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Hacks & Workarounds

1192 articles

All articles tagged Hacks & Workarounds.

5 Boring Tasks I Automated With Claude's PC Control Mode

Claude's desktop app includes a Cowork mode that gives the AI access to your file system. One user automated five tedious tasks including desktop cleanup and file organization. Here's how it works and what you can actually hand off to an AI agent.

Huma Shazia·18 May 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·4 min

6 Windows Services to Disable for a Faster Old PC

An aging Windows desktop can feel usable again after disabling background services that consume RAM and CPU cycles. A tech writer shares the six services he turned off on a Pentium G4560 system with only 4GB of RAM, explaining which ones are safe to stop without breaking essential features.

Huma Shazia·17 May 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·5 min

5 Smart TV Settings That Fix Common Streaming Annoyances

Your smart TV ships with showroom settings that prioritize flash over function. Five quick adjustments to picture calibration, network setup, and privacy controls can noticeably improve streaming quality without any technical expertise.

Huma Shazia·17 May 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·4 min

How to Disable Windows 11 Animations and Transparency

Windows 11's visual effects look nice but slow down your PC. Turning off animations and transparency can make older hardware feel snappier and reduce the CPU and GPU overhead that accumulates across thousands of daily actions.

Manaal Khan·17 May 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·4 min

4 Ways to Protect Your Car From Theft This Summer

Car theft dropped 23% in 2025, but summer vacations create prime opportunities for thieves. Simple precautions like steering wheel locks and Faraday pouches can make your vehicle a harder target while you're away.

Manaal Khan·17 May 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·5 min

Self-Hosted Password Vaults Prevent Cloud Lockouts

When LastPass pushed a forced MFA resync after its 2022 breach, some users found themselves locked out of their own vaults. Self-hosting a password manager like Vaultwarden or KeePass eliminates this failure mode entirely, putting control back in your hands.

Manaal Khan·17 May 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·5 min

4 Excel Tools Hidden Outside the Ribbon That Save Hours

Most Excel users never explore beyond the ribbon, missing powerful features that can transform daily workflows. The Camera tool, Quick Access Toolbar customization, and other hidden options let you build live dashboards and prevent data-entry errors without installing add-ins.

Manaal Khan·17 May 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·5 min

5 ESP32 Projects That Work Better With a 3D Printer

The ESP32 microcontroller costs around $5 and powers everything from smart home sensors to handheld gaming consoles. Pairing it with a 3D printer unlocks cleaner builds, custom enclosures, and finished projects that look professional instead of like a tangle of wires on a breadboard.

Huma Shazia·17 May 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·5 min

Why Local LLMs Beat ChatGPT: Consistency Over Privacy

The strongest argument for running AI models on your own hardware isn't privacy or cost savings. It's the fact that cloud AI services constantly change their models without telling you, turning every session into an unpredictable experiment.

Huma Shazia·17 May 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·5 min

Claude vs ChatGPT vs Gemini: Which AI Debugs Code Best?

A developer tested all three major AI assistants with the same buggy JavaScript file containing three distinct errors. Only one found the actual root cause. The results reveal clear differences in how these tools approach code debugging.

Manaal Khan·17 May 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·5 min

4 Emergency Car Gadgets That Stay in My Vehicle Year-Round

A mechanical engineer shares the four emergency tools he carries in his 4Runner. Three sit unused for months. One earns its keep weekly. All cost under $150 combined.

Manaal Khan·16 May 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·4 min

Your Laptop Power Cable Might Be Breaking Windows 11 HDR

A common setup mistake can completely disable HDR on Windows 11 gaming laptops. Using a lower-wattage USB-C charger instead of the bundled barrel connector starves the system of power, killing HDR performance even on high-end machines with RTX 5080 GPUs.

Manaal Khan·16 May 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·5 min

Google Magic Eraser Now Works on Any Phone: How to Use It

Google's Magic Eraser, once a Pixel-exclusive feature, is now available on Samsung Galaxy devices and iPhones through Google Photos. Here's how to access it and what limitations free users face.

Manaal Khan·16 May 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·5 min

ChatGPT vs Gemini: Which AI Picks Better Movies?

A film journalist asked ChatGPT and Gemini to rank the 10 greatest movies of all time. The results reveal how each AI approaches subjective cultural questions and where their film knowledge falls short.

Manaal Khan·16 May 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·4 min

Claude Chat Fails Its Own Product Quiz

Anthropic's Claude Code impresses with its coding abilities, but Claude Chat struggles with basic questions about Anthropic's own product lineup. A user test reveals the chatbot confidently delivers wrong answers about features, models, and pricing tiers.

Huma Shazia·16 May 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·4 min

5 Excel Mobile Features That Beat the Desktop Version

Microsoft's Excel app for iOS and Android has quietly developed capabilities that outperform its desktop counterpart. From camera-based data import to touch-optimized editing, these mobile-first features can save time for professionals who work with spreadsheets on the go.

Huma Shazia·16 May 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·5 min

6 Linux Pipelines You Can Replace With Simpler Commands

Many common Linux command pipelines are more complex than they need to be. Built-in options in tools like grep, ls, and sort can do the same job without piping to additional programs, reducing overhead and improving readability.

Huma Shazia·16 May 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·6 min

5 Home Assistant Features You Should Actually Use

Home Assistant packs dozens of features that most users never touch. Labels, helpers, actionable notifications, webhooks, and calibration tools can transform a basic setup into a genuinely smart home. Here's how to put them to work.

Huma Shazia·16 May 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·5 min

6 Linux Distros That Dominated, Then Disappeared

The Linux landscape of the late 1990s and early 2000s saw dozens of distributions rise to prominence. Ubuntu's dominance, enterprise consolidation, and containerization pushed many once-popular distros to the margins or into obscurity.

Manaal Khan·16 May 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·4 min

Why Hyundai's 2025 Santa Fe Hybrid Is the Smart Family SUV Pick

Family SUV buyers in 2026 are shifting priorities from raw power to efficiency and daily practicality. The Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid stands out by balancing affordability, fuel economy, and three-row usability without the usual compromises.

Manaal Khan·16 May 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·5 min

ChatGPT's New Bank-Link Feature: Privacy Costs Outweigh Convenience

OpenAI now lets ChatGPT Pro subscribers connect their bank accounts directly through Plaid. The feature promises budget help and spending insights. But sharing your complete transaction history with an AI chatbot creates serious privacy risks that most users haven't considered.

Huma Shazia·16 May 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·4 min

4 Microsoft Teams Hacks That Save Time in Meetings

Microsoft Teams hides several productivity features that most users never discover. From forwarding emails directly into channels to AI-powered voice isolation, these tricks can make remote meetings less painful and collaboration faster.

Manaal Khan·16 May 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·4 min

5 Reasons Smaller Portable Battery Banks Beat the Big Ones

Bigger isn't always better when it comes to portable power. A compelling case exists for buying multiple small battery banks instead of one large unit. The benefits span from actual portability to cost efficiency.

Manaal Khan·16 May 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·5 min

2 DNS Services That Keep Your Browsing Private from ISPs

Your internet provider logs every website you visit through DNS queries. Two privacy-focused alternatives, Quad9 and Mullvad, offer genuine protection with Swiss legal backing and strict no-log policies.

Manaal Khan·16 May 2026