How-To Geek

You've heard that the world's infrastructure runs on Linux, and how important Free and Open Source (FOSS) software is to just about all the technology we enjoy every day, but there are some (to bring out the old cliché) unsung heroes of FOSS without which your stuff just wouldn't work—and you should at least know their names.

Self-hosting your own services is one of the best ways to save money on subscriptions and increase your privacy. Since you're running the services on your local network, no one else ever sees the data.

Self-hosting your own services is one of the best ways to save money on subscriptions and increase your privacy. Since you're running the services on your local network, no one else ever sees the data.

Windows 11 users are getting a frustrating new bug that completely hides the password sign-in option on the lock screen, making it incredibly difficult to log into their PCs. This isn't a total lockout, but it's certainly a massive headache if you use a real password.

Windows 11 users are getting a frustrating new bug that completely hides the password sign-in option on the lock screen, making it incredibly difficult to log into their PCs. This isn't a total lockout, but it's certainly a massive headache if you use a real password.

For the longest time, smartphone battery life was a real issue. I remember my first few smartphones basically traveling with me from charger to charger. They would charge at my desk, charge in my car, and charge next to my couch. While phone battery life is now much better, the real revolution has come from fast-charging.

For the longest time, smartphone battery life was a real issue. I remember my first few smartphones basically traveling with me from charger to charger. They would charge at my desk, charge in my car, and charge next to my couch. While phone battery life is now much better, the real revolution has come from fast-charging.

So you buy a Kindle and you think to yourself, "I sure would like to turn the pages from way over here, surely there's a solution for that?" Well, to my personal surprise, I have recently learned both that people who want to turn eReader pages at a distance exist (it makes sense when you think about it) and that Kindles in particular have no elegant way of achieving this goal. Hence, the existence of weird and wacky "Kindle page turners."

Google and Amazon are particularly good at selling the smart home vision, but these platforms have some big drawbacks, too. Consider switching to or starting out with a more capable and reliable alternative, which will save you money and frustration in the long run.

I use all sorts of software when I travel: a VPN, streaming music apps, cloud storage, and more. I turned my Raspberry Pi into a one-stop-shop travel router that combines all of those uses into one device, so I don't have to worry about them individually on my phone, laptop, or console.

Home Assistant includes a large number of native integrations that can do everything from allowing you to connect specific smart home devices to tracking daylight hours from sunrise to sunset, so your lighting automations know when to turn on and off. Here are some lesser-known Home Assistant integrations that are worth exploring if you're not already using them.

If you’re chasing performance on a budget, the used car market holds some hidden gems. One $20,000 used Japanese sports sedan delivers acceleration that can rival, and in some cases surpass, a brand-new luxury competitor, offering surprising thrills without the sticker shock.

You might have seen some noise on the internet among car enthusiasts about the Toyota Hilux Champ, a simple bare-bones pickup that many US customers clearly want.

RSS feeds used to be the premiere way to get personalized news delivered directly to you from your favorite websites prior to the rise of personalized algorithms on social media. Despite the fact that RSS feeds aren't quite as popular as they used to be, they are still my favorite way to keep up to speed on topics I'm interested in. Here are three RSS Feed apps from Windows.

Are you in the market for a new NAS, but can’t decide between ARM and Intel/AMD? There are several reasons why you should go with ARM—most notably, it's way more power efficient. But traditional x86 does have one advantage you’ll want to consider.

Do you wish you didn't have to take your PC to computer technicians? I'm regularly opening my PC to replace parts, clean dust out, and check for lose connections, and I can tell you the most important aspect is having the right tools for the job.

There’s a particular annoyance that goes along with turning your phone sideways and watching as...nothing happens. Some apps just don’t want to rotate into landscape mode, but as is usually the case in the Android world, there’s a solution available right in the Play Store for free.

Most Linux distros are intentionally minimal to avoid bloat, offering a fresh and clean environment. While this is a major perk, knowing what to install first can be tricky for newcomers. So, to help kickstart your journey, here are five essential apps that belong on every new Linux PC.

The Raspberry Pi 500+ is the latest iteration of the best-selling single-board computer with 16GB RAM and 256GB of solid-state storage, all wrapped up in a keyboard that’s beautiful to type on, and I love it.

If there's one single PC component that's always outrageously expensive, it's Nvidia's RTX 5090 graphics card. It launched at $1,999, but good luck finding it for less than $2,300, and some models hit over $3,000.