Home Office Setup & Equipment

The StairMaster may be having a moment, but straight-up stair running has been around forever. As a runner myself, I know real-world stair workouts are one of the most effective and accessible training tools out there, no gym membership required. Especially for my fellow city runners without mountains or hills nearby—or really anyone looking to add some variety into their workouts—stair workouts are a great option to try. What is vertical training?Vertical training is exactly what it sounds like: deliberately incorporating upward movement into your workout. Unlike "flat" running, every step up forces your body to fight gravity, which changes the muscular demand, the card…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Hisense 85QD7QF Smart TV has dropped to $797.96 (originally $1,299.99) on Amazon—its lowest price yet, according to price trackers. That kind of discount makes an 85-inch screen feel a lot more attainable than it usually is. The 85QD7QF is large enough to anchor a living room, and while it comes with free delivery to your room, you will need to handle setup yourself. CNET also named it one of the best 85-inch TVs to buy in 2026, which gives you an idea of how it stacks up. 85" Hisense QD7 S…

It happens to the best of us: You write up a comment on an Instagram post, hit send, and, whoops, realize you made a glaring typo. What do you do? Do you delete the comment, retype it, and submit again, doubling the notifications the poster will receive? Leave it, and hope others will overlook your foolish use of "it's" instead of "its"? Neither option is great, but they're the only two choices you have on Instagram, right? No longer: On Thursday, Instagram announced some exciting news for frequent commenters: Going forward, you'll be able to edit your Instagram comments. Whether you regret one part of your comment, or you only need to fix a mistake, this new feature let…

When it first launched back in 2007, it would have seemed laughable to suggest paying a monthly subscription for YouTube. But fast forward nearly two decades, and YouTube Premium is actually a solid deal. With it, you get a mostly ad-free experience, with exclusive features and perks like YouTube Music. Of course, those benefits may only be worth it for the right price. On Friday, YouTube started informing subscribers that it will be raising Premium prices for all account types. Going forward, individual YouTube Premium plans will go from $13.99 to $15.99 per month; annual plans will rise from $139.99 to $159.99 per year; family plans will go from $22.99 to $26.99 per mo…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Apple Maps may not be everyone's top choice for navigation—even those committed to the Apple ecosystem—but the app has come a long way since it's initial rocky rollout, and has plenty of features that make it worth using. Beyond the basics, you'll also want to consider some of its lesser-known settings to get the most out of Apple Maps on both mobile and desktop. Enable "Visited Places" to save locations (even if you didn't use Maps to get there) "Visited Places" is a new feature with iOS 26 that passively tracks your location and stores places you go—even if you don't use Maps to get there. If you want to keep tabs on yo…

It's one of the most annoying things a website can do: You visit a page, take a look, and decide for whatever reason you need to head back to the previous page you were on. Only when you click the back button, or you use a keyboard shortcut to go back a page, the current site simply reloads. So, you try again, only to reload the site once more. What gives? This is back button hijacking. Back button hijacking is an aggressive tactic websites can use to try to keep you browsing their pages for longer. By taking over your ability to go back a page, they can keep you on the same page, redirect you to other pages, or present you with ads you normally wouldn't have seen. It's a…

Gemini has long been able to connect to other Google apps, but earlier this year those integrations were made tighter and more seamless with a feature called Personal Intelligence. Now, Personal Intelligence is expanding into Google Photos and picking up AI image creation capabilities, courtesy of the Nano Banana 2 model. The idea is that you don't have to manually select a picture in Google Photos and tell the AI to do something with it. Instead you just type a prompt such as "create a cartoon showing my family enjoying our favorite activities," and Gemini will do the rest—mining your Google Photos library for the relevant information and people. Another example prompt G…

AI-powered digital assistants continue to expand into new areas and add more capabilities at a rapid pace, and alongside the big names in the business, there are also some independent projects worth keeping an eye on. Case in point: Clicky, a lightweight, versatile AI bot that floats right next to your cursor on macOS (via XDA Developers). In return for your email address, you can have Clicky keep you company while you do whatever it is you're doing on your Mac, and via some smart screen capture tech, it can give you context-sensitive help whenever it's required. It's the work of Farza Majeed, and runs on Claude AI. The code has even been open-sourced, so you can play aro…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. It's the end of an era: On Monday, Tim Cook announced his plans to step down as Apple CEO. By September, the company's senior vice president of hardware engineering John Ternus will succeed Cook in the role, and Apple will have its second CEO since Steve Jobs' departure in 2011. A lot has happened over at Apple Inc. since Tim Cook took over nearly 15 years ago, but there are some moments that stand out more than others. I've highlighted 11 products and decisions the company has announced or made during Cook's tenure that I think defined this chapter. Apple introduced Siri in 2011Tim Cook's first major product announcement …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Apple's CarPlay brings much of the power of your iPhone to your vehicle's dashboard so you can (safely) navigate, play music, and send and receive messages while driving. As with your iPhone, there are plenty of ways to maximize your CarPlay experience to make it work better for you. Use these 10 tricks and hacks to get the most out of it. Use this setting to customize your CarPlay home screen If there are icons on your CarPlay home screen for apps you don't use, you can move the most important ones to the first page and delete those you no longer need. That way, you don't have to scroll through multiple pages while you'r…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. As tick populations grow (thanks, climate change) and tickborne diseases like Lyme become more widespread, tick checks have become routine for a lot of us. But do you really know what it means to “check yourself for ticks”? Chances are, you’re missing some important parts of the process. You only need a tick check when you've been in the woodsAre you conscientious about tick checks when you're camping, but only when you're camping? Ticks live in more places than just the woods, and most parts of the US have at least one species of tick around. Check these tick maps from the CDC to get a sense of whether they’re in your are…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. This winter is looking rough, with one of the biggest winter storms hitting nearly half the U.S. this weekend. It's safe to assume many people will be without power, especially those in cities without the proper infrastructure to take on record-breaking winter storms. A power station is a great device to keep the lights running in a pinch—and the standalone Anker SOLIX C1000 is 41% off, with the options with Solar Panels going for up to 56% off right now. Mashable voted the Anker SOLIX C1000 the best one for most people. …

Browser extensions, even ones from trustworthy sources, are not without privacy and security risks. I've written before about add-ons that manage to slip through official store safeguards and even some that "wake up" as malware after operating normally for several years, so it should come as no surprise that a host of AI-powered browser extensions—collectively installed by tens of millions of users—may also be invading your privacy. Researchers at data removal service Incogni looked at browser extensions available in the Chrome Web Store that included "AI" in their name or description and employed AI as part of their core functionality. By analyzing the data collected a…

I rely heavily on my digital calendar—as far as I'm concerned, if something isn't there, it doesn't exist. It's annoying, then, when someone hands me a piece of paper or even an email stating when multiple meetings are going to happen. I need to either manually add everything to my calendar—which is time consuming—or try to keep track of everything separately from my calendar. I've found a better way, though. As of this week, even the free version of Claude can create files for you, including iCal ones. These files are handy for quickly adding multiple appointments to the Apple, Google, and Microsoft calendar services. How Claude can create custom iCal files for youFor ex…

Google acquired the excellent photo editor Snapseed back in 2012—not long after Apple had crowned it one of its apps of the year—and despite having plenty to offer and being completely free to use, it remains one of Google's lesser-known apps. That might be about to change. Snapseed's latest update for iOS, version 3.15.0, comes with a full camera app inside—and there's a case to be made that it's better than Apple's default Camera app. It certainly offers more in the way of manual shooting controls, with the added benefit of an entire integrated suite of editing features. Using Snapseed's built-in camera on iPhoneOnce you've installed or updated Snapseed to the latest ve…

As Lifehacker has previously argued, YouTube Premium is probably the best streaming service for most people. Ads can eat into your free time faster than you might realize, and because YouTube's user-generated videos can be quite short, they're especially annoying there—and blocking them without a paid subscription is tough. YouTube Premium is also a bit pricey as streaming services go, at $14/month. Fortunately, the company also offers a "Premium Lite" plan that's much cheaper—and thanks to the recent addition of a few key features, it no longer pales in comparison to a full subscription. In fact, the $8/month YouTube Premium Lite may now be the best paid YouTube tier fo…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. I have a bad habit, and you probably do too: When someone opens their phone near me, I instinctively look. I'm not looking for anything intentionally—my eyes glance involuntarily, hovering for a moment before I return someone's privacy—but I've seen everything from harmless wallpapers to lock codes, bank statements, and text messages during relationship fights. I'm not a nosy person, nor am I overly concerned about my own privacy when it becomes too inconvenient. But the most common form of privacy invasion is likely the simplest: glancing at someone's phone screen, or someone glancing at yours. Years ago, I protected my…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Foldable phones still carry a price premium, so a drop like this changes the math. Right now, the 2024 Motorola Razr+ (unlocked, 12GB RAM, 256GB storage) is discounted to $417.09 on Woot for the next five days or until inventory lasts. Amazon lists it at $549.95, and price trackers show its previous low was $499.99, so it’s a sizable drop for a current-generation foldable. That said, this is an open-box unit, meaning it may have been a photo sample or simply had damaged packaging, but it functions like new. Prime members get free standard shipping, …

At least 25 million people have had their personal information stolen in a major hack on business services company Conduent. The data breach itself isn't new—it was initially disclosed in January 2025, and Conduent has already notified millions of individuals whose data was compromised in the incident. However, the breach is now believed to be larger in scale than previously reported, possibly among the largest to affect healthcare. Who is Conduent? Conduent is a New Jersey-based business processing outsourcing (BPO) company that provides services like printing, payment, and document and claims processing to state and federal government agencies as well as large commerci…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. When selling a home, it’s natural for folks to want to get as much money as possible for their property. That’s why people often put money into repairs and upgrades right before listing their house, and why people hire stagers to make the place look its best. But not all home-selling tactics are above board: Some unscrupulous home sellers resort to dirty tricks to convince you to overpay for their homes. Here are some of the tricks you should watch for on your next open-house tour. Home sellers might try to hide the true age of an applianceA key consideration when buying a home is the condition and age of everything in it,…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Spending less than $100 on noise-canceling earbuds used to mean accepting weak ANC, short battery life, or stripped-down features. The Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 makes fewer of those compromises. They’re currently $99.99 on Amazon, down from $129.99—a $30 drop, or about 23% off—and price trackers show this is the lowest they’ve been. Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 …

Anthropic is taking steps to make it easier to switch to Claude. While the AI chatbot app is popular among developers and vibecoders, it's also been infamous for keeping its more advanced features behind a paywall (and for rate-limiting free users). But now, Claude is finally catching up to ChatGPT and bringing its memory feature to free users. The move follows Claude overtaking ChatGPT in the App Store to become the #1 most downloaded free app in the U.S., so the timing makes sense. As for what could have caused the sudden interest in the app, OpenAI recently announced that it will be working with the U.S. Department of Defense (unofficially titled the Department of War…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Samsung HW-C450 soundbar is one of the best ultra-thin soundbars on the market, and at less than two inches thick, it packs some serious power with six drivers and built-in amplification. A compact, minimalist option for small rooms (or just for those who don’t want a bulky, unsightly audio accessory ruining their media-viewing room), this highly rated 2.1-channel soundbar with a wireless subwoofer just dropped 29% on Amazon, bringing its price to $139.97 (originally $197.99). Samsung HW-C4…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. If you’ve been wearing a Whoop, you’ve probably explored some of the features of its incredibly rich app—but chances are, some things are still hiding from you. I’ve been wearing a Whoop off and on since version 3.0, so let me tell you some of the best ways to use the Whoop (and a few things I think you should do differently than you’re “supposed” to). Whoop 5.0, 12-Month Membership $239.00 a…

Before the better-known Strava lawsuit against Garmin grabbed headlines last year, Suunto had actually sued Garmin first. In September, Suunto and their parent company Dongguan Liesheng quietly filed suit against Garmin over five patent infringement allegations. Garmin recently responded with a 218-page countersuit that reads less like a legal filing and more like Garmin decided it was done being polite. Why did Suunto sue Garmin?The five patents in the initial lawsuit from Suunto had to do with the following features: Golf shot tracking using an accelerometer to detect impact Respiration rate derived from an optical heart rate sensor Slot mode antenna design in wearable…