Learn Italian: Hanno ideato un progetto geniale per smontare il computer. - They devised a brilliant plan to take apart the computer.

Yes, they are! In English, "genial" means friendly or cheerful. In Italian, geniale comes from genio (genius) and means "brilliant", "ingenious", or "highly clever". If you want to call someone friendly in Italian, you would use cordiale or amichevole.

How does the s- prefix change the meaning of the verb montare here?

The verb montare means "to assemble", "to put together", or "to mount". Adding the s- prefix often acts as a reversative, similar to the English prefixes "un-" or "dis-". Therefore, smontare means "to disassemble", "to take apart", or "to dismantle".

The sentence translates progetto as "plan". Could I use piano instead?

Yes, piano would also work perfectly here as un piano geniale. However, progetto is often used for a plan that involves design, structure, or a specific scheme, making it a very natural choice when talking about a technical task like dismantling a computer.

The verb ideare is used here for "devised". How is this different from inventare?