How-To Geek

Are you old enough to remember using floppy disks? Do they fill you with nostalgia? But I bet that nine times out of ten, you think of them as something to be used with a PC. After all, that's where most people used them ... but that's far from the only thing floppies were commonly seen in.

Visual Studio Code is an excellent editor for JavaScript and TypeScript code, and its status as a free application has helped pull people away from other integrated development environments (IDEs). Now, JetBrains is striking back with a significant change to IntelliJ IDEA’s free version: proper JavaScript and TypeScript support.

The BMW 3 Series is the very soul of the German brand, a true driver’s car in every aspect, whether as an entry-level sedan or a fire-breathing M3. Now, 50 years into that journey, the 3 Series returns for its most significant entrance yet: the fully electric BMW i3 50 xDrive.

Many movie fans will head to the theater this weekend to watch Ryan Gosling play an astronaut attempting to save the world in Project Hail Mary. It's a crowd-pleasing story that will make you laugh, cry, and believe in humanity. If you walk out wanting more space adventures this weekend, head to Tubi and stream Ad Astra for free.

The Samsung Galaxy S26 series is finally here, and it has several impressive features despite a similar overall design. And while many of them are well-known, like the new Privacy display Samsung highlighted, a bunch of excellent features are flying under the radar. Here are a few of my favorite Galaxy S26 Ultra features Samsung didn't show off.

Tabs, toolbars, and address bars are essential for browser navigation, but when you’re deep into reading an article or watching a video, they’re just clutter that takes away the immersive viewing experience. Instead of adding AI features like its rivals, Vivaldi 7.9 is doubling down on interface control and distraction-free browsing with its latest update.

Some car enthusiasts never even turn on their radio. For them, the only music they want to hear is that of a rumbling V8, a high-pitched flat-six, or a screaming Soprano V12. Sometimes the world of music and engine notes collide, such as when the Yamaha Corporation tuned the exhaust note of the 1LR-GUE 4.8L V10 engine in the Lexus LFA.

If you are gearing up for spring cleaning and DIY projects around the house, now is the perfect time to buy new power tools or stock up on battery packs. Ryobi fans will be happy to hear that Home Depot has some epic deals right now, and its Spring battery sale is better than last year's buy-one-get-one.

Spring cleaning is the time to get rid of the old and bring in the new. But when you start getting rid of said older decorations, you might find some hidden dust bunnies or stir some dust around. It's not pleasant, but it doesn't mean you need to add another step to your annual refresh.

Many people treat a completed PivotTable as the finish line, but it's actually just the first step. In fact, pro-level Excel spreadsheets let users navigate the data primarily through Slicers and Timelines, minimizing the need to interact directly with the PivotTable grid. In minutes, you can turn static datasets into dynamic, app-like dashboards.

It’s that time of the week again—the time when the week ends and the weekend begins! That means you’ll have a few days to tinker with that Raspberry Pi that’s been sitting in a drawer for far too long, so why not give HomeBox, ntfy, or ChangeDetection.io a try?

Your internet service provider (ISP) can be great, but somehow, you're still more likely to hear horror stories than words of praise. I can relate—I've had a lot of bad experiences with incompetent ISPs, and that made me even more wary when dealing with such companies going forward.

Android Auto is surprisingly customizable, yet most people never touch the settings once they connect their phone to their car. However, even though most of us never use Android Auto for anything other than Google Maps and Spotify, you should still tweak some settings to enhance your driving experience.

The Nothing Phone (4a) Pro is an aggressively mid-range Android phone. So much so that its flashy design, Glyph notification screen, and fun software make it tempting enough for someone to ditch a Samsung or Google flagship in favor of joining the Nothing bandwagon and saving some money in the process.

Today, we look back on Windows XP with rose-tinted glasses and a half-wish that Windows 11 could be that great. But we've forgotten that Windows XP didn't launch in its final state. Far from it—Windows XP was actually a nightmare when it first appeared.

High-performance sedans have redefined what it means to drive a practical car, blending everyday usability with levels of power once reserved for dedicated sports cars. In today’s market, some four-door models are capable of delivering acceleration and top-end performance that rival far more expensive coupes. One American super sedan takes that formula even further, packing nearly 500 horsepower into a package that looks as comfortable on the school run as it does on a racetrack.

It's easy to make yourself believe that you need one of the best graphics cards in order to run all the latest games, AI workloads, and other resource-heavy stuff.

Matter smart home devices are becoming increasingly popular. If your device offers Matter over Thread, you may assume that you need to buy a special hub before you can use it. However, you may already have some devices in your home that can do the job.

Microsoft PowerToys debuted with Windows 95, evolved during the Windows XP era, but was discontinued until Windows 10. In 2019, Microsoft revived it with a modern UI and made it open source. Even after three decades, it remains my go-to tool for improving Windows with extra features.

Adobe Lightroom feels like the boss of digital photography workflows, and it is well-earned. However, over time, the company has made questionable decisions. The shift to a mandatory subscription, combined with it needing more powerful computers and you feeling increasingly locked into its file management, has made it less appealing. Luckily, Darktable, a powerful, open-source raw editor, has also grown over time. This app gives you a budget-friendly way to leave the Adobe world. It gives you the technical control over your photos and true ownership of your files that Lightroom's cloud-focused approach has increasingly pushed aside, and it totally convinced me to finally cancel my Adobe subscription for good.