How-To Geek

DeGoogling your digital life is difficult, though not impossible, when you have an Android phone. By default, all of Google's services are deeply integrated into the operation of the phone; if you start removing them, you'll quickly find your phone no longer functions.

Linux is well known for being receptive to customization, and KDE Plasma is no exception. In contrast to the minimalism of GNOME, KDE’s shell lets you fine-tune hundreds of different settings, and the default way to do so is via System Settings.

Robot mowers are great at covering open grass. The trouble begins near walls, beneath trees, and on steep or uneven ground, where navigation becomes harder and tight turns can tear up the turf. Many models still leave a strip around the boundary to finish off with a string trimmer.

The warm summer months are winding down, and that means you should probably start preparing for fall lawn care and DIY projects. If that includes buying new tools, Ryobi just announced several exciting products coming soon to your nearby Home Depot.

The floppy ruled removable storage for decades, but it quickly became too small and spurred on many pretenders to the throne. Yet while many tried to topple the floppy from its throne, it clung on far longer than you'd expect.

Samsung once again has major competition for the Galaxy Watch Ultra in the Android world. Motorola has unveiled the Moto Watch Ultra, its most advanced Wear OS smartwatch yet — and with a few advantages over its Korean counterpart.

Lenovo is finally sharing details of its first PCs based on Nvidia's first consumer PC processor, the RTX Spark. The brand has shared first details of the Yoga 9n 2-in-1 and Yoga Pro 9n, both of which are aimed at creators and developers—and in some cases, gamers. I've had hands-on time with both ahead of IFA 2026, with a catch.

Lenovo is taking its turn at fighting the MacBook Neo by borrowing its colorful design for a potentially more capable laptop. The company has introduced the IdeaPad Vibe as a more powerful Windows alternative, and I've had hands-on time with it at IFA 2026.

Being a tech aficionado was never the cheapest hobby out there, but these days, it's even worse than usual. That's why I tend to advocate looking for cheap upgrades instead of spending lots of money, with tips on how to avoid needing to buy a new router, for instance.

While the list of new Netflix movies in September is impressive, the group of new and returning shows this month is equally impressive. The first show on the list is the second season of a crime comedy by Guy Ritchie. The next show is a coming-of-age story set in the unfamiliar world of high school rowing.

If you’re someone who uses local AI, you’ve probably heard of LM Studio. It's the app that lets you easily download open-source AI models locally, manage them, and talk to them in a fairly basic chat window. It was cool when it launched, but right now, the way people are using LLMs has evolved.

It's no secret that the Milwaukee PACKOUT system is the king of modular storage for all your tools, and users everywhere swear by it. If you're tired of wasting half the day hunting for tools, digging through random bins, or having a cluttered mess in the garage, you need a PACKOUT. Here are a few kits that'll save you hours in the garage or shop, letting you focus on the job at hand.

Since the first lightbulb was invented, technology has evolved to the point where there’s almost nothing a typical modern LED light can’t do. Dimming is a basic feature, but altering the color temperature and actual color, and even creating unique patterns, are also possible. This creates the opportunity for some truly amazing lighting scenes, but getting it all to work can be a challenge. Thankfully, Govee thinks there’s a better way.

When it comes to learning cybersecurity, there's a way to do it that feels less like studying and more like a high-stakes game. I'm talking about Capture the Flag competitions. Out of curiosity, I dived into this interesting world and, before I realized it, I got totally hooked.

I’ve never been very interested in smart glasses. The idea of having a hands-free camera on my face sounds great, but there’s always so much extra stuff that goes along with it. However, my Android brain perked up when I heard HTC was releasing a pair of smart glasses. I’ve been using the Vive Eagle for several weeks, and I have a lot of thoughts.

Are you ready to take your homelab to the next level? This weekend, you should definitely deploy at least one of these three homelab infrastructure projects. They might not be glamorous, but they're sure useful.

I've been using Linux more and more over the past year, and one of the things I've come to appreciate is how much choice it gives you. With Windows, you're largely working within the system Microsoft gives you. With Linux, if something doesn't work the way you want, there's probably another distro that handles it differently.

Tired of USB-C power banks that need to be replaced every few years? Belkin might have your fix: it's releasing its first power banks with semi-solid-state batteries that reportedly last "up to" 3X longer than conventional models.

Times are tough for RAM, SSDs, GPUs, and whatever else comes to mind. Close to a year of the RAM-pocalypse has left the market bone dry, and the aftershocks are reverberating throughout more than just the store shelves. Warranties are affected, too.

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.