How-To Geek

For most people, software means installation, which buries programs deep inside an operating system. While this old-school model works, you constantly need admin rights, you gather a ton of digital junk, and you have to redo all your settings every time you switch devices. However, there is a better way to use software.

Are you curious about Arch Linux but scared off by the horror stories of constant breakage or the need for terminal wizardry? Wondering what’s actually true, and what’s internet folklore? Well, here are four myths about Arch Linux that you should stop believing—because they won’t stop spreading!

The latest Android flagship killers have just launched—but the U.S. is being left out of the party. These new phones are powered by the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, along with other top-tier specs, and they're coming in at surprisingly low prices.

One of the best things about Samsung phones rarely comes up in reviews. That's Good Lock, an official customization suite that makes Galaxy phones the most customizable on the market—a tool that has supplanted the need I once had to install a custom launcher.

If you’re like me, you probably have a bunch of USB cables scattered around your home for different purposes, whether charging a device or transferring data. But once you have too many, they mount into a pile and become difficult to tell apart.

You can fill your home with sensors that measure things like temperature, humidity, whether you left the garage door open, and who’s at home. Valuable as these are, there’s one sensor that stands head and shoulders above the rest in terms of the amount of money and hassle it can save you.

Looking for Flatpak recommendations that go beyond the usual LibreOffice and GIMP suggestions? Want to know which apps a Linux enthusiast actually uses every single day? Here are my seven must-have Flatpaks that I install on all my Linux systems!

Google Photos feels like the digital safe for tons of our most precious memories, offering what seems like endless space for our pictures and videos. It's a tool many have grown very used to, but a default setting that quietly but seriously changes the very quality of the photos and videos we trust it with.

Google Keep is an essential tool in my phone's arsenal. I use the app to jot down everything. From random thoughts I later turn into articles like this one, to elaborate grocery lists. Over the years, my grocery list-building skills have grown considerably; let me share them with you.

For a year or two, I treated my phone as my primary gaming console. It was all fun and games until I picked up on a few gamer-hostile trends that have gradually soiled the experience.

Most people use their 3D printers to produce small items that are handy around the house, but what if you could print furniture or huge models in one go? That’s exactly what Elegoo promises with its aptly-named OrangeStorm Giga.

The terminal is clunky and inefficient without additional customizations. If you're a beginner, you may feel that this is as good as it gets, but it's not. One tool in particular stands out and can improve your experience drastically. I outline several reasons why fzf is my favorite terminal tool.

What's better for a chilly weekend in November than a show that you can binge-watch from the comfort of your home? Netflix has a string of eagerly awaited shows slated to release this month, including the return of some of its most popular titles.

More people are buying dumbphones, and I support this—but having ditched a smartphone for a dumbphone for years, I know firsthand the challenges that may arise. Before swapping out your phone, first consider changing how you use the one you have.

Every year, Apple releases new versions of iOS and macOS, and a ton of new features get added to your iPhone and Mac. It's all too easy to lose track of some of the new features that have been added. You're probably not even using a Safari feature that was added more than a year ago with the release of iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia. If this is the case, however, then you're missing out, as it's one of the most satisfying features Apple has to offer.

I rarely regret my tech buying decisions, but this one power bank purchase was so bad that I can't move on from it. It's not that the product itself is bad. I didn't think clearly enough to understand that what I'm about to buy would only increase my pain instead of serving its purpose.

Amazon's Echo Show 5 is an affordable smart display, but the lock-in with Amazon's own ecosystem makes it far less useful as a smart home device than it could be. Some very clever people have figured out a way to unlock the first-generation Echo Show 5, and using this exploit, it's possible to turn it into a genuinely useful Home Assistant control panel.

Ready to try Linux but confused by the hundreds of distros out there? Wondering which one will actually suit your needs without wasting days testing and tinkering? I've narrowed down your search to three distinct distros that cover the needs of most new Linux users.

Spotify hosts a wide range of personalization features that help listeners customize how they stream and interact with music, podcasts, and audiobooks. A stellar personalization feature that many users enjoy is Spotify's AI DJ.

Syntax Highlighting makes your code look pretty, right? But is it just an aesthetic nicety, or does it have a more functional impact? And are there ways to improve it?