How-To Geek

Maybe the invention of the remote control wasn't the best idea when it comes to our collective waistlines, but you can't beat the convenience of controlling your TV from the couch!

I love to read, but life always gets in the way. For a long time, I was reading far fewer books than I wanted. I realized that the issue wasn't always time; it was that there were things blocking me from reading as much as I'd like to. I figured out a few geeky ways to remove some of these barriers.

Modern cars are safer, quicker, and more technologically advanced than ever, but progress hasn't improved every part of the driving experience. In the rush to add bigger screens, more connectivity, and futuristic features, automakers have introduced plenty of trends that are more frustrating than useful.

Most note-taking tools that use AI are cloud products first and note-taking tools second. Your documents go up to a server; a company’s terms of service govern what happens to them, and if you click the wrong button, your content can end up in a human review queue for years. I used NotebookLM for a while and liked what it could do. Still, switching to an Obsidian setup with a local AI setup is more private and less complicated than I expected.

I've been doing DIY projects for well over half my life, and I have used a bunch of power tools over that course of time. However, my favorite tool that I use most often isn't one of my (seven) drills. It's a detail sander.

Linux Mint has earned its reputation by being one of the easiest Linux distros to recommend. If someone asks me which Linux distros they should install on their parents’ laptop, Linux Mint is usually on the top of the list. That simplicity comes with trade-offs, as Mint deliberately avoids some of Ubuntu’s newer technologies and often waits before adopting major platform changes. The developers have good reasons for those decisions. Their priority is stability and user choice rather than chasing the latest trends.

If you're at all up to speed (or even care) about what's hot and not at the top of the Paramount+ movie charts, you'll have noticed that Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender has been parked at No. 1. But hanging out right behind it is a pack of idiots in a Vegas hotel suite with a tiger in the bathroom. That's quite the double feature for American subscribers.

About 10 years ago, a software update for your vehicle, as if it were your smartphone, was rare enough to make the news. Tesla owners were often the only ones who were aware of it and talking about it. In 2018, Consumer Reports tested a new Model 3 and clocked its stopping distance from 60 miles per hour at 152 feet, seven feet longer than a Ford F-150. Tesla responded with a wireless update to the anti-lock braking software, a fix that allowed the Model 3 to stop in 133 feet without a physical repair.

If you're heading to college and shopping for a new laptop or PC, get the best hardware you can afford—but when it comes to software, don't think you're locked into Windows. Linux has evolved a lot over the years, and modern distros are just as intuitive to use as Windows. More importantly, Linux is generally more efficient than Windows, so you can get more performance out of the same hardware. And as someone who went through college using a Linux PC, I can tell you that Linux has an impressive collection of apps to help you get through your day-to-day student life.

The most-watched movie on Netflix in the U.S. right now is about a family that's locked inside their house—which is either a stroke of marketing genius or a commentary on how a lot of Americans have spent August (or maybe a hint to get outside while the weather lasts).

Ryobi is one of the most popular and recognizable names in power tools, especially with the DIY crowd, but the tools themselves are only half the story. Sometimes, it's the accessories we use with our tools that make all the difference. And for me, that's a cheap DeWALT accessory I use constantly with my Ryobi drill and impact driver.

The Windows Settings app has gone through extensive overhaul and modernization. While that's a big win in many cases, including the UI, there are still so many things missing from it that rely on the Control Panel. Even in 2026, as of writing this, we still use the Windows Control Panel for a lot of advanced tinkering.

Last week, the King of Pop topped the list of new movies to watch on streaming as Michael hit Starz. This week, music plays a big part in the list, but this time, it's centered around a pop star played by Anne Hathaway.

Sonos' two-year quest to rescue its app now includes a feature that some speaker owners have been missing for much longer. The company has finally returned lock screen music playback controls to the iPhone, albeit in a different way.

Online AI services are a great way to search through and parse long documents, but they come with some drawbacks. Your data is held by someone else, you use up tokens or require a subscription to get access, and you need internet access for it to work. By switching to a local-only approach, I can ensure that no sensitive documents can be leaked accidentally, and I don't have to worry about whether my private data is being used to train cloud models.

The subcompact SUV segment is packed with affordable options, but most of them make some pretty obvious compromises to keep their prices down. One Japanese crossover takes a different approach, pairing a relatively attainable price with an upscale cabin, strong standard equipment, and driving dynamics that feel far more sophisticated than you'd expect from something this small. It isn't the roomiest choice in the class, but it makes a compelling case for buyers who care more about quality and driving enjoyment than sheer practicality.

Despite what most tech companies will tell you, not everything needs to be smart, designed around an AI assistant, or turned into an app. Sometimes, the old bits of tech you have lurking in your closet are still the best choice.

Going on a vacation means switching off from the outside world, and in more ways than one. Your devices can be the biggest distractions when you are traveling and taking time off, especially if you are someone who drowns in a sea of notifications and alerts from your work or personal life.

Windows gets blamed a lot for high RAM usage, and sometimes that's fair. However, if you've ever watched Task Manager fill up with processes from Slack, Discord, and VS Code all running at the same time, the operating system isn't really the culprit. Those are Electron apps, and each one quietly loads an entire browser engine into memory just to run a chat window or a code editor and eats up RAM.

Apps such as Apple's Find My and Google's Find Hub make it easy for friends and family to track your real-time location. The problem is that if you use these apps, your location is exposed every second of the day. I decided to ditch always-on location sharing and use NFC tags to share my location when I wanted to.