Setting Up Your Home Office

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source. While sometimes there's a big piece of misinformation that a lot of people latch onto—like The Rapture or the existence of "MedBeds"—the fractured nature of the information sphere has all but killed the overarching conspiracy theory. No longer do big ideas like "we never went to the moon" unite the dumbest minds; instead, the algorithm creates bespoke conspiracy theories. So instead of joining the Flat Earth Society, you might think the actual year is 1728, or that AI secretly imagined a British comedian fro…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. A four-pack of these TSA-approved travel locks is currently on sale for $79.99 on StackSocial, the same price as a three-pack on Amazon. It’s designed for Apple users, integrating directly with the Find My app, so you can track your bags on a map, ping them with sound if they’re nearby, or get alerts if you’ve walked off and left them behind. Each lock uses a simple three-digit combination and is TSA-approved, meaning airport security can access it without cutting it open. The build is solid, featuring a durable alloy shell and a thick cable loop th…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. I've been a fan of Soundcore's Sleep A20 earbuds since I first put them on to go to sleep over a year ago. I've never experienced earbuds that feel so comfortable when sleeping on your side. But that model was missing one crucial feature: ANC. The new Sleep A30 earbuds have taken care of that, and more—and despite their recent release this past August, they're already discounted. Right now, you can get them for $193.99 (originally $229.99), the lowest price ever, according to price tracking tools. …

If you've watched enough Mission Impossible (or Inspector Gadget, if your parents wouldn't let you watch Mission Impossible), you're familiar with the self-destructing message. Now, Meta's X competitor, Threads, is making them a core feature. Called "Ghost posts," the new type of message launches today, and it lets you post to your timeline without the pressure of leaving a permanent trace. Ghost posts will appear on your timeline while active, but after 24 hours, they'll automatically be archived. "Here today and gone tomorrow," as Threads puts it, the idea is to encourage posters to share "spontaneous thoughts" and "fresh takes." It's not the first time a social media …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you’re in the market for a new Windows 11 laptop for everyday use that’s under $150, the bestselling Lenovo IdeaPad 1i 14" Laptop is a smart choice – and right now, it’s $129 (originally $249.99) at Walmart. Lenovo IdeaPad 1i 14" Laptop $129.00 at Walmart $2…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Tinymoose Pencil Pro Ultra is both an affordable accessory and a serious productivity tool, and it's currently on sale for $39.95 on StackSocial. It costs less than a third of what Apple charges for its stylus, and it works with an Android device thanks to its Smart Switch button on the top. A single press lets you jump from sketching on an iPad Pro to jotting notes on a Galaxy Tab without digging through settings. That makes it more flexible than most one-platform pens, especially for students or professionals who don’t want to carry two separa…

If you're getting more scam texts than your friends and family, it turns out it might be your mobile platform, at least going by a recent poll from Google and YouGov. According to Google, users on Android report receiving 58% fewer scam texts than those on iOS, and that number is even better on Pixel devices. Credit: Google That data comes from a survey Google and YouGov conducted of over 5,000 Android and iOS users across the U.S., India, and Brazil. The data says that Android users as a whole were "58% more likely than iOS u…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you’re trying to set up a simple home security system without drilling holes or wiring a maze of cables, this Blink bundle is about as plug-and-play as it gets. Right now, the Blink Outdoor 4 (2-Cam System) + Blink Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) + Sync Module Core is down to $61.99 on Amazon—its lowest recorded price, according to online price-trackers. Normally $189.98, this three-piece setup is basically everything you’d need to secure a small home: two wireless cameras to cover your spaces, a smart video doorbell for the front, and a sync module tha…

Much to the chagrin of mundane numbers like 35 and 192, 6-7 has taken over American culture. I assume that young people love 6-7 so much because 67 is the 19th prime number and the atomic weight of holmium, which is essential to samarium-cobalt magnets, but I can't say for sure. I can say 6-7 is everywhere—on TikTok, in memes, and now in the dictionary. And that's only one of the many confusing trends I'm explaining this week. I'll also tell you about Soulja Boy selling smart glasses, the sunglasses on your waist trend, and "Beez in the Trap" (Be-Beez in the trap...) Dictionary.com names "6-7" word of the yearThe Gen-Alpha brainrot slang word 6-7 has been named 2025's W…

It's been four days since Disney's channels disappeared from YouTube TV, and some subscribers are receiving a surprise hidden away in their account settings: Over on Reddit, there are reports that some users are able to claim $10 credits on their next six monthly bills, though it's not entirely clear if this is intended as a make-good for the streamer's Disney troubles. The credit doesn't seem to be showing up for everyone, but has been redeemed by YouTube TV subscribers at Tom's Guide. Google has yet to make any announcements about the credit, and that based on a post to the YouTube X account, it appears to be entirely separate from the $20 credit the company previously …

The 12-3-30 workout has taken over TikTok, which is a testament to the algorithm and a few influencers’ abilities to game it. It’s really just treadmill walking, with specific parameters and overblown promises. So let’s break down the pros, cons, and caveats—and make a plan for how to do a similar workout that makes sense for you. What is the 12-3-30 workout?It’s walking on a treadmill with the incline maxed out. In other words, you’ll be walking uphill. You set the incline to 12% (the highest you can go on many treadmills), the speed to 3.0 miles per hour (a pretty typical walking speed for most of us on flat ground) and you do it for 30 minutes. Its popularizer, Lauren…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. In theory, wireless headphones are great for working out. But in reality, they often fall out, leak sound, or get damaged during heavy sweat sessions. The Anker Soundcore Sport X20 wireless earbuds are true wireless workout earbuds with ANC that are designed to stay put and deliver during exercise. Right now, they’re just $55.99 (originally $79.99), bringing them down to their lowest price ever, according to price-trackers. Soundcore Sport X20 by Anker …

As a tech journalist, I've got Windows, macOS, and ChromeOS devices at home—not because I'm especially wealthy, but because I need to write about all of these platforms, all of the time—and it's my trusty Chromebook that I find myself turning to more often than not. The usual argument against Chromebooks is that they're just a Chrome browser: Windows and macOS give you the same Chrome browser, and much more besides. However, sometimes less is more, as I'll get to below. Sadly, it seems Google is less keen on Chromebooks than I am. The last Google-made Pixelbook launched in 2019, and it's been left to the likes of Asus, Acer, HP, Samsung, and others to keep new Chromebook…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Thanksgiving should be one of the least stressful holidays—the sole achievement you’re trying to unlock is to eat yourself into a coma, which many of us can do any time, with zero prep. But there are some sneaky sources of stress, from the expense of pulling it all together to the travel arrangements needed to make sure everyone arrives in time for appetizers—not to mention the stress of cooking Thanksgiving dinner. The unlucky host has the responsibility of not only feeding a large group of people, but making sure everything comes out more or less on time—and then cleaning up the spectacular mess afterward. Luckily, moder…

I've defined a ton of slang since I started posting this column in 1878, but this week, I'm going all in on the funny little words the kids use among themselves. That's right: It's all-slang week! From “clock that” to “rawdoggin boredom,” consider this a crash course in what the kids are babbling to each other. As always, remember, you shouldn't use these slang words because they're not your words. Stick to calling things da bomb and saying "23-skidoo," gramps. (If this isn't enough slang, somehow, check out my constantly evolving glossary of Gen-Z and Gen A slang.) What does "clock that" mean?I'm old enough to remember when "clock" was slang for either punching someone…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The PowerBoy 2-in-1 Retro Gaming Console and Fast-Charging Power Bank mixes the old with the new, and it's currently on sale for $79.99 at StackSocial. At first glance, it appears to be a simple handheld game console from the early 2000s, complete with a 3-inch IPS display and a familiar D-pad layout. But hidden inside that nostalgic shell is a 5000mAh magnetic power bank capable of 22.5W fast charging. You can play 1,500 preloaded games, covering everything from side-scrollers to puzzle titles, or use it to recharge your phone during a long commute…

Shopping online? Google wants you to trust AI to click the buy button for you. Rolling out today, Google's new "agentic checkout" adds onto the company's existing price-tracking feature, so it's not something you'll see all the time. Instead, when you get a price drop notification on an object you've been tracking, you might now see a new "buy for me" button that will send all the necessary information to the store's website and make the final purchase for you. Credit: Google Google says the AI will always ask your permission …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. A small upgrade can make an old TV feel new again, and the Amazon Fire TV Stick HD is the kind of plug-and-play streaming device that does exactly that. It’s down to $17.99 right now (from $34.99), which price-tracking sites confirm is its lowest recorded price. Amazon Fire TV Stick HD (1080p) $17.99 at Amazon …

When it comes to productivity hacks, there are two things I love: the tried-and-true classics, like the Pomodoro method, and shaking them up with a few customizations. I've written before about other ways to mold Pomodoro to match what you need, but today's idea, Pomodoro 2.0, is one of the easiest and most effective adaptations. What do I mean by "Pomodoro 2.0?"First, a refresher on what the Pomodoro technique even is. When you're using this technique to focus and be productive, you set an alarm for 25 minutes, work for that time, then take a five-minute break. You complete that cycle four times, then give yourself a longer break at the end, up to half an hour, before s…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. For years, "burnout" has been a cultural buzzword, but the concept isn't new: Working too hard and too fast just isn't sustainable, so while productivity techniques that advise you on how to prioritize multiple tasks in a single day are helpful in the short term, they can't last forever for everybody. I love structured to-do lists and days where everything comes together, but in a world where work, school, personal wellness, family, and friends are putting endless demands on us, it's not always possible to get it all done in one morning—even with the most detailed, time-boxed schedule. If you feel some burnout coming on or…

On Tuesday morning, much of the internet was inaccessible. If you tried to follow your feeds on X, or engage with ChatGPT, you were only met with error messages. Compare those error messages to one another, however, and you'd likely notice a similar name affixed to them all: Cloudflare. Cloudflare's massive Tuesday morning outage had sweeping implications for much of the web. While it's not clear what caused the outage at this time, we do know whether the outage was responsible for a website's downtime. (When an error page says "Cloudflare: Error," it's not difficult to track down the source of the problem.) As Cloudflare offers web infrastructure services to a huge numb…

Google has officially launched its Gemini 3 Pro model, and for the first time, it's already making its way directly to the public, without making you wait months after the announcement to actually get your hands on it. On top of introducing a few new features, Google says the model has the typical increased accuracy, but also, that it finally cuts down on some of the excessive people-pleasing flattery that drives me nuts when using AI. The catch? Most features are paywalled, and one is still in the oven. For the more obvious improvements, Google says Gemini 3 Pro is at the top of LMArena with a score of 1501 points, while also demonstrating "PhD-level reasoning" on Humani…

A lot of people are wrong about low testosterone. The "low testosterone" hashtag on TikTok features over 20,000 videos from real doctors, fake doctors, real doctors who seem like fake doctors, bodybuilders, wellness weirdoes, straight-up scammers, and, seemingly, everyone else. Some of the content is accurate, some is wildly inaccurate, some is in the middle, but the overall impression is a confusing miasma where solid medical information is given equal space with people recommending boosting your testosterone by exposing your privates to direct sunlight for 10 minutes a day. So let's clear this up a little. What low testosterone actually isTestosterone is a hormone prod…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Apple's newest AirPods Pro are great. They have excellent sound quality, up to twice the noise cancellation of the previous-generation Pros, and even include a built-in heart rate sensor. Those features don't come cheap, though. Like most brand-new Apple products, they're expensive, and typically fetch $249 at any store you choose to buy them from. While they're certainly pricey, I don't think the MSRP is unwarranted. $249 has always been the price for a new pair of AirPods Pro, and this third generation adds new features without raising the cost. …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Black Friday sales officially start Friday, November 28, and run through Cyber Monday, December 1, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before it's over. Follow our live blog to stay up-to-date on the best sales we find. Browse our editors’ picks for a curated list of our favorite sales on laptops, fitness tech, appliances, and more. Subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox. Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices an…