A how-to guide offers tips and information on your latest technology and gadgets.

Alloystory asked the Laptops forum about speeding up a PC by replacing the hard drive with something faster.

BRR-RING! The phone rings at midnight, interrupting your sleep—or worse, your late night Steam session with your gaming clan. Is someone sick? Did a car hit your dog? Is it your pal, calling to tell you he got the munchies and discovered that, joy of joys, the McRib is back? Perplexed (and maybe a bit hungry), you pick up your handset, and hear the ominous words:

A router is the heart of your network, so it deserves to be chosen carefully. Any router will share your Internet connection amongst your computers and other networkable devices (smartphones, tablets, and so on), but better models provide features that will enhance your network and its performance. Whether you're seeking a business- or consumer-class router, here are the eight most essential features to look for.

Social media has been a boon for businesses small and large, but it's also becoming a minefield for those unable to manage the increasing complexities of the run-and-gun nature of the beast. On a seemingly daily basis, we suffer through one “Twitter disaster” or another. It's becoming so commonplace that “Twitter disaster” really doesn't deserve to be in quotes.

John asked why one Web page "comes up right away, while another takes quite a long time to load."

A few days ago I showed you how to create a Windows 8 shutdown tile, the idea being to circumvent the ridiculous hoops Microsoft makes you jump through just to turn off your computer.

Aviva received a $50 Google Play gift certificate. How does Google's formats and DRM policy effect where she can enjoy the music, movies, and books she buys?

Your solid-state drive sits there in silence. It’s sleek. Elegant. More than a little mysterious. The hard drive it replaced was easy to understand: A soft hum assured you that its platters were spinning. A quiet mechanical click informed you of its read/write operations. You’d groom it with the occasional defrag. Times were good.

Earlier today my dad called the Hassle-Free Hotline (also known as my home phone number). The poor guy seems to encounter more than his fair share of inadvertant computer problems.

Externe can't boot his laptop from a CD or a flash drive. He asked the Answer Line forum for help.

For years now I've harangued relatives about their shoddy password practices. Either they use easily-hacked passwords or forget the passwords they've created—sometimes both.