Home Office Setup & Equipment

RAM, short for random access memory, is the high-speed, short-term storage that allows computer programs to quickly access the information they need—it's a crucial component of nearly every electronic device we rely on every single day. The price of RAM has risen steeply since last fall, but there may be a bit of a break on the horizon. What's going on with the RAM shortage?Demand for RAM is soaring, in large part thanks to AI. As The Verge reports, companies like Google, Meta, OpenAI, and Anthropic are buying up memory for their data centers, leading to a severe shortage in availability from major memory suppliers for consumer products like laptops, smartphones, and gam…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Over the past few years, the Chinese-made Boox Palma e-reader has gained a cult following in the U.S. for its phone-like form factor, Android compatibility, and less-addictive grayscale screen—I've personally credited it with helping me spend more time reading and less time scrolling on my iPhone. But as much as I love it, I do still always need to carry my phone with me, because the Palma—even the newer Palma 2 Pro with mobile data—just isn't a good match for many of the tasks I use my phone for, including navigation and tap-to-pay. Soon, though, there may be a dual-purpose device that will serve both masters. Bigme, ano…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Sherlock Holmes is only recently in the public domain (at least in full), and hoo boy, are creators going to make the most of it—there are at least three major Doyle-adjacent works streaming in 2026, and I'm probably missing a couple. Not that IP was ever much of a barrier, as evidenced by the hundreds of films, books, porn parodies, etc. released in the near-century since Arthur Conan Doyle's death. Which is all to say that Holmes is pretty resilient as a character, and, while I wouldn't have said that we need a zippy, Guy Ritchie Sherlock prequel—Young Sherlock is unique, and quite a bit of fun. It's stretching the chara…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Arlo Essential Pan Tilt Security Camera has dropped to $29.99 on Woot, down from its listed $99.99. It currently sells for $44.99 on Amazon, and price trackers show it hasn’t dipped this low before. Shipping is free if you have Prime; otherwise, it adds $6 to your total. The deal is expected to run for five days or until stock runs out. Arlo Essential Pan Tilt Security Camera Wired plug-in outdoor camera with 2K resolution …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. A smart thermostat is a key part of keeping any smart home comfortable, but it's important to invest in the home's safety, too. The Ecobee Comfort and Security Bundle combines the best of both worlds, and right now, it’s 28% off at $244.99 (originally $339.98) on Amazon. Ecobee Comfort and Security Bundle $244.99 at A…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Home Depot's Spring Black Friday sale is underway, featuring deals on grills, outdoor power tools, patio furniture, and more spring essentials for the next two weeks. Below are the best deals I've found so far, but I'll continue to keep an eye out as the sale rolls on. Stainless Steel Main Lid NexGrill 4-Burner Propane Gas Grill …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. I’ve previously shared the Good News about mosquito dunks, which stop mosquitoes from being able to breed in standing water. For the fourth year running, I am using dunks to create what’s sometimes called a “mosquito bucket of doom” or a "mosquito death bucket"—a trap that entices mosquitoes to breed in standing water that you have (muahahaha) poisoned against them. Summit Mosquito Dunk Tablet, 20 Count (Pack of 1) $21.…

Elon Musk's "X Corp" is back at it. The company's latest X-themed product is XChat, a messaging app built for X users to securely chat with one another. The app is currently available to preorder on the iOS App Store with an April 17 release date, and advertises itself as an end-to-end encrypted chat app free from ads or tracking. That sounds like a great pitch, especially if you're someone who frequently messages other X users. The problem is, the pitch doesn't seem entirely accurate. As Mashable's Jack Dawes highlights, XChat's app privacy policies are a bit out of alignment with its promises. If you scroll to the "App Privacy" section of XChat's App Store page, you'll…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. If you're all-in on Microsoft 365 for work, school, or personal use, chances are high that Outlook is your go-to email service. It stands to reason then that, if you're an Android user, reading headlines that suggest Microsoft is shutting down your email service on your mobile OS of choice sounds a bit shocking. After all, Outlook is a massive program, and Android is the world's largest mobile platform; why in the world would Microsoft decide to deprecate its email service on Android? That's because Google isn't sunsetting the Outlook for Android app; rather, the company is doing away with Outlook Lite, a lightweight versi…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. As HBO's Industry begins, the recent grads working at prestigious investment bank Pierpoint & Co. are given their marching orders: There are a lot of them and only a few full-time job openings, so they'll need to prove themselves if they hope to stick around. They respond to this challenge by doing whatever it takes—whatever it takes. Renewed for a fifth and final season, Industry has been the streaming era's most cogent take on the world of finance bros (of any gender), and modern white collar workers in a more upscale Glengarry Glen Ross mode. While you wait for this story of disaster capitalism to return, dive into…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Dyson V15 Detect Extra cordless vacuum is on sale for $339.99 on StackSocial, a notable discount from its usual price. This is a refurbished model of Dyson’s top-tier cordless vacuum from a few years ago. It adjusts suction based on what it picks up, shows you what it is collecting on a small LCD screen, and even uses a laser on the cleaner head to highlight dust you would normally miss on hard floors. It sounds like a gimmick until you see how much fine dust shows up under that green light. In everyday cleaning, the V15 is built for people who …

Claude has always been focused on text and code, but a few days ago, it rolled out image-generation capabilities—ways to get graphics, mock-ups, slideshows and other similar materials created by AI. The suite of tools is called Claude Design. Then ChatGPT, already much more invested in AI image generation, rolled out a substantial update called Images 2.0. Promises were made of a "step change" in accuracy, consistency, and instruction following. So what can you now do with these AI tools that you couldn't before? And how do the capabilities compare? Claude Design is focused on business and enterpriseClaude Design is available for Claude subscribers, and is intended, in t…

Google's Gemini AI has recently become more agentic and capable inside Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides—and now Microsoft is pushing out a similar upgrade for Copilot. These features have been in testing for a while, but they're now more widely available to individuals and companies who pay for any of the Microsoft 365 subscriptions. Essentially, Copilot in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint can now do more on its own—not just offering advice and help, but actually taking over the business of creating and editing itself. There are a host of ways to use this, but here are just a few examples I tested to give you an idea of what's possible. If this kind of AI interference isn't for…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) are down to $399 (originally $449), which is the lowest price they’ve hit so far, according to price trackers. That drop makes them easier to consider, even with stronger competition this year from models like Sony’s WH-1000XM6. Bose has not changed the formula much in this second generation—you still get an over-ear design with plush padding and a firm but comfortable clamp for a secure fit. The only noticeable tweak is that the frame now uses a glossy metal finish instead of a matte one, which gives…

Google's AI search is getting a handful of updates designed to highlight first-hand information sourced from discussion boards and social media posts along with your trusted news sources and subscriptions. Notably, AI responses will now show "expert advice" pulled from online forums like Reddit, highlighting specific quotes and linking to discussions related to your search queries. With this "preview of perspectives," you'll also see additional context for the discussion, including the creator's name, handle, or community name. It should go without saying, but even when the results are billed as "expert advice" sourced from forums you'd typically go to for answers, you s…

Gmail does a decent job at filtering junk mail to the Spam folder, but there are always the marketing emails, newsletters, and other mass messages that slip through to your inbox. Maybe you accidentally signed up for a mailing list, or you wanted those promo emails at one point, but now they've become too much. You can keep deleting them one by one—or you can take action to remove spam from certain senders once and for all. Set up filtering to banish unwanted emailsFiltering is one of our favorite Gmail hacks for moving junk emails straight to the trash. Select the messages in your inbox from as many senders as you want to filter out, click the three-dot menu at the top …

This week's Out-of-Touch guide explains the online mogging competition that is Omoggle and examines who was behind a hack that brought learning to a screeching halt nationwide. We also look at a viral AI music trend, and discuss how technology we use every day might kill us all. Mogging get organized on OmoggleThe Omoggle website is blowing up. As you can read in my glossary of Gen A and Gen Z slang, "mogging" is the act of being more attractive than someone else, usually in an intentional or aggressive way: If you're a young gentleman having a conversation with a woman, and a more handsome young man stands next to you and takes over, you have officially been mogged. Omo…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Wireless open-ear earbuds are a popular choice for runners, commuters, dog owners, and anyone else who wants premium audio quality while still allowing enough ambient noise through to stay safe and aware of their surroundings. The Shokz OpenFit Air open-ear earbuds are one of the best budget open earbuds on the market; they check all those boxes. They’re a reliable, lightweight option for everyday music and podcast listening, and right now, they’re 33% off at an all-time low price of $79.95 (originally $119.95). …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Anker Prime 20,000mAh 200W Power Bank is built for the moments when your phone is at 3%, your laptop is at 8%, and there is no outlet in sight. Right now, it is selling for $79.99 on Woot, down from its listed $139.99. That is a $60 drop, or about 43% off. The same model is also $79.99 refurbished on Amazon, so this price puts a new unit on par with what you would normally pay for a refurb. Also, it comes with a two-year manufacturer's limited warranty. Shipping is free for Amazon Prime members, while others pay $6, and this deal runs for 11 mor…

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, …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. A lot of TVs are still perfectly fine screens. They’re just stuck with slow menus or outdated apps. The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Select is an easy fix for that, and right now it’s $19.99, down from $39.99, its lowest price yet, according to price trackers. It streams in 4K with HDR10+ support, so compatible TVs get brighter highlights and better contrast. That said, it skips Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, so this is not the model for someone building a high-end home theater setup. But for most living rooms and bedrooms, the picture quality looks more …

The only thing Pixel users love more than the lock screen's Now Playing widget is talking about the Now Playing widget. Whenever I'm out and about with my Pixel and there's music playing, I'll always take a sneaky look at the lock screen, and yes, it'll have identified the song. It's magical. But until now, that's where the magic stopped. What if you want a list of all the songs the widget recognized while you were at your local cafe? What if you want to save a song or play it in YouTube Music? Or even trigger the music search manually? Until now, that wasn't really possible. Now, Google has chosen to bring this functionality to a dedicated app, as part of its March Pixel…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. It hasn't even been a month since Samsung announced the new Galaxy S26 lineup of phones, and the flagship version, the Galaxy S26 Ultra, which starts at $1,299.99, is already getting a solid deal from Amazon: You can get a $200 Amazon gift card when placing your order through the online retailer. The deal applies to all four colors, and both the basic 256GB version and the maxed-out 512GB storage option as well. It's worth noting that if you plan to do a trade-in, Samsung offers better trade-in credits than Amazon, going up to $720. …

Whether you love to garden or take pride in an immaculately landscaped space ideal for entertaining (or both), creating and maintaining a beautiful outdoor area for you and your family to enjoy adds immeasurable value to your property and quality of life. If your family includes some beloved pets who also enjoy your outdoor spaces, however, you have to be careful when it comes to the plants you choose for your garden or landscaping. There are a lot of plants that are safe for humans that can poison our furry friends, so being deliberate in your choices when planning out the garden or laying out your landscaping is a must if pets are going to be allowed outside. Here are s…

In a post on its community blog today, Meta announced the timeline for the shutdown of Horizon Worlds for VR users. The Horizon Worlds app and related Events will disappear from Quest headsets by March 31, and VR users will no longer be able to use the social hub at all after June 15, 2026. Horizon Worlds will continue, Meta says, but only for mobile users. “We are separating the two platforms so each can grow with greater focus, and the Horizon Worlds platform will become a mobile-only experience,” the company explained in the post. “This separation will extend across our ecosystem, including our mobile app.” Horizon Worlds launched in 2021 as a VR-only platform where u…