How-To Geek - We Explain Technology

How “Windows Sonic” Spatial Sound Works

Microsoft added “Windows Sonic” spatial sound to Windows 10 back in the Creators Update. Windows Sonic for Headphones is disabled by default, but you can enable it for virtual surround sound. This option is available on the Xbox One, too.

Why Every App Pushes Notifications Now, and How to Stop It

Are you exhausted from all your notifications? You’re not alone: notifications aren’t what they used to be.

Android Messages for Web: What It Is and How to Use It

Android users have long been able to send texts from their computers with third-party tools like Pushbullet or MightyText. But Google is taking this function native with a new feature called Messages for Web. Here’s what it’s all about.

What’s the Difference Between the Fire 7, 8, and 10 Tablets?

Amazon’s Fire Tablets offer some of the best bang for your buck you can get in a tablet today, but there are more differences to these tablets than just the size. Here’s a breakdown of what you get with each.

What Makes a Cine Lens Different From Regular Lenses?

Good camera lenses don’t come cheap, but if you’re window shopping on Amazon or B&H Photo, you might notice some extreme outliers: cine lenses (or cinema lenses) designed specifically for filmmakers. While you can get a Canon 50mm f/1.8 for $125, the Canon 50mm T/1.3 cine lens is a cool $3,950. So, what sets this cine lens apart? Let’s find out.

Which Smart Lock Should You Buy?

There are a handful of smart locks to choose from, but not all are created equal. Here’s what you should know about the different kinds of smart locks and which ones you should consider buying.

The Most Durable Lightning Cables For Your Charging Needs

The design of the Lightning cable connector is an improvement over past plug types, but the cables are still prone to wear and tear. We’ve rounded up the most durable Lighting cables so you can get more mileage out of them.

The Best Game Controllers for Android

If you’re looking to kill some time with a game on your phone, you don’t have to sit around and tap away on the screen. If you want the best gaming experience on mobile, you need to add a controller.

How to Create and Work with Multilevel Lists in Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word lets you easily create and format multilevel lists in your documents. You can choose from a variety of formatting options, including bulleted, numbered, or alphabetized lists. Let’s take a look.

The Best Video Players for Android

If you have local videos stored on your Android phone, there’s no shortage of ways to give them a watch. But that doesn’t mean all options are created equally—these are the best video apps for Android.

The Best Windows-Powered Ultrabooks

Windows still rules the roost in terms of PC users and utility. If you’re looking for a new thin-and-light laptop (and macOS and Chrome just won’t cut it), these are the best available today.

How to Use the Ping Command to Test Your Network

The ping command sends packets of data to a specific IP address on a network, and then lets you know how long it took to transmit that data and get a response. It’s a handy tool that you can use to quickly test various points of your network. Here’s how to use it.

How to Fix All of Windows 10’s Annoyances

Windows 10 starts as a very annoying operating system. The Start menu is full of games like Candy Crush, advertisements are all over the place, and useless icons like People litter the taskbar. Here’s how to eliminate all those annoyances.

How to Create a Template in Microsoft Word

Templates let you configure all the relevant settings you want pre-applied to documents—page layout, styles, formatting, tabs, boilerplate text, and so on. You can then easily create a new document based on that template.

The Best Smart Plugs

If you want to control most plug-in appliances remotely from your phone (or using a voice assistant), smart plugs are a fairly cheap way to make that happen. Here are the best smart plugs worth buying.

The Best Affordable* Automatic Gold Watches

Gold watches are making a bit of a comeback. They were always a thing at high class events but now you’ll see more and more people rocking gold as their everyday watch. Let’s look at some affordable models to get you started.

How To Recover Your Forgotten Microsoft Account Password

If you don’t use a password manager, those complex passwords can be hard to remember. If you’ve forgotten the password for your Microsoft account—which might be an account at outlook.com, live.com, hotmail.com, or even skype.com—you can’t really recover that same password, but it’s easy enough to recover your account by resetting your password to something new.

How to Get Started Tracking Social Media Analytics with Free Tools

If you’re looking to get started with social media analytics, finding a service that lets you get a feel for how it works without having to pay a monthly fee can be a challenge. Here are some options to get started.

Ten Gadgets To Take The Stress Out Of Long Flights

Air travel can be…less than pleasant. Doubly so if you have to deal with the American TSA. But some thoughtful selection and packing in your carry-on can make it more bearable.

What Is A File Extension?

A file extension, or filename extension, is a suffix at the end of a computer file. It comes after the period, and is usually two-four characters long. If you’ve ever opened a document or viewed a picture, you’ve probably noticed these letters at the end of your file.

3 Problems With USB-C You Need To Know About

USB Type-C is clearly the future, but getting to the future isn’t always painless, and USB-C has a lot of problems. Here are a few things every new USB-C user needs to know.

How to Fully Restore macOS From a Time Machine Backup in Recovery Mode

If you’re installing a new hard drive, or your Mac is completely messed up, you might think it’s time for a fresh installation of macOS. But if you’ve got a Time Machine backup, that’s not necessary: you can fully restore your Mac, and have all your applications and files exactly as you left them.

The Best Products to Improve Your iPhone Photography

Smartphone cameras have gotten incredibly good over the last few years and the iPhone’s camera is among the best—if it’s not the actual best. Let’s look at some tools to make it even better.

The Cheapest Smartphones that Don’t Suck

There’s no shortage of affordable smartphones on the market—but finding an affordable phone that doesn’t suck can be a challenge. So we combed through the options and found the best phones you can buy that won’t break the bank.

How to Fix High CPU Usage by “Service Host: Local System (Network Restricted)”

On some Windows 10 PCs, the “Service Host: Local System (Network Restricted)” process group in the Task Manager can use a high amount of CPU, disk, and memory resources. Here’s how to fix it.

YouTube Music Review: Promising, But Google Can (and Has) Done Better

Google is planning to eventually bring all of its music services under the banner of YouTube Music. It’s a decent start for now, but it could use a lot of improvement.

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Microsoft Nintendoes What Sony Nintendon’t

Microsoft and Nintendo are best buddies. Okay, not really, but Nintendo did put an ad today in which Xbox and Nintendo Switch owners share some Minecraft adventures. Read More »

Quickly Add Trello Cards From the Gmail Sidebar

Turn any email into a card in Trello, in just a couple of clicks. It’s simple using the sidebar in Gmail. Read More »

Your Favorite PC Games Might Be Watching You Play (Just Like Mobile Games Always Have)

Game studios are using analytics software to monitor in-game activity and if determine if ads are effective. Some gamers are creeped out by that, which is prompting publishers to stand down. Read More »

Make Ubuntu Look Like macOS Mojave’s Dark Mode

If you’re a Linux user who likes the look of the dark mode coming in macOS Mojave, you’re in luck: there’s a GTK theme just for you. Read More »

Microsoft News is a Clean App For Browsing and Reading News on Mobile, Offers Dark Mode

Microsoft News is a clean, fast way to browse a variety of headlines, and even offers a dark mode. It’s brand new today on Android and iPhone/iPad. Read More »

Brace Yourself: Video Ads Are Coming to Facebook Messenger

Messenger is one of the cleaner Facebook products, but that’s about to change: autoplaying video ads are coming to the service. Read More »

Why Does Apple Promote the Latest macOS on Unsupported Devices?

The Mac App Store aggressively promotes free operating system upgrades, even on older computers that can’t install them. Why? Read More »

macOS Makes Unencrypted Thumbnails of Your Encrypted Files

Your Mac is always making thumbnails and previews for Quick Look, and those same previews cache information you might prefer to keep secret. Read More »

Text From Your Computer With This New Android Feature, Rolling Out Now

Messages for Android will soon allow you to text from your computer. The feature is rolling out this week, according to Google. Read More »

Enable Dark Mode in High Sierra, Sort Of

Excited for Dark mode in macOS, but not ready to install the Mojave developer beta? You can enable an experimental version right now in High Sierra. Read More »

iOS 12 Will Share Precise Location Data For 911 Calls

Your iPhone will soon share accurate location data when you call 911, allowing emergency workers to know exactly where you’re calling from even if you can’t tell them. This is a new feature in iOS 12, which is coming later this fall. Read More »

This Free App Searches Your PC Way Faster Than Windows Explorer Can

Why is search in Windows Explorer so slow after all these years? We don’t know, but Everything is a free Windows search app that’s pretty much instant. Read More »

This Command Prompt Trick Searches Way Faster Than Windows Explorer

Searching for a file in Windows Explorer takes forever, but there’s a faster way if you’re willing to use the command prompt. Read More »

Microsoft Won’t Help Windows 7 and 8 Users On Their Forums Anymore

Microsoft is done answering your questions about Windows 7, 8, and 8.1—at least, on its official support forums. Read More »

Quickly Check World Cup Scores With Cortana or Spotlight

Stuck at your desk during the 2018 World Cup? That sucks, but you can quickly check the scores anytime by using Cortana on Windows or Spotlight on macOS. Read More »