Home Office Setup & Equipment

I'm sure there was a point in time when it was cool to receive a text from a business or service, but it's not today. Our phones are sounding off way too often these days, in part because of the rise in spam messages. Many of these messages arrive because your number happened to end up on an organization's subscriber list for one reason or another. Perhaps you donated blood one time, and now you are contacted every other day about setting up your next appointment; maybe you gave money to a political candidate, and now that candidate's party is blowing up your phone for more money. In many cases, you can send a STOP text to end the madness. But if the organization doesn't…

Some people love AI. If you're not one of them (or if you have a favorite AI tool that isn't baked into it), using Windows 11 can feel increasingly hostile. It seems like every part of it now exists to push you into using Copilot—even notepad.exe has a prominent AI button in the user interface at this point. If you'd like your operating system to go back to being an operating system, check out RemoveWindowsAI. This free script changes various registry keys to disable AI features including Copilot, Recall, and the Copilot integrations in applications including Edge, Paint, and Notepad. Using various workarounds , it then configures Windows Update to not install those upda…

The next time you open WhatsApp, you might notice some changes. As announced in a blog post on Thursday, the app is rolling out a dozen new features, affecting the chats, calls, and even the Updates tab. Here's what's new: Chat updatesGroup chats are getting a number of updates this go-around. WhatsApp is adding an online indicator to group messages, so you can see who in the thread has WhatsApp open at any given moment. That change should help you gauge how many people are currently reading the chat. You'll see the new indicator directly below the group chat name. Similarly, WhatsApp is adding a new "Notify for" section in group chat settings to manage the notifications…

The final (final) deadline for the Department of Homeland Security's REAL ID requirement is upon us, and unlike so many instances in the two decades since the new rules were passed, it doesn't appear that air travelers are getting another extension to obtain an identification that complies. The 2005 REAL ID Act aimed to standardize state-issued driver's licenses and identification cards by 2008, though the rollout was delayed until 2020, then 2023, then 2025. Starting May 7, anyone age 18 and over passing airport security or entering certain federal buildings with their license will need a REAL ID. Many states have issued REAL IDs in recent years upon license renewal or…

There's more than one way to use Windows now. As well as sitting down in front of a locally installed copy of Windows, running on a hard drive inside your desktop or laptop, you can also fire up the Microsoft Windows app—a one-stop central hub for managing connections to remote PCs and Windows in the cloud. The Windows app is available for Windows (as you would expect), as well as macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and (in preview form for now) Android. First rolled out in September 2024, the program brings with it support for multiple monitors and local USB peripherals, so you can carry on using your own webcam (for example) with your cloud copy of Windows. It's likely that significant…

Sometimes, the best way to solve a problem is sitting right in front of you. If your problem is that you need a webcam, you can try using your Android phone for the job instead of buying a dedicated device. This is especially useful if you have a spare Android phone lying around and you need it for video calls on your PC or Mac. You can also use your primary Android phone as a webcam, but its utility will be limited since you'll have to keep unplugging it, remembering to put it into do not disturb, or turning on airplane mode to ensure that your video call isn't interrupted. Here are all the ways you can use your Android phone as a webcam. Use the webcam mode on your Andr…

There was a time when we all had dedicated alarm clocks on our nightstands to wake us up in the morning. Now, I'd wager a smartphone does the job for most of us (whether we like it or not). The thing about alarms, though: They kind of need to work every time they're scheduled to go off. There's no acceptable percentage of failure, as, presumably, you're setting that alarm at a specific time for a good reason. You might have work, an interview, an appointment, any number of other important obligations, and not all of them are going to tolerate "my alarm didn't go off" as an excuse. So, alarms need to work, and right now, alarms set on a Google Pixel can't be trusted. Alarm…

Is your iPhone, iPad, or Mac a little hard to use? Lucky for you, Apple has announced key accessibility features coming to all its devices later this year. These include Accessibility Reader, which makes small fonts easier to read, and Vehicle Motion Cues, which prevent motion sickness while using Apple devices in vehicles. If some of these sound familiar, it's because they may already be on one or two Apple devices, but are now set to come to others as well. While the company's already tipped its hat as to what's in the works, expect to hear more details during WWDC 2025, scheduled from June 9 to 13. That's where Apple usually unveils all of its annual operating system u…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. The Boox Palma e-reader is unquestionably my favorite gadget from the last few years, but I also get why so many people find it to be a bit confounding: It's a phone-shaped e-ink device that has all the capabilities of a modern Android smartphone, but it doesn't have cellular functionality, which means it can't take calls. A recent rumor suggested that might be changing soon, but it turned out to be an overstatement: According to a statement I received from a spokesperson for Boox maker Onyx International, the forthcoming "Palma 3" (which might be called something else) still won't work as a phone, though it will have mo…

Letterboxd is the best thing to happen to film nerds since IMDb, which is almost surprising given how straightforward it is. Like the Film Twitter answer to Goodreads, it is a social network/online catalogue where you can rate or review movies, pick a few of your favorites to highlight on your profile, and follow your friends and favorite critics. Yet, Letterboxd is more than just "what if social media, but for movies?" Dig a little deeper and you'll find some useful tools for managing your cinema obsession. If you haven't used Letterboxd before, it's available for Android, iOS, or on the web. Anyone can access it to browse movies, read reviews, and see user ratings, but …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. For over a year, I have been on a quest to sell a bunch of my stuff to make room in my closet—and, in the process, earn money for more stuff. I have encountered highs, lows, and many resale apps, some of which are better than others. In addition to making me a little extra money, this endeavor has really helped me reduce my clutter, too: A lot of the popular decluttering techniques ask you to sort your items into three categories—keep, throw, and donate—but by adding the fourth category of things to sell, I've cleared major space in my closet. What's more, I do my best to use my "balance" in each app to buy any new items …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Garmin is well-known among fitness smartwatch enthusiasts, and if you're a runner, the Forerunner 265 is the best option in the Garmin lineup. The Forerunner 265 is without question the best fitness watch for runners, according to Senior Health Editor Beth Skwarecki's review. While it's typically a costly smartwatch at $449.99, it's currently on sale for $349.99, which is the lowest price it has ever been, according to price tracking tools. (Both the 46 mm model and the smaller 42 mm model are on sale for the same price.) …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. The 2000s, in some ways, culturally feel neither here nor there: They don’t have the neon vibe we associate with the 1980s, and lack the grunge appeal of the ‘90s. There’s plenty to appreciate, however, in movies over the decade that was bookended by blockbusters: Lord of the Rings in the early years, and Iron Man, Dark Knight, and Avatar at the end. None of those feel particularly cookie-cutter in the way that their successors would often be, and, in the middle years, there were many successful movies of the kind they don’t really make anymore: mid-budget movies with personal, rather than galactic, stakes, that still mana…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. There hasn't been a better opportunity for Android users to get a Google Pixel Watch, provided they don't mind being a bit behind the times: Woot is currently selling the first generation GPS + Cellular Google Pixel Watch for $79.99, 76% off the original $329.99selling price. This is the cheapest the wearable has ever been, according to price tracking tools. (Note that Woot only ships to the 48 contiguous states in the U.S. If you have Amazon Prime, you get free shipping; otherwise, it’ll be $6 to ship.) Goog…

Blue Shield of California shared the protected health information of 4.7 million individuals with Google over a nearly three-year period, a data breach that impacts the majority of its nearly 6 million members, according to reporting from Bleeping Computer. This isn't the only large data breach to affect a healthcare organization the last year alone. Community Health Center records were hacked in October 2024, compromising more than a million individuals' data, along with an attack on lab testing company Lab Services Cooperative, which affected records of 1.6 million Planned Parenthood patients. UnitedHealth Group suffered a breach in February 2024, resulting in the leak…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The new Pixel 9 lineup launched last summer—and the Pixel 9a is around the corner—so it's no surprise there's been a drop in prices for the Pixel 8 lineup. Amazon is offering the higher end Pixel 8 Pro for $599 (though prices seem to vary a bit based on location), but if your budget is a bit tighter, you can get the Pixel 8a for $399 (originally $499) after a $100 discount. That matches the Pixel 8a's lowest-ever price, according to price-checking tools. (The Pixel 9a is likely to cost $499 when it launches, so if you want to save yourself some mone…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. A good kitchen appliance should last you years. And like any long-term relationship, you want to make sure it’s the right fit before you invest your time or money into it. Right now, with Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, you have an opportunity to start a relationship with a kitchen appliance you’ve been flirting with, and at prices that feel less risky. Here are some of my favorite discounts popping up this week. Vitamix Ascent X3 Blender, Professional-Grade, 3 Preset Blending Pr…

I love a five-minute workout video. What I don’t love is when the clickbait YouTube title promises this video will “transform my body.” Can’t I work out for five minutes just for the sake of moving my body? Why is fitness culture always so “all-or-nothing?” Before I started running marathons, I was someone who simply worked a few squats into my day here and there. These brief bursts of movement—call it "exercise snacking" or "micro-movement"—are a great way to get into more consistent physical activity. Even if you don’t have bigger fitness goals, performing exercise “snacks” are valuable in their own right. Because when it comes to physical activity, something is always …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you need a sturdy watch to meet all your athletic and adventurous needs, good news: You can save big right now on the LTE Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra. The watch is currently 39% off during Amazon's Big Spring Sale. Normally priced at $649.99, the current discount brings the smartwatch down to $396.94. This is as low a price as this watch ever gets, according to price-tracking tools. Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra …

It's no surprise that companies continue to experiment with new AI features. Artificial intelligence has been the center of emerging tech for nearly three years now, and it's not going anywhere anytime soon. But whether you love generative AI or you find it useless, I think we can all agree that using AI to write Instagram comments is pretty stupid. And yet, Meta appears to be testing exactly that. As reported by SocialMediaToday, some Instagram accounts are now seeing a new icon to the left of the text field after choosing to leave a comment on a post. When you tap this icon (a pencil with a star), you pull up a new Meta AI menu, which presents a series of comment choic…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Ever since I retired my G-Shock in 2015, I’ve been using fitness smartwatches, and some way or another, they’ve all been Garmins—some were passed down from family members and others were gifts. If you’ve never owned a Garmin watch and want to try one out, the best budget Garmin for runners is down to its lowest price ever, according to price tracking tools. You can get the Garmin Forerunner 55 for $149.99 (originally $199.99). Garmin Forerunner 55 Memory Sto…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you’re tired of websites bombarding you with intrusive banners, pop-ups, trackers, and ads, this AdGuard family plan is worth a look: It's a lifetime subscription that is currently $39.99 on StackSocial (down from $169.99), but it gets even better—applying the coupon FAMPLAN drops the price further to $15.97. That’s a lifetime of ad-blocking for less than what some services charge per month. That said, this plan is only for new users, and you’ll need to redeem your code within 30 days of purchase. You can access and utilize this plan across nine …

Ultra HDR is a cool image format. Like traditional HDR, this format packs more image data into each media file, which translates into brighter highlights, darker shadows, and more vibrant colors. However, Ultra HDR files also contain the standard dynamic range (SDR) version of the image as well. That way, you can share Ultra HDR files with friends who don't have HDR-compatible displays, and the image will show up just fine. But there's a difference between being able to display an Ultra HDR image on a non-HDR display and converting an SDR image to HDR (or Ultra HDR, for that matter). Traditionally, the latter has been a more complicated endeavor, and not something offe…

Earlier this year, Nvidia announced its new line of 50 Series GPUs with a hot new feature in tow: "Multi Frame Generation." Building on early frame gen tech, these new GPUs allow games to create multiple video frames based on a single frame rendered the normal way. But is that a good thing? Or are these just "fake frames?" Well, it's complicated. On a very basic level, "frame generation" refers to the technique of using deep learning AI models to generate frames in between two frames of a game rendered by the GPU. Your graphics card does the more grindy work of creating "Frame One" and "Frame Three" based on 3D models, lighting, textures, etc., but then frame generation t…

If you've received an innocent-sounding text from a number you don't recognize, it's not actually innocent. It's likely the start of a "wrong phone number" scam, which is increasingly being used to steal money and information from victims. I personally have been sent variations on this theme: "Hello! I hope you had a good day." "Are you able to work?" and just "Hello." Research from security firm McAfee reported by CNBC indicates that around 25% of Americans have received wrong number texts. But this isn't the only widespread text message scam currently circulating. The unpaid tolls and unpaid parking fee schemes are phishing attempts that may seem legitimate at first gla…