How-To Geek

Yesterday we showed you an umbrella stand that signals raining/clear skies by color, today we have something even more interesting: an ambient desktop weather station that recreates the outside weather.

It’s easy to overlook the humble scrollbar, a much used but hardly thought about user interface element. This graphic compares scrollbars over the last thirty years.

That powerhouse laptop you bought back in 2006 can’t compete with the sleek ultrabook you just unboxed–but that doesn’t mean you should ship it to the dump. How do you give an old laptop a new lease on life?

If you have a Kindle or Nook and are looking to do a little free reading, eBook Exchange makes it easy to borrow books from others and to share your books in turn.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: everything is better in slow motion. In this instance it’s twenty two eggs made interesting by meeting their demise in a variety of ways.

This clever DIY project adds ambient weather notification to your umbrella stand–simply walk by it on your way out the door to get a subtle reminder to take your umbrella.

You’re sporting the newest edition of Windows but you need an older edition of Internet Explorer? Read on to see how you can wrangle a vintage browser into a modern operating system.

If you love Minecraft so much you wish your finest creations could sit on your desk, FigurePrint is happy to oblige with a little 3D printing magic.

Twenty six classic and modern games make up this video game alphabet. Can you name them all?

What do you do if the old key your landlord gave you is poor fit for your apartment’s lock? If you’re the geeky sort, you build a wireless unlocking module to do the work for you.

If you’re looking for a standing desk sturdy enough you can tap dance on it this DIY creation features thick pipe legs and a solid oak desktop.

The rings left behind by coffee cups are distinctly uniform in their distribution–the stain is always around the edge. This video from the University of Pennsylvania’s Physics Department demonstrates why.

Why settle for just a Death Star ornament when you can have a Death Star ornament you built yourself from LEGO? These DIY ornaments are a perfect geeky touch for your tree or gift for a LEGO loving friend.

If you’re looking for a way to quickly find large email attachments in your Gmail account, this undocumented search operator makes it simple to zero in on the hulking attachments hiding out in your inbox.

Earlier this week we asked you if you’d cut the cable and switched to alternate media sources to get your movie and TV fix. You responded and we’re back with a What You Said roundup.

Chrome: If you’re outside the United States you know all too well how irritating it can be when you’re denied access to streaming services because of your location. Stop missing out and start streaming with Chrome extension Media Hint.

It’s safe to assume that there is a lot more going on inside your modern DSLR than your grandfather’s Kodak Brownie, but just how much hardware is packed into the small casing of your average DSLR is quite surprising.

Many cases allow you to mount drives in vertical or horizontal configurations and external drives can be easily repositioned. Does the orientation of the hard drive affect the performance and longevity of the drive?

While the basic shape of keyboards has remained largely unchanged over the last thirty years, the guts have undergone several transformations. Read on to explore the history of the computer keyboard.

If you checked out the Raspberry Pi-powered arcade table we shared earlier this week but want an all-in-one solution that doesn’t require as much configuration, this table uses a pre-programmed board that comes loaded with arcade classics.

While Apple has has a mountain of commercial successes, every once in awhile the crew in Cupertino strikes out. Here are some of the less successful and prematurely retired Apple products from the last two decades.

The proliferation of streaming services and diverse media content has made cutting the cable cord an appetizing option for many people. Have you cut the cord, stuck with traditional services, or mixed the two together?

Anyone who has played online multiplayer games, especially those focused on combat, can attest to how caustic other players can be. League of Legends creators are fighting that, rather successfully, with a positive-reinforcement honor system.

This week Action Comics Superman #14 hits the stands and DC comics reveals the actual location of Kyrpton, delivered by none other than beloved astrophysicist Neil Tyson.

Boy, they sure were ambitious back in the 70s; while today we’re happy to have a small apartment-sized environment in orbit, back then they were dreaming of entire cities in space.