Home Office Setup & Equipment

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. The Arlo Pro 5S 2K Spotlight Camera (2-Pack) is currently down to $129.99 from its usual $329.99 on Amazon, marking its lowest price yet, according to price trackers. That’s a big drop for a wireless home security setup that doesn’t require drilling, wiring, or professional installation. Arlo Pro 5S 2K Spotlight Camera - 2 Pack - Security Cam…

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. When the latest iPad Air with the M3 chip came out in March, Lifehacker Senior Tech Editor Jake Peterson warned you not to buy it, as its advantages didn't justify the premium price compared to an older model. But things have changed in the time since: The new iPad Air has dropped $300 in price, reaching its lowest levels since its release, according to price-tracking tools. You can no…

As someone who's read and written a lot about various approaches to increasing productivity, I can say with certainty that the majority of the methods out there are primarily focused on how to structure your tasks over the course of a single day. Techniques and plans that call for prioritizing your to-dos, for instance, generally expect you to prioritize your to-dos for that day. The best scheduling advice also typically revolves around how you designate and take on chunks of time throughout a single day. But sometimes—or often—you work on things that span a longer period of time, so you need productivity tips that are more expansive too. And while too much pre-planning …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Sony’s WH-1000XM series has long been the gold standard for noise-canceling headphones, and while the new WH-1000XM6 has taken the spotlight, the WH-1000XM5 remains a standout, especially at a lower price. Right now, they’re down to $284.99 at Walmart, a notable drop from their usual $399.99 list price and lower than Amazon’s current $328 listing. Sony WH-1000XM5 Headphones …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Right now, if you live in the U.S. and you're familiar with lock screen ads, it's probably from your e-reader, your PC, or maybe even your refrigerator. Plenty of devices with screens in them like to subsidize costs by running ads, but American smart phones have been surprisingly good at keeping your lock screen clear. Until now. "Nothing" experiments with lock screen adsIf you haven't heard of Nothing, I don't blame you. The Android phone company made waves back in 2022, largely on the back of its founder, OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, but it only recently started making phones on par with flagship devices like the Google …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you’re shopping for a new desktop monitor (or a small standalone TV), the Samsung 32" Smart Monitor M5 (M50D) FHD with Streaming TV and Speakers is currently $179 (originally $299). It can be used for working, console-free gaming, and media consumption, making it a versatile two-in-one TV and desktop option that’s ideal for multitasking. Samsung 32" Smart Monitor M5 (M50D) FHD with Streaming TV and Speakers …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Every few decades, the pop culture machine spits out a person who purports to have supernatural powers. In the 1980s, it was spoon-bending swami Uri Geller. In the 1990s and 2000s, it was “mediums” like John Edward, who supposedly talked to people’s dead relatives. In 2025, we have Oz Pearlman. To be fair, unlike the rest of these examples, Pearlman doesn't claim supernatural powers himself, but a lot of people seem to be taking his stage patter explanation for his mentalist tricks as the unvarnished truth. They're wrong. Oz (pronounced “Oh’s”) has a hell of a schtick. The 43-year-old dude seems like an unassuming nerd, un…

The New York Times has announced a new feature that allows you to make your own Wordle puzzle to share with friends. You need to be a Games or All-Access subscriber to create puzzles, but no subscription is needed to solve them. You aren't roped to regular Wordle's five-letter structure, either: Allowable puzzles can be anywhere from four to seven letters long. They must be on an allowable word list; as with regular Wordle, this means no proper nouns, for the most part. Profanity is not allowed, nor are gibberish entries like “ASDFGJ” (I tried). Here’s a link to a Wordle-style puzzle with four letters that I created for you—because I consider all of you my friends. (Thi…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Black Friday sales officially start Friday, November 28, and run through Cyber Monday, December 1, 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. Browse our editors’ picks for a curated list of our favorite sales on laptops, fitness tech, appliances, and more. Subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox. Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices an…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Black Friday sales officially start Friday, November 28, and run through Cyber Monday, December 1, 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. Browse our editors’ picks for a curated list of our favorite sales on laptops, fitness tech, appliances, and more. Subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox. Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices an…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Frame TVs are famous for their unique ability to transform the big black box in your living room into a chic design feature, functioning as both an entertainment system and a framed piece of art when not in use. And right now, the usually-pricey Samsung 75-Inch The Frame Pro is on sale for $1,997.99 (originally $2,997.99) this Black Friday, marking its lowest price ever. While the other sizes are also discounted by 33%, this TV offers the biggest savings for the largest size, making it the best overall value. …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Apple Watch Series 11 is the middle-of-the-pack smartwatch, sandwiched between the budget-friendly Apple Watch SE 3 and the flagship Apple Watch Ultra 3. It also happens to be the only one still holding on to its Black Friday discount. You can get the GPS version starting at $329 (originally $399) and the GPS + Cellular version starting at $429 (originally $499), both the lowest prices they've reached, according to price tracking tools. …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Ever since I visited Japan in 2019, I've been converted into a loyal bidet user. I started with a basic bidet added onto a standard toilet, but I always knew the time would come when I would make a big upgrade. That time was this Black Friday when I pulled the trigger on the Loniko Smart Toilet, and I'm so glad I did. It's $444.99 (originally $549.99) after using the additional $30 on-page coupon, and it's worth every penny. Loniko Smart Toilet …

Not every productivity method works for every person. That's why there are so many out there, and it's also why you need to spend time figuring out which ones might work for you, even if you have to alter or adapt them a little bit. When you're facing down an unusually big or overwhelming task, the traditional methods that you usually rely on may not be helpful. Why not try a one-two punch, combining two I like a lot to make it easier? The "one bite" techniqueFirst, let's try the one-bite technique. This takes a little pre-planning, but can help you out when a task feels daunting. Grab a piece of paper (or use a digital document) and write down your task. Let's say it's l…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Many of us with professions that center on writing once toiled in a book shop to make ends meet, including me. When I worked at Barnes & Noble in college, I was dumbfounded by how many books there were on productivity and self-betterment. Surely, they couldn't all contain nuggets of wisdom. Certainly, they must be money-grabs aiming to profit off people's self-doubt. In many cases, that's true; but, I learned, some of them do have serious value to share. The catch is that if you spend all your time reading about some author's productivity, you won't have much time for enhancing your own. Smartly choosing which to read …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The rugged 49mm Apple Watch Ultra 2 with GPS and Cellular is down to a record-low $549 (originally $760), making it a notably lower entry point for Apple’s most durable smartwatch—and the perfect time to invest in this adventure-ready tech wearable. 49mm Apple Watch Ultra 2 with GPS and Cellular $549.00 at Amazon …

When it comes to digital note taking, you usually have two choices: Do you want E Ink, or do you want speed? Devices like the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft and the Remarkable Paper Pro have shown there's definitely an appetite for E Ink note taking, even if it can be a bit laggy. But for the most responsive digital notebook possible, you usually have to settle for something like an iPad with a stylus. Now, TCL wants to change that. The budget-friendly tablet and TV company has finally announced its first full-fledged digital notebook: the TCL Note A1 NXTPAPER. Launching on Kickstarter soon and releasing sometime in February, the trick here is a clever one: Notes taken on this d…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Nothing, an upstart tech brand from the U.K. that makes products like phones, smartwatches, and headphones, has quickly become one of my favorites lately. Its products offer unique features and designs, and the prices are competitive. Right now, Nothing's latest budget over-ear headphones, which were released in October, the CMF Headphone Pros, are just $79 (originally $99), the product's lowest price ever, according to price-tracking tools. This is a great option for anyone looking to get budget over-the-ear headphones that punch above their weight…

Robot vacuums are a convenient way to keep your house clean without actually putting in much work, but they've all got one major problem—what if your house has multiple stories? At CES this year, I saw two attempts to fix this problem, but one of them was much more fabulous than the other. Roborock has a robot vacuum with legsThis is the more unique of your stair climbing robot vacuums, and the one that's new for this year. At CES 2026, robot vacuum company Roborock introduced the Roborock Saros Rover, which has two fold-out and individually articulated legs built into it, with wheels on either one. This …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. When it comes to gaming monitors, having an ultra-wide curved screen takes the experience to the next level, with a more immersive experience than a regular monitor. Unfortunately, that improved experience tends to come at a much higher price. But there are budget monitors that go on sale, making it much more affordable to upgrade your gaming without hurting your wallet too much. Samsung is currently selling its 34-inch Samsung Odyssey G5 for $279.99 (originally $399.99). Samsung 34-Inch Odysse…

If you missed out on a better era of consuming news and other online content, RSS either stands for RDF (Resource Description Framework) Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication, depending on who you ask—even Wikipedia includes both expansions of the initialism. Whatever the linguistic details, one of the main roles of RSS is to supply directly to you a steady stream of updates from a website. Every new article published on that site is served up in a list that can be interpreted by an RSS reader. In earlier, simpler internet times, RSS was the way to keep up to date with what was happening on all of your favorite sites. You would open your RSS reader and tap through new…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. We’ve covered portable power stations like the Anker SOLIX line, but if you’re looking for a heavy-duty, large-capacity model that can handle sump pumps, large AC units, multiple appliances, and even whole-home backup with extra batteries, brands like EcoFlow will better suit your needs. One of their award-winning models is the EcoFlow Delta Pro 3 power station, which is currently available at a 46% discount, bringing it down to an all-time low of $1,999 (originally $3,699). EcoFlow Delta Pro 3…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. It took me a while to get comfortable with wearing earbuds. I grew up in the era of headphones, and never quite liked the idea of sticking something into my ears on the regular. If that sounds like you, Sony's got your back. Its newest earbuds, the Linkbuds Clip, are clip-ons. Sony's not the first brand to take this idea to market—Anker's Soundcore brand has a number of more affordable options. But for premium clip-on earbuds, it's pretty much this, the slightly more expensive Bose, and the slightly sportier Shokz. Compared to that competition, Sony's new model is looking like a solid choice. These earbuds fit snugly aroun…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. When nature dumps a load of snow onto your driveway, it’s a free workout in disguise—but maybe not one you’re really in shape to tackle. If you’re always sore (or, worse, injured) after the first big storm of the season, read these tips on how to make shoveling easier on your body. Recognize what you’re asking your body to doLook, just because shoveling is a common chore doesn’t mean it’s one that everyone’s body is automatically ready for. Be honest about whether you’re trained for this. You wouldn’t ask “how can I run a marathon without my legs being sore the next day?” if you haven’t done any running at all in the past …

Shortly after Meta (then Facebook) bought WhatsApp in 2014, it promised to implement a surprisingly un-Facebooky feature: End-to-end encryption. The move was supposed to be a boon for privacy, ensuring nobody could see your messages aside from the recipient and yourself. Even now, WhatsApp's website claims, "No one outside of the chat, not even WhatsApp, can read, listen to, or share [your messages]." However, a new lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco is now claiming that's not the case. According to reporting from Bloomberg, an international group of plaintiffs has sued Meta, saying that the app's claims of end-to-end encryption are a lie. The lawsu…