How-To Geek

Excel's conditional formatting data bars seem easy to use, but they can cause more problems than they solve, creating a "rule rot" mess and causing a massive lag in large worksheets. Switching to the REPT function keeps your file size small and your performance snappy.

Plezy is a third-party Plex client for Windows, Mac, Linux, and mobile platforms with a sleek design and a few unique features. If you're annoyed with the official Plex apps, you should give Plezy a spin—especially after the most recent update.

2026 is flying by, with January already behind us. If you haven't yet managed to fulfill your New Year's resolution to do more with Home Assistant, there are still plenty of projects to get your teeth into.

I discovered Linux in high school and fell in love with the OS in college. I dreamed of getting a job writing about free software and making others aware of the amazing things they can do with their computer. But despite this dream coming true, I’m no longer the open source purist I once was. Now I prefer not really having to think of software at all.

Buying a car always reminds me how strange the whole process is. I’ve done it several times now, and every trip to the dealership still manages to surprise me. Not because of the cars themselves, but because of how much effort goes into nudging buyers toward features they didn’t walk in asking for. Some of it is subtle, some of it is straight-up upsell, and a lot of it hides behind words like premium, smart, or advanced. By the time you’re sitting at the salesperson’s desk signing paperwork, it’s easy to lose track of what you actually wanted versus what sounded good in the moment.

De-Googling makes sense. We're all handing every bit of our personal data to huge companies, and the most common one is typically Google—and it wouldn't be weird of you to think that's weird or creepy.

One of the biggest advances in gadgets over the last decade has been water resistance. Nearly every phone now has a rating telling you that water is nothing to worry about. That’s not exactly true, though. “Waterproof” is a complicated concept when it comes to phones. Let’s demystify it.

I had a lot of free time during summer breaks, and my favorite pastime was tinkering with my tech. I'd tinker with software, PCs, and phones mostly. When I found myself getting bored with Windows (which had been my only daily driver forever), I decided to give Linux Mint an honest try.

When you want to check or monitor your PC's hardware, you usually have to install a handful of different tools just to get all the information you need. But what if I told you there’s one app that does it all, from giving you a comprehensive view of your hardware’s health to creating detailed CSV logs of your video game benchmarks?

It's one thing to be told that if you switch to Linux you'll enjoy various benefits compared to Windows or macOS, but there are some positive things about the Linux experience you'll only pick up after using it for a while.

While Falloutmay be burning up the streaming charts on Prime Video, let's not forget that the platform also has plenty of great documentaries and docuseries to sink your teeth into, too.

Looking for a 3D printing project that you can put to use before the weekend is out? Here are three ideas that will satisfy your urge to make something and provide utility around the home.

Apple rolled out a brand new look for the iPhone called Liquid Glass last year. The reaction has been mixed, to put it kindly. While Apple has added ways to adjust the design’s intensity, those options still fall short for many users.

Wi-Fi 6 has been around for five years now. If you haven't upgraded your router since the early days of the smartphone, or if your last upgrade was to a dual-band Wi-Fi 5 router, it might finally be time to take the plunge and switch to a Wi-Fi 6 router.

It's the weekend again, which means I'm here with another set of Linux apps I think are worth installing. The free and open source software I found this week includes an audio editor, a game maker, and Bash replacement.

When you think about creating a smart home, the bathroom probably isn’t the first room that springs to mind. For that reason, it can be easy to overlook a few cheap and easy upgrades, plus some of the more lavish items that can make life a little easier.

I love a good weekend documentary binge, especially because it will give me a nice break from the Olympics that will undoubtedly be on at my house. Luckily, Netflix has a pile of new docs that can take you to totally different places.

The weekend's almost here, so it's relax time. If you're on the hunt for some good TV to watch, Paramount+ has tons to choose from, but finding it can be a chore.

We're a week into February now, and Netflix's newest batch of shows and movies has started seeping into rotation for your binging pleasure.

The Matter smart home dream has been slow out of the gate, but as the months roll by, more and more cross-platform smart home devices are becoming available. One you might not have had on your bingo card is a Matter keyboard that also doubles as a smart home remote.