Home Office Setup & Equipment

This week, young people are looking at the recent past through rose-colored glasses, living their best lives by filming harmless classroom pranks, and, hopefully, protecting their futures by not swallowing too many chia seeds or roasting themselves with heating pads. What does 2016 nostalgia mean?A few weeks ago, I posted about the online trend of millennial optimism which was focused on the years around 2010, but things have gone further: Young people are nostalgic specifically for 2016. This probably sounds bizarre to you. 2016 saw the deaths of Muhammad Ali, David Bowie, and Prince, and levels of political and social upheaval many of us had never experienced, leading m…

Managing your inbox is a never-ending task, which is why we should seek to simplify it as much as possible. When emails pile up, you start overthinking what you need to do—I know I do, anyway. But if you pare down your options to the most basic and straightforward ones, it'll help ease your decision paralysis and keep you on top of things. That's what the "four Ds," or the 4D method, does. It’s easy to remember and easy to implement, which makes it helpful for anyone who has a pile of emails to contend with every day. Here’s how to follow it. What is the 4D method of inbox management?This method of managing your overflowing inbox has been around quite a while and rests on…

Following the major image editing upgrades added to Google Gemini back in August—under the whimsical codename Nano Banana—it's OpenAI's turn to supercharge the tools you get for image manipulations inside ChatGPT. The new update is called GPT Image 1.5, and is rolling out now for all users. One of the key improvements here, as was the case with Nano Banana, is the way that ChatGPT can now edit a specific part of an image while keeping everything else consistent. You can add or remove something, or change the color or style of something, without ending up with an entirely different looking picture. Another feature ChatGPT has now borrowed from Gemini: the ability to combin…

If you tried talking to ChatGPT this morning, you might have found it unresponsive—something unusual for the bot that always has something say. It's not your internet connection, and it isn't your OpenAI account: ChatGPT is down. According to Downdetector, owned by Lifehacker parent company Ziff Davis, users started reporting issues with ChatGPT at 11:56 a.m. ET. Those reports ballooned by 12:11 p.m., as the total number of incidents as of this article currently sits above 7,000. If you're an avid ChatGPT user, you might have also had issues with the bot yesterday: Downdetector shows over 25,000 reports of down time starting at 2:56 p.m. Tuesday and resolving around 4:11…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. In late 2025, Amazon released the Amazon Echo Show 11, designed to replace the 3rd Generation Echo Show 10. The upgraded home hub/smart speaker features a larger, sharper display; a separate static screen, Alexa+ capabilities, and other updates, and right now, it's at its lowest price since launch. On Amazon (where else?) you can get the Amazon Echo Show 11 for $179.99, down $40 from the usual price, and its lowest price ever, according to price trackers. Amazon Echo Show 11 …

Because the Mail app is built into all Macs, iPhones, and iPads, it becomes the default choice for many Apple users. For some, the simple interface is the biggest attraction, but that doesn't mean the Mail app is a simple piece of software. After decades of active development, Mail is full of powerful hidden features that are lurking just below the surface. These Apple Mail hacks can help you manage and organize your email—and hopefully reduce the stress that comes along with it. Disable "categories" to restore Mail's original design Credit: Khamosh Pa…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Prime Day might be just around the corner, but if your shopping list has things like mattresses, outdoor furniture, or home appliances, you might be better off shopping during the Memorial Day sale. Lucky for you, the early sales are in full swing, even though Memorial Day isn't until May 25. These retailers have some of the best early deals so far. Amazon's Memorial Day Sale has discounts going up to 40% offUnsurprisingly, Amazon is one of the first retailers to start its Memorial Day sale early. They have many categories on sale, including: home a…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The 64GB refurbished Amazon Kindle Scribe is down to $278.99 right now, which is its lowest price to date, according to price trackers. A brand-new model costs $449.99, so the savings are significant. In this case, “like-new” means Amazon has cleaned, inspected, and cleared the device to function like a new unit, just without the shrink wrap. That price gap makes this Scribe more approachable, especially if you were curious about combining an e-reader with a digital notebook but did not want to pay flagship-tablet money. …

Netflix's March slate kicks off with the live stream of the 32nd annual Actors Awards hosted by Kristen Bell—red carpet coverage begins at 7 pm ET on March 1 followed by the show at 9 pm. Netflix will also be hosting a live performance from BTS as part of their comeback tour (March 21 at 7 am ET) as well as the MLB Opening Night matchup between the Yankees and the Giants (March 25 at 7 pm ET). Cillian Murphy reprises his role as British gangster Tommy Shelby in a new feature-length film. Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man (March 20) is set a few years after the series finale and sees Shelby return to Birmingham when his estranged son (played by Barry Keoghan) gets involved…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The 32-inch ASUS ROG Strix OLED XG32UCWG gaming monitor has earned stellar review for its excellent visuals, refresh rate flexibility, and other impressive gaming-focused features. If you've been looking to upgrade your setup, right now is a good time: It’s $200 off, reaching its lowest price ever—$799 (originally $999). 32-inch ASUS ROG Strix OLED XG32UCWG Gaming Monitor …

I get really carsick if I try to read in a moving vehicle. And there's a reason for that: my eyes and my sense of movement are out of sync. At least, that's according to the CDC, which states that motion sickness, "happens when the movement you see is different from what your inner ear senses." Your inner ear is a sack of fluid that moves when you do, giving you an innate sense of movement. If you're in a car and watching the horizon, your senses are aligned. But if you're looking at your phone, your senses are confusing each other. It's similar to the reason VR games make some people feel sick. The free Android app KineStop aims to help. The application overlays a transp…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The PlayStation 5 Pro’s price has finally eased up a bit, dropping to $648.99 from $749.99, which is the lowest it has gone on Amazon so far according to price trackers. For anyone who has been eyeing a console upgrade but didn’t want to spend full price, this discount makes it easier to consider. Sony - PlayStation 5 Pro Console - White $648.99 …

If you use Firefox, and you're lucky, then you might be getting a free VPN. Over the next few months, Mozilla says it will be testing a "free, browser-only VPN" for some users, but you'll need to rely on the luck of the draw if you want to try it yourself. That's because Mozilla is only enabling the feature for randomly selected users, at least for now. The announcement technically came in June, but fortunate writers at a number of different tech sites are now reporting that they're finally starting to see the feature pop up. How Firefox's free VPN comparesThe VPN, once fully implemented, would put Firefox in competition with Opera and Microsoft's own Edge browser, but ah…

Spotify's adding a new way to sort playlists for paying subscribers. The feature is called Smart Reorder, and it allows you to automatically sort your songs by BPM (beats per minute) and key. This is great for those who want to gradually bump up the intensity of the songs they listen to. It's worth noting that this feature only works for playlists you've created or those you've mixed using the Spotify Mix feature, which lets you add or customize song transitions like a DJ would. Also, because Smart Reorder is an extension of Spotify Mix, you can't have one without the other. Spotify Mix hasn't yet been launched in all markets where the streaming service is present, includ…

Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. New Year’s resolutions are all about improving ourselves, right? The same goes for your best buddy—your dog. While your dog can’t physically tell you what they need to feel their best, there are simple things you can do to help set them up for success. Right now, you can save 50% off your first box of human-grade The Farmer’s Dog pet food, so that’s a great start. Check out these pup-centric resolutions and help keep their tail wagging into 2026—and for years to come. The Farmer's Dog Save…

WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app in most parts of the world, and in my decade or so of using it, I've learned a few important tips that make it a much more convenient and secure experience. I use the following WhatsApp hacks to keep my account safe, stop the app from overloading my notifications and storage, and save myself a lot of time. If you're like me, and your entire social circle is on WhatsApp, then you're absolutely going to need tips like these to stop from feeling overwhelmed. Use advanced chat privacy to block exports and Meta AIWhatsApp has end-to-end encryption, which means that the company itself cannot read the contents of your messages, but that…

I'm the latest early-adopter in history. I finally got my hands on an Apple Vision Pro VR/AR headset, two years after launch, and I feel like I'm showing up at a party at 4 a.m., just in time to watch the last stragglers call for Ubers. Back in the more innocent days of 2024, Apple said the Vision Pro would be "the beginning of a new era for computing," but it's become an industry cautionary tale, proof that making a product that's better than everything else on the market (arguably) doesn't guarantee squat. I've had this thing strapped to my face nearly 24/7 for the last week, and it's a frustrating device. It's insanely cool, among the most impressive pieces of hardware…

There's very little privacy on the internet: Data brokers collect tons of information about you and your online activity and sell it to anyone interested in marketing to you. California residents have gained more control over their personal data than those in other states since the passage of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in 2018, and they now have a one-stop shop for requesting that their information be removed from hundreds of data brokers registered with the state (and any that do so in the future). California isn't the only state to enact stronger consumer privacy laws in recent years, but its Delete Requests and Opt-Out Platform (DROP) is the first of i…

It wouldn't be a Google I/O keynote without a new frontier AI model. At I/O 2026, Google finally revealed the Gemini 3.5 family to the world, starting with Gemini 3.5 Flash. As you'd expect, it's the latest and greatest model from Google, designed to work across a slew of Google products like the Gemini app, Android, and Google's Antigravity coding platform. Google says that the latest frontier model is designed especially for complex agentic workflows. Google isn't the only company we're thinking about today, either. Lifehacker is launching a Big Guessing Game, featuring questions about what Apple might announce at its various events this year. The entire CNET Group is p…

While it doesn't have quite the same prominence as ChatGPT or Google Gemini, the Claude AI bot developed by Anthropic continues to improve and innovate. Brand new Claude 4 models are now available, promising upgrades in coding, reasoning, precision, and the ability to manage long-running tasks independently. There are two new models, Claude Opus 4 and Claude Sonnet 4, and Anthropic says they're both "setting new standards" for what you can expect from AI. Coding is a big focus, and the models are said to have achieved the highest scores to date on two widely used AI coding benchmarking tools, SWE-bench and Terminal-bench. Claude 4 models can actually work for hours on pro…

In a strange reversal of the usual seller/customer dynamic, Google is now giving buyers the power to send out their own robocalls. It's not the first time the company has experimented with giving the average Joe the ability to send AI robocalls, but it is much more robust than previous outings. Rolling out today, the feature will show up while you're browsing for certain products on Search, so long as you add a "near me" to the end of your query. If the product is supported, you'll see a "Let Google Call" button, which is where the fun begins. Credit: …

If you're in the Google ecosystem or use Google Workspace at work, Google Chat is a popular choice for messaging and collaboration. The app replaced Hangouts in Gmail (RIP), originally launching for business before rolling out to everyone. Regardless of the context for using Google Chat, there are a handful of hacks to maximize its features. Add Chat to Gmail to keep everything in one tabIf you already have too many tabs open—and one of them is Gmail—you don't actually need another one for Google Chat. Instead, you can add Chat to your Gmail taskbar and toggle between your inbox and chat interface in the same tab (as long as they are under the same Google Account). Hit t…

Black Friday—once simply known as "the day after Thanksgiving"—has become a quasi-holiday in the United States, one marked by consumer discounts, ceaseless shopping, and occasional violence. Black Friday has grown and metastasized so much that it isn't a mere day anymore: It's a week, a month, a veritable state of mind. (Speaking of which, check out Lifehacker's Black Friday coverage. We got all the deals, baby!) While waking up early and shopping at physical stores on Black Friday is waning as online shopping grows, it’s still a big deal in the U.S.—it’s estimated that around 90 million Americans shopped online and 76.2 million Americans visited a brick-and-mortar store…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Samsung HW-Q800F soundbar is down to $749.99 on Amazon, more than 30% off its $1,100 list price, and the lowest price it has ever reached on tAmazon, according to price trackers. In terms of features and specs, it sits just below Samsung’s flagship Q990F, offering a 5.1.2-channel setup with Dolby Atmos, but without the extra rear speakers found on higher-end systems. For a lot of living rooms, that means fewer components to place and wire up, while still aiming for more immersive sound than a basic soundbar. …

Despite what the headline of this article might lead you to believe, I don't think AI voice generation is inherently bad. Certainly there are cases where it makes sense, like preserving people's voices when they lose the ability to speak themselves, or turning your notes into an AI "podcast" to keep studying on-the-go, or to make written content more accessible to people with low vision. And in contrast to clunkier older tools, modern AI makes it easy to generate a realistic voice you can use in a number of scenarios. But in my humble opinion, art isn't usually a proper use case for AI voices. If I choose to listen to an audiobook, I am almost assuredly looking for an ex…