There are tons of hugely popular free-to-play games:Fortnite,Rocket League,Fall Guys, and so on and so on. I’m happy gamers on a tight budget always have something to play—and I’ve played many myself—but I still hate the experience of free-to-play games for a few reasons. 5Microtransactions (Obviously) Although you can play all of these games for free, they’re all trying to get you to spend money on in-game purchases in one way or another....

Paramount Plus is CBS’s streaming platform—it’s also the only way to get SHOWTIME these days. The regular price for Paramount Plus Essential is $7.99 per month or $59.99 per year. If you want to give this app a try, there are ways to lower the cost and make sure you get your money’s worth out of the content. you’re able to purchase Paramount Plus independently, but many users add it to an existing service instead....

Quick Links AV receivers can be finicky or hard to understand at first, so it’s easy to mess a thing up or two during setup. Here are some settings to check if you’re having any audio problems in your home theater. 6Improper Room Correction Calibration While calibration tools for yourAV receiverare incredibly handy in theory, it’s very easy to mess it up. If your receiver is running software likeAudyssey, and you’re using a provided calibration speaker to pick up and measure the distance and positioning of the speakers in your setup, you have to follow the instructions provided, or you run the risk of having all the wrong settings applied....

Quick Links One of the great advantages of smart home technology is being able to tie multiple devices together through automation. Here’s how to better use a smart video doorbell with some of the other gadgets in your home. 1After Sunset, When Motion is Detected, Turn on Front Porch Light For better security,a smart doorbell is a great choice. If you have a smart light on your porch, you can use a quick automation to illuminate the front of your property and let potential thieves know that they’re being watched....

Quick Links Summary TikTok’s “No internet connection” prevents you from watching your videos and using other app features. There are many items that can cause this problem, including an inactive internet connection, a faulty app, and more. Luckily, you have a few ways to fix this TikTok error on your iPhone or Android phone, and we’ll show you how. Check Your Internet Connection Since this TikTok error’s main cause is an inactive internet connection, ensure your internet connection is working and is stable....

Summary Apple’s modern Mac desktops and laptops with Apple Silicon chips are fantastic computers, with excellent performance and best-in-class power efficiency. However, something important was lost in the transition away from Intel processors: Boot Camp. Boot Camp was first revealed in 2006, when Apple was in the early stages of moving its Mac computer lineup from IBM’s PowerPC processors to Intel’s x86 chips. One of the benefits of moving to the same processor architecture as PCs was that Macs could now run the Windows operating system without emulators or virtual machines....

Summary If the PowerBeats name seems like an older one, it’s because the last release was six years ago. The newBeats PowerBeats Pro 2fitness-focused earbuds are packed with new features like a heart rate monitor, but they promise more than they deliver. Beats PowerBeats Pro 2 The Beats PowerBeats Pro 2 are a sequel years in the making, and not only do these new sport earbuds feature ANC for the first time, but built-in heart rate tracking to track your workouts as music powers them....

Summary Every year, vast schools of shoppers swarm around Black Friday deals in a proverbial feeding frenzy, but the chaos can also attract scammers that only need one slip up to strike. What Is Phishing and How Does It Impact Black Friday? In broad terms,phishingis one of the more common forms of modern scams intended to trick victims into either providing sensitive information or downloading malicious software. Typically, these scams are attempted through either email or text messaging....

Summary Shopping for a used electric car can be an exciting yet daunting task, especially if you’ve never owned an EV. It’s a big purchase, so it’s vital that you get things right. Like buying a gas-powered car, you’ll want to do some due diligence. While most of the same used car buying principles still apply, like looking over the body, checking for imperfections, and askingquestions about maintenance, you’ll need to adjust your mindset and consider several other factors....

Summary Improving your typing speed is one of the best ways to save time in the office, especially if you primarily deal with text files. Learning the correct typing technique is essential, but could upgrading to a better keyboard provide an immediate advantage in typing speed? A Better Keyboard Won’t Make You a Faster Typist Just like how a high-quality frying pan won’t make you a better chef, a good keyboard won’t make you a faster typist....

Quick Links Summary Only a few parts like the storage and RAM are normally upgradeable on a gaming laptop. Getting an external GPU could increase the performance of a low-powered laptop, but there isn’t much else you’re able to upgrade. Gaming laptops have become a viablealternative to gaming desktop PCs, but one area they’re objectively lacking is upgradeability. That doesn’t mean you can’t upgrade your gaming laptop at all! There are ways to get more from your gaming laptop....

Dell sells a lot of keyboards and mice, but most of them are basic accessories that aren’t competitive with options from Logitech and other companies. That’s starting to change, as Dell is introducing two new keyboards and an updated mouse. First, the company has released theDell Silent Keyboard and Mouse Combo (KM555). The keyboard is a standard 75% layout, with a dedicated number pad and a function row at the top....

Read update Quick Links If you’re sitting at a desk all day, you shouldn’t cheap out on your chair. With gaming chairs becoming increasingly popular, I wondered if the budget-friendlyE-Win Champion Series CPG Gaming Chaircut too many corners or if it wasergonomic enough for long-term comfort. I’d say it’s somewhere in the middle. How-To Geek readers can get 20% off an E-Win gaming chair by using discount codeHowtoGeekat checkout. Assembly Was Easy; Quality Was Worrisome As with most direct-to-consumer chairs, E-Win ships its Champion Series gaming chair in a large box, only partially assembled....