How-To Geek

If you’re still relying on a mess of browser tabs, airline emails, and your own memory to keep a trip together, you’re doing far more work than necessary. There are dozens of travel apps, and most of them will disappoint you by day two. I’ve installed and deleted more than I can count.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has logged more than 300 safety recalls across more than 100 manufacturers so far in 2026. Here is every passenger car, truck, and SUV recall NHTSA has filed in June 2026 so far, organized by automaker, along with what each one means if you currently own one of these vehicles.

As expected, Android 17 has officially gone stable, and that includes Wear OS 7. The update is rolling out today to Pixel phones and Pixel Watch devices—expect Samsung Galaxy and other Android phones to start getting the update next month. Let’s take a look at what’s included.

What makes a fantastic miniseries on Netflix or HBO Max? Does the miniseries have a compelling storyline to follow over the course of at least eight episodes? Were the right actors cast in their respective roles? It sounds simple, but you'd be surprised by how many networks mess up at least one of those components, sometimes both.

Google has started rolling out its previously teased Pixel Drop feature update for June 2026 alongside the release of Android 17, and it's big news if you've wanted to generate more than just still images using Gemini — or if you're simply a heavy multitasker.

Recently, I finally took the plunge and signed up for a shiny gigabit plan, fully expecting my downloads to finish before I could even blink. Reader, they did not. For weeks, I sat there glaring at speed tests topping out at a sad fraction of what I was paying for, convinced my ISP was pulling a fast one on me.

BMW is nearly finished with the redesigned X5 SUV, and it's promising its widest-ever selection of powertrains—including its record-setting first electric model, the iX5.

How many phones have you owned over the course of your life? I generally sell my old ones, but sometimes there’s one that’s either not worth much or isn’t in good condition. That doesn’t mean they need to sit around in a drawer. Here’s what you want to do with that old device.

Dark mode is supposed to make screens easier on your eyes, but it can feel a little dull over time. Dark mode lowers brightness on websites, but it doesn't strip things down. High contrast mode does something completely different. It's exactly what you need if you think dark mode isn't going far enough.

Car ownership in the U.S. is changing fast, with vehicles now averaging a record age of around 13 years in 2026. The main reason is simple: new cars are expensive, with prices hovering near $50,000 and monthly payments that can easily stretch past $1,000 for a growing number of buyers.

I switched DNS providers more times than I care to admit, and it was never fun -- setting up custom DNS can be a real chore. Still, I was convinced there had to be a reason that certain websites kept failing to load properly.

If you're over six feet tall or have a larger frame, you've probably noticed that most office chairs weren't designed with you in mind. Seats and armrests that press into your legs and sides, and headrests that sit at shoulder height, aren't minor inconveniences. Over a full working day, they add discomfort.

AI chatbots are incredibly useful for my work. I use them for research, for proofreading and fact-checking, and for keeping track of articles and pitches. There's one job I had really hoped AI could take off my hands. Sadly, both Claude and ChatGPT failed dismally.

If there’s one thing that I’ve found to be consistently true, it’s that even the tiniest bit of friction can make something useless. That’s why I was so happy when I noticed a simple toggle appear on my Android Auto screen after a drive with Google Maps navigation.

I can't imagine my life without USB-C at this point. There's lots to love about this widespread connector standard. For the most part, I can plug any two things with USB ports or cables into each other, and something useful will happen.

Summer road-trip season is almost here, and that usually means one thing: more time at the gas pump. For SUV buyers, finding something practical that won't drain your fuel budget has become more important than ever.

Most people treat Excel as a rigid calculator, completely missing its capacity for chaos. Excel's built-in randomization tools can generate numbers, shuffle existing lists, and build mock timelines in seconds—yet almost no one takes advantage of them. Here's how they work in practice.

VPNs aren't the most exciting things to self-host, but once I started using one on a Raspberry Pi, it quickly became indispensable. It is lightweight, efficient, and gives me reliable access to all of my self-hosted services.

Open Source software may make the world go round, but if you've been using open source apps for as long as I have you'll know that these software packages are wonderfully functional, but not particularly refined.

Microsoft is giving its mainstream Surface devices their first big updates in two years, and they promise to be worthwhile updates from older Windows portables — if you're willing to embrace ARM instead of an Intel machine. The new Surface Laptop 13.8-inch, Surface Laptop 15-inch, and Surface Pro 13-inch (aka Surface Laptop 8 and Surface Pro 12) all have much speedier Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 chips alongside a few other major upgrades.