How-To Geek

Are you tired of giving Google tons of your hard-earned money while also giving them the ability to mine your information and photos? Kicking Google Photos to the curb and picking up a cheap NAS is definitely the right way to go if that describes you.

Our phones can do so much, but how much you’re willing to do depends a great deal on how much you can see on-screen and how quickly you can switch between apps. Galaxy phones come with more multitasking options than other brands, but one of the most useful ways to juggle more than one app is disabled by default. Fortunately, it’s not too hard to turn on.

When it comes to cordless power tools, you have several excellent options to choose from. But did you know that most brands are manufactured or owned by just a handful of companies? If you're a Milwaukee owner who constantly pokes fun at Ryobi tools, slow your roll, because both brands come from one large parent company named TTI, and they aren't the only ones.

After years of testing Windows performance claims that often amounted to little more than marketing, I wasn't expecting Windows 11 26H2 to feel much different. Microsoft says the update delivers "a Windows experience that's up to 20% more responsive," so I compared Windows 11 before and after upgrading my 16GB ASUS laptop. I didn't think I'd notice much difference, but several of my tests turned up more than I expected.

I already own a dedicated travel router, and it does a pretty good job of connecting my devices to unfamiliar Wi-Fi networks when I am away from home. However, I wanted something that gave me more control over my network and made accessing my homelab easier while traveling. I already use Tailscale and Headscale across several devices, so experimenting with them on a Raspberry Pi seemed like a natural next step.

Running Unraid gives you plenty of ways to expand your home server beyond file storage and media streaming. Every month, new apps show up in the Community Applications catalog, bringing new ways to use your server.

I love Wikipedia, and I've spent many hours of my life sitting in front of my computer, going down the wiki rabbit hole while sipping coffee and listening to music.

The trend of “cleaning” your smart TV is growing in response to sluggish software filled with advertisements. But there’s risk involved when using coding assistants to poke around your TV, and the process might not go far enough to combat some of the industry’s dirtier tricks.

I was looking for a fun home lab project to try over the weekend and realized it's been a while since I last made something with an ESP32 board. I have a few different boards among my supplies, including several ESP32-C3 Supermini boards, and I thought, “Why not make a tracking tag out of a few of them? So I did a bit of research for ideas on how to do that and ended up doing a nifty little weekend experiment with the concept.

If you're like me, you have more Raspberry Pis than you have monitors, or even monitor inputs. They tend to pile up as you buy an old Pi 3 here or a cheap Pi Zero there.

I recently rooted my LG TV to try to stop it from spying on me. One of the benefits of doing so was that I was able to install homebrew apps on the TV to give it features that it didn’t previously have. When I realized that I could use AI to vibe-code custom apps for my TV, I decided to replicate an Apple TV feature that I’ve always wanted.

Netflix has no plans to slow down even with only two months left in the year. In fact, the streamer is ramping up its list of new and returning shows this month. One of Netflix's surprise U.S. hits of 2025 returns on Thanksgiving for a drama-filled second season.

You don't have to be obsessed with privacy and cybersecurity to worry about your data. These days, data is a hot commodity, and you want to have as much control over yours as possible. Some of it is hard to avoid; for instance, your ISP probably knows more about you than you think. But sometimes, a rogue device might be oversharing, and you definitely want to know when that's the case.

I'm good with the Linux command line. I use it daily and even teach basic Linux operations to a few students. But I was thinking about it the other day and realized: I can get around and do a lot using the Terminal, but am I truly fluent with the command line? I don't think I am. Every so often, I like to test Claude, whether it's for gaming tweaks, research, or other stuff. I wanted to see how it would do on something useful, so I devised an experiment that asked a simple question: can an LLM design a 30-day Linux workout that can make a daily/familiar Linux user with a lot of experience more fluent with the command line? The answer was surprising.

As someone who has used Samsung phones for a while, I can't help but feel like the brand is slowly but surely drifting away from its roots. While all smartphone brands copy one another, Samsung seemingly ditches things that already work really well in favor of a layout that is considered to be more popular.

Upgrading to Ubuntu 26.04 on an older PC might not feel as smooth as you expected. The new release recommends 6GB of RAM for a comfortable experience, up from 4GB in Ubuntu 24.04. If your system is starting to feel sluggish, you might be able to make things better without spending money on new hardware.

On October 29, Sir Patrick Stewart died at the age of 86. This news sent a wave of grief through the world and left me personally feeling shaken to my core. He is an actor who had such a profound impact on the world of cinema, bringing a Shakespearean elegance and poise to the screen that few others have achieved, and played a core role in my enthusiasm for movies.

Whether you're just starting out or looking to buy another power tool, Milwaukee offers three main battery systems. And depending on what you plan on using it for, there's a good chance you're buying or using the wrong one.

The legendary Shure SM7B has stood the test of time as one of the world's best XLR microphones and Michael Jackson trusted it for Thriller. It's the microphone of choice for professionals and the best pick if you want world-class voice clarity for streaming or podcasting. The Shure SM7B is rarely on sale, but you can now get it at a marked-down price on a limited-time Amazon deal.

Your Android device is doing a lot more in the background than you realize, with some pretty complex systems aiming to optimize your phone. Even more interesting is that you can take direct control of a lot of these functions if you know where to look. The background resources that an app draws, and by extension how much battery it drains, is one of these functions.