How-To Geek

It's no secret that Milwaukee makes some of the best power tools on the market, but certain models are far more popular than others. It's not just about the price tag, either, as there are specific combo kits or standalone tools that deliver incredible power, value, and usefulness.

If you've questioned why Microsoft has insisted on branding computers as Copilot+ PCs, you're not alone. Microsoft and Qualcomm have acknowledged that they and their PC partners are dropping the label from their systems.

Netflix's collection of movies spans years and genres, and I always find myself digging through its catalog for interesting additions to my watch list. This time around, I found three award-winning, widely acclaimed movies that are worth every second.

When DLSS 5 first launched, the general reaction was lukewarm at best and highly polarized—critics complained that it slopified every game's art direction and left everything looking conspicuously generic. Of course, that didn't stop modders from attempting to get DLSS 5 running on every single game ever released, even ones that definitely shouldn't support it.

I've tried them all. Silicone, metal, and everything in between. Official and unofficial. And yet, I keep coming back to one specific kind of band with every smartwatch I've owned.

Free, open-source software makes the world go round, but the open-source community also creates some of the best apps out there, many of which trump their paid alternatives. We recently shared five standout examples of free and open-source apps that hold their ground against their paid rivals, and today I'm sharing another batch of fantastic FOSS apps that are completely free and better than what you'd pay for.

I find it fascinating that Android Auto can be amazing for a long time, but then I suddenly notice something going subtly wrong. Maybe it's the sudden appearance of Gemini trying to get me to write songs with it while I drive. Or the cable comes loose a bunch of times, and I lose connection (I switched to Android Auto Wirelessbecause of this issue). Sometimes, it's a navigation issue. It can be hit-and-miss. Recently, I was using Android Auto and noticed some dips in audio quality. I looked into it and found an app that took care of the issue for me.

Windows 11 has long baked Bing into local search, and escaping it meant editing the registry. Version 26H2 finally adds a proper toggle. Here is what search looked like before, how much faster it feels now, and whether switching Bing off is worth it.

Picking a music-streaming service can invite a little peer pressure, especially since I pay for YouTube Music Premium. I get it. Spotify and Apple Music dominate these conversations. My friends who use Spotify give me a look that says they feel slightly sorry for me, while the Apple crowd assumes I’m just defaulting to whatever Google bundles into Android.

Google Fi is now trivially inexpensive, provided you take advantage of a rare deal. Google has a limited-time promotion that cuts 75% off plan prices for a year, but only if you meet certain conditions.

Modular 3D-printed models are designed with customization and future expansion in mind. By adding additional modules or printing just the parts you need, you can expand on a project in the future or make something that feels tailored to you.

After almost two decades of using gaming mice, I switched to an ergonomic mouse about a month ago. The move is already paying dividends because my Logitech MX Master 3S is super comfortable to use, but I still decided to keep my Logitech G305 and switch to a dual mouse setup. Here’s why.

Skyrocketing, unprecedented RAM prices have changed the entire way we have to think about RAM for our PCs. When RAM was cheap, I would always recommend buying a matched pair and installing them in a dual-channel configuration. You get double the memory bandwidth, after all. So why not?

Everyone is short on time these days, and typing on your phone screen isn't exactly fast. Managers, founders, product specialists, and those who need to communicate a lot throughout the day are often short on time. Stopping to switch or find the right app, or work through the process manually, can really slow things down.

Microsoft is making it easier to have AI do your drudge work — even when you're not there. The company has launched a redesigned Copilot app that finally ties into Office and streamlines the whole experience, including the do-it-while-you-sleep Autopilot feature.

Fall is officially upon us, and as September winds down and we prepare for the changing of the leaves, Netflix's flashy conveyor belt of new documentaries and series has slowed. But that's OK, a couple of great series are still going strong on the Netflix U.S. charts—Death of the Pastor's Wife and I Survived a Serial Killer—and, as we're about to get into, it's not over yet.

Blu-ray discs remain one of the few ways to keep high-quality home movies on physical media you control. Windows 11 barely includes basic support to make a playable one, though — which might surprise some of you, considering native burning tools for formats like DVD have been a staple on Windows for almost 20 years now. Here's the hardware and software you need, how burning works, and whether it's all worth the effort.

I've seen plenty of posts online saying you absolutely need to buy a name brand, but they always assume you're running tools all day on a job site. If you're not, that advice doesn't apply, and following it will cost you money you don't need to spend. Off-brand power tool batteries have a bad reputation that made more sense when third-party manufacturing was less reliable than it is now. You need to consider whether your situation actually calls for a name-brand battery.

While you may be waiting for Amazon’s highly anticipated Big Deal Days to go live in two weeks, now may be a better time to shop, as the mega retailer just quietly slashed pricing on tons of gear, including some of its most popular power tools, like DeWalt's no. 1 bestselling 20V Max XR Oscillating Tool Kit—and right now, it's under $100.

You've likely noticed that your Windows computer tends to slow down after it's been running for a while. This can happen even on brand-new laptops and powerful gaming PCs, yet few people understand why this happens. The good news is that I have a solution.