How-To Geek

Modern generative AI is like a force of nature, it seems. Sometimes it does things that are good for us, like solving a 50-year-old grand challenge in protein folding. Other times, it might be bad for us, such as the environmental issues around data centers, or how it can supercharge malware.

Stopping a 3D print midway in order to enclose an item—be it a weight, a magnet, or another printed object—is a neat trick. But you should never do this with glitter, sand, or similar loose items, or you’re risking a nasty surprise.

If you have a spare Raspberry Pi sitting around unused, it’s time to put it to work. While you can go all-out and build elaborate contraptions with Pis, here are five lightweight services that you can self-host on your spare (or aging) Pi without spending any extra cash on accessories.

Google wants you to buy a Googlebook, but these new laptops cost a premium, and after looking at these Android-powered devices, I see very little that hasn't been available for years. Depending on your expectations, the best Googlebook for you may already be the one in your pocket. Take this from someone writing these words on an Android desktop he's used on and off for years.

A decent toolbox for your garage or shop certainly won't come cheap, but that doesn't mean you have to spend thousands on one, either. At first, a little tool bag or some bins will suffice, but as you start to stock up on power tools, batteries, wrenches, screwdriver sets, sockets, bits, and more, you'll eventually want something bigger. Here are some affordable choices.

One of the greatest selling points of Google's new Android-powered, AI-focused Googlebook laptops is the tight integration with your Android smartphone. There are plenty of new ways to connect your laptop and smartphone, but the tried-and-true feature for sharing images, documents, and other files still reigns supreme. Here's what you need to know about using Quick Share on your Googlebook.

The MacBook Neo made a huge splash earlier this year, giving people the premium quality of a classic MacBook for just $599 (or $699 at the time of writing, thanks, RAM shortage). It filled a gap in the market for people who could benefit from the form factor of a laptop but didn't need the extra computing power, and it threw in some cool color options as an extra.

Subscription software keeps getting more expensive, and most of us end up paying for a massive suite of features we rarely touch. The good news is that for almost every major paid desktop app, there is usually an open-source counterpart that costs nothing and runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

When you're clearing out unwanted apps from your Windows PC, uninstalling one or two is easy enough. But if you have a dozen programs you no longer use, removing them one at a time can take a while, since Windows 11's Settings app doesn't let you select multiple apps and uninstall them together.

Smartwatches are, well, smart, but that doesn't mean other watches are dumb. For example, mechanical watches don't require batteries at all — they operate purely through a tightly wound spring. You can give your Galaxy Watch the same vibe in a few simple steps.

A smart home means different things to different people. Many of us want a home that takes care of itself quietly in the background, while others look at the concept as one that leverages technology to feel more like a helping hand.

It is easy to look at a small plastic drive on a desk and assume someone sat down, drew a blueprint, and built it out of thin air. Plenty of devices were genius inventions that one person could lay claim to, sometimes building off the foundation of others. However, hardware history rarely works like that, and combining parts from separate inventions usually turns into a brawl over who crossed the finish line first. The USB flash drive is no different.

SSDs are more than just flash memory chips soldered to a PCB. They’re still relatively simple designs, but they can’t function without a small chip next to the flash that manages how and where data is written, moved, and erased, along with a plethora of other responsibilities.

My kids bought mood rings in the summer that change color, supposedly to reflect your current mood. This gave me an idea for building a mood ring of my own for my office that would give me useful information at a glance.

Amazon and Google have largely had the smart home world to themselves, at least for those who aren't interested in a solution like Home Assistant. They've not only built a load of hardware, but they also created whole ecosystems with tens of thousands of supported devices between them. They're not without their flaws, but they generally offer a turnkey smart home experience.

Everyone has found themselves scrolling through all their streaming services for ages, struggling to find something interesting to watch. Sometimes, though, it isn't the streaming service that is the problem. Sometimes we avoid watching good content simply because we aren't willing to take a chance on something new. There are tons to watch if you're willing to stick your toe outside your comfort zone.

Back when I had a cheap Wi-Fi router, I bought a Wi-Fi extender to compensate for the router's short range. But there was a problem. Its SSID and password were different from my normal router, so I had to connect manually each time I used the extender. The better solution for this was a mesh Wi-Fi system at a higher cost. At that time, I didn't even know that a mesh network was different from Wi-Fi extenders.

Need to print a document from your Googlebook? Thankfully, the process of connecting to a printer takes less than a minute, and although most Googlebook apps lack any printing functionality, Chrome and other standard Google tools will let you print a page or document with a simple keyboard shortcut.

Google Maps Timeline is one of those features that can be incredibly useful when needed. It can remind you where you went on a particular day, the places you visited on vacation, and even the routes you took from A to B. I never liked the idea of Google knowing everywhere I ever went, so I replaced Google Maps Timeline with a free, open-source alternative that stores location history on my local hardware.

Setting up a brand-new computer should feel clean and fast, but modern operating systems treat your personal desktop like an advertising billboard from the second you log in. It gets frustrating watching basic hardware stutter under background tasks you never wanted or asked for. Unfortunately, the best way to make Windows 11 faster is to turn off features it tries to force on you.