. You're signing up for something closer to a subscription surveillance service, except you don't get a discount for participating, and nobody asks for your permission.

The state of the web these days is abysmally noisy and divisive. Every day, it bombards our fragile minds with absurd and horrific things, yet an abundance of constructive content is widely available. The algorithms that power social media emotionally bait us to ignore the positive stuff and consume the garbage instead. To clear our minds and calm our lives, we need to cut them out.

I've been building PCs for almost two decades, and I've yet to use an AIO liquid CPU cooler in any of my builds. The thing is, I won't, ever. Here's why.

Your computer probably isn't as fast as it should be, and the reason usually isn't the hardware. Windows ships with defaults that make sense for someone, somewhere, but not necessarily for the way you actually use your machine. None of these are hard problems to fix, and there are three changes that you could make that take maybe ten minutes total and cost nothing. However, you'll see the difference immediately.

Now that the dust (and tears) have settled from the conclusions of Euphoria and Hacks, and we now turn our attention to House of the Dragon in a couple of weeks, now might be a good time for some documentaries! Luckily, HBO Max has some excellent new and new-ish options at the moment.

My smart home knows a lot about me, and not all of it is good. It knows how long I’ve spent sitting in my office chair, how few steps I’ve taken, how little exercise I’ve done, and more. In an effort to shame myself into doing better, I decided to use a local AI model to generate a snarky report card every day.

Netflix hosts a large library of award-winning movies, but finding the right one for your weekend streaming can sometimes feel harder than it should. While the latest trending titles may be all over your Netflix home, there are plenty of acclaimed films that are worth searching for.

When it comes to reliability, Toyota and Lexus tend to dominate the conversation. However, another Japanese automaker has quietly built an equally impressive reputation for dependability. Subaru consistently ranks among the most reliable brands in the industry, and one of its most popular SUVs combines that long-term durability with a level of capability that many rivals simply can't match.

When building a robust home Wi-Fi network, there are universal rules we all should follow. They make logical sense, help you create a seamless network, and can instantly remedy the issues plaguing your current setup.