News that Geeks Care About

How to Customize Firefox Quantum’s New Interface

Firefox Quantum is here, and it’s chock full of improvements, including the new Photon UI. Photon replaces the “Australis” interface that’s been used since 2014, and features a ton of customization opt...

Dennis Stewart Nov 16th, 2017

How to Make the Most of The Pixel 2’s Awesome Ambient Display

Android phones with Ambient Display are nothing new, but it’s taken a really long time to perfect them. Google finally did that with the Pixel 2, provided you’re willing to make a few tweaks. Here’s how to m...

Cameron Summerson Nov 15th, 2017

How to Migrate All Your Data From Chrome to Firefox

If you’re thinking about switching to Firefox Quantum—or at least trying to switch—Firefox makes it pretty easy. Firefox can import your bookmarks, saved passwords, browser history, and cookies directly from...

How to Customize the Google Feed (and Make It Actually Useful)

When Google first released Google Now, it was celebrated by Android users across the board. When Now evolved into the Google Feed, however, this change was much less accepted. But the Feed is great if you just take the time t...

Cameron Summerson Nov 14th, 2017

What’s New in Firefox Quantum, the Firefox You’ve Been Waiting For

Firefox transforms today. It’s now a multi-process browser with a new design, gaining speed but leaving traditional Firefox extensions behind. If you’ve switched to Google Chrome, you might want to give Firefox ...

Four macOS Server Features That Are Now Built In to High Sierra

Apple’s server software isn’t what it used to be. Once a considerable investment, these days macOS Server only sets you back $20, a bargain considering all the features you get.

Blizzard Is Doing eSports Right with Its New Overwatch League

eSports, the colloquial and irritating name for organized tournaments featuring multiplayer PC and console games, are all the rage these days…among geeks. But because of their decidedly geeky roots, there seems to be a ...

Michael Crider Nov 3rd, 2017

What Is an eSIM, and How Is It Different From a SIM Card?

With the launch of the Apple Watch 3, the term “eSIM” has been thrown around a lot. And now, Google’s Pixel 2 is the first phone to use this new technology, it’s time we take a closer look at what it i...

Cameron Summerson Nov 2nd, 2017

How to Send a Steam Digital Gift Card in Any Amount

Valve just added digital gift cards to Steam, allowing you to send money directly to a friend’s Steam Wallet. You can also use the same trick we used adding Steam Wallet funds to send almost any amount—not just th...

Dennis Stewart Oct 31st, 2017

What Unity Users Need to Know About Ubuntu 17.10’s GNOME Shell

Ubuntu 17.10 “Artful Aardvark” has dropped the Unity 7 desktop, instead switching to GNOME Shell. Ubuntu’s developers tried to make the GNOME Shell desktop work as much like Unity as possible, but there are...

How to Make Your Pixel 2’s Colors More Vibrant with Oreo Colorizer

To say that the Google Pixel 2’s displays have come under scrutiny would be an understatement. While most of the criticism has been overblown, there’s no arguing that the color calibration of the Pixel 2’s d...

Cameron Summerson Oct 27th, 2017

What Is Mixed Reality on Windows 10, and Should You Buy a Headset?

Microsoft is building an ecosystem of “Mixed Reality” headsets from various PC manufacturers. Despite the misleading name, the first headsets you can buy today are really just virtual reality headsets, with no aug...

Chris Hoffman Oct 26th, 2017

How Windows Defender’s New Exploit Protection Works (and How to Configure It)

Microsoft’s Fall Creators Update finally adds integrated exploit protection to Windows. You previously had to seek this out in the form of Microsoft’s EMET tool. It’s now part of Windows Defender and is ac...

What’s New in Ubuntu 17.10 “Artful Aardvark”, Available Now

After quite a few unexciting releases, Ubuntu 17.10 “Artful Aardvark” is full of huge changes. Ubuntu Phone is dead, and so is Ubuntu’s dream of a converged desktop. Ubuntu’s developers are no longer w...

How to Protect Your Files From Ransomware With Windows Defender’s New “Controlled Folder Access”

Windows 10’s Fall Creators Update includes a new Windows Defender feature designed to protect your files from ransomware. It’s named “Controlled Folder Access”, and it’s disabled by default. You&...

What’s New in Windows 10’s Fall Creators Update, Available Now

Windows 10’s Fall Creators Update, codenamed Redstone 3, is available to download now. Here are all the new features you’ll see in the latest version of Windows—and some big, splashy features Microsoft anno...

Your Wi-Fi Network Is Vulnerable: How to Protect Against KRACK

Today, security researchers published a paper detailing a serious vulnerability in WPA2, the protocol that keeps most modern Wi-FI networks secure—including the one in your home. Here’s how to protect yourself fro...

The Amazon Prime-ification of Windows, and Everything Else, Is Coming

Microsoft has been pushing Office 365, the $100-per-year Microsoft Office subscription, for years now. But the Windows Fall Creators update goes further. For the first time, non-Office Windows features will live behind the Of...

Your Mac Is Tracking Your Location in High Sierra, Here’s Why (and How to Disable It)

You probably didn’t notice, but macOS High Sierra keeps an ongoing list of recurring locations. The feature is called Significant Locations, and according to Apple is used by Maps, Calendar, and Photos to “provide...

Justin Pot Oct 13th, 2017

How to Get Free Money From Google By Answering Quick Surveys

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a search engine in possession of a good fortune must be in want of more data. If you want to earn some extra money (in the form of Google Play Credit or PayPal money), Google wil...

Eric Ravenscraft Oct 11th, 2017

How to Make Phone Calls With Your Google Home

After Alexa gave users the ability to call other Echo owners, Google upped the ante with true phone calls. If you live in the U.S. or Canada, you can use your Google Home to place a call to anyone’s phone. You don&#821...

Cameron Summerson Oct 11th, 2017

APFS Explained: What You Need to Know About Apple’s New File System

Apple’s macOS 10.13 High Sierra brings a new file system named “Apple File System”, which largely replaces the older HFS+ file system. Apple File System, also known as APFS, has been used by default on iPhon...

Chris Hoffman Oct 10th, 2017

What Is Facebook’s New “Explore Feed”?

Recently, two new icons popped up in the Facebook app on iOS where the old chat icon used to be: a little shopfront and a rocket ship. The little shopfront is a quick link to Facebook Marketplace, and the rocket ship a link t...

Harry Guinness Oct 10th, 2017

How to Theme Your Android Oreo Device with Substratum and Andromeda (No Root Required)

Android 8.0, affectionately and officially known as “Oreo,” changes a lot of things in Google’s mobile operating system. But the most obvious is a switch from a general dark theme in the interface to blindin...

Hey iPhone Users, Apple Maps Is Good Now

I’m just back from a road trip around Southern California. Over six days I hit up San Diego, Joshua Tree, Los Angeles, and then San Diego again. It was about twenty hours of driving in total, along everything from wide open...

Harry Guinness Oct 9th, 2017