Home Office Setup & Equipment

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Ever since I came home from a trip to Japan in 2019, I've been using a bidet. Japan takes its hygiene and bidet game seriously. Their bidets were incredible, with features and technology I've never imagined people were using on their toilets. But I decided to start simple, with a basic $56 bidet that got the job done. But as winter arrived, the water and toilet seats in our non-insulated bathroom became intolerable, so we decided it was time to upgrade. The Coway Bidetmega 500S has impressed my wife and me so much that we sometimes hold our necessities until we get home just to use our shiny new bidet. …

If you work from a laptop, your built-in webcam may suit you fine for video calls. But for those of us with external monitors, or laptops with subpar cameras, it's helpful (or necessary) to seek out dedicated, high-quality webcams. Before you drop hundreds of dollars on one from Amazon, just use your smartphone. Your iPhone or Android very likely has native webcam support that makes it easy to tap into the phone's camera for work or personal calls. I guarantee your phone has a better camera than your laptop—even if it's not quite as convenient to use. I was surprised to learn today, however, that Samsung Galaxy phones have not supported this feature. You've been able to …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. In its 15th season, unlikely phenomenon Call the Midwife hasn't slowed down: Season 16 is already confirmed, as are a feature film and a WWII-era prequel series. Plenty of babies still need to be born, it would seem. Initially set in 1957, with the current plots entering the 1970s, the show takes place in and around Poplar, London, one of the city's most desperately poor districts. As the National Health Service is born, secular trained midwives team up with the nuns of Nonnatus House, a nursing convent that had been in the business of providing medical care to the area's poor for decades. Though occasionally veering into…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Flagship Apple Watches tend to start at $399, but the price only goes up from there. If you want a larger size, that's a slight bump in cost; if you want cellular connectivity, that's an even larger hit. But the titanium Apple Watch—the "premium" material, if you will—is the most expensive upgrade outside of the Ultra line. These models typically start at $699, but cost $749 for the larger size, and a whopping $799 if you want the stainless steel band. Right now, you can get a titanium Apple Watch for as low as $449 during Amazon's Big Spring Sale—s…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. This Amazon Big Spring Sale deal on a TV is remarkable: A Hisense 32" LED television for $74.99—that's cheaper than dinner and drinks in most U.S. cities. This isn't going to be the greatest TV of all time, but from all available accounts, its at least a solid set. It's an older model—released in 2020—but that means there are over 3,000 reviews on Amazon, and the score is a respectable 4.1 stars out of 5. Critics generally were positive when it first came out, too. INSIGNIA 32" Class F20 Series LED HD Smart Fire TV with Alexa Voice Remote (NS-32F201NA26) …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. A while back I switched to running while wearing bone conduction headphones (BCH), and I have zero regrets. Sure, they may never match the bass in traditional headphones, but a good pair can bring you perfectly solid sound quality—not to mention the comfort and safety that comes with an open-ear fit and BCH technology (they really do send sound through your bones). Right now my number one favorite headphones for running, the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2, are available for $139.95 as part of Amazon's Big Spring Sale, a 22% discount off their list price of $17…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you're in the Apple ecosystem, and you're looking for a new pair of earbuds, you'd have trouble doing better than AirPods Pro 3. Apple's flagship earbuds sound great, come with interchangeable tips, and sport a number of intelligent, useful features. That package doesn't come cheap, though—Apple has the newest AirPods Pro priced at $249. That's why they're great to buy on sale: Amazon currently has the AirPods Pro 3 for $50 off their usual price. AirPods Pro 3 …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Valerie Cherish is back, and not a moment too soon. Twenty years after a modestly rated but absolutely brilliant first season, mega-cringe Hollywood satire The Comeback has returned to HBO for one more painfully embarrassing season (complimentary) Co-created by and starring Lisa Kudrow, it's the hilarious, dark, and occasionally moving story of a C-list celebrity determined to stay in the limelight at whatever cost. Valerie Cherish—clueless, egotistical, and all-too-human—is one of TV's indelible characters, simultaneously a victim of ageism, misogyny, and celebrity culture, and also a woman who doesn't care about any of …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Most window air conditioners follow a simple formula: cool the room, maybe add a fan setting, and leave it at that. The LG LW8023HRSM window air conditioner, currently on sale for $399.99 on StackSocial, takes a slightly more flexible approach. It still installs like a typical window unit, but it adds heating and smart controls, making daily use easier. For someone cooling a bedroom, small apartment living room, or home office, the main appeal here is convenience. You can control the unit with a remote, the onboard buttons, or the LG ThinQ app on yo…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The JBL Boombox 4 is down to $449.95 (originally $549.95) on Amazon. That’s the lowest price it has hit so far, according to price trackers. JBL Boombox 4 Portable Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker $449.95 at Amazon …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 wireless over-ear ANC headphones are currently down to $279 (from $479) on Woot, marking their lowest price so far (according to price trackers), with free shipping for Prime members and a $6 fee for others. The deal is expected to run for about a week or until it sells out, so availability could shift quickly depending on demand. The mix of fabric, aluminum, and synthetic leather gives these headphones a more premium touch than most all-plastic alternatives in this range, and their updated headband and thicker cushio…

Few things are more stressful when flying than a security screening line that is far longer than expected. In recent weeks, due to the partial federal government shutdown that left Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers without pay, travelers at major airports encountered wait times of up to four hours to clear security. (As of April 2, these bottlenecks have largely eased.) During "normal" times, it's easier to determine how early you actually need to arrive, but if you want to find the sweet spot between spending pointless hours at the airport and missing your flight, you should keep an eye on current security wait times, which are available across multi…

Millions of Android users are now eligible to claim some cash from Google as part of a $135 million settlement. If you have a qualifying device, you could receive up to $100 once the final approval hearing is completed in June. What is this Android settlement about? This settlement is part of a class-action lawsuit filed earlier this year alleging that Google collected unnecessary data from Android users over cellular networks in the background and without permission—even when Google apps were closed and location sharing disabled. Google denied any wrongdoing but agreed to a $135 million payout along with a commitment to implement additional disclosures shown during Andr…

I've written before about various software tricks to nudge a smartphone toward dumb-phone territory: stripping the home screen down to essentials, enabling greyscale mode, scheduling downtime windows. I tried all of it, and for a time it worked for me, but only in the way that hiding a bag of chips in a high cabinet works—technically an obstacle, but not really a barrier. One tap to "Ignore Limit," and I'm back to scrolling. The problem is that the key to unlock everything is right there in your pocket. Turns out I needed a small device called Brick to physically restrain me create a physical barrier, and I can feel my screen time habits finally change for the better. …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Prices are going up on many different goods and services, and technology is no exception. Global events over the past year, from the implementation of tariffs to interruptions in oil shipments, are pushing companies to raise the cost of smartphones, tablets, and more for consumers. At this point, it's refreshing when a company doesn't raise prices—like when Apple dropped a brand-new MacBook for just $599. It's not just new products seeing price hikes. As reported by Phone Arena, Samsung just increased the prices on a number of its devices, including some smartphones, and a lot of tablets. That includes the following phone…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. For some reason, I have painted a lot of stairs in my time. Exterior, interior—I’ve painted more stairs than I ever imagined I would. But sometimes, painting stairs is the easiest way to transform them. When my wife and I moved into our house, the stairs were covered in this truly awful green carpet. We tore that up almost immediately, and I figured I’d just paint the stairs as a short-term solution. But we wound up actually liking the paint, and just left it there. It’s getting a little worn, though, so it’s time to refresh the paint job, and we thought it was a good idea to change things up by painting the risers a light…

The Artemis II moon mission was a full success. Its crew of four astronauts splashed down safely on earth last week after traveling further into outer space than any humans before them. Like most Americans, I followed the mission with a sense of wonder and pride that felt out-of-place in 2026–this was actual history being made, and even my blackened heart swelled. But not everyone was excited; some people are not buying this whole "orbiting the moon" thing and are convinced that the mission never happened. Everyone is lying, the images and videos we've seen are bogus, and spaceflight doesn't even make sense. I've spent a lot of time digging into the many conspiracy theo…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Furbo 360° cat camera and Furbo 360° dog camera allow for full pet monitoring and interaction; the treat tosser acts as the primary camera with 360-degree rotation and a wide view, while the second, more compact camera acts as an additional fixed vantage point for extra room coverage. They both have features like 4X HD zoom, two-way audio, and night vision, as well as AI alerts for barking, activity, and emergencies, so pet owners can stay in the loop, earning the device a PCMag Editor’s Choice Award. There’s even a daily diary that records a ti…

Last week, one of my meekest, weakest friends (said with love) asked me to go boxing with her. This may have been wildly out-of-character for her, but for me, it confirmed a trend I’d already been noticing. Boxing, Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, and all other sorts of combat-style workout classes are having a mainstream moment. In many ways, this is nothing new—how could I erase the legacy of Tae Bo nation?—but I’m not the first to clock an uptick in “fight-style” workouts across social media and gym class offerings these days. So what's actually driving this trend? And more practically: Even if you're not planning to step into a ring, what can you take from the way fighters train…

If you're a frequent Gemini user, and you happen to have a Mac, good news: Google just launched a dedicated Gemini app for macOS. It's a long time coming, seeing as Google's rivals, like OpenAI and Anthropic, have had dedicated Mac apps for ChatGPT and Claude for some time. Gemini's Mac app appears to come with many of the same benefits as other desktop AI apps. For most queries, the experience is about the same as it is on the web app: You ask Gemini a question or make a request, and it responds appropriately. But there are two keys advantages to breaking out of the web app. Summon Gemini with a keyboard shortcutFirst, Gemini can be called up at any time using a keyboa…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Soundcore Boom 2 is down to $89.98 on Amazon, a solid drop from its usual $139.99 and, according to price trackers, the lowest it has been so far. It has an IPX7 rating and can float, so it is fine around pools or at the beach without needing constant attention. If it falls into the water, it will come back up on its own—your music will cut out while it is submerged, since Bluetooth cannot transmit through water—but in most situations, the bigger advantage is that the speaker itself survives without any issues. …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Pocket wifi is nothing new, and I considered it a luxury more than a necessity—a way to guarantee wifi in a time when wifi access is already practically guaranteed. Not only was I wrong, but I overlooked it for far too long. And if you don't own a portable wifi device other than your phone, you're probably making the same mistake I was. When I bought my first home, I gave my cell reception only a passing thought. Spectrum wireless was available in our area and was confirmed to work well by the previous homeowner, so home connectivity wouldn't be a problem. My phone carrier, T-Mobile, also covers 99% of the country. I imag…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Sometimes we love to hate serial killers, and sometimes we just kinda love 'em—a charming, sexy killer seems to be a contrast that's too juicy and entertaining for us to pass up. Late-stage capitalism, the climate crisis, and the insurance industry are far more likely to kill us, which is probably why we'd rather face the statistically less-likely threat of a cute and cunning murderer like Penn Badgley's Joe Goldberg in You, which came to a planned conclusion after five seasons in 2025. But he's not the only one! Here, we're on the hunt for series leads who are at least morally ambiguous, if not downright evil. The Fall (2…

When you post something on the internet, you cede a measure of control to anyone who might happen upon it. Photos, videos, text, audio recordings: all of this content can be downloaded or screenshot, and repurposed in whatever way another user wishes. That's the risk of posting online. The thing is, you might not assume the platform you're posting to would go out of its way to help other users repurpose your content—but that's exactly what TikTok is currently doing with its new AI "remixes" feature. What are TikTok's AI "remixes?"AI remixes are meant to be a kind of meme-creation tool. According to CNET, remixes allow TikTok users to create a custom image generated from…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Earlier this month, T-Mobile started offering free iPhone 17s to new customers (they still are)—and now, they're offering a $200 prepaid Mastercard for a limited time for anyone who brings their unlocked device and phone number and switches to them. Here are the details you need to know. Starts at $50/mo with AutoPay for 1 phone line. Essentials Pla…