How-To Geek

It’s always a little sad to learn that a favorite free and open-source app has gone closed source—or worse, started costing money. But sometimes it’s inevitable. Developers need to pay the bills, companies need sustainable growth, and maintaining a public codebase takes real time and effort.

The new flagship of the Audi portfolio has arrived. On July 28th, 2026, Audi unveiled the all-new Q9 and the high-performance SQ9, both three-row SUVs. As the largest SUV Audi has ever produced, the Q9 is poised to compete in the lucrative full-size luxury SUV segment, going up against established rivals like the BMW X7, Cadillac Escalade, and Mercedes-Benz GLS.

HBO Max is turning up the heat with an August lineup that leans deep into big-event television. In addition to a mix of unscripted content, subscribers are also in for some movie streaming premieres, a highly anticipated new series, a new season of a returning favorite, and another Hard Knocks training camp, this time with the Seattle Seahawks. Documentary fans also have a gripping new treat, and it looks to be a must-see project, especially for fans of Tiger King.

There's a reason we keep going back to documentaries—real life is always way stranger than any writers' room could ever conjure up. July has made that case again (June was pretty solid, too), with some genuinely fascinating docs and series from the likes of Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+/Hulu, and Paramount+ that I've watched that have hijacked more than one entire weekend of mine.

The Mercedes-Benz E-Class has spent decades setting the standard for luxury sedans. It's refined, packed with technology, and carries the kind of prestige that still draws buyers into showrooms.

Since I own a couple of SSDs that have passed the half-decade mark (the older one is pushing its first decade of service), I decided it was time for a quick health check to see if they're still in good working order and worth keeping.

Google Maps is on so many phones that it's hard to get away from it. For most people, it's never really been a choice; it's just the default. You open it, type a destination, and assume it's giving you the most useful route with the most honest results. I made that assumption for years, but lately I've noticed things that make it really annoying and untrustworthy, even if you change the settings.

As SUVs continue to dominate showroom floors, it's easy to forget just how much value a well-engineered family sedan can offer. For buyers who prioritize low running costs, long-term reliability, and everyday comfort over extra ride height, a midsize sedan often delivers a better ownership experience while costing significantly less to buy and operate.

Prime Video remains one of the major streaming services in today's streaming landscape. Like its competitors, Prime Video is always looking for its next critically acclaimed Emmy contender. Since 2015, Amazon has won more than 50 Emmy Awards in various categories, including some of the most prestigious comedy and drama prizes.

Your ESP32-based DIY electronics projects could soon integrate more smoothly into your smart home. Espressif's ESP32-S31 board is now available with major upgrades in performance, wireless tech, and input.

Phones have become such a part of our daily lives that it's important to find ways to make them easier to use. There's always one place that can make navigating cleaner, smoother, and easier: the Home Screen. But you might not realize there are some neat features available in your system launcher, like Samsung's One UI Launcher.

When Toyota rolled out its first hybrid system in the 1997 Prius, the idea was straightforward. Let a gas engine and an electric motor trade off propulsion duties, so the car could ultimately go farther on less fuel. Almost three decades later, Toyota has stretched that same idea in two different directions inside a single car.

We've all been there. Your PC is lagging, you open up task manager to see what is going on, and the graph shows you that 95% of your RAM is in use. Switching to the process tab doesn't help; the numbers don't seem to add up.

Ever since its release in early 2022, Valve's Steam Deck has been touted as the best handheld PC for most people and the default recommendation for anyone looking to get into handheld PC gaming, for good reason.

Many of us rely on Google Maps (or your navigation app of choice) running through Android Auto to get from point A to point B. It makes sense—navigation is one of the most fundamental features any modern car can offer, and it's only made better by Android Auto because it ditches the clunky built-in systems in favor of something familiar.

Luxury SUVs have become increasingly expensive, with many new compact models now pushing well beyond the $50,000 mark before options. That has made the lightly used market especially appealing, where three-year-old examples can deliver virtually the same technology, comfort, and performance for thousands less than their original sticker price.

If your Fire TV Stick keeps rebooting, freezing, or buffering and feels like it's on its way out, it might not actually be broken. Different symptoms often have different causes, so the fix for a device that's buffering won't be the same as one that's stuck in a reboot loop. So before you throw it away and buy a replacement, check whether you can get it working properly again.

It's no secret that Apple’s ecosystem is a closed garden; most of its apps and services are only available on its own platforms. This won't be changing anytime soon, but that doesn't mean Apple has gate-kept all of its apps—some have found their way onto the Google Play Store.

Be sure to remember your Galaxy phone's PIN or password, as the consequences might be severe the next time you forget. Samsung has revealed that Android 17-based One UI 9, preloaded with new phones like the Galaxy Z Fold 8, will force a factory reset after 13 failed unlock attempts.

Bad Excel habits rarely cause problems straight away. Instead, they quietly build up until your workbook becomes difficult to update, troubleshoot, or trust—and by then, fixing everything can take longer than rebuilding it. None of these five habits will break a small spreadsheet overnight, but once your workbook grows or someone else has to use it, they become much harder to undo.