Home Office Setup & Equipment

When you're selling your home, many factors can influence whether it sits on the market for weeks or gets multiple offers right away. Everything from its location to its condition can affect the speed of the sale and the final price, and you don’t always have control over all of them. One thing you can control—at least to a degree—is the your home's lighting. “In my experience, buyers aren't just buying square footage; they're buying a feeling,” says Jonathan Ayala, a real estate agent at Hudson Condos in New Jersey. “And lighting is a subtle but powerful way to exert that influence. It's the difference between a buyer perceiving ‘this space needs work’ and ‘I can see mys…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Pixel 9 is the latest series of the Google Pixel phone lineup. They were released late last summer along with the 9 Pro and Pro XL, while the budget Pixel 9a came out earlier this year. If you're looking for the latest middle-of-the-pack Pixel, the 128 GB unlocked Pixel 9 is just $639.99 (originally $799) after a $160 discount, the second-lowest price it has been since its release, according to price-tracking tools. Google Pixel 9 (128 GB) Storage: 128 …

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 is almost over, but there are still deals you can take advantage of, including this comprehensive list of tech deals from Lifehacker's associate tech editor Michelle Ehrhardt. If you're looking for a portable speaker, consider this one from Ultimate Ears, the Megaboom 4, currently $129.99 (originally $199.99)—that's the lowest price it has reached, according to price-tracking tools. Ultimate Ears Megaboom 4 360-degree sound, is wate…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Netflix's streaming era began way back in 2007, right around the time the company had delivered its billionth DVD by mail (a copy of Babel to a woman in Texas). That’s the year when the company began development of an app that would allow you to watch video-on-demand content on your actual TV, rather than in a window on your PC via Internet Explorer—or whatever the hell browser you happened to be using during the George W. Bush administration. Internet speeds and interest built and, by 2011, the company had moved fully away from its DVD-by-mail business as streaming took on a life of its own. While distribution rights for…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. While you might assume that thieves would prefer to find less visible, less public ways of breaking into your house, your front door and entryway are actually prime targets for anyone who wants inside without your permission—more than a third of burglars use the front door when gaining entry to a home. If you want to sleep a little better at night, securing your home's entryway is a good first step. Even if you have a security system in place, stopping a home invasion from taking place at all is a much better outcome. Doing just a few of these things will make it a lot harder for anyone to break into your home and compromi…

While getting a home you're thinking of buying inspected to make sure it's not harboring any hidden problems goes without saying, it's just as important to do a deep dive on the neighborhood you'll be moving into. But while you can look up crime stats and compare property values, how can you know if you’re going to personally vibe with the new surroundings? Here are seven strategies you can try in order to vibe-check your potential new neighborhood before signing a lease or taking out a mortgage. Walk the area instead of driving aroundWhether you’re a walker or you believe strongly in driving to the end of your driveway to collect the mail, a stroll through a prospective…

If you’re at all like me, spring cleaning can be something of a domino situation. I might start by cleaning the baseboards, but when I get to the stairs, I’m like, wow these handrails are dirty. And so on. By the time I’m done, I’ve also discovered coffee splashes on walls, cobwebs in ceiling corners, and the dustiest blinds one has ever seen—and I’m feeling rather disgusted with myself. I’m also feeling sore, because my back is not what it once was and it seems like the worst of the dirt is either way low or way high. You know who still has good backs, though? Our kids, that’s who. Spring cleaning should, I believe, be a family affair. From the inside of the home to the …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Roborock is the maker of many fine robot vacuums (and vacuum/mop combos). They are so fine, in fact, that even when they're on sale, as many of them have been for the past few days during Amazon's Big Spring Sale, they can cost you several hundred dollars. One Roborock vacuum-and-mop combo, however, is really discounted right now: The Q7 Max is $189.99 (Amazon lists its regular price as $299.99 and the Roborock website shows the original price as a whopping $599.99). The Roborock Q7 Max specs Roborock Q7 Max Ro…

Last year, Google released a niche feature in its experimental NotebookLM product that turned out to be a sleeper hit. You could upload any document to NotebookLM, and it would use AI to generate a two-person conversational podcast out of it. These aren't meant to be uploaded online for viewership, but for you to listen to as a learning ad. The idea is that there are times when it's easier to understand a concept when two people are just casually conversing about it. If that sounds appealing to you, good news: you no longer need to dive into the unfamiliar NotebookLM interface to try it out. Google's AI-generated podcasts, called Audio Overviews, are now available for fre…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Right now, the Amazon Fire TV 4-Series (50-Inch) is down to $319.99 from its regular $399.99, which price trackers confirm is the lowest it's ever been. Amazon Fire TV 50" 4-Series $319.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $399.99 Save $80.00 …

If you’re in the market for a new home, there’s a pretty good chance you've toured a few “flipped” houses—properties that were recently purchased, quickly renovated, and just as quickly put back on the market. Even amid the current real estate crunch, house flipping remains a popular business model: In the first quarter of 2024, 67,817 houses were flipped, which amounted to nearly 9% of all the houses sold during that period. Flipping is popular because it can be highly profitable, generating an average return of $73,492 per project. But those profits rely on a fast, efficient renovation—and some flippers may get in over their heads and end up cutting corners, while other…

It's not easy to maintain your privacy when using technology today. That's largely the fault of companies who prioritize data collection over the integrity of their users. But even though I'm quite used to the lack of respect most companies pay towards my privacy and security, I have to admit, I'm a bit taken aback by T-Mobile's latest decision. T-Life, T-Mobile's tech support app, has a rather unconventional and unnerving feature. For some users, it appears T-Life can record your screen whenever you have the app open. This setting is quite hidden, and worse, enabled by default. Who signed off on this? How T-Life's screen recording worksThankfully, the privacy and secur…

WhatsApp is adding a new privacy feature that will allow you to block others from exporting chats, automatically downloading media, and using your messages for AI features, among other limitations. All of this is a part of a new option called Advanced Chat Privacy, which is currently rolling out to WhatsApp users worldwide. How to block people from exporting your WhatsApp chatsTo use these features, make sure you are running the latest version of WhatsApp on your device. Then, open a private chat or a group in WhatsApp, tap the name of the contact or group, and scroll down until you see Advanced Chat Privacy. This button is located near the Lock Chat option on this page.…

The third and final season of dystopian survival series Squid Game—one of Netflix's most-watched shows—is coming in June. The South Korean thriller picks up after last season's cliffhanger, with Gi-hun (Player 456) at the center of the new game. The new season will be available on June 27. Also on June's lineup is the return of FUBAR (June 12), the action series starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Monica Barbaro as a father and daughter who both work for the CIA. Carrie-Anne Moss joins the cast this season as a former East German spy. On the documentary side, Netflix will stream Titan: The OceanGate Disaster (June 11) following its premiere at the Tribeca Festiv…

Every home needs upkeep and maintenance. Sometimes it can feel like you get one problem fixed, only to face another one. That can lead to tunnel vision, focusing on the present because you feel like there’s no time to worry about the future. But the future is coming, and if you don’t want to inordinately trouble your future self, there are several small steps you can take to make Future You a little happier. Record your paintPainting is an easy way to upgrade your house. Choosing the right color and sheen can be a project in itself, but once you get there you’ll have a space you feel comfortable in. Right as you start your paint project, snap photos of the can’s mixing f…

Until now, the Quick Settings panel on Pixel phones was lackluster at best. You could only add up to eight toggles, there was no option to make them smaller, and it was really difficult to tell when a setting was enabled or disabled. Google has finally decided to fix that issue in its latest Android beta, finally bringing phones running stock Android up to speed with those from manufacturers like Samsung. How to try the new Quick Settings panelAndroid 16 is all about redesign, introducing the new Material 3 Expressive update, as Google is calling it. While this update won't be finalized until September, with a Pixel Drop, it's already live in Android 16 QPR Beta 1. If you…

It's officially Tax Day. If you already filed months ago, first off: Good for you. And secondly, you may have already received a pleasant surprise in the form of a slightly larger tax refund compared to last year. According to the most recent IRS report, over $211 billion has been refunded this cycle so far—a 5% increase over last year. On an individual basis, the average direct deposit refund amount is $3,186, up 3.2% from last year's $3,088. But what's driving these larger refunds? Inflation adjustments boost refundsThe primary reason for the increase in tax refunds stems from the IRS's annual inflation adjustments. For the 2024 tax year (filed in 2025), the IRS implem…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Garmin has launched a new feature in its Connect app (the companion app you use when you sync your watch to your phone). It’s called Garmin Trails, and it purports to help you find hiking trails near you. With a Connect+ subscription, you can even sync courses for those trails to your map-enabled watch. It sounds pretty great. Unfortunately, its selection of trails is pretty disappointing at launch—it doesn't even suggest I try out my own favorite trails. How to access Garmin TrailsYou don’t need a Connect+ subscription to search for trails, filter for features, and look at the routes and reviews of trail—all of that come…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. The founders of Runna announced today that Strava has bought their company. Runna is a paid running app that provides structured training plans (which I personally loved when I tried it), while Strava is a hugely popular tracking and social app for runners and cyclists, with both a free and a paid tier. Runna customers don’t seem to be thrilled, but Runna’s founders say that the app and its team will stay independent, and they’re optimistic for the future. What is changing right now? Runna’s founders say “no immediate changes [are] planned other than sensible integrations (e.g., the ability to sign in with Strava).” No e…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. If you’ve ever painted a room in your house or apartment, you know the pain of storing leftover paint. You pour the excess from the rolling pan into the paint can, you tap the lid back into place with a hammer, and you stick the old can somewhere out of the way, where you promptly forget about it. Then the day comes when you need to touch up the room or repaint it entirely, and you haul that old can out from its hiding place, only to discover that time has not been kind to your paint. If your old paint hasn’t aged well—it’s skinned over, chunky, or otherwise dubious—but you really don’t want to spend money on a fresh can j…

I'm always looking for Mac apps that speed up repetitive tasks, and Rapidmg is my latest find. It's a neat macOS utility that speeds up the app install process for many programs outside the Mac App Store. While you can download and install apps via Homebrew for the fastest possible experience, plenty of apps are unavailable for install via the package manager. Instead, they're available for download via your favorite developers' websites, where you can download a DMG (Disk Image) file to install the app. Rapidmg automates the process of installing apps from DMG files and executes a bunch of actions that will save you a fair bit of time. What's the deal with DMG files?The …

Growing seeds is a relatively simple process: Bury seeds in dirt, add water, heat, and light from the sun, and in most cases, something is going to sprout. The problem is, most of us conduct this process inside, because we’re trying to get a jump on the growing season. Inside, where there’s no sun, heat is hard to control, and the most your seedlings can stretch out their new little root legs is the size of the plastic cell they’re planted in. As such, it takes some practice to grow strong, resilient seedlings, and beginners make plenty of mistakes. The good news is, most of them are solvable. Not enough light …

It's so tempting to buy starts—I get it. It feels great to look out over the garden, and finally see something in the beds, bringing color back to the landscape. But before you buy, you should seriously consider growing the following vegetables from seed. It might mean waiting a little longer for your crops, but your yields will likely be better. CarrotsCarrot seeds are small and cheap. You can pick up a pack of seeds at the grocery for a few dollars and it will yield far more carrots than a few six-packs of carrot starts. That’s $14 for starts vs. $3 for a packet of seeds. Not to mention: When you buy carrot starts, each cell holds a ton of individual carrot seedlings. …

As much as Apple keeps hyping them up, those 4K 60fps videos will chew through your iPhone's storage space like you wouldn't believe. When you get to the point where you have to choose between keeping videos of your kids and clips from that beloved once-in-a-lifetime vacation, you have a problem. But I've got a solution—not all videos need to be stored at full quality, at all times. There are many ways to go about compressing your iPhone videos, but like most things in life, the simplest option is often the best. Kompresso is a free to use, native iPhone app that uses the powerful processor on your smartphone to compress files. This means there's no need to upload or shar…

If you use Spotify to listen to audiobooks on your iPhone, you now have fewer hurdles to clear to purchase and download titles to your device. Apple has approved an update that allows Spotify users to view pricing and buy individual audiobooks as well as add "top-up" listening hours right from the iOS app. How in-app purchases are changing on iOSThis change is the outcome of a recent court ruling that requires Apple to allow app developers to provide links to external sites outside of the App Store to make purchases. Previously, users had to seek out where to sign up for subscriptions—in an external browser, for example—or potentially pay a premium price to cover the Ap…