MakeUseOf

28 years later, the sequel to a 1998 box-office flop is now No. 1

Charlene Badasie — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 22:00:14 GMT

When Practical Magic was released in October 1998, there was little reason to expect the story of the Owens sisters to continue almost three decades later. Despite the star power of Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, and its $94.4 million global box office earnings, the film never felt like an obvious franchise starter. Critical perception was also largely negative, with the film earning a 31% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Windows wouldn’t let me use the free space on my own drive, so I bypassed its limit

Afam Onyimadu — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 21:00:15 GMT

I almost accepted it when Windows told me that it could only shrink 290GB of the 342GB I had free. While there was room to spare on my C: drive, Disk Management was simply refusing to hand a good part of it over.

These 5 things around your house can run from the power-tool batteries you already own

Jonathon Jachura — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 20:30:14 GMT

Most of my 18V Ryobi packs spend their days on a shelf, fully charged and waiting for a drill I might not touch for weeks. That stored energy has real value when the grid drops, and I've already covered how tool batteries hold up in a blackout. Getting the most from them comes down to the adapter. A USB adapter handles phones and tablets, a clip-on inverter supplies a true 120V outlet, and a 12V step-down adapter feeds gear that runs on DC. The runtime math is simple: multiply volts by amp hours. An 18V 6.0Ah pack stores about 108Wh, and a 4.0Ah pack stores about 72Wh, before conversion losses take their share.

I changed 5 Android settings and my phone finally felt like mine

Varun Krishan — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 20:00:14 GMT

The first thing I do every time I get a new Android phone is change a few key settings. These improve the user experience and make the transition much smoother. While every manufacturer has a different take on the UI, the key mechanics are similar. So, you should be able to make these changes on your own phone, just as I do every time I set up a new device.

The Pixel 11's best camera trick never fires if you just press the shutter

Christine Persaud — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 19:30:14 GMT

The Google Pixel 11 series phones continue the company's trend toward cool camera features. You get all the best ones that have been in the latest Pixel devices, like Add Me, Best Take, and Unblur, as well as new ones like Camera Looks that lets you adjust the look of a photo after capture. But there's another new, even more impressive one called Magic Capture. Available on all Pixel 11 series phones, it's a simple way to get engaging stills from your videos.

Android apps finally feel native on Linux, and I didn’t need an emulator

Dipan Saha — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 19:00:17 GMT

If, for some reason, you need to use Android apps on Linux (in the case of certain Android-exclusive apps or games), you’ll quickly find out that it's not an easy process.

I did everything to hide my browsing from my ISP, and it could still see most of where I went

Gavin Phillips — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 18:30:14 GMT

The big issue with online privacy is that it's constantly evolving, and the big tech companies will always find new ways to get into your data.

Your Windows backup plan has one huge hole

Afam Onyimadu — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 18:00:14 GMT

I felt covered after enabling the backup options Windows 11 offered. But my confidence diminished when I couldn't find a Windows Backup option that gave me a separate, restorable copy of the Windows installation itself if my PC stopped booting.

7 Excel tools that are more useful than learning another formula

Adaeze Uche — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 17:30:14 GMT

Anyone who uses Excel is probably looking for something that makes their sheets simpler and easier to manage. Often, that means learning more efficient Excel formulas or catching up on newly released ones.

Dumb TVs are scarce, these are your best alternatives

Oluwademilade Afolabi — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 17:15:14 GMT

If you've been trying to find a good old "dumb" TV lately, you've probably noticed they've all but vanished. But that doesn't mean you're out of options. With a little effort and know-how, you can still pick up a screen that skips all the smart TV functionality but still looks amazing.