How-To Geek

The first 3D printer I ever encountered had to be assembled from parts that arrived in a box. This was more than a decade ago, and things have certainly changed. The last two 3D printers I acquired worked right out of the box after plugging them in and removing the packing material—there's never been a more beginner-friendly time to get into the hobby.

If you’ve ever complained about running out of storage around a group of geeks, you’ve probably been told you need a NAS. With promises of 24/7 access and fancy backup solutions, it sounds more appealing than it actually is. I’m going to go against the grain today: most people don’t actually need a NAS—they just think they need one.

Registry cleaners have been available for decades, and once upon a time, there might have been an argument for using them. However, these days, they present almost no benefit and could mess up your PC.

S you just got a Kindle and are mulling over whether to slap a screen protector on it. Let’s find out if you really need one.

Luxury sedans have traditionally forced buyers to choose between comfort, performance, and fuel efficiency. Most deliver refinement and power, but efficiency usually takes a back seat—especially in gas-powered models. That’s why this particular luxury sedan stands out. It achieves fuel economy figures that rival some entry-level hybrids, all while maintaining the smooth ride, premium materials, and quiet cabin buyers expect from the segment. For drivers who want luxury without frequent fuel stops, it’s in a class of its own.

No one ever teaches you how to hold a phone, yet we’ve all adopted the same awkward grip. There are little tricks that can make it easier to reach things on the screen, but that doesn’t address the comfort of holding the phone. A very simple accessory can fix that.

One of the first commands new Linux users learn is echo. Need to print some text or debug a script? Add an echo statement. However, from my usage, I've found printf to be far more powerful. Once you understand its basics, it becomes a safer default for printing output in scripts.

As more applications have been released, it feels like the fight for screen space is filled with unnecessary clutter. We often have status bars, background processes, or media players running, but really don't need to look at them. What's cool is that a lot of software we rely on daily can run completely without a GUI.

Are you working in the Xfce desktop environment, or thinking of switching to an Xfce-powered Linux distribution like Linux Mint? I've spent the past several weeks using Xfce on my main desktop, and I ended up making a few changes you might want to consider too.

2025 has been an incredible year for the horror genre, offering surprising blockbuster juggernauts and beloved franchises making their long-awaited return. One such release was 28 Years Later, the long-awaited sequel to Danny Boyle and Alex Garland's genre-redefining 2002 zombie feature, which returned audiences to a ravaged UK after a virus turns most of its population into bloodthirsty cannibalistic killers.

Is your Windows PC noticeably slower after installing a recent update? It’s common for new patches to affect performance. In other cases, the update doesn’t break Windows—it just breaks something in Windows. The good news is that most of these slowdowns aren’t permanent and are easy to sort out.

The Camry’s rapid rise as Toyota’s best-selling hybrid caught a lot of people off guard—especially with the RAV4 being as popular as it is. Turns out, plenty of buyers still want a good old-fashioned sedan, even with no shortage of shiny SUVs on the lot.

I woke up on Sunday morning to find that I’d left the garage door open all night long and that a bike had been stolen. After wishing great harm on whoever decided to take my partner’s daily ride to work, I started thinking about how I can prevent this happening in future with the help of Home Assistant.

I love open-source software, and it's been essential to my needs over the years. I've used GIMP when I couldn't afford Photoshop. Scribus when I needed to design a book for college, and OpenOffice for the Linux netbook that got me through post-grad. I owe open-source software a lot, and it's too important to hold it to a lower standard than the closed-source for-profit stuff.

Were you an avid Google Voice user? I was, and it was an amazing service at one time. These days, however, it seems like a forgotten service. Here’s why I stopped using Google Voice, and also how I think Google could raise its VoIP service from the ashes.

For years, I've relied on running totals in Microsoft Excel, but the traditional methods are fragile and unreliable. Since Microsoft introduced the SCAN function, I've switched to a brand-new approach that is flexible, self-healing, and doesn't break when my data grows.

Google Chrome's default settings can hinder your browsing experience, compromise your privacy, and chew through system resources. That's why I always disable the following settings when installing Chrome on a new machine.

We often point fingers at system files, apps, update caches, temporary data, or restore points when the C drive fills up. But the biggest space hog is usually hiding in plain sight: the Downloads folder. Here’s why it fills up so fast, how to clean it out, and how to stop it from ballooning again.

Recently while working on my homelab setup, I noticed the dual network ports on my NAS, and I got curious what was possible with the second. Looking through manuals and discussions, I learned I had a few options.

A NAS is endlessly versatile. You can use it as a simple solution for backups and data storage, or you can evolve it into a full-on homelab, with Docker containers, VMs, media streaming, photo management, and smart home services. That versatility is exactly why it's not a one-size-fits-all solution.