How-To Geek

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.

When I buy a smart home device, it tends to be for a specific purpose. I bought a presence sensor in order to keep the lights on when I'm in a room, which motion sensors struggle with. It took me quite some time to realize that my presence sensors had a very useful extra feature I wasn't using, and many other smart home devices have hidden secondary functions.

SUVs have become the default choice for a huge number of buyers, but finding one that delivers genuine value is getting harder as prices continue to climb. Fortunately, you don't have to spend luxury-car money to get a vehicle that is comfortable, practical, efficient, and packed with modern technology. In fact, there are plenty of standout options available for less than $40,000.

I'm a huge Waze fan and have been using it for over 10 years. It's completely replaced Google Maps when I'm driving or using Android Auto, but that doesn't mean I uninstalled the app. I still keep Google Maps around for a few key features, and that's because both apps are better when used together.

Plex has been popular with the self-hosting community for years because it is easy to set up, reliable, and polished enough to replace a streaming service without a ton of inconvenience. Unfortunately, its lifetime license is jumping from $250 to $750 on July 1st, 2026, and the self-hosting community is moving to the alternatives.

In May of this year, Google announced they would be launching an advanced search bar model, further integrating Gemini into Google's core functions and making the whole search engine experience reliant on AI — an overhaul Google users and internet surfers aren't thrilled about. So, with Google doing its best to kill the search bar completely, we've compiled a list of the best search engines you may want to use instead.

The Facebook Portal was an ambitious but ultimately flawed attempt for the social media giant to compete with Google and Amazon in the smart display space. Designed as a means of video calling, interacting with Alexa, and doing other tablet-related things, Meta discontinued the Portal in late 2022.

Once your network stops being a single flat LAN with a few friendly devices on it, guessing becomes a very poor way to debug anything. Between VLANs, containers, DNS filtering, self-hosted services, NAS traffic, random IoT chatter, and a few machines that always seem to be doing something in the background, the problem is rarely as simple as “the internet is slow.”

Now that Paramount+'s massive UFC event, which was broadcast live from the White House lawn Sunday night, is done and dusted, it's back to the streaming service's regularly scheduled programming, which, for this post, means movies, movies, movies. Luckily, there's still a lot to tap into for the rest of June, if you're looking for something good to watch this week.

The Toyota Prius arrived in the United States in 2000 and spent the next 25 years becoming the textbook definition of a hybrid car. It was the first mass-produced hybrid most Americans ever saw, and its name became synonymous with fuel efficiency in a way that no other car has matched.

Netflix can sometimes do a really great job at making you feel like there's nothing to watch, even though it has a cavernous library of movies and TV shows to keep you busy scrolling for a lifetime. Unless it's top of the Netflix charts or top of the streaming service's algorithmically-decided offerings—The Four Seasons, the Michael Jackson doc, and Office Romance are in everyone's face, currently—the problem was never too few options; it's finding the right ones.

Manufacturers are frequently reluctant to talk about camouflaged prototype cars, but not Ford. The Blue Oval has launched a 'hidden' website for its $30,000 electric pickup truck that offers a very early glimpse of the affordable EV.

The rising cost of new vehicles is changing the way many buyers shop. What was once considered mainstream transportation now often carries a price tag well into the $30,000 range, prompting more people to explore the used market. For the same money as a brand-new compact SUV, buyers can now access vehicles that originally competed in an entirely different class.

Most drivers probably don't realize they're missing out on some of the best features of Google Maps. Below that simple surface, though, is a lot of intuitive gestures and features designed to make driving safer, less stressful, and a lot smoother. These are simple, easily accessible interactions built right into the app's core to make your time behind the wheel secure and seamless.

Netflix is rolling out a slew of new movies. Last weekend, the animated stop-motion movie I Am Frankelda premiered to positive reviews. This weekend, Netflix gets back into the rom-com department with Voicemails for Isabelle, starring Zoey Deutch and Nick Robinson.

Most home networks start off easy. A modem, a cable, a router, Wi-Fi, and that's it. Most home networks stay that way, too.

Android has terrible defaults for settings that directly concern your digital privacy. They're all built on an "opt-out" design, so you're expected to turn them off yourself if you don't want to give away all your personal information.

I spent a month living inside LibreOffice, OnlyOffice, and every well-regarded open-source Office alternative I could find. Here's what I learned — and why I quietly opened my wallet at the end of it.

Another week means it's time to spotlight some of the new movies heading to some of the major streaming services. Our top selection is an A24 movie released in theaters earlier this year. It features a rising star who is knocking at the door of the A-list. Many viewers will get a chance to watch this thriller on HBO Max.

Most people build their home network with the goal of making it fast. Get the biggest plan, the flashiest router, the most bars, and call it a day. I get the appeal. Speed is the thing you feel every day, and it's the thing the box on the shelf is screaming about.