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. Ever since my home was broken into, I've installed as many security cameras, floodlights, and other security measures in place as I could get away with (and they've been working great so far). The video doorbell I chose to go with for my front door is the Reolink Video Doorbell. Right now, you can get one of the best video doorbells of 2025 for a $51.99 (originally $109.99), the lowest price it has ever been, even cheaper than used ones on Amazon, according to price-tracking tools. Reolink Video Doorbell …

In the wake of the controversy surrounding PayPal's Honey browser extension, Google Chrome has updated its policies to ban the practices that the extension was observed to be engaging in. Chrome's updated extension policies for affiliate ads includes wording that seems to be a direct response to many of the tactics Honey was accused of participating in, such as injecting affiliate codes without providing discounts. Given that Chrome powers most browsers available now, expect this to have major ramifications on shopping extensions going forward. If you're out of the loop about the Honey controversy, a multi-year investigation by YouTuber MegaLag recently uncovered evidence…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Outfitting that garage with the right gear is the difference between a useful and organized space and a chaotic black hole of junk. If you want your garage to be a place where you can get work done, where you can actually find stuff, and maybe also where you can park your car, here’s what you should have, ranging from the must-have essentials to some luxuries you could stretch for. What every garage needsIf you want to get the most of any garage, here’s the short list of essentials: Overhead storage. An empty garage might seem like endless storage, but it fills up fast. If you don’t want to navigate a maze of junk every ti…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Hulu doesn't always get the recognition of competitors like Netflix and Max, but the streamer has an unfailingly reliable and rotating selection of theatrical films, as well as some impressive original releases. These are some of the best, buzziest, and/or most fun movies currently streaming on the service, across a variety of genres. Anora (2024) Writer/director Sean Baker (Tangerine, Red Rocket) has a long run of impressive film credits to his name, but comedy-drama Anora was the film that put his name firmly on the map, winning him a Best Director Oscar and the film a Best Picture prize. Mikey Madison (who also …

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 …

After the battery woes surrounding the Pixel 4a and the promise of an eventual reduction in battery capacity for the Pixel 9a, Google is now proactively tackling any future battery issues that Pixel 7a owners may face. In a support document, the company said it has now determined that some Pixel 7a devices may experience battery swelling, and is offering a free battery replacement to everyone impacted by this issue. Here's everything you need to know about the problem and how to get a free battery replacement for your Pixel 7a. Identifying the signs of a failing batteryOne major limitation of lithium-ion batteries is degradation. Over time, these batteries experience redu…

There was a time, not so long ago, that I was completely abusing my right to use boxed mixes. I made a crumb cake out of muffin mix, peach dump cake, very convincing black and white cookies, and a super tender boxed cake by adding too much oil and not enough egg. I’ve learned a lot from all this screwing around with boxed mixes (for science, of course). With the recent surge in egg prices and the rate of birthday celebrating as consistent as ever, I began to wonder if there was a way for folks to make boxed cakes without using up all of their precious eggs. Then I remembered, of course there is—you can skip them completely. It was when I was trying to manipulate boxed ca…

Our hearts beat faster when we exercise, which is why heart rate training can be so useful. But when we aren’t doing anything, our heart rate can still be useful to know. If you have a wearable that measures your resting heart rate (RHR), here’s how to understand what it’s telling you. What is a normal resting heart rate? Medical professionals usually consider anything between 60 and 100 beats per minute (bpm) to be a “normal” resting heart rate. But they are usually measuring resting heart rate in people who are in a healthcare setting, sitting quietly. Notably, they are awake, and some may be a bit nervous about being in a doctor’s office. Your smartwatch or other wea…

There's a new Apple security issue in town, and this time it's Airborne. Or, well, that's what the security researchers are calling it. As cybersecurity firm Oligo revealed on Tuesday, a collection of security vulnerabilities are now affecting the AirPlay feature in Apple products, and the AirPlay SDK used in third-party gadgets like TVs, speakers, receivers, and more. As reported by Wired, the vulnerability lets hackers take over the AirPlay protocol to inject malware into and take control of impacted devices. This is a zero-click attack, so it works even if you don't click on anything. AirPlay is a widely supported protocol, and a popular way for Apple devices to share …

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, running from March 25 to March 31, doesn’t quite hit the same discount highs as Prime Day, but it’s still worth a look—especially if you've had your eye on big-ticket items or tech gifts. This is only the second time Amazon’s hosting the event, and unlike Prime Day, you don’t need a Prime membership to shop (that said, Prime members do get better deals). If you think it's worth it, a Prime membership starts at $14.99 per month, but if you're still on the fence about that kind of commitment, you can always sign up for a 30-d…

I really like my Pixel 9a, but there’s one glaring issue with my Pixel that stares at me every time I unlock my phone. And it’s the At a Glance widget on top the screen that Google just won’t let me remove. I like a clean lock screen, and eventually, I got so frustrated looking at this totally uncustomizable widget that shows the time and the weather that I gave up and switched to Niagara Launcher. And if you think that this is just my own pickiness, I can confidently say it’s not just me; Reddit is filled with people complaining about this. But seems like after 10 iterations of Pixels, Google is finally letting people get rid of this widget, clearing space for something,…

Social media apps aren't exactly known for their privacy and security features, but TikTok users are getting a little bit of help with a built-in tool to monitor their account security and keep their information safe. The new Security Checkup dashboard shows you where your TikTok security is lacking with step-by-step guidance to update your settings. How to use TikTok's Security CheckupTo get to your security dashboard on TikTok, go to your profile and tap Settings and privacy > Security and permissions. Security Checkup will show you which settings have been completed and which need attention, with guidance on how to update each: Adding an email and/or phone number …

When it comes to note-taking apps on the Mac, it's hard to look past Apple Notes, as it has a lot of features and has proven itself to be quite reliable. But in my workflow, I sometimes miss having a scratchpad on my Mac, something akin to Notepad on Windows. I like using tools like this for outlining my articles, jotting down notes that can turn into story ideas, or simply creating quick to-do lists for routine tasks. macOS has a built-in app called Stickies that does some of these things, but it's desperately in need of an update, as the design looks outdated and it's not ideal for handling multiple notes. I recently discovered Antinote, a beautifully designed app that…

Less than a month after Apple released its own "budget" iPhone, the iPhone 16e, Samsung is out with a new midrange Galaxy A series update for 2025. And unlike Apple's $599 phone, the Galaxy A26, an admittedly more budget-friendly device, starts at just $300. The Galaxy A56 on the other hand, a more direct iPhone 16e competitor, will be $500 when it launches later this year, yet nets you double the storage as the 16e. If you're thinking about picking up any of these phones, you might be curious about how they all compare on paper. While we'll need to wait for reviewers to get their hands on these devices before we truly know how they stack up, it's helpful to see the specs…

On Thursday, Google rolled out a number of previously-paywalled Gemini features to free users. You can now use Gemini custom chatbots, which the company calls "Gems"; Deep Research, which runs AI models that "think" through each step of a problem; and upload files to Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking, whether you pay for Google's AI services or not. But that's not all: The company also introduced new experimental feature for Gemini—Gemini with personalization. This feature, which runs on Google's Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking model, connects Gemini to your Google apps and services, with the goal of offering you a more personal AI assistant. The idea is, by connecting your Google Acc…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. We all know that renovating and remodeling a house is expensive. An average kitchen renovation costs more than $27,000, and a bathroom will run you more than $25,000 even if your plans are relatively modest. A lot of that cost is labor, which runs anywhere from $20 to $150 per hour depending on the trade involved and the specific contractor. If you’re looking to save some money on your home project, doing it yourself is one of the most obvious ways to go. But there are other, less obvious ways you can trim costs on your DIY renovation or remodel. To save money on a house project, it’s not always about buying cheaper materi…

Americans are living through interesting times, economically. The tariffs imposed, delayed, and frequently adjusted by the government have thrown household budgets into confusion. One thing that’s pretty certain is that the baseline tariffs applied to just about every country are likely to raise prices at the grocery store no matter what happens from here (prices could go up by about 3% overall). For families that are already struggling to make their grocery budgets work, this is unwelcome news, but there is one thing you can do right now—while prices are still largely unaffected by tariff chaos—to help mitigate the impact and protect you from future grocery inflation: s…

Between the sheer number and the increasing sophistication of phishing campaigns, seeing should not automatically be believing when browsing online. One particularly sneaky scam is a browser-in-the-browser (BitB) attack, in which threat actors create a fake browser window that looks like a trusted single sign-on (SSO) login page within a real browser session. Because we use SSO to access many of our online accounts, we may not think twice before entering usernames and passwords on these spoofed pages. Cybercriminals are counting on this to steal user credentials. How a browser-in-the-browser attack worksRather than redirecting users to a spoofed website, threat actors ru…

On a good first date, you want chat about hobbies, and siblings, and dream jobs. Nobody wants to kill the vibe by inquiring how much student debt the other person has. But as a relationship progresses, you'll find yourself assessing a lot about your partner: Their values, emotional management, political leanings, and so much more. The subject of money, however, often gets pushed to the side—sometimes, until it's too late. We all have different relationships with money. Some of us are cautious-minded savers, others are profligate spenders. Some are always padding their rainy day fund; others can’t resist purchasing new stuff every paycheck. When you’re in a relationship, …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. As you embark on this year's spring cleaning, take it seriously. Upgrade your supplies and tools so you can do the best possible job. Some of the tools I've featured here save you time, some of these get your stuff even cleaner, and some of them will save you money by reducing the single-use products you rely on. When it's time for spring cleaning, these are a good jumping-off point to get your home in order and keep it in order. Upgraded cleaning tools for the kitchen O-Ce…

Your iPhone’s camera is smart—perhaps too smart. It’s smart enough to relight your selfies and remove distracting background objects from your photos. It’s the kind of reality-altering power that normally requires an Infinity Stone. It can also make it much harder to get photos that are accurate representations of the real world. Fortunately, there are alternatives. It’s worth noting that it’s difficult to get absolutely zero processing on any smartphone camera. There’s always some amount of interpretation of raw data in order to display it. What we want to minimize here is how much your phone makes decisions about the “right” way your photos should look—decisions like ho…

The latest trend in AI chatbots is memory. It's not good enough for these models to provide you the same quick and detailed answers as everyone else; rather, each should be personalized to you based on your past conversations. Now, it's Grok's turn to remember. xAI, the company behind Grok, announced the chatbot's new memory feature in a post on X on Wednesday. The company says Grok now remembers your conversations, so your future queries will receive personalized responses. In the post, Grok uses an example of a user asking the chatbot to "plan me a workout for today." The assumption is Grok pulls from past conversations with the user to develop a custom workout that fi…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. I've been working hard on upgrading my kitchen and dining area lately. Recently, I bought these gorgeous, light pink, upholstered dining chairs, for instance. The whole goal of this endeavor has been to make the area as cozy and calm as possible, so last night, I decided to enjoy the fruits of all those labors and light a few candles. Guess what happened? Yes, I dripped wax on one of the new chairs. For a moment, my emotions were the opposite of cozy and calm. But then I remembered it's entirely possible—and even easy—to remove candle wax from soft surfaces. Here's what to do if this horror ever befalls you. Remove candle…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. This is a website about hacks, so you know I'm not going to advocate for a cleaning product unless it really gets the job done. Lifehacker has years' worth of archives explaining how, for the most part, common things like hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and vinegar get the major cleaning jobs taken care of, and all you need is a rag or a sponge to go with them. Still, there are some more specialized products that are worth having on hand. These are what I use to make cleaning easier and faster. Useful cleaning tools you might not haveFirst up, you need a little squeegee. In fact, I think you should have a few. The first …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. It's rare to see a deal on a premier Apple device so soon after release, but that's exactly what's going on with the M4 MacBook Air right now. Announced just a few weeks ago, it's now $50 off (or $60 off if you go for an upgrade) as part of Amazon's Big Spring Sale event. While not the biggest discount in the world, that's a pretty quick turnaround on our favorite MacBook Air right now. Apple M4 MacBook Air …