How-To Geek

The first 24 hours with a new device are always exciting as you set things up and check out new features. But it's after using it for several weeks that you start to find the hidden gems. And while the Pixel 11 series is getting a lot of negative attention for being so similar to the outgoing model, there's a lot that's new. Here are four features I haven't seen mentioned enough.

Smart TVs have been around for a while at this point, which means there's a good chance that there's an aging TV somewhere in your home that doesn't have the smarts to be a TV anymore.

I've been in the Windows camp for decades, and for years I thought Linux was simply harder to use. That was a pretty common view among Windows and Mac users, and for a long time, it was fair.

How careful are you when it comes to your PC's Ethernet ports? Because I gotta say, I've abused my fair share of both ports and connectors. I've yanked cables sideways, left them plugged in for years (even though they would've benefited from an upgrade), moved hardware around without disconnecting them first, and generally just taken them for granted. Most of the time, I got away with it.

The web looks very different from when I first started using it. Browsers have changed, websites have become more complex, and I've picked up countless keyboard shortcuts along the way. Most have come and gone from my daily routine, but there's one I still turn to pretty much every day: Ctrl+Shift+D.

More than ever, people are trying to get the most out of their phone’s storage. If you want more storage, it will cost you — literally. But what actually happens on your Android phone if you hit the storage limit, or even just get close? I ventured to find out.

Do you have a Raspberry Pi that isn't being used to its fullest? Well, this weekend, I have three projects for you to check out from homelab infrastructure to automatically feeding your pets when you're on vacation.

If you type a lot of commands in Bash, it can be time-consuming to navigate, correct, and add strings to achieve the desired output. I've found my fair share of typing errors, multi-instruction commands, and complex interpreters. There are ways to speed up the typing process without wearing you out or giving you headaches, from short codes and hotkeys to cool shortcuts and hidden features.

I am happy to pay for Android apps, but everyone should be able to do certain tasks regardless of budget. These features once required paid apps, but now you can enjoy them for free — often with a better experience than money can buy. Once you know which apps to download, you too can stop paying for these types of apps.

We live in an increasingly digital world, but as Olivia Newton-John said, sometimes you just need to get physical. Here are three projects that let you interact with Home Assistant in a physical way.

Are you ready for some football?! If not, your parents are probably asking for the password to all the streaming services you set up for them. The 2026-2027 NFL season is once again spread across multiple streamers, so many that it might be hard to keep track of who’s playing where. Fear not, because we’ve found all the places to cheer for your favorite team, how to watch, and a couple of other perks to stream the upcoming NFL season.

The early days of people having internet in their homes were pretty wild. Viruses were pretty much everywhere, and unlike now, many users had no clue what to do with them. I was a tween in the early '00s, but I remember intervening when my mom's PC had what felt like hundreds of them, with pop-ups and ads covering up the entire desktop, impossible to remove.

There's no denying that Microsoft has been stuffing many of Windows' default apps with superfluous features, turning them into bloated pieces of software filled with (mostly) AI features no one needs, with the Copilot-infested Notepad being a prime example.

There was a time when I loved Amazon Fire Tablets. Modding them and repurposing them is a hobby of mine. One reason, aside from curiosity (or the old standby of "because I can") is that Fire OS has just been getting progressively worse. So I'm fighting back the best way I know how: with knowledge and a few nifty power-user tricks.

I'm one of those people who presses Alt+Tab hundreds of times a day to bounce between the many windows I have open. The problem is that Windows' built-in switcher starts to get awkward when I have lots of windows open, and aside from choosing how many thumbnails to display, there's not much room for customization.

Like most of its products, Amazon has locked down its Kindle devices so that you can't easily make changes. Thankfully, some clever people have figured out ways to hack Kindles over the years. These are some of the very best mods of the past and present.

Android keeps a running list of every Wi-Fi network you've ever joined, and it never expires on its own. Most people are carrying dozens of entries they've long forgotten. That list is more revealing — and more useful to strangers — than it first appears.

In my search for a media center front-end, Home Assistant server, media server, and do-everything-else computer, I briefly considered buying a Raspberry Pi. Then I caught wind of the used Mac mini market, and it was clear which direction made more sense.

If you're not happy with your internet connection around the house, your ISP and Wi-Fi router are probably the first things you'll blame. But before you pay for a faster internet plan or a new router, there's a much cheaper solution you should try first: a simple unmanaged switch. Allow me to explain.

There's still some heat left in this summer, and while an icy glass of lemonade is a great way to cool down, for a more thorough, deep chill that sends shivers into your bones, there's nothing better than a spine-tingling thriller TV show. Luckily, Netflix has these in spades.