How-To Geek

The first time I gave money to a Linux project felt weird. I'd been playing with one distro or another for a while, never quite figuring it out. Then Ubuntu Linux launched just as I started college, and because we all had bad internet, they sent me an installation disc for free.

I am a fan of both the Anker SOLIX F3800 and its refined follow-up, the F3800 Plus. There’s a row of them in the pantry of my home. So I’m happy to say Anker has released a spiritual successor: the Anker SOLIX S5000. While it’s not better in every way, it improves in the ways that matter most. I'm not a fan of some changes Anker has made to its newer portable power stations, but it has knocked this one out of the park.

If your default browser homepage and search engine keep mysteriously changing to Yahoo!, your computer is probably infected with a browser hijacker. While resetting the browser might seem to fix the problem, here's how to do the job properly.

Ryobi has long been the go-to for weekend DIYers or hardcore hobbyists, but they're hardly the only option in town. I love my Ryobi tools, but you can get similar performance at a wallet-friendly price from several other brands these days. Here are the affordable tools giving Ryobi a run for its money.

Linux Mint was my daily driver for years. It’s stable, friendly, and refreshingly free of drama. But the longer I used it, the more its cautious pace felt like a ceiling. Fedora Workstation is what finally convinced me to leave.

The preservation of information has always been a problem throughout history. The burning of the Library of Alexandria caused the permanent loss of so much history and knowledge, that the event itself will, ironically, never be forgotten.

I've been a gamer for as long as I can remember. Over the years, I’ve owned several arcade cabinets, and even built my own. While I do like today's modern games, I really enjoy the nostalgia and simplicity of older arcade and console games. My job always has me trying new software and applications, so when I came across RetroBat, it seemed right up my alley.

Google started the trend of guaranteeing nearly decade-long updates to its flagship Pixel phones a few years ago. After Google Pixel devices, Samsung jumped on the bandwagon too. Now, it's considered standard to see the latest Google and Samsung phones to boast seven-year update promises. I wouldn't be surprised if Android phone makers increased this guarantee to 10 years or more, going head-to-head with Apple's update policy for iPhones.

Your ESP32 project needs firmware to make it do what you want it to. The good news is that you don't need to know how to write complex code; with ESPHome, there are some ESP32 projects that you can set up with just a few clicks in a browser. There's no programming required at all.

The My Computer icon was a fixture on Windows desktops for decades, but it was removed and renamed with the introduction of Windows 10. Now properly called "This PC," the icon must be added back manually. Here's how to get the This PC icon on your desktop.

Milwaukee tools have a solid reputation, and it's one of the best brands in the business, but there are occasional misfires. With hundreds of tools readily available across its growing M12 and M18 platforms, there's bound to be a few duds. Here are a few Milwaukee tools that users most often regret buying.

I like traveling, but I have never been particularly fond of carrying too much stuff. A laptop, its charger, a few essentials, and a bag that does not feel like I am moving house are enough for me. Unfortunately, working remotely can complicate that plan. Hotel Wi-Fi is unpredictable, public networks are a privacy concern, and accessing my home lab while I am away requires a little preparation.

It's easy to design objects that are fully 3D printed, but I've found that my most useful creations work with existing devices. Often, old gadgets just need to be reconfigured a bit to be repurposed. I've used my 3D printer numerous times to breathe new life into phones, smartwatches, and smart home products.

There are plenty of settings that you can scroll through on a Roku TV or streaming device, but there are some hidden menus that offer even more options. You can access these secret settings by pressing a sequence of buttons on your Roku remote, although none of them will give you 30 lives.

Building a homelab can get expensive quickly. A spare PC turns into a virtualization host, which leads to a dedicated NAS, a managed switch, and eventually a rack full of equipment that consumes electricity around the clock. For many homelabbers, the challenge is finding ways to keep experimenting without spending money on new hardware every few months.

The state of the open-source software community has never been better, with Windows being arguably the biggest platform for open-source apps. The most popular desktop operating system in the world has hundreds of fantastic open-source tools and utilities, with the best of them being able to compete with, and sometimes beat, their premium closed-source peers.

When most people think of 3D printing, they imagine spare parts, clever home solutions, or, most likely, piles of articulated dragons. But you can create visual art in quite a few ways with a 3D printer.

Linux has thousands of commands, and most of us lean on the same few dozen. Many of you might not even use more than 10 unless it's absolutely needed. But it turns out, tucked away in the rest, are small utilities that quietly do the heavy lifting. Here are four that even seasoned users forget exist, along with the situations where they shine.

I put off trying ESP32 projects for a long time because I assumed they would be complicated and time-consuming, and I didn't have hours to spare. Building ESP32 projects from scratch can take time (though not nearly as much as I'd imagined), but you don't have to reinvent the wheel. Some commercial products contain ESP32 chips, and you may be able to flash them with custom firmware.

Your phone comes with Google Chrome, but you may want to swap it for Mozilla Firefox for privacy concerns and Google’s near-monopoly over the web. Yet there are many versions of Firefox floating around, and while the main version is fine for most, it may not be the best option for you.