The Best Streaming Devices for Your TV in 2026
A research-backed guide to the best streaming devices in 2026, comparing the Roku Ultra, Fire TV Stick 4K Max, Apple TV 4K, Google, and Fire Cube.
Guides
Buying guides and how-tos
How to Format an External Drive for Mac: APFS vs exFAT vs NTFS
Learn how to format an external drive for Mac the right way, plus when to pick APFS, exFAT, or NTFS so your files move cleanly between machines.
SMR vs CMR Hard Drives: Why Your External Drive Slows to a Crawl
Shingled recording is why an external hard drive that benchmarks fine can turn a large backup into a multi-day ordeal. Here's how to spot SMR before you buy, and what to do if you already own one.
The Best Cloud Backup Services Compared in 2026
Five cloud backup plans compared on price, device limits, and what happens when you actually need a restore, from about $26 for a single-PC plan to a 6TB household option and a dedicated full-image tool.
Best UPS Battery Backups for a Home NAS and Network Gear
Sizing math, real runtime numbers, and the automatic shutdown setup most buying guides skip, plus five UPS units that actually cover a home NAS and network stack.
The 3-2-1 Backup Strategy: How to Actually Back Up a NAS
RAID keeps a NAS running through a dead drive. It does nothing for fire, theft, or ransomware, so here is the concrete second and third copy plan, the gear, and the real cost math for the offsite leg.
RAID Levels Explained: Which One Your NAS Should Use
RAID levels explained in plain language: what mirrors and parity actually protect, real usable-capacity math for a 4x8TB array, and which level fits your NAS.
RAID 5 vs RAID 6: When One Drive of Redundancy Is Not Enough
RAID 6 costs a second parity drive's worth of capacity, and on a NAS with four or more bays full of 10TB and larger drives it is often worth it. Here is the math that tells you when, and which boxes make the switch painless.
How to Burn-In Test a New Hard Drive Before Trusting It With Your Data
A new drive that mounts fine isn't the same as a good drive. Here's the exact SMART short test, surface scan, and extended test sequence to run first, with real time estimates and which readings actually mean return it.