Setting Up Your Home Office

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Premium noise-canceling wireless earbuds don’t come cheap, and Bowers & Wilkins earbuds (a brand owned by Samsung) are definitely at the top end of that category. But in a market crowded with ANC earbuds that do little more than meet the bare minimum, these justify their price tag by leaning into thoughtful features, sound quality, and build that go beyond the basics. Right now, a brand-new pair of Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 earbuds are going for $279.99 (originally $399) on Woot, their lowest price ever. …

The Kindle has become the default e-reader for many bookworms, and I get it. I've used Kindles for well over a decade, and I've enjoyed using my latest Paperwhite quite a bit. It helped me read more than 30 books last year, so I'm not complaining. The basic Kindle setup is okay, but if you learn your way around the device's gestures, hidden features, and additional services, you can really get a lot out of this unassuming reading device. Kindle Gestures that you really should knowThere’s only one button on the Kindle. Everything else happens using touch. And like every touchscreen device, there are countless gestures you need to know to use the device. The most obvious …

Internet videos have always been addicting, but short-form content is a whole other beast. Whatever platform you watch them on, these brief clips pull you in and don't let go, and, before you know it, you've mindlessly scrolled through hours of videos, most of which you'll never remember watching. YouTube Shorts are no exception. But unlike TikTok or Instagram, short-form content is not the main source of videos on the platform. YouTube, of course, hosts long-form videos first and foremost, and is the sole reason why many of us visit the site or app. Shorts are just an afterthought, but an afterthought that YouTube pushes hard. You might hop on to watch a specific video,…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Apple's flagship products rarely get substantial discounts—but if you wait for the right moment, you can grab a great deal. If you've been eyeing Apple's top-of-the-line smartwatch, that moment is now: The Apple Watch Ultra 2 has dropped to $549.99 on Amazon, saving you $250 off the retail price. This matches the lowest price it has yet reached, according to price tracking tools. Apple Watch Ultra 2 …

Any new phone almost certainly comes with a handful of preinstalled apps you'll never use, regardless of which manufacturer you buy from or which operating system you're on. Some devices are more bloated than others: Google Pixels have a relatively "clean" build compared to Samsung phones, for example, and don't typically come with third-party apps and games. But you may still want to eliminate apps and features that clutter your home screen, take up valuable space, and create a drag on performance, especially if you have alternatives you like more. On Android, that likely means uninstalling what you easily can and disabling everything else. What you can (and can't) uni…

Most people haven't actively managed a firewall in at least a decade, assuming they ever have. But keeping track of which applications are using the internet—and how much data they're using—is still useful at times, as is blocking apps from accessing the net entirely. While you're traveling, for example, internet access might be limited, so it's a good idea to cut off applications that constantly churn through data. But even while at home, it's a good security practice to review which applications are connecting to the internet. And while macOS comes with a firewall, it's not really a useful tool for that. Which is why I like FireWally. This totally free application, offe…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. I just got back from CES 2026, and you can see my real-time reports on some of the best and weirdest things I saw in our CES 2026 live blog. I tried on six(!) different exoskeletons, perked up my ears whenever I heard about a new smart strap, and looked in vain for new models of familiar fitness tech like watches. Here are the biggest trends I noticed and some notes on what was conspicuously missing. I've included prices where possible; anything without a price is likely too far from market to have one yet. The number of non-Whoop smart bands just doubled …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. AI is still the big thing in the tech world, but it's no longer the big new thing. It's been around long enough that simply integrating it into your product isn't enough to make it stand out anymore, especially at the biggest tech show in the world. While I attended this year's CES, the trend I noticed over and over again on the show floor was that AI is getting weird now. From personal hologram sidekicks to a gaming monitor that basically cheats for you, here are the five weirdest AI inventions I saw at CES 2026. Razer is giving you your own personal anime girl …

If you've ever been intrigued by the mystery of a dusty cassette you found in a thrift shop—or if you're just looking for a new time-sink—you have to check out Intertapes, a website that digitizes "found cassettes" sent in by users all over the world, then posts them in full for anyone to listen to. The catalog is small at the moment—only 14 cassettes—but already really interesting. There's a bootleg cassette of music played at a Spanish nightclub in the late 1990s (lots of squelchy noises and relentless bass) and a 90-minute recording of New York hip hop station WBLS captured in '94 (Warren G.'s "Regulate" represent), amid more mysterious choices, like this haunting rec…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. When you're working out or running, finding secure-fitting earbuds is a challenge. JBL has a solution in the form of their JBL Endurance Peak 3 earbuds, and Amazon is discounting them to $59.95 (down from $99.99), the lowest price we've seen. JBL Endurance Peak 3 $59.95 at Amazon …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Among OLED gaming monitors, the Odyssey G8 is in the top tier, offering a 32-inch 4K QD-OLED panel with 3840 x 2160 resolution, a blistering 240Hz refresh rate, and near-instant 0.03 ms (GtG) response time. But previous models were held back because of its Tizen OS—while marketed as a monitor, Odyssey was really a TV in disguise. With the new G81SF model, Samsung has finally fixed it, returning the G8 to a proper monitor setup. And Woot is currently offering the 32-inch model at a deep discount: $769.99, $540 off the $1299.99 retail price. The remov…

Like many Apple devices, your Apple TV works pretty well right out of the box. You plug it in, download your favorite streaming services, and you're off—while much of your data stays put. But while this is a perfectly fine way to watch shows and movies, there are things you can (and should) change to make your Apple TV work even better. Here are 10 such hacks every Apple TV owner should consider using: Disable the fullscreen profile selector Credit: Apple The first time I booted up my Apple TV after updating to tvOS 26, I was g…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Winter makes the comfort gaps in your home impossible to ignore. Cold corners, stale air, rooms that never feel evenly warm, no matter how long the heater runs. You can try smaller fixes first—blocking drafts, layering rugs, or improving airflow, which actually helps rooms feel warmer without cranking the thermostat. But if you’re still juggling space heaters, fans, and an air purifier, this deal on the Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool HP1 is worth a closer look. It’s currently $499.95, down from $659.99, and price trackers show this is the lowest it’s ever …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. As is usually the case during CES, older models get big discounts, making it one of the best times to shop for premium tech. If you've been looking for a massive OLED TV with a massive discount, it doesn't get much better than the 77-inch Sony Bravia A95L OLED TV, currently going for $3,498 (originally $4,999.99). This is the lowest price this premium TV has ever reached, according to price-tracking tools. 77-inch Sony Bravia A95L OLED TV …

This weekly trip through the youth pop culture landscape takes us from turmoil in Stranger Things fandom, where many fans refuse to let the show end, to the kids' Wild West of Roblox, where age-verification is changing the landscape in a massive way, and all the way to Africa, where online mega-celebrity IShowSpeed is livestreaming a fascinating travelogue that people are watching all over the world. What is "Conformity Gate?"The final episode of Netflix sci-fi series Stranger Things aired on Dec. 31 and it seems that many fans are not happy (shocking, right?). Some feel that the finale left too many loose ends, some that it all happened too easily, or that it was rushed…

It's not just you: X is down, and will not load. I discovered the issue myself just after 9:30 a.m. ET. I was scrolling on my feed, when all of a sudden, new posts wouldn't load, and I was greeted by an option to refresh. When I did, the site reloaded, but now without any posts—only the futile option to try reloading again. You can see a steep spike in user reports on Downdetector (which, for full disclosure, is owned by Lifehacker parent company Ziff Davis). At the time of writing, roughly 25,000 users had reported issues with X, I among them. There are a number of potential reasons why X won't load this morning, but it doesn't appear to be a larger issue with a cloud h…

Google Maps is the only navigation service I use, and I've learned many of its tricks over the years. The default settings do a good enough job for most people, but it's worth reviewing all of its features to ensure that you're getting exactly what you need. For instance, avoiding tolls may be great where you live, but if you're driving in a different state or country, that same feature could land you in some serious trouble. These tips will help you make the most of Google Maps' many features, and reduce the chances of losing your way while using the app. Double-check route settings before leavingEven if you ignore everything else in this article, don't ignore this. I've…

I love movies, and especially when I can watch them for free: And while streaming the latest Hollywood blockbusters might come at a price (at least for those wanting to stay on the right side of the law), there's an ever-growing collection of older films that you can get at online without paying a dime. The site WikiFlix (as spotted by the fine folks at Gizmodo) lists movies available to stream that are now in the public domain. The way that copyright works in the U.S. basically means that copyright expires on films after a period of 95 years—so with every year that passes, a batch of new flicks become available to view by anyone, free of charge. If you're looking for som…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. A comfortable, good-looking pair of headphones with bass-forward sound and deep Apple integration doesn’t usually dip below the $100 mark, but this one just did. The Beats Studio Pro headphones in factory-reconditioned condition are down to $94.99 on Woot. Beats Studio Pro headphones $94.99 at Woot …

Nothing lasts forever. Devices lose support, standards are replaced, and software becomes obsolete. So it is with Microsoft Lens, whose days are numbered. Keen observers have known about this since August, when Microsoft first announced that Lens would be retired in September and removed from app stores in November. That obviously didn't happen, as the company adjusted the deadline to Dec. 15, which also came and went. Microsoft kicked the retirement can down the road—that is, until now. Microsoft Lens was Microsoft's solution for anyone in the mid-2010s who didn't own a scanner. Rather than buy an expensive piece of hardware to digitize documents, Lens allowed people to…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Sony might be better known for its headphones, but it also makes decent speakers. Its latest flagship portable speaker is the ULT Field 5, which launched along with the ULT Field t and ULT Tower 9 last spring, all made to be portable and rugged. This speaker falls between the ULT Field 3 and the ULT Field 7, giving a good middle ground of portability and power. Right now, you can get the biggest one of the lineup for $219 (originally $329.99), the lowest price it has been, according to price-tracking tools. …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. While the market today is flooded with smart-health-tracking rings, few monitor detailed sleep stats like sleep apnea risks, which is where one truly stands out—especially if your priority is quality zzz’s. Right now, the RingConn Gen 2 smart ring is 20% off in gold, future silver, and rose gold at $239.20 (originally $299), making this wearable the perfect tech-meets-jewelry gift for yourself or a partner with Valentine’s Day on the horizon. RingConn Gen 2 …

Despite all of the technological advances that have made our lives so comfortable and convenient, from on-demand movies to smart devices that can be controlled from a handheld computer in our pockets, there are still some primitive situations we have to endure. For example, that seemingly endless time spent shivering in the shower while you wait for the water to heat up. Or that painful moment when you go to wash your hands and water that feels like it’s being pumped directly from the Arctic splashes you. Waiting for the water to heat up is an age-old problem caused by simple laws of physics: Your water heater is far away from the tap or shower head, and it takes time to …

It's been nearly two years since Apple announced a more intelligent Siri, and yet, we're still waiting to get our hands on it. Aside from being able to answer a few questions about Apple products or shunt your questions off to ChatGPT for you, the voice assistant is essentially still the same it was before Apple Intelligence launched for other Apple features in iOS 18.1. Now, the iPhone maker seems to be throwing in the towel on developing an AI-enabled Siri entirely on its own, and is asking Google for help. I can't imagine Tim Cook is too happy about that, but on the flip side, that does mean an AI Siri might finally come out, and soon. In a statement to CNBC's Jim Cram…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Gaming monitors with 4K ultra HD and high refresh rates have historically been quite expensive, but the Asus ROG Strix XG27UCS challenged that notion, bringing competitive specs at a more budget-friendly price. Right now, the Asus ROG Strix XG27UCS is $339 (originally launched at $499) after a 23% discount. Asus ROG Strix XG27UCS Gaming Monitor UHD (3840 x 2160), 160Hz, 1ms, Fast IPS,130% sRGB,Extreme Low Motion Blur Sync, G-Sync Compatible..…