Home Office Setup & Equipment

We may earn a commission from links on this page. My question about virtual reality has always been, "But what is it for?" I finally have an answer: Guassian Splatting. We've always tried to capture our past, whether it's through physical photographs, VHS tapes, or every picture you have stored in the cloud, but we've been limited to viewing our personal histories in flat media, usually from a behind a screen, and always from a single angle. But Gaussian Splatting changes that. This technology allows you to create volumetric 3D models of objects, people, or spaces, so instead of a picture of your child's favorite toy, you can have a realistic scan of it that you can exa…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The 65-inch Toshiba C350 Fire TV is down to $264.99 on Amazon right now, which is half off its usual $529.99 price and the lowest it has dropped so far, according to price trackers. At this price, it sits in the same territory as many smaller budget sets, but with a much bigger screen. The main appeal here is simple: You’re getting a straightforward 65-inch 4K TV with Amazon’s Fire TV platform already built in—and because of that, setup is pretty painless if you already use Amazon devices. Once you sign in with your Amazon account, Prime Video rec…

Flipper Devices, the company behind the semi-infamous Flipper Zero "hacking" multi-tool, is developing a Linux-powered mini-PC with the goal of creating a "truly open hardware platform." The Flipper One is described as a pocket-sized ARM device for high-performance computing, IP networking, and on-device AI use. The device is in development, so there is no price or release date as yet. The Flipper One is being built on a Rockchip RK3576 processor and the modular design means it can be expanded. "Flipper Zero taught us how much you can do with a tightly scoped, open product and a community that pushes it further than you can. Flipper One is what happens when we apply the …

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding Lifehacker as a preferred source for tech news. Memory is a tricky thing. Scientists have figured out how many units of information you can store in your short-term memory (around seven, though there are great workarounds for remembering more than that), but if you really want to remember something, you have to go over it a bunch of times until it lodges deeper in your brain. There are quite a few ways to do that if you have some time to devote to the practice of repetition, but if you’re getting ready for a test at school or a presentation at wor…

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source. Are you ready for The Rapture and the days of turmoil to follow? Because, if some corners of the Evangelical Christian community online are correct, it's happening today (or maybe tomorrow) just in time for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish feast of The Presidentets. Whether true believers will meet Jesus up in the air this week remains to be seen, so I'm keeping an open mind, but I wanted to lay out what to expect, should the Rapture occur. According to the New King James translation of 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17,…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source. Best Buy has joined the battle against Amazon's Prime Big Deals Day, the fall version of Prime Day. There will actually be two sales leading up to Best Buy's main Techtober sale, so I've rounded up all the info below to help you keep things straight. All of Best Buy's October sales Best Buy's fall sale is actually three separate sales from Sept. 27 through Oct. 12. Here are the dat…

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding Lifehacker as a preferred source for tech news. Studying can be as easy as sitting down and reading a chapter, but it shouldn't be. I do hate to break that to you, though I'm actually doing you a favor. Just absorbing huge blocks of content isn't necessarily helpful for remembering any of it. Before you do the work of studying, you have to get organized by sorting the content you need to absorb. Even organizing it, especially using the "chunking" method, will help you start to grasp and retain the materials, so by the time you're going through them,…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding Lifehacker as a preferred source for tech news. Back-to-school season used to mean loading up on fresh pencils and notebooks. More often now, though, it means loading up on new tech. (Although, you can still buy pencils and notebooks and probably should.) Just as you've started getting your class materials through e-book downloads and begun integrating apps into your studies, you should be leveling up your academic tools, too, to meet modern standards and make your time more productive. There are a …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding Lifehacker as a preferred source for tech news. With early Prime Day deals going live, now is the perfect time to start shopping for new tech essentials like TVs, headphones, and speakers. If you’re a gamer or a movie and TV fanatic in the market for a new screen, the 2025 Hisense U65QF 55-inch QLED TV is currently 42% off on Amazon, bringing it down to less than $500. 2025 Hisense U65Q…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Amazon Big Deal Days is coming October 7-8, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before it's over. Subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox. New to Prime Day? We have a primer on everything you need to know. Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change. If you've been thinking about getting an Apple Watch, but can't justify paying a higher price for features you'll never use, …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Amazon Big Deal Days is coming October 7-8, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before it's over. Follow our live blog to stay up to date on the best sales we find. Subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox. New to Prime Day? We have a primer on everything you need to know. Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change. Over the years, I've subjected my ears to more headphones and …

When you’re working out and aiming for a particular goal, it’s smart to pull the big levers first. Getting enough food, enough sleep, and enough training time will have the biggest impact on your results. But once you’ve got the basics down, it’s time to learn how to properly time your nutrition throughout the day. Timing doesn't matter for everybody, though. If your routine includes consistent meals and consistent exercise, and you basically feel fine, you may not need to mess with timing at all. You aren't "wasting" your workouts if you fail to eat afterward (even though everybody on TikTok may be telling you otherwise). You also don't need to nail down your timing to…

The easy availability of powerful generative AI programs like ChatGPT, Gemini, and other image- and music-generation tools has given everyone the ability to instantly "create" any image, video, or song they can imagine. As the resulting flood of computer-made content washes up on shore, internet users and observers are calling it "slopcore." Also known as "AI slop," slopcore's aesthetic comes from people using AI as a collaborator instead of a tool, leaving the machines to make artistic choices. It's marked by the strangely off, the almost-real, and the uncanny vibe of machines imitating humanity. Slopcore often depicts deeply emotional subjects, but the lack of depth and…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Garmin watches are great for running, but are a bit tricky to work with when you’re trying to track strength training in the gym. (I have some tips here on how to make the most of that strange experience.) But an app called LiftTrack makes up for Garmin’s shortcomings, giving you the Garmin-based strength experience that maybe Garmin should have given you in the first place. Workout creation makes more sense with LiftTrack Credit: Beth Skwarecki LiftTrack is an app (available f…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. The Apple Watch’s hypertension notifications may soon have a competitor. Oura, maker of smart rings, is planning to pursue FDA clearance for their own warning feature for high blood pressure. Oura members can sign up for a study soon in the Oura app. Hypertension, or high blood pressure, can lead to problems with your heart and blood vessels over time. That’s why medical professionals measure it at office visits and why people who have high blood pressure may take medications or use diet and exercise to try to control it. What Oura is planning for its blood pressure featureOura said in a press release that the feature wi…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. It's not very common to see a budget 75-inch Smart TV for $400, but that's what Amazon is offering right now with the Toshiba C350 Smart TV for $399.99 (originally $729.99), the lowest price it has ever been, according to price-tracking tools. If you're looking for a massive, affordable budget TV that won't break the bank, this is your best bet right now. TOSHIBA 75-inch Class C350 Series LED 4K UHD Smart Fire TV with Voice Remote with Alexa (75C350NU) …

Netflix's November lineup includes the long-awaited return of the hit sci-fi show Stranger Things—the first of three "volumes" that makes up the fifth and final season drops at 5 p.m. PT on Nov. 26. The show picks up a year after the events of the fourth installment, with the group attempting to find and kill their inter-dimensional antagonist Vecna, even as Hawkins falls under military quarantine. Expect all of the series regulars to return: Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, etc. Also returning in November is Squid Game: The Challenge (Nov. 4). The second season of the Emmy-nominated show brings 456 new contestants together to comp…

Over the past few months, I felt overwhelmed by all the changes going on in my life—and the things I need to do because of and for them. I've been providing administrative help to my partner as he opens a new business, managing professional expansions of my own, studying for a certification exam, overseeing renovations to my apartment, and restructuring my finances while still keeping up with my regular jobs and responsibilities. For a while, I was waking up tired before the day even started despite the fact that most of these boil down to never-ending, tedious, but little tasks like "send that email," "return that phone call," "confirm that account number," and "pick a …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Nothing says Halloween quite like an ominous countdown. Right now, subscribers to YouTube TV, the company's live TV service, are waiting to learn if they'll still have access to Disney-operated channels, including ABC and ESPN, come Oct.31. It's the latest conflict in ongoing fee disputes between Google and its various content providers, but even if Disney takes its ball and goes home, you won't be left entirely without options. When could Disney channels go dark on YouTube TV?According to Variety, if Disney and Google are unable to reach a deal by the end of Thursday, all Disney networks will vanish from YouTube TV on Oct…

There was once a time where first-party apps and experiences on Apple devices were exempt from advertisements. Other app marketplaces might happily show you ads, but not the App Store. Most news sites place ads in between every other paragraph, but Apple News was an ad-free experience. Say what you wanted about Apple and its products, but you certainly dealt with far fewer ads than on other platforms. Unfortunately, that's no longer the case. Apple has slowly made ads a part of its business model in order to boost revenue. You might have noticed them already while scrolling through stories in News, or when looking for a new game on the App Store. Even the Wallet app has…

Adobe, the company behind big creative programs like Photoshop and Premiere, just wrapped up its 2025 Adobe Max keynote, and you know what that means. That's right: more AI. Over the course of the three-hour presentation, the company went big on automating creativity, introducing new generative AI tools for Photoshop, Lightroom, Premiere Pro, and other Creative Cloud apps. Some of these are expansions of tools that already exist, like better generative fill, while other are all new—like Firefly's new AI audio generation. Adobe Express can design based on vibes …

Cardio load gets a major fix in the new Fitbit app, which Android users can test out starting this week in a “public preview.” (This is the same preview that gives you access to the AI fitness coach, which I tested yesterday, with baffling results.) Cardio load will now be tracked weekly, making it much easier for the app to make sensible recommendations. What is (and was) cardio load? The cardio load feature is Fitbit’s attempt to guide you in how much to exercise. Obviously a beginner shouldn’t jump into hour-long hard workouts right out of the gate, nor should a person training for a marathon slack off for no reason. Cardio load is an attempt to put a number on the amo…

If you've signed up for an Amazon Prime subscription in the last few years, you may have some cash coming your way. Amazon recently settled a lawsuit with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over deceptive enrollment and cancellation practices, including enrolling customers in Prime without their consent and making it difficult to cancel. The company is now set to pay out $1.5 billion in refunds to affected consumers. Here's who qualifies, and how to make sure you get your money. Am I eligible for an Amazon Prime refund? Refunds will be paid out to select Amazon Prime subscribers in the U.S. In order to qualify, you must also meet the following criteria: You signed up f…

Scammers never miss an opportunity to prey on people's fear and confusion—and now they're capitalizing on the ongoing federal government shutdown to steal money and information from vulnerable targets. As Axios notes, reports of imposter scams—in which fraudsters impersonate government officials or agency representatives—rose in October as Americans experienced the loss of federal services and benefits. The Better Business Bureau's (BBB) Scam Tracker received 211 such complaints last month. Scammers are also taking advantage of shutdown stress to pull people into investment schemes and other malicious (and AI-driven) activity. Common government shutdown scams One common…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. If you've ever tried to tackle a DIY project with just the hammer and screwdriver you bought at a convenience store, you’ve already learned the most important lesson: The right tools make all the difference. The difference in effort it takes to complete a job when you have exactly the tool you need for it is startling. There are plenty of fancy power tools that you probably didn't know about, but the humble hand tool can be transformative, too. If you’re planning some work around the homestead, consider picking up some of these simple but powerful specialty tools that will make your project easier. Cabinet jack I’m a s…