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. What if you make this the year you don't fill all the stockings with candy or socks? Both have their place, but if you want to really make this the best Christmas ever, you have to shove some tech in those stockings. The good news: tech gifts don’t have to be expensive to be impressive. No matter who you're shopping for, there are tons of affordable gizmos that are some combination of cool and useful and that feel pricier than they are. Here are 20 cool tech stocking stuffers to light up any holiday morning, all of which cost less than $50. This ha…

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. 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 …

If you're getting bored with your Galaxy phone, there are changes on the horizon. Samsung announced One UI 8.5 on Monday, Dec. 8, the latest update for Galaxy devices. At present, this new update is only out in beta, but select Galaxy users can try it out right now. Here's what's new, according to Samsung. Proactive Quick ShareWith One UI 8.5, Quick Share can automatically identify people in photos. While that sounds a bit creepy, the idea is to proactively offer sharing recommendations to the people who are featured in any given photo. Say you hit Quick Share on a family photo you took over the weekend. Rather than manually enter all of the contacts you'd like to share …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. For gym-goers and fitness enthusiasts, finding earbuds that are the right blend of durable and comfortable can be difficult —especially if you’re on a budget. JBL excels in this area; they’re known for delivering strong, bass-y sound, and some models, like the JBL Endurance Peak 3 earbuds, can withstand even the toughest workouts. Right now, they’re $59.95 (originally $99.95), a 40% drop that brings them down to their lowest price ever. JBL Endurance Peak 3 Earbuds …

Hanukkah (or "Chanukah," if you prefer; it’s a transliteration, so there is no “correct” spelling) is an annual eight-day Jewish religious festival that usually takes place in late November or early December. In 2025, Hanukkah begins on the evening of Sunday, December 14, and continues through Monday December 22. Why does Hanukkah fall on different dates each year?While Hanukkah falls on different dates every year on the Gregorian calendar you’re probably familiar with, it begins on the same day every year on the Hebrew calendar: 25th of Kislev. The Hebrew calendar is based on the moon, and Hanukkah falls on the 25th day after the new moon that marks the beginning of the …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. For some people, it just doesn’t feel like Christmas until you’re curled up by the fire, eating Christmas cookies, or hanging your favorite ornaments on the tree. For me, the holiday season doesn’t feel real until an overwhelming state of panic sets in and I’m feverishly typing “last-minute gift ideas” in the hours leading up to a Secret Santa exchange. If you’re like me, you procrastinate at least one gift until the window for pre-Christmas delivery slips out of your grasp. Calm your panic—I’ve rounded up your top prospects for physically getting s…

There are a lot of gaming handhelds to choose from right now, but the Steam Deck is undoubtedly a fan-favorite. Just as the Nintendo Switch introduced the world to console gaming on the go, the Steam Deck was the pioneer in bringing PC gaming to a handheld form factor—even if it pushes the definition of "handheld." Part of the initial appeal of the Steam Deck is its price: While you could choose a souped-up model with an OLED display and expanded internal storage, you could also pick up an LCD model with a 256GB SSD at a reasonable $399. For less than the price of a Switch 2, you could have something that plays the entire Steam library, with its huge variation in games. I…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. If you’ve been doing any kind of work around any kind of house for a while, you probably have a few trusty old-school C-Clamps on hand. The C-Clamp has been in use for thousands of years. It’s one of those dead-simple tools that just works. It’s also one of those tools you tend to collect multiple examples of, in different sizes. Typically, you use a C-Clamp to, uh, clamp stuff together, like two pieces of wood, or to clamp something into place while you work on it (I use them a lot to cut lumber so I can have both hands on the saw, as I am allergic to emergency rooms.) But the C-Clamp is actually a very versatile tool tha…

When you come across an AI video on Instagram, or watch ChatGPT respond to your query, do you ever think about how that content was generated? Beyond the actual programs and prompts, generative AI takes an enormous amount of compute to support, especially as it skyrockets in popularity. As such, AI companies are looking for more power than ever, which means, of course, turning to those that make the hardware. AMD calls Helios "The world's best AI rack" During a Monday evening keynote, AMD's CEO Dr. Lisa Su showed off the hardware that will soon power everything from ChatGPT to the AI videos overwhelming your feeds. Su introduced "Helios" against a backdrop of dramatic mu…

If you're subscribed to Spotify, start checking your inbox. The music streaming service is sending emails to customers letting them know about yet another price hike coming next month. To Spotify's credit, the price hike is pretty minor. But starting on whatever your February billing date is, individual premium plans will jump from $11.99/month to $12.99/month, while student plans will go from $5.99/month to $6.99/month. More extensive plans will see a slightly more costly jump. The Duo plan, which gives premium access to two people at the same address, is going from $16.99/month to $18.99/month. The Family plan, which gives premium access to up to six people at the same…

If you're an Android owner who uses wireless headphones or earbuds, remove them for a second and listen up: As first reported by WIRED, millions of audio devices from reputable brands like Sony, JBL, Anker, Sonos, and even Google itself are now facing a major security vulnerability that could allow hackers to eavesdrop on your conversations or track your location. There are ways to plug the hole, but you'll need to jump through a few hoops to do it. How the "WhisperPair" attack worksThe vulnerability was first discovered by Belgium's KU Leuven University Computer Security and Industrial Cryptography Group, and is being dubbed "WhisperPair." It takes advantage of Android's…

Forming a habit is a powerful tool. You work the new thing into your daily routine, and soon enough, it becomes automatic. That's the dream, anyway—in reality, you have to work at it. But how long does it take to fully form a habit? Despite what you may have heard, it’s not necessarily just 21 days. The number of days it takes to form a new habit depends on the habit, on you, and on what strategies you’re using to build and maintain that habit. Scientific estimates have ranged from as little as 21 days, to eight months or more. Let’s look at why that range is so big, and what you can do to build habits faster. The myth of the 21 day habitThe idea that a habit takes 21 day…

Ideally, a winter storm is merely uncomfortable and annoying, but they can sometimes be dangerous for you and your home. This weekend, a potentially historic winter storm is bearing down on some 200 million Americans, who may face dangerously icy conditions and significant snowfall. It's important to know your area's risk and understand the meaning and potential impact of different weather terms (advisory, watch, and warning) so you can respond quickly in the event of an emergency. You should also use the next few days to take steps to prepare your home and lower the chances of damage and danger. Winter prep starts with a thorough inspection of your property, both inside …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. At $249.99 for a three-pack, the TP-Link Deco XE75 Pro Tri-Band Mesh System is sitting $150 below its usual $399.99 price, and price-trackers show this is the lowest it has gone so far. That discount matters because this is not an entry-level mesh kit. It’s built around Wi-Fi 6E, which adds access to the cleaner 6GHz band alongside the familiar 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. In practice, that means less congestion if you have newer devices that support 6E, and more consistent speeds across a larger home. The three cylindrical nodes are understated and easy …

Science fiction and science leaders alike have warned us that artificial intelligence may one day take over the world, but until those predictions come to pass, generative AI's biggest impact on my life has been overloading my social media feeds with slop. It seems I can't open TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube without running smack into bizarre and troubling AI concoctions featuring babies in danger and cats having affairs. It really is the wild west (or maybe Westworld) out there. I think few among us really believe these videos are any good, and it's pretty obvious they aren't good for us, or for the world. Short-form video is already numbing enough, but this AI content i…

Unsolicited texts are annoying—and even more so if they keep coming from a legitimate sender after you've opted out. If you received text spam from Kaiser Permanente, you may be eligible for a cash payout for each message. The healthcare company, which serves over 12.5 million members, recently settled a $10.5 million class action lawsuit filed over marketing text messages sent after recipients tried to opt out. The suit, filed in August 2025, claimed that Kaiser Permanente failed to honor opt-out requests. Those with a valid claim may receive up to $75 per qualifying text. Are you eligible for the Kaiser settlement? To qualify for a payout from this settlement, you mus…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. For a lot of people, the appeal of a streaming stick is simple: You have an older TV that still works, but the software is dated or missing entirely. The Roku Streaming Stick HD (2025) fits that exact situation, and right now it’s selling for $15.99 on Amazon. Marked down from $29.99, it’s just a buck over its all-time low (according to price-trackers), and that makes it a tempting plug-and-play upgrade if you're tired of fiddling with HDMI cables or watching Netflix on a laptop screen. PCMag gave this streaming hub an “excellent” rating, largely be…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. You've probably heard of the upstart tech brand Nothing, but if you haven't, here's a TLDR: The U.K.-based company aims to make products like cellphones and headphones that incorporate innovative features and designs, but come in at a lower price point than tech giants like Apple and Samsung. Last summer, the company released its newest smartwatch, the CMF Watch 3 Pro, which incorporates AI features powered by ChatGPT, and you can currently pick it up at a major discount. Originally $99, you can get the CMF Watch 3 Pro for $44.99 at Woot—a 65% disco…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Not everybody needs, wants, or can afford the "best" headphones available, especially when they can easily cost half a grand. If the Sony XM6, which I called the best over-ear headphones of 2025 (and 2026 so far), are not in your budget, then perhaps the more affordable Sony WH-CH720N could be. While they're not quite as premium, they're significantly cheaper and offer good enough quality for most people. You can get them for $97 (originally $179.99) on Amazon right now. …

They actually did it. OpenAI officially deprecated GPT-4o on Friday, despite the model's particularly passionate fan base. This news shouldn't have been such a surprise. In fact, the company announced that Feb. 13 would mark the end of GPT-4o—as well as models like GPT-4.1, GPT-4.1 mini, and o4-mini—just over two weeks ago. However, whether you're one of the many who are attached to this model, or you simply know how dedicated 4o's user base is, you might be surprised OpenAI actually killed its most agreeable AI. This isn't the first time the company depreciated the model, either. OpenAI previously shut down GPT-4o back in August, to coincide with the release of GPT-5. U…

While I generally consider Chrome to be a mature, feature complete browser, it's great to see that Google is still making meaningful additions to it. With its latest update, Google Chrome for desktop now has three new productivity features: Split View, PDF annotations, and the ability to save downloads directly to Google Drive. These features are targeted at both regular and enterprise users, the company says, so you don't need to worry about Workspace exclusivity. Let's take a look at each new feature and how you can best use it. Split View lets you boost your productivity …

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…

Back in January, I wrote about Meta's plans to test subscription services for some of its platforms. The idea is to keep the current experience of each app the same (that is, free of charge), while adding new features users can access for a monthly fee. It's not a bad compromise—if you hate the idea of paying for Instagram or WhatsApp, you can keep using the apps as you always have. If you like the new features, you can pay for them. Heck, maybe Meta will make enough money from subscriptions to end its data collection business! (Hey, a guy can dream.) Now, it seems that Meta is moving forward with WhatsApp's premium subscription. According to WABetaInfo, the company is …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. The MacBook Neo seems to be anything anyone in the tech world can talk about this week. Apple somehow made a MacBook that does just about everything you want a MacBook to do, all for $599 ($499 with an education discount). That price point makes Apple's next-cheapest computer, the MacBook Air, seem borderline unreasonable for $1,099. MacBook Neo $599.00 at Amazon …