MakeUseOf

Most streaming sticks have terrible remotes — this is what a good one feels like

Brandon Miniman — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 23:00:19 GMT

I've been using the 256-core Nvidia Shield TV for years and I love it. While it's overkill for most streamers (and at $199 it's one of the most expensive options), it packs a lot of power and expansion capability that makes the Shield TV really compelling.

I found Android's hidden gesture customization and it's surprisingly powerful

Brady Snyder — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 22:00:18 GMT

Android users are no stranger to gestures. While I'm sure there are still some holdouts using trusty three-button navigation, many of us have embraced gesture navigation on our Android phones with open arms. Multitasking is quicker, you can swipe from both sides of the screen to go back, and more screen real estate is left for your content. However, if you're only using Android's basic swipe gestures for navigation, you're missing out on your smartphone's hidden gestures and the customization tools available for them.

Stop using your TV's built-in speakers if you actually care about movies

Dave Meikleham — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 21:00:19 GMT

Owning one of the best TVs, then failing to pair your mighty display with a decent surround sound system, is an AV mistake on par with trying to fight a T.rex with a twig. Many modern screens look spectacular, yet when it comes to their audio output, quality is often lacking. That’s just one reason why you should stop letting your TV speakers interfere with your expensive Dolby Atmos setup.

5 Raspberry Pi alternatives that are cheaper and work just as well

Yadullah Abidi — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 20:00:20 GMT

The Raspberry Pi has always been the go-to single-board computer (SBC) for hobbysists, makers, and tinkerers—and for good reason. It's well documented, has a massive community, and runs a polished OS out of the box. The problem is that it's not exactly cheap anymore, and you might be able to skip the Raspberry Pi without regretting it.

These Gemini commands made Android Auto much better in my car

Brady Snyder — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 19:30:18 GMT

Gemini is everywhere, and it's the replacement for Google Assistant — whether we're ready for it or not. Android Auto users are seeing Gemini replace Assistant, and there's no Google platform where a hands-free digital voice assistant. It's important that we touch our car's infotainment screen as little as possible, keeping our hands on the wheel and our eyes on the road. With Google Assistant, that wasn't always possible. The outgoing voice helper's inability to consistently complete multi-step or poorly-worded requests made it a subpar solution for your car.

Siri’s big AI upgrade is actually just Google in a trench coat

Sara Heritage — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 19:20:10 GMT

At its annual WWDC 2026 event, Apple finally showed off Siri AI, a major update to Apple Intelligence designed to make its often-criticised voice assistant smarter in today’s AI-driven world. Siri AI now has its own app, can understand what’s on your screen, uses more natural voices, and can do things like grab an address from a message to help you find a flight time.

After years of forcing Bing into Windows 11, Microsoft is finally backing down

Josh Hawkins — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 19:08:20 GMT

For years, Microsoft has been forcing Bing into Windows 11's local search functionality, making it nearly impossible to search for the apps and files you already have on your PC with trudging through lists of other nonsense. However, new reports suggest the company is actually backing down, and that could make Search on Windows 11 actually usable again.

I carry my browser on a flash drive and all my extensions come with me

Afam Onyimadu — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 19:00:18 GMT

It's only when you're forced to use a browser that isn’t yours that you realize how much you rely on your browser. It's happened to me a few times when I've had to use a new laptop. Even if the browser can handle your tasks, it's simply not optimized for your workflow. Bookmarks and extensions are missing, and even small tasks become harder to complete.

I was using DLSS wrong — switching this one option made my games run far better

Dave Meikleham — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 18:30:18 GMT

When you own a PC that costs more than your car, it’s understandable that you’d want to test out the most bleeding-edge tech modern gaming has to offer. And when I say “you”, I actually mean “me.” After sinking a knee-buckling amount into an RTX 5090 GPU last year, I started to throw caution to the wind with maxed-out graphical settings. Path tracing! Ultra shadows at full 4K! Nvidia Ray Reconstruction! Yet even the most powerful Team Green consumer card ever produced has its limits. That’s where DLAA comes into play.

I tried a two-panel file manager, and Windows Explorer has felt broken ever since

Sagar Naresh — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 18:00:19 GMT

For years, I was dependent on the File Manager that Windows gave us by default. It is plain, simple to use, and does what you tell it to do. But that’s the thing. It doesn’t go beyond its boundaries to give you more. To transfer files, you have to open multiple file explorers and juggle them to get things done. And because of this, I’ve been on the hunt for a better file manager for Windows that would not only get things done more efficiently but also bring something new to the table.