How-To Geek

Even though Microsoft ended support for the Windows Subsystem for Android, which let Windows 11 users run Android apps natively, you can still use Android apps and games on your Windows machine. Your options include emulators such as BlueStacks, the Google Play Games Windows app, which lets you play Android games on your PC, and tools such as scrcpy, which lets you display and control your Android phone or tablet from your Windows PC.

You may think that if you've spent money on one of the most expensive SSDs (hopefully not too recently, given the prices), you've got the fastest storage in the world. In a way, it's true. But not in every context.

I used to hate combining weekly Excel reports. Copying data from one workbook to another works well enough, but it gets tedious when you have to do it every week. Then you have to remember whether you've done it, or worry about overwriting existing data. Thankfully, Excel can connect to a folder and combine those files for you, and even though it sounds like Excel wizardry, the setup takes just four simple steps.

Android Auto is a bit of a double-edged sword. It makes driving easier in plenty of ways, but throw Gemini into the mix, and suddenly there’s a lot more you can ask your car screen to do. It’s not just “play this” or “text that” anymore. Gemini can actually have a conversation with you.

Ryobi is a go-to in the DIY and homeowner space for multiple reasons. Not only do they have a ton of tools for just about any task, but they also make dozens of accessories for hobbies, outdoor activities, and more. Just like tools in general, there's a lot of personal preference and brand loyalty involved, and while Ryobi gets hate online, they're clearly winning in several ways.

Changing your DNS server is one of those simple networking tweaks that can make browsing safer, but DNS privacy is easy to misunderstand. Changing your DNS provider does not make your browsing history invisible. Your ISP, employer, school, or network administrator may still have other ways to determine which services you are connecting to.

Raspberry Pi users should be familiar with a program called Scratch. I've been doing more and more work with it lately, and I realized that, as I've moved away from spending time with streaming and doomscrolling, I've gotten more into making things with my various devices. Scratch is quite fun to use, and I wanted to share a few easy projects/mini apps you can make with it in less than a few hours.

For the past couple of days, I noticed that my Windows 11 laptop has been having some hiccups. Browsing feels slow. Navigating the file system causes lag. Opening a file takes twice as long as before. So I had to hunt for the reasons that were eating up my computer resources.

When I mention that solar panels blanket the roof of my house, the first thing people ask is whether I have an electric bill. Well, yes and no — but that's only part of the story. Here's what I've truly gained from rooftop solar.

Some workdays end in flames. Thankfully, most just end. For the dumpster-fire days, I've already rounded up some great Netflix miniseries for a bad day at work—twice. These four comedies, all on Netflix in the U.S., are funny regardless, but are perfect when you just want a laugh before bed.

If you've ever browsed a torrent website (it's OK to just look, right?) you've surely seen movies listed with a retail UHD Blu-ray as the source. Logically, the only way this could happen is if someone used a computer Blu-ray drive to make a digital copy of the original.

You probably don't think much about privacy when you're sending someone an Excel file. After all, it's just a spreadsheet, and you can see what's on the sheets before you send it. The thing is, a workbook can actually contain more than the cells you can see. It might still have your name in its metadata, a hidden worksheet you forgot about, or a file path pointing to a folder on your computer.

Your Google account is one of the most important keys to your digital life. It can hold a significant amount of information about what you search for, places you visit, your personal information, contacts, and more. Yet, people often overlook these Google account settings when it comes to maintaining their account privacy. As a result, you may leave some default settings enabled, allowing Google to save your activity and use it to personalize your experience, recommendations, and ads.

Streaming is becoming an expensive ordeal. In the past year, it feels like almost every streaming service has raised its prices. In March, Netflix increased its subscription costs for the second time in less than two years. Unfortunately, I don't see those prices coming down anytime soon.

You do some tasks in the Linux terminal so often that you never even bother to look for easier ways to do them. While looking for Linux tricks for time-saving and productivity, I found some hidden gems that I'm sure you'll find useful every day in your terminal sessions.

If you’re like me, you have an old laptop lying around somewhere collecting dust. It’s not that it doesn’t work anymore; it’s just that you got a different laptop that better fits your current needs, or you just wanted an update.

Most Android Auto users never look past the main settings screen because it feels like the app was built ready to go. Google and car manufacturers keep the interface locked down on purpose, and it's honestly great for daily driving. However, if you get into the developer menu by pressing the "Version and permission info" text about 10 times in the app's settings menu, you'll get way more tools to use. It looks a little rough, but the developer settings hold plenty of cool features that can make things smoother.

Android apps will soon get to charge you based on how often you need them. Google is rolling out usage-based billing in the Play Store, letting developers meter your access to services.

Tailscale is pretty much the default option when you want to access anything remotely. It's definitely the option most people will give you when you ask them for recommendations. There's a good reason for that: Tailscale handles NAT traversal automatically, usually establishes direct encrypted connections, and can always fall back to a Tailscale Peer Relay or DERP when there's no direct path.

YouTube and I have a long and storied relationship. It’s one of the video platforms I turn to the most when I want to hear music or find out news about my favorite bands. Like many YouTube users, I also use it to learn new skills, figure out new songs, fix my cars, or get more out of the guitar and music production gear I spent good money on. YouTube does a lot of heavy lifting in this space for me.