How-To Geek

Electric vehicles are becoming more capable, but long range and affordability rarely go hand in hand. Many EVs that promise 300 miles of driving on a single charge come with price tags that put them out of reach for mainstream buyers. That’s what makes this particular model so compelling. It delivers true long-range capability while remaining one of the most affordable electric vehicles you can buy today.

Smart switches are the usual go-to choice for reliable, full-featured smart home lighting. Be that as it may, they're not always the right option, and sometimes they're not even an option. While tech geeks like to scoff at smart bulbs, I personally love them for one simple reason—they're plug-and-play. Allow me to explain.

Microsoft included a new Terminal app with the 2022 update of Windows 11, and it quickly became one of my go-to apps. Before Terminal, you had to load PowerShell, Command Prompt, and WSL windows separately, which made me want to avoid using the command-line on Windows whenever possible. The Terminal app unifies all those shells and the apps I run inside them save me a lot of time.

All we need is for Apple to release a foldable iPhone, and we can officially say that the 2020s are the decade of the foldable phone. But we did have foldables in the 2010s, too. Kind of. Here's what they looked like.

There are tons of Linux distributions out there, and for better or worse, the list keeps growing. Here are some 2025 arrivals fresh out of the open source operating system development oven.

Are you exhausted by the “Year of Linux” predictions that never pan out? Do you roll your eyes every time someone declares Linux’s breakthrough is imminent? I don’t blame you for being skeptical—but there are six major shifts converging in 2026 that could finally make desktop Linux mainstream.

Luxury sedans don’t always have the same rugged dependability as hatchbacks or mainstream cars. RepairPal puts the average reliability for full-size luxury models at just 2.5 out of 5—not shocking when you consider brands like BMW, Mercedes, Alfa Romeo, and Audi dominate the segment.

As much as we’d like our devices to last forever, the sad reality is that many need replacing long before they’ve stopped working entirely. This sometimes takes the form of a welcome and considered upgrade, but too often it’s an early retirement due to servers being switched off and a lack of support.

Are you planning a dual-boot setup but worried about Secure Boot compatibility? Fear that disabling Secure Boot will compromise your Windows installation? Here are five Linux distros that work seamlessly with Windows Secure Boot—no BIOS tweaking required.

Do you want to try Linux but don’t want to relearn a new interface? Worried that an unfamiliar desktop might slow down your workflow? You’re not alone—and these five Windows-like desktop environments (DEs) are designed to help you feel right at home.

Linux Mint is famous for offering a familiar Windows-like desktop experience, but did you know it’s also one of the most customizable distros—with built-in tools to tweak its look and feel? To give you an idea of what's possible, here's how I made Linux Mint Cinnamon Edition look like macOS.

It may sound a little strange, but I've used a phone as my primary PC for nearly two years. My journey started with the Moto Edge+, but I've since migrated to a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold smartphone. Here's everything I've learned along the way.

As someone who absolutely loves his Apple Watch, you’d have to pry my wearable from my cold, dead wrists. That’s an eventuality that I’ve been trying to delay as much as possible, since health and fitness are my primary motivations for wearing it.

Even if you tend to avoid the Linux terminal, chances are, at some point, you will have to edit a text file within the terminal. By default, pretty much every Linux distribution uses the 'nano' text editor. It's entirely keyboard-driven and uses some old-school shortcuts from the 1990s. Those shortcuts are counter-intuitive for me and I just don't want to bother learning them anyway. I have two choices here: learn something like Vim, which would take even longer, or use a more modern alternative of 'nano.' I went with the second option and tested a lot of console text editors. These are my favorites.

Smart ecosystems such as Alexa and Google Home are popular because they're so convenient. It's relatively simple to set them up and add smart home devices, and they're often good enough for many people's needs. There is a more powerful option, however: Home Assistant. While it may be a little daunting at first, there has never been a better time to give Home Assistant a try.

The safest way to secure your data on Windows is by keeping it in encrypted vaults. You can create hidden, password-protected virtual drives. Put your data in there, access it when you need to, and then hide the virtual drives again. This is everything you need to know to create and use super secure storage vaults on Windows.

Are you new to Linux and resisting the terminal? Or perhaps you're a longtime passionate user like me? Regardless, learning the Linux terminal opens up an entirely different world on Linux, and I will explain why.

Finding a reliable car under $15,000 is already a challenge, but finding an electric one that can outlast traditional gas-powered rivals seems almost impossible. That’s exactly why this budget-friendly EV stands out. Despite its low entry price, it delivers a level of reliability that many internal combustion competitors struggle to match, making it a surprisingly smart choice for cost-conscious buyers.

Over the last year, you may have noticed we're geeking out about even more things now. From the classics like Windows and Android, to new topics such as electric cars and weekly binge sessions, there's a huge and diverse collection of articles being published every day. But which stories brought in the most eyeballs in 2025?

Used and refurbished mini PCs are everywhere online, and Dell's Optiplex family of tiny office drone desktops might be the most numerous simply thanks to the sheer number of these computers out in the wild that have been cycled down through business customers and reached the end of the line with refurbishers.