You've probably heard about switches before, but if you've never dabbled with PoE, it's a good way to get power to your connected devices without running another set of cables. Just by connecting compatible devices using Ethernet with PoE, you can have a simultaneous data and power connection.

When I first got into PC gaming, I used to overclock my graphics cards to squeeze out more performance than what was advertised. All I needed to do was move a couple of sliders in MSI Afterburner for a 5% improvement in frame rates. Nowadays, though, those performance gains feel far less exciting, especially since my RTX 4090 has no trouble running most games at over 100FPS at 1440p. And when I want to game at 4K, I can always rely on DLSS upscaling and frame generation to improve frame rates.

For the past few months, I've been using Linux seriously for the first time in my life. My only other foray was a decade ago, when I tried Ubuntu for about two days and then decided to go back. Now, I've actually forgotten that I even have Windows installed on my dual boot, as I've fallen in love with Fedora KDE.

One of the ways to make your home network more resilient to outages is by setting up high availability and methods of failover, so that one broken or misbehaving network appliance doesn't result in no connectivity for everyone. Setting up this level of redundancy is relatively simple these days, but it will take a few hours, so block out the time accordingly.

Adding a background to your webcam feed can do a great deal to make you look professional. People in our XDA calls use it, and even if we know they're faux backgrounds (evident, given how someone will travel across the world and then show up in the exact same cafe setting on the weekly call), it still looks good. Personally, I love showing off the posters behind me to do that, but it's definitely something every freelancer and work-at-home professional should at least consider.

Call me paranoid if you must, but I take all sorts of precautions to bolster the security of my devices. Running a router/firewall OS with hardened rules is one of them, and I’ve been using an OPNsense-powered mini-PC for a long time to secure my home lab. However, I recently went with a fresh installation of OPNsense 25.7.2 on a separate machine, which didn’t go all that well in the beginning.

Moving your Windows User folder to another SSD or from a legacy HDD or modern SSD can improve performance, provide a more responsive Windows experience, and increase security. The folder, located in C:Users[YourUsername], houses the main default storage folders for your data, such as Desktop, Downloads, Music, Videos, and others.

For years, I switched my PKM system between Notion and Obsidian. I was a power Obsidian user at heart due to its speed and simplicity of local Markdown files. The ability to own my data and work office was a powerful draw. Yet, I always found myself pulled back to Notion due to one reason — databases.

As someone who couldn't pick his jaw up from the floor after playing Battlefield 3 for the first time, and then getting more of the same amazing experience with Battlefield 4, I remember being disappointed with Hardline and Battlefield 1 consecutively. My problems with the latter were more about the continuity being broken, but when Battlefield 2042 was announced, I was excited again, since it was going to be a sequel to Battlefield 4.

This is one of those accessories that you can't be without once you start carrying it around. If you've ever needed more ports on your laptop, phone, tablet, or PC gaming handheld — this Anker USB-C hub is going to be the perfect choice thanks to its compact size and expanded connectivity. While it has a retail price of $50, it can now be had for less, as it drops to just $36 for a limited time.

My biggest Docker mistakes weren’t just about syntax errors or configuration issues. They were the kind of mistakes that led to security vulnerabilities, bloated images, and countless wasted hours. When I started with Docker, I was focused on one thing: getting it to work. I didn’t think about best practices, and I certainly didn’t anticipate the problems that would arise later on.

There's no denying that I love Google Keep. It has been my companion for a long time, helping me jot down new article ideas, create shopping lists, and make to-do lists. It's pretty minimalist, fast, and most importantly, synced across devices. But then I wanted something that doesn't feel like writing inside Google's walled garden. Every note or idea I create on Keep feels like creating just another data point sitting on Google's server.