How-To Geek

One day, OneDrive just appeared on my PC. Before I knew it, it was syncing files, backing up my entire desktop, and storing photos.

Did you know that you could use your Milwaukee M18 battery to power a fridge on the job site? What about using an M12 battery to stay warm with a powered jacket? Here are five fun things you didn't know you could use your Milwaukee batteries to do.

When a Chromebook ages, it often sits unused and collects dust. However, with a little effort, you can breathe new life into your old device. From passing it down to your kid to turning it into an e-reader or a digital photo frame, here are some ways to repurpose your old Chromebook.

I've had issues with my homelab dying in the past for several different reasons. Services hogging all the RAM have caused things to crash, and I've even had problems with the mini PC overheating. When my self-hosted services stopped working recently, I assumed that it was for a similar reason, but the problem turned out to be caused entirely by a faulty Ethernet cable.

It's usually the case that when you want to add capabilities to your smart home, you need to invest in new hardware. Sometimes, however, you can take a different approach with existing devices that lets you replace the firmware, not the hardware. Doing so can remove cloud dependencies, expose hardware that wasn't previously accessible, and even enable capabilities that the original firmware didn't offer.

Windows and Linux both handle everyday computing, but they differ sharply in how much control they give you. Four Linux features in particular reflect design choices that Windows has never matched in the same way. Here is what they are and why they matter.

Anyone who knows me also knows I'm no big fan of laptops. As a PC builder for 20+ years, it'll surprise nobody that I prefer to just build my own thing instead.

Android Auto is a great tool to use when driving. It lets you use the best of your phone and cast it to your infotainment system. You can connect wired or wirelessly, depending on what your car supports.

Google Messages works fine until you start wanting more from it. It feels so outdated because it's plain and basic. I guess that's good because you don't need to learn a bunch of different settings and features. Still, plenty of apps can add great features to Google Messages.

It's a frustrating situation when your gadgets become useless long before the hardware actually fails. You may have old devices stuffed in a drawer that are no longer supported or are simply outdated. Open-source software could give you a reason to pull them out of the drawer again.

There are plenty of things you can do with an old Kindle, from loading it with children's books and giving it to your kids to trading it in for a newer model. You may be surprised by how much more you can do with an old Kindle. Here are five real projects that I've done with my jailbroken fourth-generation Kindle.

Whatever your personal feelings on using AI in coding, plenty of people are happy to take advantage of tools like ChatGPT and Claude when building smart home projects. It's increasingly likely that some of the code that's already running in your smart home was written with the help of AI.

Ryobi has made power tools for decades, and while some have become industry stalwarts, others are now relics of the past and collectibles. Here are five unique Ryobi tools so rare you'll only see them in a collector's house — and the third one down is my favorite.

I know that Halloween is a month away, but tell that to the guy down my street who's already got a 15-foot skeleton on his lawn. While that might be a tad premature, it's never a bad time for a good nightmare-inducing horror film, and Netflix has a coffin-full of 'em for U.S. subscribers to get in the mood for Spooky Season.

Using Ethernet for every device that allows it is the smart thing to do. You're prioritizing stability over convenience, and if that's fine by you, then you're unlikely to regret it.

Every so often, there comes along a discount that may make you stop and think, 'Is this too good to be true?' Well, when we tell you that, right now, you can pick up the Microsoft Office 2024 Professional Plus software package for as low as $40, we're here to tell you that this is indeed an honest price. Here's the catch: you'll have to use our exclusive code to get the complete discount—but this deal is only valid until Oct. 9.

ChatGPT has been my everyday AI companion since it became popular in late 2022. Even though there are strong alternatives like Claude and Gemini in the market, perhaps because of my early-adopter bias and familiarity with ChatGPT, I still stick with it for most of my everyday tasks. But I've often found ChatGPT's advice is full of fluff and too generic, using buzzwords like "stay consistent" and "prioritize tasks"—the kind of one-size-fits-all advice that doesn't suit my taste. Also, it's annoying to repeatedly include the persona and output format every time you prompt.

My Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 had started running out of battery way earlier than I expected, and I couldn’t figure out why. I hadn’t suddenly started using it more. I was still doing my usual stuff: replying to WhatsApp messages, checking Instagram, looking up recipes, and opening Google Maps when I was heading somewhere.

Windows is hands down the most popular desktop operating system in the world, and while Linux is far from Windows' mainstream appeal, most of the world's servers run on Linux. Both systems have a rich history, and they both draw a lot of inspiration from operating systems of yore, which laid some of the most important cornerstones both Windows and Linux are standing on.

Do you want to start replacing subscriptions with your own self-hosted services? The Raspberry Pi might be a good place to start, especially since you can pick one up for just $35. Here are six subscriptions a Raspberry Pi 3 B can replace, and how much you'll save per year if you do it.