Giving each item a unique name and then grouping those items makes your Voice Assistant work better. You need light bulbs, and these are incredibly easy to install, requiring no wiring on your part. Unfortunately, Voice Assistants don’t truly understand you; they only listen for expected commands. So if you stumble over “turn on the study… If your gear names aren’t memorable, then you’ll run into this issue frequently. Naming Groups Reduces equipment Name Complications Voice assistants still aren’t as smart as they should be....

Related Quick Links Summary Use the Google Home app to create rooms. AGoogle Assistant-enabled smart homeworks better with rooms in the Google Home app. You’ll be able to control groups of devices with a singlevoice command. We’ll show you how to create rooms and move devices into them. That’s the beauty of organizing your devices into rooms. Tap the “Add” button in the bottom right. For this example, we’re using the latter option....

Related Quick Links Bluetooth 5.1lets devices track each other down to the centimeter. At best it can do things at your command (even if it’s a scheduled command). If you’re outside your home, the problem only gets worse. When you leave or arrive, any knowledge of your presence relies ongeofencing. But theBluetooth SIG has introduced version 5.1,which dramatically improves location awareness. A Bluetooth 5.1 connection allows for both directional pointing and positional locating down to the centimeter....

Microsoft no longer makes Signature Edition PCs, but you’re able to turn any PC into one. your gear may be new and fast, but it somehow feels gross. Whether it’s an antivirus app or Office, this tool will remove it. There are some downsides to using this tool, though. You might lose drivers specific to your machine, for example. pick the “Additional Info” link, then click “Get Started.” ymgerman/Shutterstock The steps from thereare pretty straight forward....

Related Quick Links Smarthome technology has come a long way. Smarthomes don’t have to be expensive, and they aren’t always listening to you, for example. But they don’thaveto be expensive. It’s easy to start small and then build out piece by piece from there. One great way to do that is to pick upinexpensive smart bulbsand see what you think. You could then consider adding a sensor or two. The best thing to do is to watch for deals....

Those statements are all true because there are different “levels” of autonomy. Here’s what those levels mean. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) definessix levels of car autonomy. They released this guidance to both push forward and standardize autonomous vehicle testing. The NHTSA breaks down Self-Driving cars into six categories, starting with Level 0. Level 0: No Automation A Level 0 car has no self-driving capabilities at all....

Facebook will accept slight variations of your password, for your convenience. And its perfectly safe. Passwords Are Easy To Mistype Facebook and other sites like it have a problem. They’d like you to use long and complicated passwords, but those are hard to jot down. You should beusing a password managerto take care of that for you, but most people don’t. And because of those two factors, it’s common to mistype your password....

Unfortunately, Microsoft has fallen so far behind that the only reasonable solution is togive up. But, is Cortana so far behind? Set Up Was Complicated When I started with this experiment, I immediately ran into an issue. I have Alexa devices and Google devices scattered through my home. But I don’t have Cortana devices so conveniently placed. I own a Surface Pro 3, a Windows 10 PC, and I put Cortana on my phone....

If that sounds good, look no further than the so-called “God Mode.” What Is God Mode? By the way, “God Mode” is just a popular name some people give this special folder. it’s possible for you to name the folder anything you like—includingHow-To Geek Mode, for example. The new folder icon will appear. The characters that follow (including the period) must remain exactly as listed above. Double-smack the icon to kick off the newly-created God Mode....

Quick Links A file with the .msixextensionis a Windows software installer. Microsoft recently introducedMSIXas an alternative to EXE,MSI, and evenAppXpackages. Exercise caution and ensure you trust an MSIX file’s source before running it. Each has different strengths and weaknesses. MSI installers are best for simple, possibly unattended, installations. The install process won’t detect if the software already exists, or if any components are missing. It may overwrite any files in the install path....

Unfortunately, Plex Server hardware can be expensive, electricity intensive, or both. To reduce both bills, use aRaspberry Pifor a Plex Server. What you better Know Running a Raspberry Pi as a Plex Server does come with several benefits. It won’t take up as much room as a server or a full-size PC. It also will use less electricity, even when idle all day. Best of all, it costs less than most other hardware capable of working as a server....

Quick Links Summary Hidden in every user profile is a file named NTUSER.DAT. Windows automatically loads, changes, and saves the file for you. Windows accomplishes this by first storing that information tothe Registryin the HKEY_CURRENT_USER hive. Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek Then when you sign out or shut down, Windows saves that information to the NTUSER.DAT file. This process lets you personal prefs unique to your user profile, like your chosen desktop background....

Quick Links Windows 10 can sometimes be a real mess. Betweenbotched updates, treating its users asbeta testers, and adding featureswe never wantedit can be tempting to downgrade. But you shouldn’t go back to Windows 8.1, and we can tell you why. Seriously: We installed Windows 8.1 and used it for a few hours so you wouldn’t have to. Instead, it had a Start Screen. Windows 8.0 introduced the Start Screen with the hopes of ushering in an era of Windows tablets....