Setting Up Your Home Office

When Amazon stopped letting us download copies of our Kindle books last month, I began looking for ways to preserve e-books and audiobooks that I've paid for. Buying from Amazon really limits those options thanks to DRM (Digital Rights Management), which is designed to prevent piracy, but ends up having far bigger consequences on digital goods like e-books. Eliminating DRM effectively removes Amazon's control over what you do with your e-books. If Amazon were to go DRM-free, you'd be able read Kindle e-books on any e-book reader or app that you like. Amazon wouldn't be able to easily track your reading habits and you'd be free to keep an offline backup of all of your purc…

Many, but far from all, otherwise mobile-only applications are available on the Mac App Store for Macs with an Apple silicon processor. Such Macs can hypothetically run any iPhone or iPad application, though individual developers can choose whether or not to offer that functionality. There are multiple reasons why a company might not offer their iPhone app on Mac—maybe they don't want to optimize it for a bigger display, maybe it's broken in some way, or maybe they just aren't interested in supporting another platform. You might disagree with that decision, though, and wondering whether it's possible to use those apps on your Mac anyway. And it is, sort of: PlayCover is a…

Like the iPhone, Samsung Galaxy handsets come loaded with a bunch of preinstalled Samsung apps that you don't necessarily need and might never use—especially as there are Google-made equivalents for a lot of them that you'll also find on your phone. As these Samsung apps come preinstalled, you might think that removing them might break something on your device, but you can safely uninstall most of them without worrying (and find them again on the Galaxy Store, if you ever need to get them back). Clearing out the apps you're not using regularly means your phone won't need to download updates for them, and you'll free up some storage space too. It's well worth taking a few …

Unbox and power up a brand new iPhone and you'll find there are plenty of apps already on there—which, broadly speaking, is good! You can start browsing the web, checking your email, streaming music, making notes and much more without visiting the App Store. However, you're not necessarily going to make a lot of use of all of these apps. Uninstalling the ones you don't actually need means they won't take up space on your phone and won't take up bandwidth with app updates. In recent years Apple has made more and more apps optional, and you can now get rid of more apps than you may have realized. If you find you do need them again, you can easily grab them from the App Stor…

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…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. People tend to start gardening the same way: They grow their first plant outside, feel the pride of eating their own sun-ripened tomato, and decide to plant two plants the next year. Most of those plants are bought from a nursery, but as you build a garden, buying starts from the store begins to make less sense. If you’re at the point where you’re considering planting, say, eight tomato plants, it might make sense to start growing your own. And you should. You can save a lot of money by growing your own from seeds. Buying garden starts makes sense at firstPeople buy garden starts for simple reasons: By the time the weathe…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. 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. The fall version of Amazon's Prime Day is approaching fast. Prime "Big Deal Days" will take place from Oct. 7-8., and we'll keep you updated with all the best deals leading up to and all throughout the sale. But before you purchase anything, here's how to set your own prices for Prime Day and every other day. If you're an impulse buyer, you know that shopping events like Prime Day can be bad. Even though we know Amazon is using all kinds of manipulation tech…

The company behind the Opera browser is launching yet another AI tool with Opera Neon, an agentic AI browser. This basically means that it's a browser with an AI agent built in, which can go beyond answering questions and will purportedly be able to browse the internet for you to help you get various things done. This includes helping you plan trips, booking vacations, and even creating web apps with simple natural language prompts. Oddly enough, this isn't Opera's first go at agentic AI, as it follows the announcement for the standard Opera browser's Browser Operator tool. Technically, Browser Operator isn't released yet, but it seems the difference is that Neon's use ca…

With Tax Day 2025 finally here, many of us are pressed for time to file our returns. You might be wondering, "Hey, what if I just... don't pay my taxes at all?" And you're not alone in this line of thinking. But even if you can't pay right now, you absolutely want to file before the deadline. Fortunately, the IRS offers taxpayers an easy way to get more time: by filing for an extension. Let's take a look at how to properly request an extension, what it means for your tax obligations, and important considerations to avoid penalties. What a tax extension actually gives youLet's start with a critical point: A tax extension grants you additional time to file your tax return,…

Microsoft is adding new AI features to Notepad and Snipping Tool in Windows 11, but there's a catch: Some of these are locked behind a paywall. The company is rolling out an AI feature for Notepad that can summarize articles for you, while the Snipping Tool will let you draw shapes with ease. All of these updates are available via the Windows Insider program for those who want to try beta software to test new features before they're released to the general public. Notepad's new AI featureFollowing other upgrades in Windows 11, Notepad now lets testers quickly summarize text in the app. You can paste text in Notepad and use the Copilot menu to try the Summarize feature, or…

If you have an old Android device lying around your house gathering dust, there are multiple ways to repurpose it—including turning it into a webcam or a dedicated smart home controller. One option that's perhaps less obvious, however, is saving your house from wifi dead zones. Those of you who have spots in your home where wifi struggles to reach will know the frustration here: Once you leave the wifi's range, you're suddenly cut off from messages, media, and the news, but an old Android phone can help. Android phones can access wifi networks of course, but they can also act as hotspots for these same networks. With some careful positioning, it's possible to turn an old …

With macOS Sequoia 15.4, Apple fully rolled out all of its new Apple Intelligence features to the Mail app. As such, when you open Mail after updating to the latest OS, the app will look quite different. You'll see new "Mail Categories," a Priority Messages box, and email summaries, the latter two of which are powered by AI. It's not something many asked for, and you might be longing for the Mail app you're used to. But there's good news here: If you don't like these features, you can easily disable or customize them to suit your needs. How to disable Mail Categories on Mac …

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding Lifehacker as a preferred source for tech news. In iOS 26, Apple has expanded its Visual Intelligence feature from the camera lens to what's on your screen. Now, you can use Visual Intelligence to ask about what you're seeing on your iPhone's display, to add events to your Calendar, or to look up images using Google (similar to Google’s Circle to Search). All of this is quite cool, but it also comes with a redesigned, full-screen preview that pops up whenever you take a screenshot. When all you want to do is take a quick screenshot, maybe while you're …

You likely update devices like your smartphone or laptop fairly frequently. (Perhaps you've put the latest one off a little longer than you should.) But how often are you updating other types of devices, like your TV? Despite how routine and simple your TV use may be, it can be important to keep the tube, like other devices, updated to the latest software and firmware version. And while many smart TVs routinely check for the latest updates, it's possible yours doesn't. I don't keep my TV connected to the internet, for example, so there's no way for me to check for updates via wifi. You don't need to hook your TV up to your network to update it, however, nor do you need a…

Android users are getting more tools to combat the seemingly endless stream of scam texts from bad actors looking to steal your data and your money. Circle to Search and Google Lens can now assess messages for scam red flags, and if possible fraud is detected, you'll get recommendations for what to do (or not do) next. Even if you think you know the telltale signs of a scam—a sense of urgency, a demand for money or personal information, a link to log in or pay—using these tools can confirm your suspicions, especially when you feel pressured to act. Use Circle to Search to identify scamsTo activate Circle to Search, long press the home button or navigation bar on your dev…

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding Lifehacker as a preferred source for tech news. If you work in the corporate world, you've almost certainly heard of SMART goals, which are meant to help you work better with your team and be more productive. Similarly, you may have heard of them in the fitness space, as they're commonly used as part of personal training plans thanks to their specificity and rigidity. But the SMART system is helpful for all kinds of tasks—especially if you’re a student. Here are some tips for using SMART goals when you’re studying. What are SMART goals?SMART goals aren…

If you've considered trying DeepSeek—the hot new AI app from China—but been put off by concerns around privacy and censorship, you'll be interested to know there's now a tweaked version of the DeepSeek R1 model available inside Perplexity. Perplexity has long given users a choice of in-house and third-party AIs for answering prompts, and DeepSeek R1 is the latest to make the list. Perplexity cofounder Aravind Srinivas has promised the censorship guardrails have been taken off—so yes, you can ask about Tiananmen Square—and that all associated data (like your prompts and their responses) is stored in the U.S. …

There's more than one way to use Windows now. As well as sitting down in front of a locally installed copy of Windows, running on a hard drive inside your desktop or laptop, you can also fire up the Microsoft Windows app—a one-stop central hub for managing connections to remote PCs and Windows in the cloud. The Windows app is available for Windows (as you would expect), as well as macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and (in preview form for now) Android. First rolled out in September 2024, the program brings with it support for multiple monitors and local USB peripherals, so you can carry on using your own webcam (for example) with your cloud copy of Windows. It's likely that significant…

Why do I still carry a wallet? My iPhone can handle just about anything you used to need a traditional wallet for. Most (if not all) of my purchases are made via Apple Pay or QR code, my phone holds all of my pictures, and most of my receipts go straight to my email. Basically the only I keep my wallet around is to carry my ID. Once my state starts supporting Apple’s digital ID feature, however, things will change between me and my wallet—provided that support ever comes. Since iOS 15.4, Apple has allowed you to add a driver’s license or other state ID to your iPhone’s digital wallet. That doesn’t mean you’ve been needlessly carrying your ID around since then—states have …

For me, part of the appeal of TikTok is seeing smaller, less polished videos from people who don't fashion themselves as influencers. But what do I know? The company has announced it is holding its first U.S. awards show later this year. It seems the Oscars-ification of short form video is here. In a blog over on the TikTok site, the company said the show, fittingly called the TikTok Awards, will be held in the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles on Dec. 18, 2025, and will "honor the creators who have inspired, entertained, and connected communities across the country." To that end, the site also says it will invite users to "vote for their favorite creators" starting on N…

Big news for Peloton fans: As of this week, you can watch plain old YouTube on your Bike, Bike+, Tread, or Row. Now, you may be saying, "YouTube TV was already an option in my Peloton's Entertainment tab. What's the big deal?" The big deal, my friend, is that YouTube TV is a subscription television service and YouTube is, well, YouTube. This new integration allows you to watch standard videos on the platform, the same as you would on your phone or computer. How to access YouTube on the PelotonYou access YouTube the same way you access other non-class features, like scenic rides or my beloved Lanebreak game: through a special tab in the menu on the bottom of your screen. …

If you've seen news stories claiming that more than 89 million Steam user records leaked, don't panic. Social media posts currently circulating suggest that Steam credentials are up for sale on the dark web, but those claims appear to be untrue. Of course, even if your data hasn't actually been compromised, it's a good idea to have additional authentication set up on your Steam account. What happened with Steam? Short answer: Probably nothing. As XDA reported, X user MellowOnline1, a games journalist, called attention to a post on LinkedIn from Underdark.ai alleging that 89 million Steam user records were up for sale on a dark web forum for $5,000 via a threat actor know…

If you received an unsolicited password reset email from Instagram in recent days, you don't need to panic. These messages don't appear to be the result of a new data breach or account compromise, but rather a bug that Meta claims it has now fixed. Following a wave of suspicious account recovery requests, antivirus software provider Malwarebytes posted a warning on Jan. 9 that threat actors had stolen personal information from 17.5 million Instagram accounts. As BleepingComputer reports, there have been various claims that hackers have obtained Instagram account data from multiple API scraping incidents in the last several years but notes that there haven't been any conf…

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…

If you've signed up for an Amazon Prime subscription in the last few years, you may have some cash coming your way. Amazon recently settled a lawsuit with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over deceptive enrollment and cancellation practices, including enrolling customers in Prime without their consent and making it difficult to cancel. The company is now set to pay out $1.5 billion in refunds to affected consumers. Here's who qualifies, and how to make sure you get your money. Am I eligible for an Amazon Prime refund? Refunds will be paid out to select Amazon Prime subscribers in the U.S. In order to qualify, you must also meet the following criteria: You signed up f…