How-To Geek - These Gadgets Banish Mosquitos

June 24, 2022

Did You Know?

Rice farmers don’t keep rice fields irrigated to the point that there is standing water because rice plants require that much water, but rather because rice plants can tolerate that much water and other plants cannot—the water acts as a natural weed deterrent that kills everything but the rice.

Happy Friday! Windows 8.1 reaches the end of its support life in January 2023, and Microsoft is going to start sending notifications to anyone still using it, asking them to upgrade. Windows 11 won’t run on any PCs built for Windows 8.1, though.

Meanwhile, Steam has kicked off its yearly Summer Sale, with thousands of great games on sale. Speaking of games, the latest update for Microsoft Edge has a few game-related features.

– Corbin

Summer is great, but there’s something tiny that can be a big nuisance this time of year: Mosquitos. Lathering on the bug spray is not your only defense against these bloodsuckers. A clever gadget is all you need. Read More »

Data roaming is actually a very simple concept. You have a mobile carrier that provides data to your smartphone when it’s not connected to Wi-Fi. However, as you know, your carrier’s network is not limitless. Read More »

It’s officially summer, and it’s already hot outside. Your workspace might be feeling a bit stuffy and warm, and it’s not always easy to fit a fan in the right place. But, if you get a clip fan like this one from Xasla, you’ll be able to get some air flowing in your space in no time.

What’s great about this clip fan is that it’s easy to recharge via USB-C or Micro USB—no need to swap out batteries or find a place to plug it in. Coupled with the 10,000 mAh battery lasting an entire day, and you have a hassle-free fan for the heat.

Get it at Amazon →

Microsoft released Windows 8.1 all the way back in 2013, and it has since been replaced by Windows 10 and 11. Now the operating system is reaching the end of its support cycle, and Microsoft really wants you to upgrade. Read More »

Are you taking proper care of the battery in your laptop? While chips are getting more efficient and battery life is increasing, avoiding a few mistakes can help extend your laptop battery health in the long term. Read More »

A senior engineer at Google has claimed that the company’s LaMDA AI has become sentient. Whether you find this alarming or exciting, it’s a mighty bold claim, and perhaps one that’s hard to prove even if it were completely true. Read More »

Producing a smartphone is really hard, which is why two startup companies promising to do just that — OSOM and ‘Nothing’ — have garnered plenty of attention with their Android phone announcements. Unfortunately, the hype trains came to a sudden stop this week. Read More »

To enable ADB debugging or install apps from outside the official Amazon Appstore, you’ll have to unhide your Amazon Fire TV’s “Developer Options” menu. We’ll show you how to reveal this menu on your device so you can then use it. Read More »

Whether you want to light up your porch, garage, or yard, solar lights are incredibly convenient. They are easy to install and don’t need a power outlet. Here are our handpicked recommendations for the best outdoor solar lights. Read More »

Don't force your programs to run well through sheer power; design them to fly on a variety of performance profiles. In The Art of Efficient Programming, you'll learn how to write programs that properly utilize CPU and memory resources while avoiding unnecessary computations, leading to leaner, meaner applications. You'll also understand how to measure performance and implement multithreading for optimal output.
Download your free copy today to get started.

With cryptocurrency prices dropping, the great GPU shortage may be passing. Used GPUs are flooding onto the market as Bitcoin miners try to recoup some of that cost. But is it safe to buy these cards after they’ve been sitting in a 24/7 crypto-miner for months, or maybe even years? Read More »

Mesh networks are an increasingly popular solution to the Wi-Fi demands of modern homes. You might be curious if you can mix and match different hardware devices— either different models from the same manufacturer or even devices from different manufacturers. Here’s what you need to know. Read More »

From major new releases to obscure cult classics, Hulu has horror movies for casual viewers and hardcore fans alike. Here are some of the best horror movies to stream on Hulu. Read More »

Power surges are rare but potentially devastating events. In addition to damaging large electrical appliances, your smartphone could be at risk from a power surge too. So should you buy a surge protector for charging over USB? Read More »

PrivadoVPN is a relatively new player in the VPN market. It touts itself as being an all-around solution, offering security, privacy, and the ability to stream anything from anywhere. In this PrivadoVPN review, we’ll put these claims to the test. Read More »

Android, first released in 2008, is still a relatively young operating system. However, with some years seeing multiple updates, there have been plenty of Android versions to look at. Some were better than others, so let’s rank the 10 greatest. Read More »

If you’re buying or selling an item and have no idea what it’s worth, don’t worry: By checking the prices of similar sold items on eBay, you can get some idea of an item’s value. Here’s how to run a price check on eBay. Read More »

Microsoft Edge has had a mixed track record lately, adding some helpful features alongside unnecessary (or even harmful) bloat. Microsoft Edge 103 is now rolling out, and this time around, most of the focus is on gaming. Read More »

It’s that Steam Summer Sale time of year again and there are piles and piles of games on sale. From fun storylines to high replayability, here are some great titles to scoop up at a discount. The sale runs from June 23 to July 7, 2022. Read More »

Apple’s AirPods use Bluetooth to communicate with iPhones, iPads, and Macs, and you can also connect them to your Switch on the go. The ability to use wireless Bluetooth headphones with the Switch was missing from launch but has since been patched in by Nintendo. Read More »

Steam is the most popular store for PC games, and it usually holds a major sale event each summer. Right on schedule, this year’s Steam Summer Sale has kicked off. Read More »

Google has rolled out several improvements to Chromebooks recently, and now, new features for file transfer and sharing are arriving in the Chrome OS 103 update. Read More »

Everything was going well right up until it wasn’t — maybe your computer suddenly started getting blue screens of death (BSODs), Windows is unstable or won’t boot correctly, or Windows has become inexplicably bogged down. The Advanced Startup menu might have the tools you need to fix your Windows 11 PC. Here’s what you need to know. Read More »