How-To Geek

Can't find what you're looking for in an Excel worksheet? If you're manually scrolling or hammering Ctrl+F, you're wasting time. Excel has faster ways to pinpoint messy data—and once you start using them, you won't go back.

Are you still paying for all of your online services? Well, it's time to kick some paid services to the curb and start self-hosting. Here are five self-hosted services that aren't just free, but they're actually better than their paid alternatives.

NFC tags are incredibly cheap yet useful tools in your smart home. Not only can they trigger automations in Home Assistant, they can also log which device scanned them. I have an NFC tag next to my front door, and it's removed the need for a surprising number of other smart home devices.

I've always been a little bemused by operating system fanboys (because there is such a thing) making a fuss about a feature from one system being copied by another. Every time Android or iOS implements a feature the other did first, fans on either side are indignant.

Your smart home shouldn’t be hard to understand, but the reality is often a different story. You know that some lights turn on and off automatically, how to control the HVAC, and which switches should never be turned off at the wall.

Smart locks have become easier to recommend over the past few years, but there are still a few sticking points. Compatibility is one of them. Many locks work best inside a single ecosystem, and some still require extra hubs or bridges to unlock their full feature set.

You’re probably not going to 3D print your next sofa or dining table (even though somebody out there has probably tried), so a trip to IKEA might be the right choice. But what about those smaller, modular, expandable items that end up in your cart every time you visit?

Standard Excel filters have their place for specific workflows, but they become a headache when you need to explore data quickly. Instead of burying criteria in nested menus, you can use slicers to create an instant, visual control panel.

It's only been about three years since Jack Ryan ended its television run on Prime Video. However, the former CIA analyst returns to the streaming service in the brand-new movie, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Ghost War. The movie premieres on Prime Video on Wednesday, May 20, at 3 a.m. ET in the U.S.

If you're an HBO Max subscriber in the U.S. who's been spending your evenings cycling through the same rewatches—The Pitt, White Lotus, or letting Last Week Tonight drone in the background while you pretend to fold laundry—then I've got a few suggestions to run by you.

When most buyers start hunting for a reliable SUV, they usually end up looking at the same handful of Japanese models. The Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V have built such strong reputations over the years that plenty of people never even consider anything else.

Most off-the-shelf travel routers are only good for a handful of things. They can share a Wi-Fi network, run a VPN, and even share files. The travel router I built out of a Raspberry Pi can do everything a regular travel router can, but it can do almost anything else you can imagine. Here are 5 ways I've expanded what my travel router can do.

Luxury SUVs are often associated with expensive repairs, complicated technology, and long-term ownership headaches. While many premium brands prioritize flashy performance and cutting-edge features, reliability can sometimes take a back seat. That’s why this Japanese luxury SUV continues to stand out in a segment where dependability is becoming increasingly rare.

If you suffer from the debilitating condition known as Ijustcantdecide, as I do, sometimes you need someone to do the digging for you and spit out a few curated suggestions for a good movie to watch. Paramount+ is not lacking for good movies, new and old, and this lineup for the work week for U.S. subscribers hits the nail right on the head.

Most of us rely on the convenience of Android Auto to handle music in our cars, and given how streaming is so dominant at home, it's natural to default to apps like Spotify or YouTube Music on the road too. However, streaming is not the best fit for driving—playing music stored on your phone offers a far better experience.

Hybrid SUVs may dominate the conversation around fuel savings, but they’re no longer the only smart option for budget-conscious buyers. Some modern gas-powered crossovers have become so efficient that they deliver fuel economy figures surprisingly close to hybrids, all while avoiding the higher upfront costs and added complexity that come with electrification. For buyers who want low running costs without stretching their budget, this compact Japanese SUV makes a seriously compelling case.

I'm lucky enough to have a handful of hobbies that all seem to leave broken gear in their wake. I'm a musician, a video gamer, a pinball enthusiast, and a homeowner. I deal with bad cables, loose wires, scratchy jacks, questionable connections, old electronics, and gear that looks dead long before it really is.

When Encanto was released, it was something of a cultural phenomenon. You couldn't escape the song "We Don't Talk About Bruno," and the soundtrack went to the top of the charts. If you loved Encanto, there's another overlooked Lin-Manuel Miranda animated musical on Netflix that's better in many ways.

Google is doing more at I/O than introducing Android 17's AI overhaul — it's also transforming how you create apps. The tech giant has launched a slew of AI-powered programming tools at its conference, including a simple way to write code for native Android apps.

Android has been around for nearly 20 years, and it’s overwhelmingly the most popular mobile OS worldwide. Yet, apps still occasionally launch first on the iPhone and take months to arrive on Android—if at all. Google is hoping to change that with a new Migration Assistant tool.