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. If you missed out on all the best headphone deals during Black Friday, there are still some bargains to be found, including on these JBL Tune 770NC wireless headphones, currently $80 from Amazon, 47% off the usual $150 price tag. They’re a solid choice for anyone seeking over-ear headphones with decent noise cancellation and that signature JBL sound. JBL Tune 770NC Wireless Headphones …

You may have a keen eye for spotting scams, but fraudsters are finding new ways to weaponize trusted systems to avoid detection. For example, threat actors are generating real Apple support tickets to phish two-factor authentication (2FA) codes and gain access to iCloud accounts. The scheme, detailed on Medium by a security researcher and software product manager Eric Moret, shows how social engineering tactics can sow just enough fear and confusion to trick even those who know the red flags. (The money transfer scam that conned a financial advice columnist out of $50,000 is another example.) How scammers are exploiting Apple's support systemThe Apple support scam start…

I've been seeing a number of videos on my feeds circulating a serious, but perhaps not unbelievable, claim: The idea is, come Dec. 16, 2025, Meta will update its privacy policy to give itself permission to scrape direct messages from users on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, all in the name of training its generative AI models. While Meta is no bastion of user privacy by any stretch of the imagination, this particular claim is, fortunately, not true. You shouldn't expect the company to necessarily respect your data, but you also don't need to worry that future iterations of Meta AI will be generating text based on your Instagram DMs. What's going on with Meta's Dec. 16 …

Normally, it's illegal to chop down a tree in a national forest. This month, however, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is all for it—provided you get yourself a Forest Service-issued permit first. In fact, cutting your own tree on federal land is actually a pretty affordable and ethical way to source a Christmas tree. The only catch is you must follow specific guidelines, which can vary from forest to forest. Before you grab your axe and head into the woods this holiday season, here’s what you need to know about the USDA's tree-cutting permit program. Why you should cut your own tree from a national forest What's cool is that securing yourself a tree-cutting permit isn'…

Manually or automatically wiping your browsing history is a well-established way of protecting your privacy and making sure the digital trail you leave behind you is as short as possible—but it's important to be aware of the limitations of the process, and to understand why deleting your browsing history isn't always as comprehensive an act as you might think. In short, the records of where you've been aren't only kept on your local computer or on your phone, they're found in various other places too. This is why fully wiping away your browsing history is more difficult than it initially appears. Modern browsers typically sync your browsing historyJust about every modern…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Are smart glasses worth the hype? If you’re looking for a stylish accessory that doubles as a camera, headphones, and AR display without needing to pull out a phone, they’re a life hack that’s worth the splurge. Right now, the Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 1) smart glasses are 25% off at $246.75 (originally $329), marking their lowest price ever. This version is matte black with polarized lenses, but you can also get a slightly less expensive version that’s shiny with clear lenses for $224.25. Ray-Ban Meta…

Using keyboard shortcuts is a lot faster than clicking around in the menus, but only after you learn them. That's the hard part. You could look up the documentation for the application or explore the menu bar—but if you're on a Mac, you could also just install KeyClu. This free application shows an overlay with all the keyboard shortcuts for the currently open Mac application, which is very useful for anyone trying to become a more keyboard-savvy computer user. To get started, install the application. Then, you'll need to choose a trigger key (basically one of the modifier keys on your keyboard). By default, you will tap the key twice and hold on the second tap to trigger…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. A lot of Bluetooth speakers try to impress you with apps, voice assistants, or complicated sound modes, but the Bose SoundLink Home takes the opposite approach. It is a simple, handsome speaker that focuses almost entirely on how it looks and sounds. At $179, down from $219—its lowest price yet according to price tracking tools—it becomes easier to appreciate that restraint. Bose SoundLink Home Speaker …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Based on the (really rather excellent) comic book series from Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, Prime Video's satirical superhero romp The Boys picks up the genre deconstructionist torch passed by Alan Moore's Watchmen. The tone is less philosophical but even more cynical, suggesting that power doesn't just corrupt—it makes people absolute dicks. It's set in a world where people with superpowers work for a powerful multinational corporation, with plenty of money and a powerful PR machine behind them to clean up their messes and excesses, and keep them in the public's good graces. When the girlfriend of Hughie Campbell (Ja…

I can be motivated to do just about anything if an app offers me a badge or "streak," which I've made abundantly clear in various reviews here on Lifehacker. When it comes to the apps I use to stay on top of my health and fitness, that's true to an extent, although I also derive at least a little of my satisfaction from actually, you know, working out. As likely as I am to get up and exercise on an average day, getting some kind of digital reward makes me all the more excited, which has been true the past four days as Peloton rolled out its Holiday 2025 challenge. It's a simple challenge, but one you might be interested in if you're also encouraged by celebratory pixels o…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Let's face it: Secret Santa exchanges can be a minefield of disappointing, forgettable gifts. It's tough to shop for someone when you know that gift is going to be opened in front of all your friends, family, or coworkers at some holiday party. Then there's the price limit to contend with—a good gift exchange should keep it under $20, but some creep closer to the $50 range. What's the best way to win at Secret Santa without breaking the bank, or bending the rules? The name of the game for any gift exchange is to get something I call "strategically eccentric." You need to find something quirky and unique, so that you have …

After writing about productivity and organization for the past few years, I understand better than most that the vast majority of the advice you'll get about working more efficiently asks you to carefully schedule your day, plan out the exact type and number of tasks you're going to do, and be diligent to the point of near-militancy—literally. I also know better than anyone else what works for me, personally—and it usually looks like nothing so meticulous. Assiduous preplanning and scheduling can be beneficial for a lot of people, but there is no universally effective productivity technique. If the intricate routes aren't working for you or you simply find yourself overw…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. A major component of productivity is prioritizing your daily responsibilities and addressing them in an order that makes sense, which is why to-do lists are so important. Usually, I suggest using the Eisenhower Matrix, which helps you visually sort tasks according to how urgent and important they are, but there is another way: The ABCDE method, which comes from Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy. Obviously, eating the frog—or doing your biggest, most demanding task first each day—is one way to tackle the day’s duties, but structuring out how you’ll do the res…

Yesterday, Apple unveiled release candidates (RCs) for its slate of upcoming updates. An RC, as the name implies, is the version of a software update Apple intends to release to the general public. Before it rolls out, though, Apple sends the update out to beta testers to see if there are any bugs or glitches that need addressing. If not, these are the updates that will hit your Apple devices sometime this month. That includes watchOS 26.2, Apple's latest OS for its line of smartwatches. While there aren't nearly as many new features and changes in this update as there were in watchOS 26 proper, there are still some key things to highlight in this RC. In fact, as noted b…

New products tend to add features, not take them away. That isn't always the case with Apple, however. The company has a long history of removing functions from one generation of devices to the next, whether that's removing the disc drive from its MacBooks back in 2012, or taking away the iPhone's Home button in 2017. Some of these changes are good, some are controversial, while others are undone altogether: MagSafe and HDMI both found their way back to MacBooks after all. It's not often I hear about Apple removing software features from one generation of product to the next, however. So, imagine my surprise when I saw a number of headlines this morning asserting that the…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Apple Watch Series 11 is the middle-of-the-pack smartwatch, sandwiched between the budget-friendly Apple Watch SE 3 and the flagship Apple Watch Ultra 3. It also happens to be the only one still holding on to its Black Friday discount. You can get the GPS version starting at $329 (originally $399) and the GPS + Cellular version starting at $429 (originally $499), both the lowest prices they've reached, according to price tracking tools. …

It's tough to get people to answer the phone—though I'm not really blaming those who don't pick up. We are so inundated with spam calls these days that refusing to answer incoming calls en masse isn't actually a bad strategy. When that call could be someone trying to break into your bank account, or alerting you to fraudulent credit card charges that never happened, perhaps it's best to just wait for friends and family to text instead. But let's say the call is from you to someone you know and trust, and let's assume they see it's you who's calling. Even though they know the call isn't spam, there are still plenty of reasons someone won't pick up the phone—including, of …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Ever since I visited Japan in 2019, I've been converted into a loyal bidet user. I started with a basic bidet added onto a standard toilet, but I always knew the time would come when I would make a big upgrade. That time was this Black Friday when I pulled the trigger on the Loniko Smart Toilet, and I'm so glad I did. It's $444.99 (originally $549.99) after using the additional $30 on-page coupon, and it's worth every penny. Loniko Smart Toilet …

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Safari is better than Chrome. Apple's default browser runs faster, is less cluttered, offers privacy features Google would never contemplate, and doesn't try to cram AI down your throat. But that doesn't mean Safari is perfect. Like all browsers, it works better if you install the right extensions. Here are a few I've found in the past year or so that make the best browser even better. Block ads and other clutter Credit: Justin Pot The internet is increasingly useless without a good ad…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Even though Black Friday is over, there are still several deals still available. One of them is this Tile Mate Tracker 4-Pack, which just dropped to its lowest price ever at $47.99 (originally $83.99). A must for anyone prone to misplacing their essentials, these trackers also make a compact and low-cost stocking stuffer for the forgetful. Tile by Life360 Mate Bluetooth Tracker …

I hit 250 days on my Duolingo streak this week. That's more than eight months of consecutive daily Spanish lessons. My virtual owl loves me! There's just one problem: I'm not actually any better at speaking Spanish than I was in March. I'm just better at playing Duolingo. Somewhere along the way, keeping the streak alive became more important than learning the language. That same rewiring happens with all my health-related apps. It doesn't take long before I'm more focused on getting a hit of dopamine from building my streak than I am with the hard work of hitting my fitness goals. I've written before about how chasing the concept of "wellness" stopped serving my well-be…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Resistance bands are portable, convenient, and definitely have their uses. It’s no wonder they’re popular—but why are "booty bands" the focus of so many butt-centered workouts? Let me explain what's going on here, and where these bands can actually help your workout routine. What exactly are booty bands? A "booty band" is a nickname for a type of resistance band that is a short loop, usually a few inches wide, and either made of rubber or a thick elasticized fabric. (The fabric ones are more comfortable to use.) The length makes them perfect for exercises that call for a band around your legs. This includes a lot of hip ex…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Black Friday may have passed, but there are still some serious deals out there for gamers—especially PS5 owners. This PlayStation VR2 bundle with Horizon Call of the Mountain is currently $299 on Amazon, a 25% discount off the usual $399 and its lowest price ever according to price tracking tools. PlayStation VR2 Horizon Call of The Mountain™ Bundle …

It's Christmas time, and people believe a lot of inaccurate things about the holiday, so for the next few weeks, I'm going to take a look at the truth behind Christmas mythology, starting with the biggest misconception of them all: Not "how can the North Pole support an industrial infrastructure large enough to build toys for all the world's children," but whether Jesus was really born on Dec. 25. Was Jesus born on Dec. 25?Most Christians celebrate the Baby J's birthday on Dec. 25, but he probably wasn't born on that day. The Bible doesn't provide a specific date, neither does any historical document, and early Christians didn't even celebrate Christmas. So Jesus could …