How-To Geek

Looking for a good documentary to watch this weekend (or whenever)? Don't be wooed by Netflix's big red logo—they don't have the market cornered on docs. In fact, HBO Max has one of the most prestigious libraries of excellent and award-winning documentaries of any streaming service, and they're all there for the taking.

Are you ready to try out some fun new homelab projects this weekend? Well, today I’m showing you how to save some cash by deploying actually useful services in your homelab, like social media automation, invoicing software, and a Linktree replacement you’ll actually like.

Modern GPUs have soldered memory. What you see is what you get, and while some PC hardware modders have been adding more VRAM to graphics cards (and handheld PCs) by soldering memory chips and modifying the BIOS, regular people like you and me are stuck with the original amount of memory our graphics cards shipped with.

It’s the first weekend of May, and I’ve got three Linux apps that earned a spot in my workflow the hard way—by actually being useful. These picks solve specific problems I didn’t even realize had better solutions. If you’ve got a few hours free this weekend, they’re definitely worth installing.

It may be May, but documentary zealots still have a few new titles to check off their lists on Netflix that squeaked in at the tail end of April, and are just getting traction on the streaming service now. Which is really good news, because as we enter the month and wait anxiously for everything coming to Netflix to arrive, there are still some good doc options to be had for U.S. subscribers.

To be productive, human beings need periods of focus without interruption. If you're constantly interrupted, you keep wasting mental energy to get back on track, and that gets old fast.

The Linux community is dealing with its gravest security risk since 2022's Dirty Pipe. Researchers at cybersecurity firm Theori have shared details of Copy Fail, a vulnerability that gives attackers root access to nearly all Linux distributions with relatively little effort.

Thanks to all the tracking algorithms and ads, it’s easy to forget how fun discovering a new app can be. If you want to explore new apps on your phone this weekend, I’ve done the work of trying out software that you can enjoy without any of the crud. One is completely free, while the other two are partially free and very affordable to fully unlock.

If you moved into a new home with pre-wired Ethernet and noticed your internet speed doesn’t match your plan, the problem might not be your ISP, router, switch, or other networking gear. Sometimes, the wiring itself is to blame.

Some smart home projects are so impressive that you want to show them off to the world. Others may seem pretty dull, but can be incredibly useful. A project that tracks your groceries or measures your energy usage may not sound thrilling, but it can make a big difference in your day-to-day life.

If you've recently upgraded to a new monitor and noticed that the image is disappointingly dull, you're not alone. Your display is likely set to HDR by default, which can cause issues with regular content. Here's why and how to fix it.

Microsoft OneNote has had the advantage of being one of the first note-taking apps. It gives you a large space where notes, clippings, and drawings can exist together, and it seemed like a good place to keep things for someone who works with information. Being able to click and place text or images anywhere on a page gives you a lot of freedom. Having the freedom to place anything anywhere turns notes into a disorganized archive, which leaves essential information scattered. The solution is to go to a better open-source app (that is loved on Linux), which can make things a lot simpler.

I’ve been using Evernote since 2016, when I was a junior in high school. It’s been a reliable place to store notes, ideas, and journal entries. It handled most of what I needed, but it was never a perfect fit.

All ESP32 (and some ESP8266) devices can make use of at least one type of mesh network to communicate, peer-to-peer, without the need for a centralized “router.” Others can be used to interface with existing smart homes, communicate over long distances, or take advantage of low-latency data transfer in useful projects that are fun to make.

Fans of Ryobi and its bright 18V ONE+ power tools know that the company offers a little bit of everything, from drills to lawn mowers. And while most people own a drill or two, an impact, and other basics, there are several lesser-known Ryobi tools that, once you buy, you'll absolutely love.

I recently bought a new accessory for my Raspberry Pi on a whim, with no real idea of what to use it for. When I finally came up with an idea, I had no clue how to make it a reality. Using Claude, I was able to get it working incredibly quickly.

Are you ready for another lineup of fun Raspberry Pi projects to try this weekend? Today I’m showing you how to cut monthly subscriptions by self-hosting your own network video recorder, speech-to-text platform, and even how to organize your fridge like never before.

I made a mistake. I didn’t set up proper backups in my homelab, and it caused me to lose multiple virtual machines and Docker containers. I put off setting up a simple backup system because I had never needed it before, and didn’t think it was that important. Boy was I wrong.

If you're setting up a smart home, you might look online for tips and advice. Not every suggestion you find is worth following, however. Here are some common smart home tips that you'd be better off ignoring.

VS Code is a fantastic editor until you realize that some of the default settings aren't optimized for most of us coders. I've been tweaking VS Code settings to see how I could turn this favorite code editor of ours into a more refined version that causes less annoyance while coding. These changes take about 10 minutes to set up. But once you do, VS Code feels faster, calmer, and much easier to trust.