Setting Up Your Home Office

It's no surprise that companies continue to experiment with new AI features. Artificial intelligence has been the center of emerging tech for nearly three years now, and it's not going anywhere anytime soon. But whether you love generative AI or you find it useless, I think we can all agree that using AI to write Instagram comments is pretty stupid. And yet, Meta appears to be testing exactly that. As reported by SocialMediaToday, some Instagram accounts are now seeing a new icon to the left of the text field after choosing to leave a comment on a post. When you tap this icon (a pencil with a star), you pull up a new Meta AI menu, which presents a series of comment choic…

Usually you can blame a low-quality video stream on a bandwidth slowdown or a poor internet connection—sites like YouTube will adjust a video's resolution accordingly, so instead of a crisp HD or 4K stream, you end up with a blurry, pixelated mess. You can manually adjust the resolution to make it look better, but you'll probably run into buffering issues, since your internet can't keep up. Recently, however, something else is happening to cause YouTube video quality to tank. Users are reporting that when they start a video—whether it be a YouTube Short or a standard clip—the stream will load in very poor quality, anything from 360p all the way down to 144p. While some a…

Scams often fit with the old adage: "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the FBI are warning consumers about several similar-sounding scams that involve the promise of discounted services—ranging from utilities to health insurance—that end with fraudsters stealing your money and you having nothing to show for it. Here's how scammers are ripping people off, and how to protect yourself. How discounted services scams workOne iteration of this scam type begins with a robocall from someone who claims to be from a utility company (like AT&T or Comcast Xfinity) that offers phone, TV, or internet services. As the FTC ale…

Microsoft has released its latest monthly Patch Tuesday update, this time offering fixes for 72 security vulnerabilities across its systems. Five of the malicious bugs addressed are zero-days that have been actively exploited, and two have been publicly disclosed. As Bleeping Computer reports, the May update addresses 17 elevation of privilege flaws, two security feature bypass flaws, 28 remote code execution flaws, 15 information disclosure flaws, seven denial of service flaws, and two spoofing flaws. In addition to the zero-day exploits, six of the remote code execution vulnerabilities are labeled "critical" along with one information disclosure flaw. If you're a Wind…

Android is getting a new security feature that makes it harder for someone to break into your device if it has been lost, stolen, or seized. With the latest Google Play services update, Android phones and tablets will automatically restart (and require a passcode to decrypt) if they remain locked for three consecutive days. How Android auto-restart worksAndroid and iOS devices already revert to a Before First Unlock (BFU) state when restarted, requiring a user to enter their passcode or PIN before certain features—such as notifications and biometrics—are enabled. Data is encrypted and inaccessible in a BFU state until the correct passcode is entered to shift the device t…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Spring hasn’t really been as big of an online shopping season, comparatively speaking: We've got Prime Day during the summer, October Prime Day and Black Friday during the fall, and a bunch of holiday sales during winter. But that might be changing with the recent Big Spring Sale from Amazon, in its second year. Target has decided to compete for your money as well with a Circle Week event, coming later this month. What is Target's Circle Week?Circle Week is Target’s name for its biggest sale, which used to happen once a year but, much to the dismay of Target workers, now happens multiple times a year. Usually, you’ll see …

Your company’s human resources (HR) department is often pitched as an employee advocate—the place where you take problems or concerns. But most employees know by now that HR—or, in some start-up environments, "the people team"—isn’t really intended to protect you, the human resource in question. Instead, HR works to protect the company’s interests more than anything. And the way job hunting has become a grueling gauntlet of ghost jobs, endless interviews, and zero responses from HR representatives hasn’t exactly endeared HR to workers. In fact, research shows that more than 70% of employees don’t trust their HR department. While it’s true that HR departments work for and …

Google is planning a new update for its upcoming Pixel 9a which includes a new feature dedicated to protecting and prolonging the phone's battery. While the goal is longevity, this new battery management feature will actually end up reducing the battery capacity of the Pixel 9a over time. It won't just be the Pixel 9a, as other Pixel series phones will eventually receive the feature too. The kicker, though, is Pixel 9a users can't turn this feature off. Why do Lithium-ion batteries need management?All lithium-ion batteries degrade over time. As you use your smartphone, and as you continue to charge it, the total battery capacity goes down. Eventually, charging your phone …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. We're living in the best time in history for bringing karaoke to your home. I've had the pleasure of using the new Soundcore Rave 3S karaoke speaker, which turns any song into a karaoke track with the push of a button, and Ikarao's ultra-portable Shell S1 karaoke speaker to host many house parties. But if you're looking for a great deal on a more powerful speaker that is still compact and portable, consider the Break X2, also from Ikarao, currently $349.98 (originally $469.99), the lowest price it has been, according to price-tracking tools. You can…

If you've had your Apple devices for a while, you probably think you know them pretty well. You have your various routines, habits, and hacks and you do what you need to do. But over the years, Apple has added a lot of features to its flagship products—including plenty of hidden gestures you might not know about. As MacRumors reminded us this week, one of those gestures is actually well-suited for sharing photos and videos across your various Apple devices, and in some cases, is probably faster than AirDrop. The gesture itself is simple enough: Just open a photo or video, then take three fingers (your thumb, index, and middle finger) and pinch in on the image. If done suc…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you’re looking to breathe new life into an older HD television—or even just want an affordable way to stream your favorite shows—the Amazon Fire TV Stick HD makes a strong case for itself. It's going for $19.99 on Amazon right now. Amazon Fire TV Stick HD $19.99 at Amazon $…

Notifications on the Mac show up in the top-right corner as a rule. This is fine most of the time, but on large displays you might not notice what's happening in the top-right corner if you're reading a document on the left side of the screen. Wouldn't the notifications be better in the middle, the way they show up on the iPhone and iPad? PingPlace is a free Mac application that will move your notifications to other corners or even the top center of your screen. The application lives in the menu bar and lets you choose between the four corners of the display along with the top and bottom middle. Setting the application up is easy: Just download it, drag it to your Applica…

Arc, the much-hyped privacy-forward internet browser, won't be getting any more new features. This fact was announced months ago by its developer, The Browser Company, and clarified yesterday in a blog post in which the venture capital-backed entity that built Arc announced plans to focus on an as yet unreleased AI-based browser instead. For now, Arc will still be getting security updates, most of them inherited from the open-source Chromium project, but it's understandable that some dedicated Arc users may be looking for an alternative, and I know of a good one: the open source Zen Browser, currently in beta. Zen is beautiful in the same way Arc is, with its elegant vert…

Chrome on Android can be a bit much. It's undeniably a heavy browser, with not that many features to boot. There's no built-in reading mode, no ad-blocker, no tab management, no VPN, nothing. Chrome isn't even that customizable. If you want more from your Android browser, you're not wrong. If you're willing to switch to a third-party browser, you can get a browser that's faster than Chrome, uses less resources, provides all those features I just talked about, and more. There are many options to choose from, but here are my top 5 picks for Chrome alternatives, depending on what kind of user you are. Vivaldi: Best for large screen devices …

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 lightweight, all-purpose Chromebook for casual work, school, or everyday browsing, this open-box ASUS Chromebook CM30 might be worth a closer look. Currently priced at $179.99 (down from $329.99), it’s one of those mid-range 2-in-1s that doesn’t try to be everything, but nails the basics with enough flair to feel premium. The 10.5-inch WUXGA touchscreen is responsive and sharp, and thanks to the Kompanio 520 processor and 8GB of RAM, general multitasking is smooth, whether you’re juggling docs, Google Meet, or your Spotify ta…

Today is April 1, April Fools’ Day, the annual holiday that celebrates pranking, hoaxes, and all manner of horseplay and tomfoolery. But why? Where did this faux holiday come from? Why do we do this to each other, and when will we finally just stop? These are surprisingly tricky questions, and April Fools' Day has been around for a surprisingly long time. As far back as 1708, the British newspaper Apollo asked, “Whence proceeds the custom of making April Fools?” and provided unconvincing answers. So we know the April Fools' tradition goes back centuries, but the exact origins of the holiday are still a mystery. There are theories, but they all reek faintly of bullshit. A…

While the world mourns the passing of Pope Francis on April 21, the Catholic Church is preparing to choose a new leader. Cardinals are traveling to Vatican City from all over the world to take part in the papal conclave, an ancient ritual/election that ends with the selection of a new Pope. You might be wondering whether that new pope could be you. It almost definitely won't be, but I suppose it's possible. So If you're interested in the job—or just curious about what the process involves—here are the nuts and bolts of how popes are chosen. The leader of the Holy Roman Catholic Church is a prestigious position that offers excellent perks, including international travel, j…

Hades II introduces a new mechanic called Forget-Me-Not, which allows players to pin recipes they don't have enough crafting reagents for. While they're out in the world, the path to those resources will be highlighted, making it easier to keep track of what you need. I love this feature, in no small part because I've been making my own version of it for other games for years. It's just one of the many ways I use spreadsheets to improve my gaming. To be clear, I am not recommending that you follow in my footsteps and create a spreadsheet for every game you play. I am deeply unwell, the world is on fire, and creating little charts and tables is how I exert some semblance o…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. It looks like Strava is making moves to become more than just a social fitness tracker. The popular fitness app—arguably the best one of its kind—announced Thursday that it has acquired The Breakaway, an AI-powered cycling training app, marking its second major acquisition in just over a month. This follows Strava's purchase of Runna back in April. So, what do these acquisitions mean for users of The Breakaway and Strava alike? Will those apps' specific training plans become available a part of the Strava subscription? Will I have to pay for that whether I like it or not? Here's what you need to know. What The Breakaway br…

The Department of Education announced Monday that the FSA will finally restart collections on defaulted student loans beginning May 5, 2025, following a five-year pause that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. This decision affects approximately 5.3 million borrowers who were in default before the pause. For these borrowers, the government can soon begin collecting repayments from tax refunds, withholding Social Security benefits, and even garnishing wages (up to 15% of disposable income). How do you know if you're already in default on your loans, or if you're at risk of defaulting soon? Here's what you need to know about the upcoming changes, and how to prepare for the…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. QLEDs attempt to look like OLED TVs without the hefty price tag, and within QLEDs, there is diversity in price. A great mid-tier QLED is TCL's QM7, which I got to review. But you can find budget QLEDs for cheaper: That's where the Hisense QD6 QLED, currently $379.99 (originally $499.99), half the price of the QM7 for the same 65-inch size and matching the lowest price it has ever been, according to price-tracking tools. And you still get a lot of the nice features normally found on mid-tier or higher TVs. …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Acer Chromebook Plus 514 is $299.99 on Amazon right now, reduced from its usual $399.99. Acer Chromebook Plus 514 $299.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $399.99 Save $100.00 …

Fortnite is coming back to the iPhone next week, according to Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney. That may not sound like huge news to those of you that have never played Fortnite, but the game's return follows a court ruling that has implications for many other apps you likely use every day. The ruling, from judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, states definitively that Apple is no longer allowed to stop developers from linking to purchases outside the App Store or limit them from explaining where such purchases can be made. What does this mean practically? Well, have you ever tried to subscribe to Netflix, upgrade Spotify, or buy a Kindle book on your iPhone? These things can't be done…

Even if you don't want to dive in and create AI videos using the latest Veo 3 model released by Google, you can sit back and marvel at (or be petrified by) the work of others: Flow TV is a new lean-back experience that lets you click through a seemingly endless carousel of AI-generated clips. Unlike the Flow video creator that is needed to create these videos, you don't need to pay Google a subscription fee to use Flow TV, and you don't even need to be signed into a Google account. It's a showcase for the best AI clips produced by Veo, though for now, it's limited to the older Veo 2 model rather than Veo 3. Google hasn't said much about the creators behind the videos in F…