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Hacks & Workarounds

1183 articles

All articles tagged Hacks & Workarounds.

5 Ways to Use Your Cordless Drill Beyond Drilling Holes

Your cordless drill is a high-torque motor that spins things. With the right attachments, it becomes a cleaning tool, sander, mixer, and polisher. Here are five practical uses that go beyond putting together IKEA furniture.

Huma Shazia·28 Apr 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·5 min

5 Open Source Apps That Outperform Google Defaults on Android

A long-time Android user tested open-source alternatives to Google's built-in apps and found they often deliver cleaner interfaces, better customization, and stronger privacy. LibreTube and Aves Gallery stand out as replacements that match or exceed their Google counterparts.

Manaal Khan·28 Apr 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·5 min

3 Self-Hosted Apps That Replace Paid Subscriptions

A tech journalist shares three self-hosted applications that replaced parts of his productivity stack: AFFiNE for notes and docs, Copyparty for file sharing, and Pi-hole for network-wide ad blocking. Each can run on basic hardware and eliminates recurring subscription costs.

Manaal Khan·28 Apr 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·5 min

Free Obsidian Sync Alternative: Git Plugin vs $10/Month Official

Obsidian's official sync service costs up to $10 monthly with storage and version history limits. A free open-source plugin using GitHub offers unlimited vaults, permanent version history, and 15GB storage. Here's how the two options compare.

Huma Shazia·28 Apr 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·5 min

Why Your Monitor Matters More Than a New GPU Right Now

With GPU prices skyrocketing due to AI demand, upgrading your display might deliver better gaming results than chasing an RTX 50-series card. Resolution bumps, refresh rate gains, and OLED technology can transform your experience without the premium GPU price tag.

Huma Shazia·28 Apr 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·5 min

6 Reasons Your 3D Prints Look Fine but Feel Weak

Your 3D printed parts come out smooth and dimensionally accurate, but they snap under pressure or crumble under load. The problem usually isn't your printer. It's your slicer settings. Here are six common culprits and how to fix them.

Manaal Khan·28 Apr 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·5 min

3 HBO Max Shows Worth Rewatching This Week

HBO Max's library offers perfect timing this week with Chernobyl marking the disaster's 40th anniversary, Game of Thrones spinoff news dropping, and His Dark Materials' complete three-season run ready for binge-watching.

Manaal Khan·28 Apr 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·4 min

Spiral: Plex's Free French Crime Drama Worth 8 Seasons

Plex offers all eight seasons of Spiral, a critically acclaimed French crime series, completely free. The show ran on Canal+ from 2005 to 2021 and follows Paris police officers, lawyers, and judges through morally complex investigations.

Huma Shazia·28 Apr 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·4 min

2027 Audi Q4 e-tron Gains 368-Mile Range and Home Charging

Audi's mid-cycle refresh of the Q4 e-tron delivers meaningful upgrades beyond styling. The 2027 model becomes Audi's first vehicle with bi-directional charging, letting owners power their homes during blackouts or run devices while camping. Range improvements push the Sportback to 368 miles on WLTP testing.

Huma Shazia·28 Apr 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·4 min

How to Reclaim 7GB of Hidden Storage on Windows 11

Windows 11 quietly reserves 7GB or more of your SSD for updates and system files. A single PowerShell command turns it off in 30 seconds. Here's how to check your reserved storage and decide whether reclaiming it makes sense for your system.

Huma Shazia·28 Apr 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·6 min

Nintendo Switch 2 LCD Screen Disappoints: A Portable OLED Fix

The Nintendo Switch 2 shipped with a 1080p LCD panel that looks worse than its predecessor's 720p OLED. Critics cite slow response times and weak contrast. Here's why enthusiasts are pairing the console with portable OLED monitors instead.

Manaal Khan·28 Apr 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·5 min

Spotify Adds Peloton Workouts: How to Access 1,400+ Classes

Spotify's new Fitness hub bundles over 1,400 Peloton classes into Premium subscriptions at no extra cost. The move positions Spotify as a wellness platform competing directly with Apple Fitness+, though it lacks built-in fitness tracking.

Huma Shazia·27 Apr 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·4 min

OpenAI Partners with MediaTek and Qualcomm on Smartphone Chips

Supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports OpenAI is working with MediaTek, Qualcomm, and Luxshare to develop smartphone processors. Mass production is expected in 2028. CEO Sam Altman's same-day post about rethinking OS design adds credibility to the hardware ambitions.

Manaal Khan·27 Apr 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·4 min

5 Movies to Stream This Week on Netflix, Hulu, and More

From Yorgos Lanthimos's Oscar-nominated Bugonia to Kenneth Branagh's Agatha Christie horror-mystery, here are the best films hitting streaming services between April 27 and May 3. The week also brings a new Colleen Hoover adaptation and Robert Eggers' latest unsettling work.

Manaal Khan·27 Apr 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·5 min

5 Ways 3D Printing Saves You From Overpriced Replacements

A broken appliance knob can cost $70 from the manufacturer, or pennies from your 3D printer. Here are five practical prints that pay for themselves by replacing overpriced proprietary parts and accessories.

Manaal Khan·27 Apr 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·4 min

5 Flatpak Apps That Fix Linux's Biggest Annoyances

Flatpak's app library is massive, but finding quality tools takes time. A How-To Geek roundup highlights five Flatpaks that solve common Linux frustrations, from managing app permissions to handling AppImages properly.

Huma Shazia·27 Apr 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·5 min

Why Samsung Dropped Its Class 3 Face Unlock

Samsung once had the most secure facial recognition system on Android, meeting Google's Class 3 biometric standard. Then the company quietly removed it. Here's why that matters for Galaxy users and what alternatives remain.

Huma Shazia·27 Apr 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·4 min

StreetComplete Turns OpenStreetMap Edits Into a Points Game

An Android app called StreetComplete gamifies the process of contributing to OpenStreetMap. Instead of learning complex editing tools, users answer simple questions about their surroundings and earn points for improving local map data.

Huma Shazia·27 Apr 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·5 min

3 Vibe Coding Mistakes That Break Your First AI App

Jumping straight into code with GitHub Copilot often produces broken features and half-baked products. A developer shares three hard-learned lessons about planning, context management, and iterative implementation that separate working vibe-coded apps from failed experiments.

Huma Shazia·27 Apr 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·4 min

Samsung Wallet's New Trips Feature Beats Google Wallet for Travel

Samsung Wallet now includes a 'Trips' feature that aggregates boarding passes, hotel reservations, and car rentals into a chronological timeline with real-time flight tracking. For frequent travelers frustrated with Google Wallet's cluttered card stack, this could be the reason to finally switch.

Huma Shazia·27 Apr 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·5 min

3 NotebookLM Prompts That Build a Complete Study System

Google's NotebookLM works best with specific prompts that turn passive note-taking into active learning. A tech journalist shares the exact prompts she uses to generate concept maps, practice questions, and exam prep materials from uploaded course content.

Huma Shazia·27 Apr 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·4 min

Why 3D Printing Guides Skip Prototyping (And Why You Shouldn't)

Most 3D printing tutorials gloss over prototyping, showing a quick measurement, some CAD work, and a perfect final print. The reality is far different. Prototyping is the most time-consuming and important step in 3D printing, and skipping it wastes both filament and time.

Huma Shazia·27 Apr 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·5 min

How to Self-Host Bitwarden for Free With Vaultwarden

Vaultwarden is an open-source, community-built server that lets you run your own Bitwarden instance. It unlocks premium features like built-in 2FA codes, vault health reports, and hardware security key support without the $10 annual subscription. Here's why it might be worth setting up.

Manaal Khan·27 Apr 2026

Hacks & Workarounds·5 min

Claude vs ChatGPT vs Gemini: Which AI Can Build a Chrome Extension?

A developer tested all three major LLMs on the same task: build a working Chrome extension from scratch. Only one succeeded without errors. The results reveal real differences in code generation quality that matter for anyone considering vibe coding.

Huma Shazia·27 Apr 2026