How-To Geek

Have you noticed a tiny green dot lighting up in the upper-right corner of your Android phone from time to time? If you own a Pixel, you have probably noticed a blue dot as well. These dots don't appear randomly; they serve a useful purpose by notifying you the moment an app on your phone starts using your camera or microphone or accessing your location.

Unless you run a massive rack-mounted Xeon server, your networking gear probably doesn't draw a lot of power. I can't think of a situation where someone I know plugged their router into the wall and tripped a breaker or shorted out their home.

Buying a two-year-old hybrid crossover can be a smart way to get better value without taking on the uncertainty that can come with an older used vehicle. But if reliability is high on your list, one Japanese crossover stands out from the crowd.

When I worked at a university in the area of educational technology, I was a major advocate for open-source software. I took every chance I got to evangelize Linux and open-source apps to the student body. Part of it had to do with helping cash-strapped college students eat less instant ramen, but the other part was philosophical.

I believe that physical media will always have the best quality compared to streaming from an online service, and that’s why I collected so many Blu-ray and DVD discs. Eventually, though, I switched to watching my media on Plex instead, and I won’t go back.

I love using tech to solve real-life problems. After getting parking tickets for staying too long in a parking lot, I decided to see if I could solve this problem using just my phone and a cheap NFC tag. The solution works even better than I expected.

Being a student is hard. You have to manage and organize piles of notes and study materials, somehow keep it all in your head, and on top of that juggle classes, assignments, and chores that never seem to let up. And so, to help you out, here are three brilliant free and open-source apps that can take some of that pressure off your shoulders and make student life a little easier.

As a lifelong renter (I move around too much to justify buying a house), I am more than familiar with the many rules you have to abide by when you pay to live in someone else's home. The golden rule is that you aren't allowed to make any permanent changes without permission. That includes hammering in picture hooks or drilling holes.

Netflix has got it going on in the documentary space in August, with the chilling The Idaho Murders: College Nightmares still holding strong in the streamer's top 3 TV shows on the U.S. charts, which says a lot about where subscriber attention is pointed right now. But the month is just getting warmed up, with three more documentary titles landing in the last few days.

If you're looking for a new way to record your vlogs, tutorials, or other content types, the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 Creator Combo is the upgrade you need. The small, lightweight camera has a 1-inch sensor, built-in stabilization, and more, so you can get the shots you need without a heavy or complex setup (which is especially handy if you’re recording solo). The bundle even offers additional accessories like the DJI Mic 2 for better sound alongside the clear 4K image capture.

We've come a long way from that simple volume slider in Windows 3.1 and later Windows 95. Back then, there was no guarantee every PC would even have a soundcard in it, so sophisticated sound mixing and volume control were limited to the purview of professional audio workstations.

For weeks, Gemini sat on my phone doing very little. Then I turned on its extensions, and suddenly it stopped being a chatbot and started being the thing that actually runs my day. Now that you just got that "Google Assistant is being retired" email, you might as well take full advantage of its replacement, too.

You now have an easier time playing games on your Linux PC without turning to code translation or emulators. Nvidia's native GeForce Now app for Linux has officially left beta, giving the open-source OS a major, refined cloud streaming option beyond the web browser.

Ambient lighting doesn’t need to stop at static LED strips or color-changing smart bulbs. Reactive ambient lighting, or the “Ambilight” as Philips calls it, can enhance immersion with dynamic bias lighting on the back of a TV or monitor.

College is expensive. So is the software you need to get through your classes, including science, math, or video production, even with academic discounts. There are open-source alternatives to popular proprietary apps that can help you survive college without spending too much money.

If you've ever bought a new motherboard and read the user manual or just checked the diagram on the manufacturer's website, you've likely noticed that the fastest (usually PCIe Gen 5) M.2 slot for an NVMe SSD is usually located right underneath the CPU, while the slower, older-generation slots are placed elsewhere.

Most devices you use in your smart home are designed to do specific jobs. That doesn't mean that you can't make these devices do more than they were intended to do. There are some clever Home Assistant projects that can help you get more out of the devices you already own.

I've been an Android user since the beginning with the original T-Mobile G1. I bought the Nexus One the day it came out, but eventually, Samsung won me over. It's no secret Samsung makes some of the best phones, which is why I've been buying and reviewing Galaxy devices for over 14 years. I loved most of them, but here are what I consider the worst Galaxy phones of all time.

3D printing is a hobby that quickly turns casual observers into enthusiasts. That means it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement and overlook the rougher edges, even if you’re completely taken in by it.

A 3D printer can produce an endless array of tools and accessories to enhance your existing hobbies. Since the weekend is the best time to get crafty, why not print a few things to get you in the mood this weekend?