Home Office Setup & Equipment

I have a bit of an issue with short-form content. It's so easy to lose hours scrolling through Instagram Reels at night that I deleted the app, and I only use the Instagram website on my laptop (a categorically worse Instagram experience). The problem is, I just moved my addiction to YouTube Shorts. Because you're greeted with a grid of Shorts as soon as you launch the YouTube app, it's too easy to just keep scrolling through Shorts for hours. It looks like I'm not the only one with this problem: Back in October, YouTube added an option to limit your Shorts watch time. Then, in January, it rolled out an option to disable Shorts in YouTube search. But while these changes 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…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. No matter how new or how well-built, every house needs work or maintenance on a regular basis. You can pay professionals to do it all, of course, but if you’re looking to save a little money (or just want to learn and be in control of your home maintenance fate), there are plenty of home repair jobs that can be DIY’d. If you’re a beginner who’s just getting started on DIY maintenance and repair, however, you should watch out for some easy and common mistakes inexperienced DIYers make. While some of these mistakes will be obvious the moment you make them, it’s also easy to get through an entire project and experience superf…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Having a powerful monitor with high-end specs can make gaming more immersive and make input lag as small as possible, which is helpful for any serious gamer looking for an edge over their opponents. The Samsung Odyssey G9 is a 49-inch gaming monitor with some impressive specs, including a 240Hz refresh rate and a 1 ms response time. It's available for $699.99 (originally $1,299.99 at launch), $20 off the lowest price it has ever been, according to price-checking tools. Samsung 49-Inch Odyssey G9 DQHD 1000R Curved Gaming Monitor…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. I just got my review unit of the Fitbit Air, and while I can't give you a full review yet, I've now had the device in my hand and have tried out the new Google Health app that will soon replace the Fitbit app. I've already found a lot to like about it, which kind of surprised me. My hopes were high, but my expectations were not. Here's what I'm seeing so far. The Fitbit Air is small and light Credit: Beth Skwarecki From photos, I could tell the Fitbit Air looked small and light,…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. DIY home maintenance and repair projects can save you money because you don’t need to hire a pro for every repair or upgrade. From replacing a leaky faucet to adding a knob to your desk drawer, a good set of hand tools is essential for success. Craftsman tools has a good reputation for making quality, long-lasting tools, but if you’re interested in DIY, you might have noticed that these tools can be expensive. If you need to expand your tool set, or if you’re just starting out, these deals on Craftsman tools at Lowe’s will help keep your budget in c…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. OLED gaming monitors have become much easier to recommend over the last year, mostly because prices have started dropping below the $500 mark. LG’s 27GX704A-B UltraGear OLED is one of the better options in that category right now, with excellent motion handling, extremely low input lag, and the glossy WOLED panel that gives games a cleaner, more contrast-heavy look than many matte alternatives. It’s also down to $477.99 on Amazon, a 40% discount from its usual $799.99 price. LG 27GX704A-B Ultragear OLED Gaming Monitor …

When talking to a chatbot like ChatGPT, you should never assume your conversations are private. Many chatbots, by default, use your discussions to train the underlying AI models, but even if you opt out of training, or use a temporary chat, these conversations are often stored on company servers for some limited amount of time. The general rule of thumb is to avoid sharing anything with a chatbot that you wouldn't want to come out in public. (Proprietary company information, personal secrets, etc.) But what if the chatbot in question already has your private information? What if ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude is happy to share your phone number with anyone who asks for it? Th…

I'm totally totally cheesin over Mixtape and not cheesin at all about TikTok's AI cat videos. Scuba! If none of that makes sense to you, you're about to be educated and embettered by this week's Out-of-Touch guide, where the secret world of young people is either explained or misunderstood, depending on whom you ask. What does "cheesin" mean? And how does it differ from "cheesing?"The slang word "cheesin'" refers to smiling, particularly a big, goofy smile. It comes from the common exhortation to "say cheese!" when a photograph is being taken. Here's an examples of how cheesin is used online: The word "cheesing," with a "g" at the end, often means the same thing, but i…

After some harsh feedback about the quality of Windows 11, Microsoft is on a sort of apology tour. The company is promising to improve the operating system, addressing critical issues and features that annoy longtime Windows users. It started off with a way to delay Windows updates for longer than a week. Now, Microsoft is testing new settings that let users customize the placement and size of the taskbar alongside the start menu. The fact that you couldn't move the taskbar to the top or side of the screen has bothered Windows 11 users ever since launch. As with many frustrating aspects of Windows, there are multiple workarounds to customize the taskbar and its placement…

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 end tonight, Oct. 8, and until then, 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. New to Prime Day? We have a primer on everything you need to know. Sales are accurate at the time of publ…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Among OLED gaming monitors, the Odyssey G8 is in the top tier, offering a 32-inch 4K QD-OLED panel with 3840 x 2160 resolution, a blistering 240Hz refresh rate, and near-instant 0.03 ms (GtG) response time. But previous models were held back because of its Tizen OS—while marketed as a monitor, Odyssey was really a TV in disguise. With the new G81SF model, Samsung has finally fixed it, returning the G8 to a proper monitor setup. And Woot is currently offering the 32-inch model at a deep discount: $769.99, $540 off the $1299.99 retail price. The remov…

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. …

You've probably heard that you should feel a certain muscle working when you do an exercise. Your biceps should burn a little when you're doing bicep curls, your quads when you're doing squats, and so on. But this isn't an ironclad rule. Sometimes you can get a totally effective workout without feeling any specific muscle at all. So why do so many people tell you to pay attention to feeling the muscle working? Partly because it can be a useful teaching tool to make sure you're doing the exercise right—but that's only true for some exercises. And honestly, another big reason is the influence of bodybuilding lingo and techniques on gym culture in general. Bodybuilders who …

Facebook is clearly no longer the hot social media property it once was—younger generations are now far more likely to spend their time on TikTok, Snapchat, or Instagram—but there are still billions of people logging into the Facebook site and mobile apps each month. During its 20+ years of existence, Facebook has added a whole host of features and options on top of its platform, and branched out in multiple different areas. There's plenty on offer in the modern-day Facebook that you may not know about. Whether you're using Facebook daily or you haven't touched your account for months, these hacks and tips will help you get more from the app: Find out how to stop people f…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. The first thing you need to understand about Amazon Fire anything is that a Fire TV and a Fire TV Stick are not the same thing. Some hacks only work on Fire TVs, others only with Fire TV Sticks, and others with both. You can have a Google TV (or any kind of TV) and hook up a Fire TV Stick to it: So if you don't have a Fire TV, know that there is a simple $30 solution that can fix that. I've been using the Fire OS for many years, and although it's not my favorite, it has some pretty cool hacks that no other OS has. …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Apple products are notoriously expensive: The latest MacBook Air starts at $1,099, as does the iPhone 17 Pro, and while I love my AirPods Max, I strongly recommend buyers wait until they're on sale to avoid spending $549 on headphones. Apple makes good stuff, but that stuff comes at a cost. Not all of Apple's products are this expensive, mind you. The new iPhone 17e starts at $599. That's not necessarily cheap, but it isn't $1,099, either. Apple's MacBook Neo has drawn a lot of buzz by fetching the same price tag as the 17e, but also because of its education price: $499. For that price, students and educators can buy a bra…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Portable Bluetooth speakers usually force a trade-off. The smallest ones are easy to carry but sound thin; the bigger ones sound better but take up more space in a bag. The JBL Grip Bluetooth Speaker, currently $77.36 on Amazon (down from $99.95), sits right in the middle. Price trackers show this is just a dollar above its lowest recorded price so far, and Amazon is also bundling 90 days of Amazon Music with the purchase, which gives you something to actually play on it right away. It is small enough to slide into a backpack pocket where a water bo…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Peloton bikes are best known for their video classes, which feature a social leaderboard, chatty instructors, and handpicked music. But from a fitness perspective, my favorite feature is “power zone” training, which works with specific classes or you can enable the power zone bar for any workout. Let me tell you why I love it, and how you can get started with it, too. What is power zone training? Cyclists measure their effort in terms of power: how much energy you transmit through the pedals in a given length of time. It’s often measured in watts. On an outdoor bike, you need a power meter to measure this; on Peloton, thi…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. There have been many different models of Echo smart speakers over the years, but the newest Echo Studio is one of the first that feels like a true smart speaker—offering premium sound and features that can compete with the best smart speakers in the market—rather than just a glorified Amazon accessory. Right now, you can get the 2nd-generation Echo Studio for $189.99 (originally $219.99), the lowest price it has been, 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. Amazon’s Big Spring Sale is a few days away, but the early deals are already popping off, making it a good time to score discounts on big-ticket items like laptops and tablets. Can’t decide between the two? Got both in one—and one of your best options is the Samsung 16” Galaxy Book5 Pro 360, a highly portable laptop/tablet combo with a screen that flips back 360 degrees. Ahead of the Amazon Big Spring Sale, it’s down to $1,199.99, $500 off the original $1,699.99 and its lowest price ever, according to price trackers. …

WhatsApp just announced a slew of updates for iPhone users, playing catch-up with some of the features that have existed on Android for years. With this update, iPhone users can expect multiple accounts, easy cross-platform transfers, an option to only clear the media from chats, and, of course, a couple of Meta AI features to round things off. According to WhatsApp, the update is rolling out now and will be available to everyone soon—though as it's a slow rollout, it might take time before it's live on your iPhone. iPhone users can finally have two WhatsApp accounts at onceThe biggest update here is the addition of multi-account support, something that WhatsApp has been …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. I dream of building out a garage gym one day, but for now, I'm content with my "workout corner" in my apartment bedroom. Hey, a home gym can look like anything. Whether you're eyeing a smart rowing machine, a compact massage gun for post-workout recovery, or just a clean set of hex dumbbells with a rack to keep your space organized, there's something worth buying during Amazon's Big Spring Sale right now. The best deals on at-home cardio equipmentI know how quickly cardio equipment can turn into major investment of your time, money, and space. That'…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Amazon's Big Spring Sale is nearing its end, but there's still time to take advantage of solid deals for all your fitness needs—here are all the best fitness deals under $100 that are still available. Deals on strength training equipmentIt seems like the heavier you want to lift, the more expensive it's going to get. In the meantime, there are great deals on starter dumbbells, storage solutions, and more: UNNMIIY 5 in 1 adjustable dumbbells, $79.98, down from $109.99 PLKOW storage and weight rack, $79.98, down from $129.99 NICEPEOPLE adjustable wei…