How-To Geek - Companies Are Not Your Friend

September 13, 2022

Did You Know?

Earl Wild, an accomplished American pianist, can lay claim to two interesting technology-related piano milestones. In 1939, he became the first pianist to perform a recital on U.S. television and in 1997, he became the first pianist to stream a performance over the Internet.

Happy Tuesday! Amazon just announced a new base model Kindle eReader, complete with a USB Type-C port for charging and double the internal storage. Nintendo also revealed the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, including an actual release date.

As expected, Apple released iOS 16 yesterday for iPhones, and watchOS 9 for most Apple Watch models.

– Corbin

Major tech companies such as Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Samsung have legions of diehard fans. Brands are more than happy to leverage that passion to keep your wallet open. The relationship only benefits one side, though, and it’s not you. Read More »

iPlum creates a separate business line on an existing smartphone for calling, recording, phone system & secure texting. No change of carriers. Get business security for healthcare, financial & legal communication compliance. Find out how!

Want to bring all the fun of your Nintendo Switch games to the big screen? You level up your experience by connecting your original Switch or OLED model to a TV to play in docked mode. Read More »

Love neon light art, but don’t want to spend a ton trying to get custom art? Govee has a solution for you with its Neon Rope Light. This 10-foot strip light (currently on sale for a little over $50) is bendable, so you can shape this in any way you want.

Like many of Govee’s products, the Neon Rope Light is easy to set up and control with the Govee app, Alexa, and Google Assistant. Want to learn more? Check out our review!

Gigabit internet is becoming increasingly common in households, but internet providers are already looking at what’s next: multi-gig internet. Comcast is bringing 2 Gigabits per second (Gbps) Xfinity plans to the table, and it’s getting started with them in four states, with more to come soon. Read More »

When it comes to browser names, sometimes a browser gets a straightforward name that implies exactly what it does—like Internet Explorer. But Chrome? Why name a browser after shiny metal? Read More »

Starting with iOS 16, the iPhone home screen includes a small “Search” button located just above the dock. If you find the addition annoying, Apple makes it easy to remove the search button in Settings. Here’s how. Read More »

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was a launch game for the Nintendo Switch in 2017, and it’s still one of the best Switch games to this day. Nintendo has now revealed details about Breath of the Wild’s sequel. Read More »

There are plenty of wireless earbuds on the market, and while you can throw down heaps of cash on the flashiest new thing, you don’t have to go broke to get a good deal. Pick up a pair of buds that your ears and your wallet will enjoy, like the JBL Tune 230NC true wireless earbuds, now just $79.99 ($20 off). Read More »

The updated car crash detector on the Apple Watch Series 8 and iPhone 14 knows when you’ve crashed and is happy to help, and won’t tell anyone if the accident is due to texting while driving. Read More »

Decentralized VPNs or dVPNs are touted as the evolution of VPNs. Their strength is in their name: rather than offering the centralized setup of regular VPNs, you connect to the internet through nodes run by fellow users scattered all over the world. All this sounds interesting, but why would you use one, and how do you get started? Read More »

AI image generators are all the rage these days, but most of them are limited to creating images at low resolutions, or the hardware runs out of video memory. There’s now (at least) one fix for this: a modified version of Stable Diffusion called “txt2imghd.” Read More »

The humble MP3 player never disappeared. Not only are they still around, but they’ve grown up and gained impressive new features, including support for Bluetooth headphones and lossless audio formats. Some higher-end models can even work with streaming services like Spotify. Read More »

While Xbox Cloud Gaming is possible without a controller, the limitations are vast. Barring some minor design flaws and the inherent quirks of smartphones and gaming on smaller screens, the GameSir X2 Pro removes those limitations for comfortable, on-the-go gaming. Read More »

Amazon’s very first hardware launch, back in 2007, was the original Kindle. And while the Kindle lineup has changed a lot since then, the standard Kindle is still around. Now, Amazon is releasing new models for both the Kindle and the Kindle Kids. Read More »

First introduced with the iPhone X, the notch is one of Apple’s more divisive design decisions. But with the iPhone 14 Pro, the cutout that houses Apple’s front-facing camera and other sensors has received an overhaul that should make it less distracting. Read More »

What do you do when drilling in a screw-based mount or slapping some tape on isn’t the right fit for your smart home camera needs? Try using a clever flexi-mount to mount it nearly anywhere. Read More »

Gaming mice can cost upwards of $100. But is it really necessary to spend that much money on a basic computer peripheral just because you’re a PC gamer? Well, after test-driving the Logitech G203 LightSync wired gaming mouse, I don’t think a gaming mouse really has to break the bank. Read More »

Even the humble base-model M1 Macbook Air packs more punch than the previous generation of consoles, yet it may still come as a surprise to realize that the M1 and M2 Apple computers can play some intense games. Read More »

If you use your laptop with an external display docked at a desk, you may want to run it with its lid closed to save space. However, your laptop wasn’t designed to run full-tilt with a closed lid, right? Read More »

Apple started rolling out iOS 16 earlier today, which includes the ability to add special widgets to your lock screen. Google’s apps will be among the first to offer lock screen widgets on iOS 16, including Gmail, Chrome, and Maps. Read More »

The degree to which we rely on the internet for everything from work to entertainment means sluggish Wi-Fi speeds are excruciating. Here are some common causes of Wi-Fi issues and what to do about them. Read More »

Apple TV is one of the best streaming devices around, especially if you’re in the Apple ecosystem, but it can be expensive. Thankfully, the Apple TV HD is now on sale for its lowest price yet. Read More »

The Apple Watch Series 8, Apple Watch SE 2022, and Apple Watch Ultra were all revealed last week. Thankfully, if you already have a (supported) Apple Watch, there’s a new software update rolling out with some of the new models’ features. Read More »

The completed version of the Stable Diffusion model can generate images with artificial intelligence right on your computer. There’s now a modified version that is perfect for creating repeating patterns. Read More »

Many believe that if you’re not buying the latest and best version of a product you’re settling for hot garbage, but that’s not always true. In reality, you can save money on a lot of tech products without compromising your overall experience. Read More »

Every year, the new iPhone lineup is released with a new version of iOS, and just like clockwork, that new software also rolls out to older iPhones as well. iOS 16, the newest version of Apple’s operating system, has finally arrived. Read More »