How-To Geek

Getting started with a Raspberry PI can feel daunting, especially with so many peripherals and projects out there. This was the project that got me started, and it is still a great beginner project today.

I grew up on Windows 7 because it was my main operating system for years. I spent some of my early computing days on Windows XP, but Windows 7 was my digital home for the longest time. I haven't used it in almost a decade. Microsoft dropped support for it about six years ago. There was an extended release version, but software companies are abandoning that ESR version too. Just this month, Firefox announced that it's ending support for Windows 7, which prompted me to try it again for old time's sake.

There's always been a strong rivalry between Apple and Microsoft along with the companies that make Windows hardware. This has been going on ever since both companies were "inspired" by the graphical technologies they saw at Xerox PARC all those years ago.

Have you ever shaken your smartphone and heard something rattling inside? It's not loose parts—well, technically it is, but it’s placed there intentionally. Here's what's actually going on.

As a lifelong bookworm, it's saddened me to see the popularity of reading decline during my life as people gain access to other, more convenient forms of entertainment. Sure, there's been a bit of a revival thanks to the "BookTok" phenomenon, but by and large the average person would rather open the Netflix app than crack open a book.

Software doesn't usually age gracefully. If you're lucky, you might see 10 years of support for a typical desktop app, and most mobile apps have an even shorter life expectancy. That is what makes one legacy program so remarkable.

Much like a fire extinguisher or home insurance, a panic button is something that could mitigate disaster, but that I really hope I never need to use. I set up a panic button for my smart home, and it's comforting to know it's there should the worst happen.

There are thousands of Docker containers that you could potentially run on your server. While I haven't run anywhere near all of them, here are 10 containers that I simply can't live without in my homelab, and why I think you should run them too.

I've been writing code for a long time. Over the years I've used countless development environments—sometimes simultaneously—trying to find the perfect tools for the multitude of languages that I've worked with. Those days are gone. My search is over. I've found the one to rule them all!

Ubuntu Studio is a Linux distro from Canonical that's designed for creatives. It comes preinstalled with a big array of free and open-source software for audio, video, graphics, and photography. Early on in my career, I did graphic design work for a while and I still draw illustrations for fun. These are my impressions of Ubuntu Studio.

In an ideal world, your PC should never be the only place where your important data lives. It can be one of the places, though, but the most critical files should be backed up following the 3-2-1 rule (or even more advanced methods).

For years, the idea of a complete home security system seemed to end with just cameras. However, the modern smart home is now heading into a time of seamless integration, especially when it comes to perimeter defense, which uses security and safety sensors.

Once, the Calendar app integrated into Windows was a capable scheduling companion. However, following several updates between Windows 10 and 11, the Windows calendar is now almost entirely useless.

This was another busy week in tech, with Apple releasing the affordable MacBook Neo and other new hardware, big updates for Obsidian and Home Assistant, changes coming to Windows 11, and much more. Here are the biggest stories you might have missed.

Note-taking has always been part of my daily routine, but it felt plain. My notes were practical, yes, but dull and often hard to skim. Everything changed when I started using emoji intentionally in my note-taking, especially inside Obsidian.

You might not consider your computer a vital part of your smart home, but it can be. Integrating your Windows, Mac, or Linux workstation with Home Assistant lets you use your computer as a trigger or condition for household automations, and even send commands depending on your operating system.

Linux is everywhere, and that's not a bad thing. It's an operating system that seems to end up in every sort of device imaginable. The only place where Linux is rare seems to be desktop computers. Of course in recent years Linux has been gaining in popularity, and I can see a future where it might even have the majority share of the desktop market.

Have you put off building a smart home because of something you heard five or ten years ago? Don’t let preconceptions cloud your judgment and hold you back; it’s time to bust some smart home myths.

When it comes to finding solid content to stream, I’m always looking at Rotten Tomatoes scores. While I take them with a grain of salt—since beauty is in the eye of the beholder—these scores still have a marked influence over what gets added to my watchlist and what gets filed away as a maybe. When RT scores surge to high levels, though, they indicate something demands attention, and that’s the focus of this weekend’s recommendations on Amazon Prime Video.

It's tempting to buy any used PC parts you can with how expensive the market is right now. It's usually not recommended to buy SSDs used, but that's only on the consumer side. If you're looking at an enterprise SSD, buying it used might be a great idea.