How-To Geek

June on HBO Max feels like a true summer streaming event with its lineup built to keep you hooked all month long. Major premieres, diverse genres, and enough surprises to make scrolling the homepage exciting again are coming your way, so keep the popcorn handy.

Exploring older operating systems and trying out different Linux distros on a virtual machine is one of my ongoing hobby projects (I have a lot of those). One of the main issues I've had is shuttling different ISO files between VMs.

Android’s hidden Developer Options menu is full of handy toggles and tools. However, there’s one in particular that could genuinely help get you out of a jam. I hope you never need it, but if you do, you’ll be happy you took 5 seconds to enable it right now.

A workshop may feel incomplete without the right tools, but good lights could also be what is missing. Don't spend thousands on high-end table saws and precision tools if you're still squinting under the dim glow of a single, buzzing bulb. Lighting should be considered the foundation of your workshop, and new lights could improve your work more than any new tool ever will, especially if your garage is your next smart home upgrade.

Most people install VLC and never think twice about it. But there's a quieter, leaner, and frankly more capable player that power users have known about for years, and it's time the rest of the world caught up.

Subscription creep is real, and cloud storage is one of the quieter offenders—easy to set up, easy to forget, and easy to keep paying for even when you probably don’t need it. If you have an old PC you’ve retired, you already have everything you need to run your own private cloud storage and cut that bill down to zero. I did exactly that with a 2017 budget machine, and the result works better than I expected.

E-readers like the Amazon Kindle are hardy devices. Their batteries don't experience excessive wear because you only need to charge them occasionally. E-Ink displays are good for up to 90 million page refreshes, so you're not likely to wear your Kindle out that way either. So how exactly will your Kindle ever outlive its usefulness?

There's a version of your Windows setup where files sort themselves, backups happen quietly in the background, and everything you copy is automatically saved for later. And the best part is that you don't need to install any fancy third-party software to make this happen. PowerShell is built into Windows, and it can automate all the boring stuff for you. To give you an idea of what's possible, here are three scripts that automate the most repetitive parts of my day.

A good soundbar can make a real difference to how your TV sounds, but many people undermine it before they ever hear what it can actually do. Where you put it matters more than most people expect, and the most common mistakes, like tucking it inside a cabinet or letting something hang over it, can turn an expensive piece of audio equipment into something that sounds worse than a budget alternative. This small change doesn't cost anything, and the difference it makes is usually immediate.

Installing an IR (infrared) remote control app on my Symbian-powered Nokia 6600 and then using it to control my flat-screen CRT Samsung TV was one of those “the future is now” moments where I realized my smartphone was indeed a mini computer capable of all kinds of things. I had a blast messing with my mom and friends, changing channels, and turning off their TV with my phone’s secret power. Until I ran out of TVs to mess with.

Excel hides some of its best productivity tools in places most people never think to look. While many people waste time bouncing between ribbon tabs, a quick right-click can handle repetitive typing, data cleanup, visual analysis, and spreadsheet organization much faster. These hidden shortcuts can save clicks and keep you focused on your work.

Your 3D printer is a tool and, like similar equipment, it needs to be treated with respect. Even though printing is mostly safe, you can seriously harm yourself and those around you if you do it wrong.

Most Linux distros are designed with a specific type of user in mind. In fact, that’s the reason we have so many different distributions—Ubuntu prioritizes accessibility, Arch focuses on freshness and customization, and Mint tries to make Linux more comfortable for Windows users. The problem is that when a distro optimizes itself for one workflow, it often becomes less flexible in the opposite direction.

We spend a ridiculous amount of time behind the wheel. On average, American drivers rack up about 293 hours a year driving, which is basically two full weeks of your life spent in a car.

The BMW X7 has become the benchmark for big luxury SUVs for a reason. It’s fast, ridiculously comfortable, packed with tech, and somehow still manages to feel smaller behind the wheel than something this massive should.

The official Plex app works — until you start noticing what it has quietly removed, charges extra for, or just never bothered to get it right. A newcomer called Plezy is making a surprisingly strong case for replacing it entirely.

While Unix-like operating systems have captured my imagination, the first computer I owned ran MS-DOS. While these systems are widely considered different, MS-DOS helped me develop command-line habits that have served me well on Linux. While you can do a lot more than you used to on modern Linux distros without having to touch the command line, when I got started, that wasn’t always the case.

Plug-in hybrids have become increasingly popular as buyers look for a middle ground between traditional gas cars and fully electric vehicles. However, many PHEVs still come with some major compromises, whether it be high pricing, disappointing electric range, or mediocre efficiency once the battery runs low. The Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid continues to avoid those pitfalls, offering one of the most complete packages in the segment for 2026.

Sometimes it's a bit slow getting back into the swing of things after a long weekend. But one thing I do know helps take the edge off is a good movie during the week. Netflix's May additions are pretty much spent at this point, but there's always something new to watch, and I've got a few suggestions.

I remember how amazed I was the first time I saw a USB-C port work as a display output. Simply plug in a USB-C cable with HDMI or DisplayPort on the other end, and it just works.