How-To Geek

Android is in a strange place right now. New phones have never been better, yet it's harder than ever to justify buying the latest one. You're better off keeping your current device until it's no longer up to the job. And when you do need to replace it, buy an older model instead.

Netflix is arguably the most popular streaming service in the world. However, it's not the only streamer that boasts great movies. HBO Max, Hulu, Paramount+, and Prime Video all have vast libraries with terrific movies in various genres. If you know where to look, you'll find plenty of certified classics.

Toyota has spent decades building a reputation for vehicles that last. From dependable powertrains to strong resale values and low running costs, the brand has become one of the most trusted names for buyers who want a vehicle they can keep for years.

Are you ready for some more fun projects to tackle with your Raspberry Pi this weekend? Well, you're in luck, and I actually have one project that's sure to bring you down the path of nostalgia before it's all over.

When you use CarPlay, you probably just start some music, enter a destination, and drive off. However, there is a lesser-known feature that can make your CarPlay experience a lot more personal and fun: setting a custom greeting or sound when it connects to your car.

Walking through the aisles of a video store used to be half the fun of a movie night. You judged films by their cover art, stumbled across forgotten classics, and often left with something you never planned to watch.

A lot of my smart home automations feel a little bit like magic. When I saw a post on Reddit, however, I realized that I might be able to bring some genuine magic to Home Assistant. I bought an official Harry Potter wand and set it up to work as a magical smart home controller for my kids.

Dodge built the original Ram 1500 Rumble Bee for only two model years, 2004 and 2005, borrowing the namesake from the now-legendary Super Bee. The 5.7-liter Hemi V8 sent 345 horsepower and 375 lb-ft. of torque to the wheels, in what is arguably the greatest configuration for a truck: a regular cab with a short bed.

For over three months, I have been running 12 speed tests per day every single day. It's added up to over 1,200 tests spanning over 100 days, using nearly 2.5TB of data. What did I learn from this endeavor? Actually, way more than I imagined I would.

Affordable hybrid SUVs are becoming increasingly popular, but most buyers still expect to pay a premium for one that delivers exceptional fuel economy. However, there is one small crossover that breaks that assumption, offering incredible efficiency without requiring a plug or a luxury-sized budget.

If you're anything like me, you're probably starting to get fed up with disorganization around your house and digital life. That's what this weekend's homelab projects will focus on—getting organized. From unifying your podcast listening setup to simplifying your 3D printing file management, here are three homelab projects to work on this weekend.

Samsung has been using Android for over 15 years, but it’s always done things its own way. You know a Galaxy phone when you see one, and that includes the software. One UI doesn’t work quite the same as plain Android—sometimes that’s good, sometimes it’s very annoying.

Deciding which AI to use has always been a challenge. If a company releases a new model, by the time you've switched, the service you've just left has dropped an even better one of its own. Even more confusingly, some models are better at specific jobs than others. I wanted to see which of the big three AI chatbots could do the best job of summarizing a day's worth of emails.

Another major IMAX release, another online debate about aspect ratios. Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey is making waves for many reasons, but the one I care about is the idea that the tall, square IMAX presentation of the movie is the "real" version, the way the movie is intended to be seen.

A few years ago, I built a custom external SSD by putting an NVMe drive into a single-bay USB enclosure. It actually performs exactly how I expected it to—the speeds are good and it fits into my pocket.

Wireless Android Auto is great, especially when you have a long drive or need navigation instructions. You jump in and go, and your phone instantly pairs with and takes over the infotainment display. But if you've ever wondered why it turns on your Wi-Fi, that's because Wireless Android Auto needs more than Bluetooth to work.

Microcontrollers like the ESP32 have helped to democratize hobby engineering, with cheap hardware and accessible projects. Some of these builds can feel quite out of reach, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t stop to admire them and maybe take inspiration for future ideas.

I've always loved how much freedom Linux gives you to customize your desktop. I've spent years ricing GNOME and KDE Plasma, but I've always avoided window managers (WM) like i3 and Hyprland. Without a graphical interface, customization feels more like programming than personalizing your desktop. I recently decided to give WMs a try, but building a polished setup would easily consume an entire Saturday for me. That's when I had an idea: what if I let Claude do the heavy lifting? The result wasn't just dramatically faster—it looked better than almost anything I'd built myself.

Oversharing on Google is almost a bit too easy. Google is designed for seamless collaboration, which means the system tends to default to settings that reduce the amount of friction you encounter when attempting to share. Unfortunately, that also means some of the default settings are overly permissive by default.

Most people chasing better audio head straight for a DAC upgrade. It's the obvious move when your music sounds flat or cluttered, and the marketing around premium converters makes it easy to believe you're leaving quality on the table by using the chip built into your motherboard. The thing is, that chip is almost certainly not your problem, but your amplifier is a different story.