How-To Geek

Why the Corolla Hybrid is a smarter buy than the Civic Hybrid

Adam Gray — Sat, 16 May 2026 20:45:17 GMT

If you’re in the market for a compact hybrid sedan, there’s a good chance the Honda Civic Hybrid and Toyota Corolla Hybrid are both on your shortlist. They’re two of the most obvious choices for drivers who want efficiency and practicality without moving into SUV territory.

Why pay $5,000 more for a BMW X1 when this British SUV is just as fun

Tyler Dupont — Sat, 16 May 2026 19:45:16 GMT

Luxury subcompact SUVs are getting incredibly expensive, with many mainstream buyers now questioning whether premium badges are still worth the extra money. In a segment where pricing can climb past $45,000 surprisingly quickly, value is becoming just as important as performance, technology, and cabin quality. That is exactly why one compact British crossover is beginning to stand out against some much more expensive rivals.

This Android feature is the secret to easier Wi-Fi at hotels and Airbnbs

Nick Lewis — Sat, 16 May 2026 19:00:17 GMT

Travel can be stressful and annoying even under the best circumstances, and one of my least favorite activities is getting everything connected to the Wi-Fi wherever I'm staying. Will there be a captive portal? Is the captive portal going to work correctly on all devices? How many devices can I connect to the Wi-Fi?

Stop thinking Linux apps only work on Linux—here's what I run on Windows instead

David Delony — Sat, 16 May 2026 18:30:16 GMT

While Linux is a great OS, and getting better on the desktop all the time, you don't have to run it to get the benefit of some great open-source apps. Many open-source programs that are popular on Linux distros have native Windows versions. Here are some of my favorites.

Never use a single name for your Wi-Fi network

Goran Damnjanovic — Sat, 16 May 2026 17:30:18 GMT

In most cases, having a single SSID (Service Set Identifier) that combines all available Wi-Fi bands on your router is the way to go. But sometimes, it’s better to create multiple SSIDs for one reason or another. I’ve used two SSIDs on my network for years, and I’m not going back. Here’s why you should consider doing the same.

These 5 books on Kindle Unlimited made me a reader again (and will do the same to you)

Alexandra Ramos — Sat, 16 May 2026 17:00:17 GMT

Reading in your twenties as a young woman is familiar: you loved it as a kid, burned out after high school, and now books are big again. Most of us were former readers trying to rekindle our love of reading.

Freeze battery-draining apps without rooting your Android phone

Faisal Rasool — Sat, 16 May 2026 16:30:16 GMT

Back in the early days of Android, it was common to root your phone so you could "hibernate" or "freeze" battery-killing apps. They wouldn't be able to wake up the device's CPU or consume any system resources. These days, Android has built-in features to stop battery-leeching apps, but you can still freeze apps, and you don't even need root access to do it anymore.

5 new Netflix documentaries to watch in May

T.M. Amrita — Sat, 16 May 2026 16:15:17 GMT

Netflix's documentary catalog is something I can never get enough of, and when I begin my streaming session for the weekend, I am never out of fresh documentaries to binge-watch. Be it true crime, sports, biographies, or science, Netflix's documentary collection is never-ending.

Your old gaming PC is the ultimate homelab NAS

Patrick Campanale — Sat, 16 May 2026 16:00:17 GMT

I happen to have a lot of old gaming PC parts scattered around the drawers and bins of my office. This comes from years of building PCs professionally, but it also meant that I could simply repurpose my old gaming desktop into a home server instead of buying a dedicated NAS.

I let a local LLM take control of my video doorbell—it's probably the future of smart cameras

Adam Davidson — Sat, 16 May 2026 15:30:16 GMT

Some Ring doorbells can use AI features to interact with visitors when you're not home. I ditched my Ring doorbell for a Reolink doorbell that runs fully locally, but I wondered if I could recreate a similar feature using a local LLM. I was partially successful.