Home Office Setup & Equipment

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Sony might be better known for its headphones, but it also makes decent speakers. Its latest flagship portable speaker is the ULT Field 5, which launched along with the ULT Field t and ULT Tower 9 last spring, all made to be portable and rugged. This speaker falls between the ULT Field 3 and the ULT Field 7, giving a good middle ground of portability and power. Right now, you can get the biggest one of the lineup for $219 (originally $329.99), the lowest price it has been, according to price-tracking tools. …

Nothing lasts forever. Devices lose support, standards are replaced, and software becomes obsolete. So it is with Microsoft Lens, whose days are numbered. Keen observers have known about this since August, when Microsoft first announced that Lens would be retired in September and removed from app stores in November. That obviously didn't happen, as the company adjusted the deadline to Dec. 15, which also came and went. Microsoft kicked the retirement can down the road—that is, until now. Microsoft Lens was Microsoft's solution for anyone in the mid-2010s who didn't own a scanner. Rather than buy an expensive piece of hardware to digitize documents, Lens allowed people to…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. A comfortable, good-looking pair of headphones with bass-forward sound and deep Apple integration doesn’t usually dip below the $100 mark, but this one just did. The Beats Studio Pro headphones in factory-reconditioned condition are down to $94.99 on Woot. Beats Studio Pro headphones $94.99 at Woot …

I love movies, and especially when I can watch them for free: And while streaming the latest Hollywood blockbusters might come at a price (at least for those wanting to stay on the right side of the law), there's an ever-growing collection of older films that you can get at online without paying a dime. The site WikiFlix (as spotted by the fine folks at Gizmodo) lists movies available to stream that are now in the public domain. The way that copyright works in the U.S. basically means that copyright expires on films after a period of 95 years—so with every year that passes, a batch of new flicks become available to view by anyone, free of charge. If you're looking for som…

Google Maps is the only navigation service I use, and I've learned many of its tricks over the years. The default settings do a good enough job for most people, but it's worth reviewing all of its features to ensure that you're getting exactly what you need. For instance, avoiding tolls may be great where you live, but if you're driving in a different state or country, that same feature could land you in some serious trouble. These tips will help you make the most of Google Maps' many features, and reduce the chances of losing your way while using the app. Double-check route settings before leavingEven if you ignore everything else in this article, don't ignore this. I've…

It's not just you: X is down, and will not load. I discovered the issue myself just after 9:30 a.m. ET. I was scrolling on my feed, when all of a sudden, new posts wouldn't load, and I was greeted by an option to refresh. When I did, the site reloaded, but now without any posts—only the futile option to try reloading again. You can see a steep spike in user reports on Downdetector (which, for full disclosure, is owned by Lifehacker parent company Ziff Davis). At the time of writing, roughly 25,000 users had reported issues with X, I among them. There are a number of potential reasons why X won't load this morning, but it doesn't appear to be a larger issue with a cloud h…

I've used my main Gmail account for about 20 years now, and I'm quite proud of how I've maintained it. My inbox isn't overflowing with unread emails, my storage has never been full, and I've set up hundreds of filters to directly send useless emails right to the trash. I don't use any third-party tools to tame that chaos, and I'm here to share all the hacks I've set up to keep my Gmail inbox under control. Manage email subscriptions to tame your inbox chaosYou should start clearing out your inbox by looking at all of your email newsletter subscriptions. In the past, I've been guilty of subscribing to way too many newsletters and cluttering my inbox. What started out as a …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. When it comes to gaming monitors, having an ultra-wide curved screen takes the experience to the next level, with a more immersive experience than a regular monitor. Unfortunately, that improved experience tends to come at a much higher price. But there are budget monitors that go on sale, making it much more affordable to upgrade your gaming without hurting your wallet too much. Samsung is currently selling its 34-inch Samsung Odyssey G5 for $279.99 (originally $399.99). Samsung 34-Inch Odysse…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Every self-respecting DIYer eventually buys a tool box—a sturdy place to store, organize, and protect your valuable tools. A quality metal tool box instantly ups your home maintenance and repair game—suddenly, you no longer have to spend twenty minutes rooting around for that pair of pliers or that box of random screws, because everything is in its place. And that place can often roll around and follow you to wherever you need to work. Tool boxes are terrific, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be improved and augmented. Whether your tool box is a small, efficient unit or a behemoth with deep drawers and pull-out trays, you …

The internet is a wild place, and not particularly kid-friendly. Unfortunately, it's highly impractical to keep your kids entirely off the web. That's where family accounts come in handy: Parents can set their kids up with supervised accounts, giving them access to essential apps and services, without allowing unfettered access to the entire net. It's often imperfect, and kids find workarounds for the guardrails, but still; it's better than nothing. Every company that offers a family account handles things differently. Meta, for example, continues to update their policies in the wake of criticism surrounding how addictive and harmful their apps can be for children. These…

I have taught spin classes for four years, but the majority of my friends have never taken one—they're just not "class" people. Everyone works out differently and classes are a very specific kind of experience. I take a class nearly every day, whether in-person or using my Peloton, so obviously I am firmly in the pro-class category, but I can understand why being blabbed at by an instructor wouldn't motivate some people. I learned recently, though, that Peloton offers a solution to those who don't enjoy all the yap: You can actually customize how much of their in-app instructors you hear, so whether you want to pay close attention to cues or hear practically nada from the…

Remember when hands-free shopping was going to be the next big thing? In 2017, the Echo Dot was the single best-selling item on Amazon during its Prime Day sale, outselling both the Nintendo Switch and Instant Pot. Amazon's goal was partly to heavily discount the device in order to install its voice assistant, Alexa, in as many homes as possible—likely in hopes to capitalize on the voice commerce revolution that industry analysts predicted would be worth over $40 billion by 2022. But something went awry. Despite Amazon's complete domination of the home-voice-thing market, by 2022, Alexa was being called a "colossal failure," 10,000 people were laid off from Amazon, and t…

I've been in a particularly "back everything up for the sake of it" mood lately, and the latest target of my fixation is messages. It's been several generations of Android flagships since I archived anything, though, so now I'm scrambling to back up everything from 2019 and beyond. Android was supposed to fix the way it backs up data and messages as far back as Android 8.0 Oreo in 2017. Google recently refined the mechanism when it switched to Google One, its all-in-one subscription and cloud data offering. While data backup has improved, it's also a veritable "black box." It's hard to verify what's been saved and even harder to view the data. I'm taking backups back into…

If you missed out on a better era of consuming news and other online content, RSS either stands for RDF (Resource Description Framework) Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication, depending on who you ask—even Wikipedia includes both expansions of the initialism. Whatever the linguistic details, one of the main roles of RSS is to supply directly to you a steady stream of updates from a website. Every new article published on that site is served up in a list that can be interpreted by an RSS reader. In earlier, simpler internet times, RSS was the way to keep up to date with what was happening on all of your favorite sites. You would open your RSS reader and tap through new…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you want a tablet and a laptop but can’t justify buying two separate devices, there’s no need to choose—there are plenty of two-in-one designs out there like the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360, a lightweight laptop that flips back 360 degrees and combines the perks of both. Right now, the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 laptop and tablet is $1,549.99 (originally $ 1,999.99), bringing it to 23% off and its lowest price ever, according to price-trackers. Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 …

As OpenAI scrambles to find new ways to monetize ChatGPT, it announced today that it's introducing a new, cheaper subscription tier for its AI chatbot—but that it's also adding ads to both that new tier and for free users. ChatGPT Go was first launched in India in August, and later became available to 170 countries around the world, but today marks the first time it's been available everywhere, including the United States. It marks a middle ground between the Free and Plus plans, coming in at $8/month vs. the Plus plan's $20/month, and is arguably the first "affordable" ChatGPT subscription. …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Samsung Odyssey line is designed for gamers who want a blend of speed and immersion, and its consistently popular monitors are known for high refresh rates, low-input lag, and crisp visuals that perform more smoothly in a fast-paced world than a standard display. The 32" Samsung Odyssey G50D S27DG50 is a flat, entry-level alternative to some of the line’s pricier curved monitors, and right now, it’s 42% off at $249.99 (down from $429.99). 32-inch Samsung Odyssey G50D S27DG50 Monitor …

The user-generated video industry is worth over $4 billion, reflecting how tastes have evolved away from reading articles and watching television punditry and toward scrolling vertical video feeds and watching live streams. As a reader, a writer, and the editor of an article-driven tech site, the rise of user-generated video and streaming can be a tough reality to accept. But as a longtime fan of live streaming, a part of me is thrilled to see the media landscape begin to take it more seriously. For example: On Jan. 16, Bluesky announced the rollout of a feature that more seamlessly connects its users to live streams—a feature that may catch on more broadly. The latest B…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Tracking symptoms of your menstrual cycle can be surprisingly effective at identifying when you’re likely to get pregnant. One of the best metrics to track is body temperature, which wearables can pick up on. The Natural Cycles app already works with your Apple Watch or Oura Ring, but now the company is launching its own smart band. As I noted in my CES fitness trends roundup, smart bands are having a moment. Whoop used to be the only major screenless tracking band out there, but we now have Amazfit, Polar, and may soon see Luna and Speediance fitness bands. Garmin has a sleep tracking band. And now, this band from Natura…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Bridgerton, Shonda Rhimes' candy-colored, ultra-stylized period piece has been a legitimate sensation for Netflix, adapting the Julia Quinn novel series that itself owes plenty to Jane Austen (as does just about any Regency romance). With a large, rotating ensemble—led, perhaps, by Nicola Coughlan's Penelope Bridgerton, who is ably assisted by Adjoa Andoh, Jonathan Bailey, Ruth Gemmell, Polly Walker, and Julie Andrews (as the voice of the mysterious Lady Whistledown)—the show revels in the tropes of the literature of the era while turning up the dial on sex, scandal, and drama. With four seasons and a spin-off, Bridgerton …

There is a rumor going around online—on Reddit, Facebook, TikTok, and (I assume) Friendster—that gravity will stop working for seven seconds on August 12. Here is part of the warning posted online: In November 2024, a secret NASA document titled "Project Anchor" leaked online. The project's budget is $89 billion, and its goal is to survive a 7-second gravitational anomaly expected on August 12, 2026, at 14:33 UTC Key facts:• Duration: 7.3 seconds.• Expected casualties: 40-60 million. What will happen: 1-2 seconds: Everything not secured will rise (people, vehicles, animals).3-4 seconds: Objects will continue to rise to 15-20 meters.5-6 seconds: Panic and chaos will ensue …

Stock Android added the concept of App Pairs back in Android 15. You choose two apps to use in split screen mode, add a shortcut to the paired apps to the home screen, and it's now trivially easy to trigger split screen multitasking (instead of having to perform multiple tap and drag gestures). It sounds neat, but I never really used it, because on my small Pixel 9a, using apps in 50:50 split-screen mode is hardly user-friendly. There's just not enough room on the screen for each app to take up half of it and still be usable. But that changed with Android 16, thanks to a small update to how split screen works. In Android 16, the split screen ratios for app pairs are much …

You have probably heard of skimming, a type of fraud in which criminals install physical devices capable of capturing your payment card details on ATMs, gas pumps, and point-of-sale terminals. If you enter your debit or credit card into one of these fake card readers, your data is stored for later download or transmitted wirelessly in real time to a device controlled by scammers, who will use the information to steal from your accounts. Unfortunately, online shoppers aren't immune from this scheme. Web skimming is a type of cyberattack that uses malicious code to steal card data during checkout, and researchers have identified an ongoing campaign targeting major payment …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you’re dreaming of ditching a multi-monitor gaming setup without sacrificing too much screen space, the Samsung 49-inch ViewFinity S95UC monitor delivers that idea in a single curved panel. A versatile option for both multi-tasking at work and casual gaming, it’s currently 33% off at $799 (originally $1,199). Samsung 49-inch ViewFinity S95UC Monitor …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. After Verizon's unexpected nationwide outage Wednesday, the carrier came out yesterday to try to save face, saying it was offering a $20 credit to all accounts in the myVerizon app. Now, its low-cost offshoot carrier, Visible, is also trying to make its own amends. As spotted by 9to5Google, Visible is texting its customers with the following message, promising a $5 credit on their next bill as an apology for the outage: Yesterday we let you down and for that we are sorry. We are giving you a $5 credit towards your next month of service that can be redeemed after Jan 16 when paying with a credit card online. This credit isn…