How-To Geek

Cloud applications seem very convenient until you start thinking about how much of your work depends on someone else’s servers, but Linux gives you another option.

Earlier this year, I was having a ton of issues with Android Auto. My cable didn't want to work. I'd lose my connection randomly (even with a plugged-incable). The cables wore out quickly. There always seemed to be some kind of problem with Android Auto in my car. When I switched to wireless, it was like a completely different experience. I've seen some talk online about the wired vs wireless debate for Android Auto, and I'm firmly in the wireless camp. Here's why.

AirTag cases and holders are essential if you want to put the item tracker somewhere that isn’t just the pocket of a bag. Apple’s selection of AirTag accessories leaves a lot to be desired, and they’re pricey to boot.

You might just have an easier way to manage your smart home without leaning on custom automations or becoming an expert. Anker has unveiled the MindBase, an AI hub that serves as a decision-making "brain" for security cameras and other smart home devices.

One of the biggest problems with switching from Windows to Linux has always been software compatibility. Linux has thousands of applications, but there are still Windows programs that people depend on for work, school, creative projects, and everyday computing.

After trying endless note-taking apps over the years, Google Keep became my go-to. Whether I needed to capture a fleeting idea, create a grocery list, or jot down notes from my editor, Keep always had my back.

Most people don't think about their car's A/C until it stops working, and by then the repair bill is already uncomfortable. This is something you either crank up in July or forget about entirely until next summer. The problem is that neglect is exactly what kills it. A lot of the failures that send people to the shop are easily preventable if you start adding in a few habits.

What you see up there are my two copies of Robocop. One is the version that people saw in theaters, and the other is the version that director Paul Verhoeven wanted people to see in theaters, but had to edit slightly to get past the ratings board.

The parallel port is gone as of the time I'm writing this. But its demise was long and drawn-out, even as supposedly better alternatives came along and tried to take its place. Here's how it finally met its ultimate demise, long after it was supposed to.

I used to spend ages crafting ChatGPT prompts, telling it exactly how to behave, what steps to follow, and how to format the answer. But ChatGPT has changed, and so has OpenAI's prompting advice. With the release of GPT-5.6, OpenAI's newest model guidance puts more emphasis on clearly stating your goal and less on micromanaging how ChatGPT gets there.

Ask any director, and they'll tell you that filming a movie is rather difficult. Now try shooting a movie where the protagonist is constantly on the move. That is one of the several challenges director Kevin Macdonald faced in The Runner, a new Prime Video action movie starring Gal Gadot.

I have been loyal to iOS since 2018. I liked the polished iOS experience and reliable day-to-day performance. But one Samsung feature kept tempting me to buy their phone. Samsung offered me something Apple still doesn’t: DeX, a full desktop-style interface that runs from my phone. It became a game-changer for my productivity.

For the past couple of years, Spotify Wrapped has left me underwhelmed. The insights it serves up never feel all that “insightful” — which is strange, because Spotify clearly has a mountain of data on my listening habits. So I decided to get my hands on all that data and build my own Spotify Wrapped. I requested my full listening data from Spotify and processed it myself in Excel to dig up the kind of insights Wrapped never gives me.

Home Assistant 2026.9 update is out today. And it aims to solve the everyday guesswork that comes with running a smart home. The latest release answers questions like why an automation fired, which entities need your attention, or seeing how Matter devices are connected. The September update also has several other changes that make the open-source home automation platform more polished.

I tend to hold on to my vehicles for a long time, which means things eventually wear out or stop working the way they should. I also try to handle repairs myself whenever it makes sense. Sometimes that's as simple as replacing a sensor or tracking down a bad connection, but the hardest part is usually figuring out what's actually wrong.

Android phones, especially the most expensive models, are pretty capable devices. They have as much RAM as some laptops, and their processors are often as fast as laptop CPUs from a few generations ago.

Nvidia's GTX cards may be too old to support any modern, demanding uses, but they're still among the best GPUs of all time.

Netflix is bringing a particularly varied lineup of documentaries this September, covering everything from a viral Olympic controversy to the long shadow of 9/11. Some stories revisit major moments in history, while others uncover events most people may have never heard of.

You’re probably using VLC as your default media player. It plays basically anything you throw at it, and it’s been doing that reliably for over two decades. That said, playing media is only a fraction of what the app is capable of. The developers have spent years turning it into a genuine Swiss Army knife for all things audio and video.

I first jumped into the fold with Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold4 back in 2022, and a foldable has been my primary smartphone since then. Four years later, the category has grown by leaps and bounds, and foldable technology has evolved drastically alongside that growth. That doesn't mean there's still a lot of room for foldables — and Samsung in particular — to further improve.