Home Office Setup & Equipment

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Your first day in the gym can be pretty intimidating. I remember spending a whole semester in one half of my university’s gym because the other room was, I don’t know, scary. And if you haven’t been to the gym in a while—or ever—you probably have questions. So let’s talk through the very, very basics. What is a gym even like inside?Hey, great question! There are different kinds of gyms, so there isn’t a single, universal answer. I’ll assume you’re going to what’s sometimes called a “commercial” gym, one that caters to a wide variety of people and has a selection of cardio machines, weight-training machines, and dumbbells.…

Unsolicited texts are annoying—and even more so if they keep coming from a legitimate sender after you've opted out. If you received text spam from Kaiser Permanente, you may be eligible for a cash payout for each message. The healthcare company, which serves over 12.5 million members, recently settled a $10.5 million class action lawsuit filed over marketing text messages sent after recipients tried to opt out. The suit, filed in August 2025, claimed that Kaiser Permanente failed to honor opt-out requests. Those with a valid claim may receive up to $75 per qualifying text. Are you eligible for the Kaiser settlement? To qualify for a payout from this settlement, you mus…

Before you head out to a protest, take some precautions to protect your privacy and both the physical and digital security of any device you bring along. The most secure option, of course, is to leave your phone at home, but you can also lock things down to minimize the risk that your data will be accessible to law enforcement or someone who gets hold of your device. Thankfully, both iOS and Android have built-in device encryption if you're using a passcode, meaning that your device's data cannot be accessed when it is locked. (On Android, go to Settings > Security to ensure Encrypt Disk is enabled). You'll want to maximize this protection with the following privacy s…

The headlining story in AI news this week was Moltbot (formerly Clawbot), a personal AI assistant that performs tasks on your behalf. The catch? You need to give it total control of your computer, which poses some serious privacy and security risks. Still, many AI enthusiasts are installing Moltbot on their Mac minis (the device of choice), choosing to ignore the security implications in favor of testing this viral AI agent. While Moltbot's developer designed the tool to assist humans, it seems the bots now want somewhere to go in their spare time. Enter "Moltbook," a social media platform for AI agents to communicate with one another. I'm serious: This is a forum-style …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. The U.S. power grid is suffering more outages than ever—about 45% of utility customers experienced one in the first half of 2025—and the resultant blackouts are lasting longer. As our aging electrical grid struggles to keep up with increasing air conditioner use due to a hotter planet, not to mention artificial intelligence’s insatiable thirst for power, the problem will likely get worse: The U.S. Department of Energy estimates the risk of power outages will increase a mere 100 times over the next few years. If you're looking to stave off the worst of the fallout from our shaky power grid, you might be looking to purchase …

https://enterprise.shutterstock.com/image-photo/openai-logo-displayed-on-smartphone-screen-2520388517 or https://enterprise.shutterstock.com/image-photo/chatgpt-logo-displayed-on-smartphone-screen-2520385879 Last August, ChatGPT developers OpenAI unceremoniously killed the fan favorite GPT-4o model, before giving in to complaints and bringing it back a week later. Now, the company's taking a second swing at getting its users to move on. In a new post to its website, OpenAI announced that it's retiring GPT-4o again. The model's set to disappear from ChatGPT's model picker on Feb. 13, alongside other older models like GPT-4.1, GPT-4.1 mini, and OpenAI o4-Mini. And OpenAI …

If you're the kind of person who only uses Safari to download Chrome, you need to think again. For a Mac user, Safari might be the best browser there is (yes, even better than Chrome). It's fast, secure, doesn't buckle under most loads, sips RAM instead of munching through it, and it'll help your battery last longer as well. And yes, there are even extensions and ad blockers that work natively in Safari. It's time to take another look at Safari, and use all its hidden features and smarts to make your browsing better. Blast away ads and other distracting items …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The JBL Endurance Race 2 is built with a specific user in mind, and it does not pretend otherwise. These are sports earbuds first, and that focus shows in the design and the trade-offs. Right now, they’re $59.95 on Amazon, down from $89.95, which makes them easier to consider if you want something tough without paying premium prices. JBL Endurance Race 2 Earbuds …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. There’s no shortage of outdoor security cameras, but finding one that balances video quality, battery life, and ease of use without pushing past $100 is rare. Right now, the Tapo MagCam 2K+ is on sale for $64.98 on Amazon, down from $89.99, which is its lowest price to date, according to price trackers. TP-Link Tapo C425 2K Wire-Free MagCam Security Camera …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Valve's Steam Deck revolutionized PC gaming when it came out in 2022, popularizing the handheld gaming PC format. In 2026, it's still got a great performance-to-price ratio, and is plenty relevant compared to more expensive and more finicky alternatives like the Asus Rog Xbox Ally X. But that doesn't mean it's fully stacked right out of the box. SteamOS presents a more intuitive pick-up-and-play experience than I've used on any other handheld gaming PC (or gaming PC in general, to be honest), but there are plenty of hacks and customizations you can use to make it truly yours. Steam Deck's desktop mode basically turns it in…

Science fiction and science leaders alike have warned us that artificial intelligence may one day take over the world, but until those predictions come to pass, generative AI's biggest impact on my life has been overloading my social media feeds with slop. It seems I can't open TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube without running smack into bizarre and troubling AI concoctions featuring babies in danger and cats having affairs. It really is the wild west (or maybe Westworld) out there. I think few among us really believe these videos are any good, and it's pretty obvious they aren't good for us, or for the world. Short-form video is already numbing enough, but this AI content i…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. QLED TVs are, in my opinion, a perfect sweet spot between budget TVs and OLEDs—they're a huge improvement in video quality without having to pay the thousands required for an OLED. And honestly, most people can't tell the difference between an OLED and a QLED anyway, but most people see the difference between a budget TV and a solid QLED. If you're looking for a steal on one of the best QLED TVs of 2025, the Hisense 65" Class U8GQ is $898.32 (originally $1,498) after a 40% discount, bringing it down to its lowest price ever, according to price-trac…

If you and your friends have the same taste in music, you probably text each other what you're listening to. I know when I stumble upon a new discovery I love—or even something I think is trash—I fire it off to the group chat to talk about it. Of course, I just forward the song to the group chat in the Messages app, like any other thing I'd want to send to that group. If you have Spotify, however, you have a new group chat option to choose from: Spotify itself. Spotify heads might already know that the app has had a messaging feature since August. While the point of the feature is to send Spotify content to your friends, it's a basic messaging service, which means you ca…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Garmin smartwatches have been gaining popularity in recent years for health-conscious and sports enthusiasts alike. Their Garmin Venu 3S, which was released in late 2023, is one of their premium watches that works great for beginners and more advanced athletes thanks to their user-friendly fitness tracking. You can get the 41mm Venu 3S for $349.99 (originally $449.99), the lowest price it has been, according to price-tracking tools. Garmin Venu 3S …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. When the cold weather arrives, there’s a tendency among homeowners to focus on the interior—namely, our personal comfort and the utility bills. That’s perfectly sensible—no one wants to shiver in their own house, and no one wants to be slammed with an enormous utility bill, either. But the exterior of your house is just as important. Heavy snow and icy buildup during extended periods of severe cold can really take a toll on your house. Snow and ice combined with melt/freeze cycles during sunny periods can do some serious (and often completely silent) damage to your home in a variety of ways, from water intrusion through y…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Zendaya is busy. Euphoria, which she produces in addition to starring in, is finally set to return for its third season on April 12, four years after our last visit to East Highland, and nearly seven since it premiered. As frustrating as these between-season breaks can be, they leave plenty of time to explore other tales of the wild lives of high schoolers. It's all relative, though: While growing up in never a picnic, there's drama, and then there's drama. These 15 streamalikes vary widely in tone and style, but they all make clear that being a young person in the 21st century is not f*cking easy. Stream the first two se…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you need a pair of basic, true wireless earbuds at a low price and don’t need features like noise cancellation, the Sony WF-C510 earbuds are worth considering. Known for their comfort and balanced sound, these affordable buds check most of the everyday features people are looking for (like Ambient Sound Mode and multipoint Bluetooth) at a fraction of the cost—and right now, Grade A refurbished Sony WF-C510 wireless earbuds is available on Woot for $34.99, which is less expensive than their lowest recorded price on Amazon, according to price-track…

To avoid a court proceeding, Google has agreed to a $135 million class-action settlement over its data collection practices with Android. News of the settlement was first reported by Reuters. Upon approval by a judge, the settlement could see Android users in the U.S. getting up to $100 each, provided they qualify. The settlement was filed in San Jose, California on Tuesday evening, and focused on claims that Google collected unnecessary cellular data from customers even when Google apps were closed, location-sharing was disabled, and screens were locked. The lawsuit alleges that Google collected the data with the intent of "conversion," a legal term that in this case wou…

The launch of the Google TV Streamer marked a significant shift for the company's streaming lineup, moving away from the behind-the-TV Chromecast dongles it popularized and introducing a pill-shaped set-top box that blends in nicely on a shelf of tchotchkes. It's hiding a worthy processor, double the memory you'd get from a streaming stick, and enough storage to download what you need to run all of your apps. It even acts as a smart hub, with Matter and Thread built in. It's taken me a long time to do anything with the Google TV Streamer. I reluctantly brought it into my home after realizing something more robust, but dated, like the Nvidia Shield, would be too much to m…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Those of us who only have on-street parking know the frustration of waking up on a snowy morning to find our vehicle completely buried in snow—a situation often made worse by passing snowplows that block it in even more. Digging your car out can be a challenge, but taking a few precautions and having the right tools ready can make it easier. Here’s everything you need to dig your car out when it is buried by snow. Digging your car out from the snow actually begins before the storm hits. Prepping the car ahead of time will make it a lot easier to extract from snow drifts. Here's what you need: Battery blankets. Your battery…

Hitting 10,000 steps every day is a bullshit goal. Step counts can feel daunting, especially for people who work desk jobs or have physical limitations. The mere pressure to hit 10,000 steps can become its own source of stress—miss the goal by a few thousand steps, and it's easy to feel like the whole day was a wash. Rather than obsessing over hitting a specific step count, consider shifting your focus to a simpler, more achievable goal: sitting less. This reframing is not only easier to sustain, it could be just as beneficial for your health. Why you should break up sitting time"Spending the bulk of your time seated is a major contributor to increasing the risk of heart …

Part of the fun of watching sports is that you don't know what's going to happen. TV shows and movies follow story beats, meaning you can usually get a sense for where things are heading, but sports do not work that way. The totally unexpected can, and does, frequently occur—and that's the reason people keep tuning in, whether their team is dominating or an underdog. Sometimes, though, you can't catch the game live, but still want a bit of that feeling. That's why leagues offer extended highlights, featuring all the key moments, complete with the commentary from the broadcast. These can feel almost like watching the full game, and I love catching up with them the next day…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. At $249.99 for a three-pack, the TP-Link Deco XE75 Pro Tri-Band Mesh System is sitting $150 below its usual $399.99 price, and price-trackers show this is the lowest it has gone so far. That discount matters because this is not an entry-level mesh kit. It’s built around Wi-Fi 6E, which adds access to the cleaner 6GHz band alongside the familiar 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. In practice, that means less congestion if you have newer devices that support 6E, and more consistent speeds across a larger home. The three cylindrical nodes are understated and easy …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The GoPro Hero12 Black might not be the newest model in the lineup, but it still checks all the right boxes for action camera buyers—and at $215.99 on Woot, it’s down to its lowest price yet. That’s a steep cut from Amazon’s current $369 listing, and you’re still getting a full one-year manufacturer warranty. Shipping is free for Prime members, and the deal is live for three more days (or until it sells out). PCMag gave it an “outstanding” rating in its review, highlighting how stable and clean the footage looks. Lifehacker’s Stephen Johnson also ca…

If you're going to go with Android rather than an iPhone for your smartphone, then Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy handsets are the two most high-profile options you've got. There are other Android phones worth considering—from the likes of OnePlus and Nothing, for example—but Google and Samsung are the most well-known. While the fundamental operating system on Pixel and Galaxy phones is the same, there are numerous differences between these two flavors of Android. They're not all obvious, though, unless you spend every day with these handsets, and that can make it tricky to decide whether you're better off going with Google or Samsung. As it happens, I use Pixel and Gala…