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. The Beats Fit Pro are a solid choice for anyone who wants Apple’s seamless connectivity without shelling out for AirPods Pro. Right now, Woot is offering them for just $109.99 (down from $159.99), marking their lowest price ever, according to price trackers. This deal runs for the next six days or until stock runs out. Prime members get free shipping, while others pay $6. One catch—Woot only ships within the contiguous U.S. Beats Fit Pro …

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. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. There’s something nostalgic about holding a printed photo in your hand, especially in a world full of scrolling and swiping. That’s probably why the Kodak Step Instant Smartphone Photo Printer has been getting so much attention—it's small enough to fit in a bag, quick enough to use on the go, and doesn’t rely on ink or toner. Right now, it’s down to $69.99 on StackSocial in black, white, or blue. And if awards matter to you, PCMag named it their Best Photo Printer of the Year for 2023 and gave it their Editor’s Choice stamp. Not bad for something ma…

With the April 15 tax deadline looming tomorrow, many Americans are rushing to complete their returns. Personally, my phone is blowing up with all my procrastinator friends asking last-minute questions. And good for them for making the deadline at all, no matter how frenzied. But what happens if you miss the deadline? The consequences vary dramatically depending on whether you simply file late or don't file at all. Let's take a look at what happens in either scenario, and what options you have if you're not ready to file by tomorrow. What happens if you file your taxes late?First off, it's important to clarify the difference between failure to file and failure to pay. Fa…

Access to a high-quality webcam isn't always guaranteed: While decent options are now built into most laptops, they're not all of an acceptable standard. Maybe you've got a monitor without a webcam attached; maybe you want a different angle—there are numerous reasons why you might need another webcam. If you've got an iPhone, you've actually got a webcam, too. The process for setting up your iPhone as a webcam has gotten easier down the years, especially on macOS, though you can also use it as a connected camera on a Windows PC with a little more effort. Use your iPhone as a webcam on macOSMacs, iPhones, and other Apple gadgets all work fairly seamlessly together in a var…

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…

Meta is getting serious about the teens who use its services. Last year, the company rolled out "Teen Accounts" for Instagram, which add a number of restrictions, limitations, and features for users under the age of 18. Earlier this month, Meta rolled out Teen Accounts to Facebook and Messenger as well, and expanded some of those restrictions on Instagram specifically. If your teen had a standard Instagram account when Meta started rolling this out, their account was automatically changed into a Teen Account. Of course, that only worked if they had their real age attached to the account: If a teen said their birthday made them 18 or older, no Teen Account for them. Meta'…

AI isn't coming for your job. Probably? Look, it's complicated. And anyone who has ever played around with a chatbot has likely asked themselves, "This is what they want to replace a human with?" It's a valid concern, because generative AI chatbots like Google's Gemini aren't super useful. To my surprise, though, Gemini's Canvas feature can be. I will say up front, I'm coming at this as a generative AI skeptic, but I'm also not an AI doomer. There are some situations—like creating alt text for images to boost accessibility—where AI-based tools can come in handy. I prefer to find where tools can be genuinely useful, and ignore the noise. To that end, Gemini's Canvas is the…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Hisense 75U6H ULED TV is now down to $488 from $698, making it a solid budget pick for those who want a big-screen experience without spending over a grand (or even half a grand). Hisense 75U6H ULED TV $488.00 at Walmart $698.00 Save $210.00 …

Social media can be a fantastic way to connect with friends and family, but it can also be dangerous—especially for kids and young adults. While modern social media platforms like Facebook have been around for over 20 years, figuring out how to make these apps and sites safe for minors is still an ongoing challenge. For all its faults, Meta is making some efforts in this space. Last year, the company announced Teen Accounts for Instagram. All accounts for users under the age of 18 automatically shifted to this new format, which included a number of protections not found on typical Instagram accounts. For example, Teen Accounts are private by default, so new followers ne…

Gemini Live is the chatty, natural conversation mode inside Google's Gemini app, and it just got a significant upgrade: The AI can now instantly answer questions about what it's seeing through your phone's camera and on your phone's screen in real time. The feature is coming first to Google Pixel 9 and Samsung Galaxy S25 phones. You've long been able to offer up photos and screenshots for Gemini to analyze, but it's the real-time aspect of the upgrade that makes this most interesting—it's as if the AI bot can actually see the world around you. You may remember some of this functionality was shown off by Google under the Project Astra name last year. …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you’ve ever tried dragging a too-large speaker—or worse, relied on your phone’s tiny audio for sound projection—you should appreciate this sale on the Skullcandy Terrain Mini: It's palm-sized, no-frills, and currently on sale for $34.99 down from $39.99 on StackSocial, with free shipping in the U.S. That price drop isn’t jaw-dropping, but for under $35, you’re looking at a IPX7-rated waterproof speaker that won’t be damaged if it's dropped in the pool this summer. The Skullcandy Terrain Mini has Bluetooth 5.3, so the connection holds steady withi…

App notifications need careful balancing across Android, iOS, Windows, and of course macOS. Too many of them and you're in a state of constant distraction; too few of them, and you risk missing out on something important that one of your programs is trying to tell you. macOS has you covered when it comes to finding the right balance for you, providing a full suite of controls for managing interruptions and staying up to date with your notifications. It doesn't take long to set up these notification options, and then once they're configured, you can use Focus modes for specific scenarios (like working or watching movies). Note that some individual apps come with their own …

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. …

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…

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 …

Artificial intelligence continues to be the thing in tech—whether consumers are interested or not. What strikes me most about generative AI isn't its features or potential to make my life easier (a potential I have yet to realize); rather, I'm focused these days on the many threats that seem to be rising from this technology. There's misinformation, for sure—new AI video models, for example, are creating realistic clips complete with lip-synced audio. But there's also the classic AI threat, that the technology becomes both more intelligent than us and self-aware, and chooses to use that general intelligence in a way that does not benefit humanity. Even as he pours resour…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you’ve been eyeing a Nintendo Switch OLED but haven’t wanted to pay full price, you might want to check out this refurbished model (with white Joy-Cons) going for $249.99 on Woot—that’s a solid chunk cheaper than Amazon’s $289 sale-price tag. However, this price is only live for four days or until it sells out, whichever comes first. This is a refurbished unit (tested and certified to work like new), so it may show light cosmetic wear, but performance-wise, you’re getting the same console that PCMag called the “Best Gaming Console of the Year” in…

Take a moment to list all the digital accounts you've signed up for, and it's probably more than you realized: email, social media, banking, streaming services, cloud storage, music, gaming, and fitness...it adds up. But using the same login credentials for every service is a bad idea, and if you reuse passwords across accounts, let me summarize the simplest advice you should take away from this article: You shouldn't. But, of course, it's nearly impossible to remember as many unique usernames and secure passwords as you need for your various accounts. That's where password managers come in. Password managers hide your various login credentials behind one main username an…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you’ve ever thought about practicing a new language, then put it off because an owl got too passive-aggressive, this Rosetta Stone deal might be more your speed. StackSocial is offering a lifetime subscription to Rosetta Stone for $179.99 right now, down from its usual $399. That’s a pretty deep cut for anyone curious about dipping into Spanish, French, Korean, or even something less commonly studied, like Irish or Farsi. You can access 25 languages in total, though you can only use one at a time. You can switch between them anytime, making it gr…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Hopefully, you're done paying off your credit card bill from October Prime Day, but regardless, Amazon is ready for another round—a Spring sale is around the corner. Here is everything you need to know about Amazon's Big Spring Sale if you're looking for some deals. What is Amazon's Big Spring Sale?Amazon's Big Spring Sale is the spring version of Prime Day, although it lasts longer and features less impressive deals. It's a seven-day sale with deals focusing on seasonal items from winter- and spring-like apparel, travel, sports, furniture, gardening, lawn, grilling, storage, and bedding supplies. And, of course, tech. Thi…

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…

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…

Nintendo has never been known for high-performance hardware, but that certainly hasn't hurt its bottom line—especially in the Switch age. The company's decision to use more basic components for the Switch back in 2017 helped keep the console cheaper than any of its competitors. It's tough to get too hung up on the lack of 4K 60fps support when you can play the latest Zelda on a handheld that can cost less than $200. But lo, a new Switch is here, and with it, a new price. The Switch 2 is, indeed, a more powerful version of the Switch, and comes with a number of advantages: a larger 1080p HDR display with a 120Hz refresh rate, a dock equipped with a fan to support 4K 60fps …