Home Office Setup & Equipment

As convenient as the internet is, when big tech companies chase endless growth, that can mean bloat. Nowadays, it feels like every company wants to lure me into an algorithm trap, convince me to use their AI services, or try to make me pay a premium to browse like I used to. One of my favorite tools for fighting back against these trends is Tapestry. It's a timeline app for iPhone and iPad that lets you combine multiple feeds from blogs, YouTube, podcasts, and social media, then view them in chronological order, with a beautiful interface. Essentially, you can use it to make your own curated version of (nearly) the entire internet. Tapestry is designed by The Iconfactory,…

Searching for a job can feel like a full time job itself. It’s easy to feel defeated when it feels like you’re sending your resume out into the void and hearing nothing back the majority of the time. Maybe you’re graduating soon, or making a career pivot, or jumping back into the workforce after some time away—the job hunt humbles us all. An action plan is key to turning your overwhelming job search into a much more manageable process—both in terms of your sanity and to increase your chances of getting hired. Personally, I love a good spreadsheet. Whether or not you’re Team Spreadsheet, you should create some form of a career search action plan. Why you need an action pla…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. From viral hacks to your grandmother, someone or something has, at some point, told you to clean with baking soda and vinegar. Even I have told you to clean with baking soda and vinegar. Yesterday, sadly, I learned that this approach isn't all it's cracked up to be. Let's discuss. Why you shouldn't mix baking soda and vinegar to cleanThe good news is that this mixture isn't toxic or dangerous in any way. You're not poisoning yourself over time if you mix vinegar and baking soda to get a bubbly paste to scrub onto your walls, countertops, or tile. The bad news is that it just doesn't do much. See, yesterday, I wrote about…

In this week's trip into the cultural zeitgeist of people too young to rent cars, I explain why everyone is arguing over robot abuse, take a look at a niche TikTok subculture dedicated to sticks, and explain why you should never say "sigh name cuff" on video. All that, plus warnings of dangerous TikTok trends and a look at gleeking. Viral video of the week: Kai Cenat buys a $70,000 robot Massively popular YouTube and Twitch streamer Kai Cenat may have doomed humanity in this week's viral video. On a recent live stream, Cenat and his pals unbox and assemble a human-like robot that set Cenat back $70,000. The video begins as a hilarious demonstration of impressive …

Planning to express your love with flowers this Valentine's Day? While the gesture is timeless, the pricing certainly isn't. Waiting until Feb. 14 to purchase that perfect bouquet could cost you nearly double the regular price. But there's a smart solution that can help you save money while still delivering that heartfelt message. Here's why you should order your valentine's flowers as soon as possible. Order Valentine's Day flowers right nowThe bad news: Ordering back in January could've help you snag the lowest prices of the season. Nevertheless, the sooner you order, the less likely you are to pay the top-dollar prices the last-minute shoppers will shoulder. When prope…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. For those looking for affordable smart security without monthly fees, the TP-Link Tapo D225 Video Doorbell is now $79.99 (down from $99.99). It covers all the basics, plus a few features that even pricier models skip, earning itself an Editors’ Choice award from PCMag. At about 6 inches tall, the Tapo D225 isn’t the slimmest doorbell out there, but it’s built to handle the elements with an IP66 water-resistant rating. And should someone try to steal your doorbell, its built-in 98dB siren is loud enough to scare off intruders. …

From security and privacy concerns to good old-fashioned cringe, there are all kinds of reasons you might want to delete your old social media posts. And there are plenty of tools for the job out there. The problem: most tend to focus on one or two social media networks. Redact, however, is a paid tool with support for deleting posts on 28 different services. You can use it to scan for old posts and choose what to delete, or you can search for posts that mention specific topics. It can also be used to delete posts on a schedule—this is perfect if, for example, you wanted to delete all Bluesky posts a month after you post them. It's a lot of power, basically, and it runs l…

Paint is the cheapest, easiest renovation you can do: it makes everything fresh and new, it covers defects, and it’s something almost anyone can do to a reasonable level of quality. If you just read that last part and started shaking your head because your paint projects always turn out terribly—patchy, or with visible sheen or brush strokes, or a final color that doesn’t seem to match what you chose in the store at all—the cause probably isn’t your work ethic, or an evil spirit inhabiting your house. The problem probably lies in your prep work. If all you’re doing before you start slapping paint on the walls is applying some painter’s tape and covering the furniture, the…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Chances are good that if you've ever owned an e-reader, it was one of the many varieties of the Amazon Kindle. But though the Kindle is the most ubiquitous e-reader, that doesn't mean it's the best—nor does it mean that other companies haven't bettered Amazon at the game it more or less invented. One of the most interesting competitors in the space is Onyx International, a Chinese company that has been producing innovative e-readers for more than a decade under the brand name Boox, often including new features (like color e-ink displays) years before Amazon brought them to the Kindle. Though Boox makes my own favorite e-b…

Scammers are getting increasingly clever about injecting apps with malware. Certainly it's nothing new that malicious apps are littered across the internet, but lately they've been popping up with alarming frequency even in theoretically safe spots like the Google Play Store and even Apple's App Store. Malware is even showing up on Steam, serving as a reminder that we all need to be careful with each and every app (or game) we choose to download onto our devices. As reported by GameRant, Valve recently removed a title called PirateFi from Steam. Created by developer Seaworth Interactive, the game was free to play, and was advertised as a survival adventure that let playe…

Do sweet and salty foods taste good to you? Is your sleep maybe not the best? Do you have some belly fat? The answer to these questions is probably yes, because you are human, but that’s not important right now! TikTok influencers would like you to consider another possibility: that your cortisol is too high, and that you should buy their supplements (link in bio!) to control it. Then you’ll be relaxed at night and energetic in the morning, you’ll enjoy the taste of kale, and—most importantly—you’ll become thin and beautiful. This cortisol dysregulation idea has become a sort of mega-phenomenon, absorbing the power and anxieties of anything it touches. If you look up cort…

Lift heavy to build muscle: That’s advice you’ve probably seen in a million places, whether you're aiming to get stronger, get "toned," or simply reap the health benefits of putting on a little muscle. But how heavy is “heavy,” and how do you know if your workout qualifies? There’s no specific number of pounds that will constitute “heavy” for everyone. What’s heavy for a teenage girl picking up a dumbbell for the first time will be a lot less than what’s heavy for a pro strongman. (If you do want to compare your lifts to other people's, sites like Symmetric Strength can show where you stand—but please consider these comps as just for fun.) In basic terms, training “heav…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. During his Presidential campaign, new Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promised an eight-year halt on infectious disease research, presumably because our chances of encountering any sort of infectious disease will be nearly zero once the fluoride is gone from our water supply. As we celebrate the disease-free world of the very near future, let's take a look back at movies that explore worlds in which viruses and diseases (or related metaphors) run rampant. These movies vary wildly in their tones and styles, but there are some recurring themes: Science and scientists (however flawed) are almost alwa…

Are you ready to pay for Amazon Alexa? With the addition of AI to the assistant, Amazon thinks you are. Announced in a closed-doors meeting with press and business partners today, Amazon’s Alexa+ is bringing AI to the familiar digital assistant, plus a new $20/month price tag. The secret? If you have Prime, you’ll get access to it at no extra charge. Credit: Amazon As with standard Alexa, the assistant is built around vocal prompts, but is designed to be more conversational and personalized, and will supposedly be able to act …

With the April 15 deadline right around the corner, you want to ensure you're taking advantage of all the deductions you can. Andy Phillips, Vice President of H&R Block’s Tax Institute, says his tax experts are getting plenty of questions from filers looking to maximize every deduction available to them. I wrote about some wacky and unexpected tax deductions last week, but what about the most common ones that filers just don't fully understand? From gig worker perks to retirement contributions, here are the tax deductions every filer needs to know. Retirement contributions and traditional IRA deductions Phillips says that if you contribute to a tax-advantaged traditio…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Samsung's Galaxy Buds 3 are down to $79.99 (from $119.99) on Woot for the next five days or until they sell out. If you’re a Prime member, you also get free shipping; otherwise, it’ll cost you an extra $6 (just a heads-up, though: These won’t ship to Alaska, Hawaii, or any P.O. B\boxes). Samsung's Galaxy Buds 3 at Woot …

OpenAI is trying really hard to make ChatGPT Search into a viable product. It's available for free, to all users, without limits. And now, just like with Google Search, it can be used without logging into an account. But even with all it AI features, Google Search still focuses on giving you links to pages directly, while ChatGPT Search instead uses online sources to give you an answer, backed up by links. You can click the links in your answer's sources to open a website (and you really should check ChatGPT's homework, as it tends to hallucinate quite a bit), but the question remains: is ChatGPT Search worth making your default search engine, and is that even possible? …

To kick off the month, Hulu will be streaming the 97th Oscars, hosted by Conan O'Brien, on Sunday, March 2. The show will be airing on ABC and available to all Hulu subscribers, with red carpet coverage beginning at 3:30 p.m. PT and the award show at 4 p.m. PT. Hulu Original comedy Deli Boys will premiere on March 6 with all 10 episodes of season one. The series stars Asif Ali and Saagar Shaikh as Pakistani-American brothers who discover their late father's business, which they are now tasked with, was a front. Also coming to Hulu: the eighth and final season of Roseanne spinoff sitcom The Connors (March 27) and the next season of American Idol (March 10). On …

We are less than two weeks away from the 95th anniversary of the discovery of Pluto, the ice-caked, rocky sphere orbiting around 3.7 billion miles from the sun. To mark the occasion, The Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, where Pluto was discovered, is hosting its sixth annual "I Heart Pluto" festival. But should they? Is Pluto even a planet? According to a recent YouGov poll, 35% of Americans think Pluto is not a planet. It's something else, according to them. But they are all wrong—kind of. To get to the bottom of Pluto's planet status, I tracked down planetary scientist Dr. Will Grundy—who you might recognize from academic papers like "Measurement of D/H and 13…

The new iOS 18.4 beta is still missing an AI-overhauled Siri, on-screen awareness, and the app integrations feature we were promised all the way back in June at WWDC. If you're waiting for those features, try your luck with iOS 18.5. However, 18.4 isn't an empty update. The first beta introduces Priority Notifications, and Apple Intelligence now supports more languages—which is great news for Apple users across the globe. In addition, Apple Intelligence is now accessible in the European Union for the first time. Here's everything that's new with iOS 18.4. Priority NotificationsOne of the new highlight features in iOS 18.4 is Priority Notifications. When enabled, your iPho…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Garmin is introducing a feature to many of its watches that Apple Watch users have been able to enjoy for a while. That’s a device passcode, so you can lock your data when your watch isn’t on your wrist. The feature will be rolling out to Fenix, Forerunner, Venu, and Vivoactive users, or you can get it right now with the beta program. Garmin Vivoactive 5 GPS Smartwatch With AMOLED Display (Black) $239.99 at …

"Photoshop" is synonymous with image editing, and for good reason. The app is an industry standard, and has been for over 30 years. But while Photoshop has been available on computers and tablets for some time now, those looking to edit images on their smartphones have had to make due with alternative programs—or simply stick to their other devices instead. That changes today. As of Tuesday, Feb. 25, Photoshop is officially on iPhone. You can go to the App Store, search "Photoshop," and see not just the usual alternatives—like Lightroom, Canva, and Facetune—but the real deal, too. Plus, the app itself is free, in addition to a number of "core imaging and design tools." A…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Home improvement projects large and small can make us happier, our homes more comfortable and livable, and our property more valuable. But there’s a reason many people hesitate to take on some of these projects: They seem really complicated, difficult, and even dangerous. If you’ve never done any DIY home improvement projects, it’s easy to imagine that you'll quickly get in over your head and make matters worse. All of this is exacerbated in the bathroom, which is vital to our everyday health and hygiene. There are plenty of bathroom repairs best left to the professionals—but even if you’re totally inexperienced and wouldn…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Making homemade bread and pizza can be greatly improved with the use of a pizza stone. I’ve used one for years, and it’s the best way to get a well-browned bottom crust. I thought I had it all figured out, until the pizza steel arrived. If you’re getting serious about cooking (and reheating) pizza at home, one of these tools should be in your oven. What’s a baking (or pizza) stone?A pizza stone is a plank or circle of ceramic or cordierite (a type of thermal shock-resistant ceramic). They’re typically between a half-inch to three-quarters of an inch thick and can range in size from nine to 20 inches across. Compared to a…

Prime Video has new installments of two familiar series coming in March. First up is season three of The Wheel of Time (March 13), an adaptation of Robert Jordan's fantasy books of the same name. Rosamund Pike stars as sorceress Moiraine Damodred, a member of the powerful Aes Sedai. The season opens with a magical battle between members of the order—viewers will get a three-episode premiere with five weekly episodes to follow. Also in its third season is Bosch: Legacy (March 27)—also an adaptation, this time of Michael Connolly's crime novels. A sequel to Prime Video hit Bosch, the series was originally canceled after its second season but was revived for a third and fi…