Home Office Setup & Equipment

Google Meet is an accessible and easy-to-use virtual meeting platform for casual users and Workspace customers, hosting everything from team check-ins to large presentations and town halls. It plays nice with everything else in the Google ecosystem, so if you or your employer are locked in, it's likely a top choice for video conferencing. Here are 10 hacks to get the most out of Google Meet. Use meet.new to quickly launch an unscheduled meetingIf you need to start a video call at a moment's notice, you can open Google Meet and hit New meeting > Start an instant meeting—or you can simply type meet.new into your browser. This link automatically launches a meeting; no ad…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. With Google’s announcement of the screenless Fitbit Air, the company is also preparing for a big shift in how the app works and what device features it supports. That means we’re losing sleep animals and a bunch of other features that you may miss. Here’s what’s on the chopping block. Google Fitbit Air - Berry with Large Fog Active Band Bundle $99.99 at Amazon $134.98 Save $34.99 Get Deal …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The new Google Fitbit Air is finally out. It costs $99.99, but if you pre-order by May 25, Google is offering $35 in Google Store credit after your order ships. The watch also comes with three months of Google Health Premium, which unlocks a wide range of Gemini-powered AI coaching features. Compared to Whoop-style trackers, which the watch is designed after, this is an especially appealing offer since Whoop’s premium plans start at $199 a year, depending on the region. Google Fitbit Air $64.99 …

Gmail does a decent job at filtering junk mail to the Spam folder, but there are always the marketing emails, newsletters, and other mass messages that slip through to your inbox. Maybe you accidentally signed up for a mailing list, or you wanted those promo emails at one point, but now they've become too much. You can keep deleting them one by one—or you can take action to remove spam from certain senders once and for all. Set up filtering to banish unwanted emailsFiltering is one of our favorite Gmail hacks for moving junk emails straight to the trash. Select the messages in your inbox from as many senders as you want to filter out, click the three-dot menu at the top …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Last weekend, I strapped two Garmin running watches to my wrists and raced a 10K—the top-of-the-line Forerunner 970 on one arm, and the budget-friendly Forerunner 165 Musicon the other. Whether you're toeing the line at your first 5K or chasing a marathon PR, one thing I learned is that even the most powerful running watch in the world won't help you on race day if you haven't set it up properly beforehand. Here's the checklist I wish I'd had before race day. Garmin Forerunner 970 $649.99 at Amazon $749.99 …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Netflix's conflict-heavy anthology series Beef, from creator Lee Sung Jin, just concluded its second season, which saw wealthy country club managers Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan go head-to-head with the help, played by Cailee Spaeny and Charles Melton. That followed up a first season involving Steven Yeun and Ali Wong in a road-rage scenario that developed to operatic levels of chaos before the run of episodes was over. All dramatic, but also funny! Nothing wrong with a little conflict, as long as it's happening to other people. Dead to Me (2019 – 2022) Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini make for an all-tim…

Before you send your next Instagram DM, be warned: Whatever you share with that friend, influencer, or business could potentially be seen by anyone—including but not limited to hackers, law enforcement, or even Meta itself. As of today, May 8, 2026, Instagram DMs are no longer end-to-end encrypted (E2EE). Your messages are vulnerable, whether you're discussing a reel you saw, or sharing your Social Security number. (Please don't do this.) E2EE is necessary for any messaging service that wants to protect its users' privacy. This level of encryption ensures that the only people who can read the contents of a conversation are the ones with access to the devices involved. Whe…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Active noise cancellation, Bluetooth multipoint, app-based sound customization, and decent battery life often cost well over $50. That is why the Anker Soundcore P30i stand out at its current $24.99 sale price on Amazon, down from $49.99 and currently at its lowest price ever according to price trackers. These are built for people who want more than just basic wireless audio without spending much money, and they manage to cover most of the essentials surprisingly well. Anker Soundcore P30i Earbuds $24.99 …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Google’s Pixel Buds line has long appealed to Android users who want the convenience of AirPods without paying flagship-earbud prices, and the new Google Pixel Buds 2a continue that approach with several meaningful upgrades over the older Pixel Buds A-Series. Right now, they are down to $109 from $129 on Amazon, their lowest price so far according to price trackers. That discount makes them much easier to recommend for anyone looking for everyday earbuds with “almost pro-level specs but for much less,” as our writer put it in her review. Google…

Canvas, the cloud-based learning management system used by more than 8,000 colleges and universities, including all top ten colleges in the U.S., is being held for ransom. A group called Shinyhunters has claimed responsibility for the hack and has given Canvas' parent company, Instructure, until May 12 to reach a settlement, or else "everything is leaked." Canvas outages have been reported nationwideThere's no word on how many schools have been affected, but reports of students being unable to access Canvas are coming in from universities and colleges all over the country. Over the last half an hour, complaints of Canvas being down have gone from nearly none to over 8,000…

Virtual meetings are essential to remote work—but they can also be tedious. If Zoom is your video conferencing platform of choice, there are lots of hidden features you can tap to make meetings more efficient for hosts and engaging for participants. Here are the best tips and tricks for getting the most out of Zoom. Use self-selected breakout rooms to create a virtual networking eventVirtual networking is already awkward, and potentially even more so if you send people to random breakout rooms to force conversation. While meeting participants are commonly assigned to breakout rooms automatically, Zoom has a feature that allows individuals to choose their breakout and mov…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you want to create an authentic home theater feel without shelling out for a premium projector, a massive TV is the way to do it. A great option for this is the 100-inch model of the award-winning Hisense U8QG QLED TV, which is big enough and bright enough to make you reconsider going out to the movies ever again—and right now, it’s more than $1,200 off, taking it down to $2,797.96, its lowest price ever. 2025 Hisense 100-Inch U8QG QLED TV $2,797.96 at Amazon …

Remember that Hyrox fitness race trend I’ve written about? Welp, looks like I’m going to be doing a race. I’m teaming up with Meredith Dietz, our resident marathon runner, to tackle Hyrox NYC in the women’s doubles division. You can read here about how she’s training and what she sees as her strengths and weaknesses. As a weightlifter, I'll explain my approach. I could honestly distill the question of “how should I train” down to one word: running. Everybody tells me that running is the most important skill of a Hyrox race, it’s the thing you’ll spend the most time doing on race day, and it should make up most of your training, especially if you’re someone like me who has…

We’re living through a full-fledged skinny epidemic. Even if seeing celebrities get thinner and thinner doesn’t mean anything to you, notice how marketing for various weight loss products is getting increasingly ubiquitous. When I look around, the onslaught doesn’t stop with all the ads for GLP-1s. What has really caught my eye recently is how I—a fitness writer who happens to be pretty thin—keep receiving targeted ads for different types of “AI body scans.” These services take a few different forms (which I dive into below), but what they all try to sell is the same idea: Apparently, I don’t know enough about my body. It turns out I need to know my body fat percentage, m…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. I've never really felt the need to own a power station, but when my city got hit with winter storms that took out our power for multiple days, that changed. They're the kind of thing you don't know you need until you need it—so consider learning from my mistake and get one ahead of time. When I finally bought one, I went with the EcoFlow Delta 3 Ultra Plus, which is now $1,499 (originally $2,199) after a 32% discount. The EcoFlow website is also having an up to 45% sale on multiple products right now. EF EcoFlow DELTA 3 Ultra Plus Portable Powe…

Despite expert advice against relying on chatbots for mental health questions and concerns, people are turning to AI programs like ChatGPT for help. The company has faced criticism for how its products have handled certain mental health issues—including episodes where users died by suicide following conversations with ChatGPT. As part of a campaign to address these problems, OpenAI is now rolling out a voluntary safety check system for users who might be concerned about their thoughts. As reported by Mashable, OpenAI just launched "Trusted Contact," a new feature that lets you choose a trusted person in your life to connect to your ChatGPT account. The idea isn't to share…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. In my years reviewing speakers, I've learned a couple of things: Reputation and price get me to buy it, but if I dig the look, I'll keep using it over better options. This is what Marshall speakers, in general, nail. They look great while still doing their basic job as a portable speaker well. Right now, the Marshall Emberton III is $129.99 (originally $179.99), its lowest price yet, according to price-tracking tools. Marshall Emberton III Portable Bluetooth Speakers, Wireless, IP67 Rating …

If you told someone twenty-five years ago that, in the near future, people would voluntarily carry devices that share their locations with companies and organizations at all times, they probably wouldn't believe you. And yet, it's just one way smartphones have changed the way we think about personal privacy. Of course, not only do we choose to take our smartphones everywhere, but it's tough to manage modern life without them. But it's important to note that not all location information is the same: While the default option is often to share your exact coordinates with the app or service that requests it, you often have a second choice that goes a long way to preserving y…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. The rumors are true: Google has announced a $99.99 smart band called the Fitbit Air, and is relaunching the Fitbit app as Google Health. There's a lot here I'm excited about: an affordable smart band without a mandatory subscription, with a full-featured app that may, if Google's promises check out, offer a meaningful alternative to Whoop's app. Here's what we know about the band, and how it's going to fit into the ecosystem if you already have a Fitbit or a Pixel Watch. The band is impressively lightweight and comfortable-looking Left: the Fi…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. DirecTV has launched for Meta Quest headsets. While there are already single-channel streaming apps like Peacock available on the headset, this is the first full TV distributor to be available for Quest users. It gives DirecTV subscribers access to over 150 live channels—CNN, HGTV, and NFL Network, etc.— and a huge library of on-demand movies and shows. Meta Quest 3 512GB Mixed Reality VR Headset with Controllers $599.0…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Spotify noticed how many of us use its popular music app for fitness—workout mixes are one of the top uses of its playlist creation tools—and now it’s adding fitness content directly. Some workout videos are available to everyone, and premium users can take Peloton classes as well. Peloton App $12.99 Per Month at Peloton …

For members of the always-online generations, reality is hanging by a very thin thread. Core youth values like authenticity and "keeping it real" are confusing concepts to people raised in an environment where almost nothing can be counted on and anything can be faked. Every viral video could be a stealth advertising campaign. Every breakout band, an industry plant. Whether it's meat mountains at Arby's, or vérité video of cheater's antics, this week we're looking into all-encompassing scams. But at least you can bank on Scientology speed-runs as legit, and take comfort in the realness of a ball of red hot metal. What is Rod Wave's Arby's Takeover?Arby's is a fast food ch…

Earlier this month, Microsoft announced a number of changes coming to its Windows Insider program—in fact, one could call it an overhaul. Despite being a beta program for Windows users interested in testing cutting-edge features, Microsoft is actually simplifying and streamlining the experience. Now, as highlighted by Bleeping Computer, the company is rolling out that updated experience—whether you're new to the Insider program, or you've been test-driving Windows this way for years. Microsoft is making Insider channels easier to understandThe Windows Insider program is changing in three key ways. First, Microsoft is making the "channels" easier to understand. For the uni…

Microsoft Edge is one of the most popular browsers on the planet. The spiritual successor to Internet Explorer, Edge is a modern browser based on Google's Chromium platform. That means you can use it with all modern Chrome extensions, along with a bunch of exclusive features that other browsers may not have. I've used Edge on Windows for quite a while, and these are my favorite hacks that I've found so far: Use Drop to send links, files, and notes to other devicesEdge's "Drop" feature is an easy way to send stuff from your desktop to mobile devices, and vice versa. Drop works by storing files on OneDrive, so you'll need to sign in to the same Microsoft account on all devi…