Setting Up Your Home Office

We're now seeing significant AI upgrades from the big players in the field almost every week, with most new features quickly copied by rival companies as each one looks to stay ahead. Now it's time for Microsoft Copilot to play catch-up, as it adds a host of features we've previously seen tested by Microsoft or launched for other AI chatbots. Copilot now has Deep Research, for example, to match all the Deep Research tools elsewhere, while Copilot Search has been upgraded. Microsoft has also rolled out its own AI-hosted podcast generator, a tool that's been available for a while on competing services. There's a lot to explore, and each new feature is explained below. These…

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 Lifehacker as a preferred source for tech news. Coros launched a new version of its Apex watch today, the Apex 4. Like the Nomad released earlier this year, it has a MIP screen, an action button for shortcuts, and maps with street names. How does the Apex compare to other Coros watches? Coros has three watch lines besides the Nomad: the Pace, Apex, and Vertix. I’ve written about the Pace 3 and Pace Pro, both of them solid watches that rival Garmin features at a lower price. (I swapped my Garmin for a C…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. I like Coros running because they do nearly everything Garmins do, at a lower cost. But there have always been a few areas where they fall short, which I’ve noted in my reviews. Now, that seems to be changing—the most recent beta firmware update adds a critical new feature while fixing some of my pet peeves. I tried out the new features through a public beta from Coros. You can sign up for beta access with these instructions Coros posted on Reddit. (On iOS, you'll install a Testflight version of the Coros app, which can then give you access to the firmware update. On Android, you'll need to download the beta app, then go h…

In recent years, iOS has started to catch up to Android when it comes to customization, but Android is still well in the lead. That's partly because it supports alternative launchers, which replace of the default software interface to completely revamp the look of home screens, menus, icons, and dialogs. Using a launcher, you can take pixel-by-pixel control over the visuals of the Android OS. If that sounds like too much time and effort, you can take advantage of one of many preset templates instead. This article will tell you what you need to know about launchers, and suggest a few of the best that you can currently install. How Android launchers workWhen you go "home" o…

If you have a Samsung Galaxy phone, then you also have access to the Good Lock app from the Galaxy Store or the Play Store. This free app provides a host of extra ways to tweak and customize your handset, above and beyond what you get in One UI, and it covers everything from 3D wallpapers to advanced camera settings. There's a lot to explore in Good Lock, and you can pick and choose from its various modules (mini-apps) as needed. Samsung recently shared the three modules that have been most popular with users since Good Lock first launched back in April 2016, and they're good starting points for anyone new to the app or wanting to explore it further. When you open up Good…

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. There’s a difference between cleaning and decluttering. If you have too much stuff (clutter), you’ll have a much harder time sweeping, dusting, sanitizing, and actually cleaning, plus your house will never look clean. But decluttering is harder than cleaning, by far. It’s overwhelming, even, which is why clutter can get out of hand, making cleaning a nearly impossible task. That’s also why we’re always on the hunt for new ways to declutter: Surely, someone out there has cracked the code, right? As it turns out, organizer Kayleen Kelly may have. Her method, Core 4, is wildly popular on TikTok and could be the one that works…

Getting rid of stuff can be hard, even if you’re not exactly a hoarder. It’s hard enough for so many of us in our consumerist society, in fact, that scientists have studied why that is—and are always coming up with ways to overcome an aversion to decluttering our lives. Just in time for spring cleaning season, look to research published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology that suggests there’s a way to ease yourself into parting with old belongings: Instead of throwing them out all at once, banish them to purgatory first. What it means to put clutter in “purgatory”The researchers, Mathew S. Isaac and Poornima Vinoo, kicked off their paper by explaining that people who s…

With the weather warming up, your thoughts may be turning to spending lazy summer afternoons at the beach with a good book. Tina, an online creator and co-host of the podcast Book Talk, Etc., opened her edition of the Chicago Sun-Times on Monday to find the newspaper's "Summer reading list for 2025." If Tina were me, someone who isn't in-tune with the latest in literature, this article might have seemed like a useful jumping-off point for some new book recommendations. But seeing as Tina creates content all about books, I imagine she is acutely aware of which authors are writing which books—which is why she was able to immediately spot a number of books on the list that s…

Back before Reddit became the unofficial "front page of the internet," you would dig up your next long read or binge watch on Digg. Starting in 2004, the original version of the site worked much like Reddit does today, with community members submitting content they found interesting to premade category pages and others voting on it until an algorithm eventually decided what should make its way to the front page. Aside from the lack of user-made pages like subreddits, it was generally pretty familiar to what modern users might expect—and, speaking from experience, it was a big deal to be featured on Digg. Unfortunately, starting in 2010, the site went through a few drasti…

Digg, the dominant link aggregator of the mid-2000s, is attempting yet another comeback. Kevin Rose, one of Digg's original founders, has acquired the brand name for an undisclosed sum and is teaming up with Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian to build a new-ish social network. The plan was announced this morning in articles on Techcrunch and in the New York Times. There aren't many concrete details in these articles about what the site will look like, though they do note it will use AI as a key moderation tool. "Online communities thrive when there’s a balance between technology and human judgment,” Ohanian told Techcrunch, adding that, "AI should handle the grunt work in the …

On Monday, Discord announced its plan to begin rolling out mandatory age verification globally. Starting in March, new and existing accounts will start moving over to a "teen-by-default" setting, which will lock certain chats and features away until the account's owner proves they're an adult. Here's what you'll lose, how to get it back, and for good measure, what your other options are. Discord will require age verification starting in MarchIn its announcement, Discord said the new age verification settings will start with a "phased global rollout" in March, so it may be some time until it hits you. However, once the changes make their way to your region, you'll lose acc…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Earlier this week, YouTube and Disney both warned YouTube TV subscribers that they might lose access to Disney-owned channels, including ESPN and FX, starting on Oct. 31. It's probably not the Halloween treat you were looking for, but now that the end of the month has come, that's exactly what's happened: Right now, more than 20 of Disney's channels have gone dark on YouTube TV. Why did Disney pull its Channels from YouTube TV?Not to be confused with YouTube Premium, YouTube TV is Google's Live TV service—kind of like cable without the cable box. As such, it needs to pay content providers like Disney fees to offer their ch…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Nothing says Halloween quite like an ominous countdown. Right now, subscribers to YouTube TV, the company's live TV service, are waiting to learn if they'll still have access to Disney-operated channels, including ABC and ESPN, come Oct.31. It's the latest conflict in ongoing fee disputes between Google and its various content providers, but even if Disney takes its ball and goes home, you won't be left entirely without options. When could Disney channels go dark on YouTube TV?According to Variety, if Disney and Google are unable to reach a deal by the end of Thursday, all Disney networks will vanish from YouTube TV on Oct…

The ongoing feud between Disney and Google is heating up. It all started last week, when Disney pulled its channels from YouTube TV, Google's Live TV service, over fee disputes. Now, Disney seems to be pulling content from other Google services as well. As first noted by 9to5Google, Disney movies are starting to disappear from YouTube's pay-per-view offerings too, and even other platforms like Google TV. For instance, try typing "Avengers" into your YouTube search bar right now. Aside from trailers and videos uploaded from individual users, you're more likely to see a rental option pop up for that 1998 Sean Connery and Uma Thurman spy movie than Marvel's superheroes. Mean…

If you've engaged in any sort of doomscrolling over the past year, you've no doubt encountered some wild AI-generated content. While there are plenty of AI video generators out there producing this stuff, one of the most prevalent is OpenAI's Sora, which is particularly adept at generating realistic short-form videos mimicking the content you might find on TikTok or Instagram Reels. These videos can be so convincing at first glance, that people often don't realize what they're seeing is 100% fake. That can be harmless when it's videos of cats playing instruments at midnight, but dangerous when impersonating real people or properties. It's that last point that I thought w…

This coming weekend, nearly everyone in the U.S. will switch from standard time to daylight time. Sadly, the proposal to keep us on the same time zone year-round never went anywhere, so we’ll keep having these “spring forward” and “fall back” events for the foreseeable future. Here’s how to get ready. Know when and how the clocks will change before Daylight Saving TimeOfficially, daylight saving time will begin at 2 a.m. the morning of Sunday, March 8. At that time, we’ll change the clocks to say 3 a.m., thereby losing an hour (since the hour between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. never happens). If you’re wondering “Why 2 a.m.?” it’s reportedly because that was a dead spot in the rai…

The holidays are for rest, relaxation, and eating your weight in cookies shaped like reindeer. Your fitness goals can absolutely wait until the new year. But if you find yourself trapped in a house where someone just said, "well, actually" for the third time in ten minutes, and you need to escape to your old bedroom before you say something you'll regret—here's a quick (and quiet) bodyweight circuit you can do surrounded by your high school participation trophies. The circuit workoutThese are my favorite beginner-friendly exercises to efficiently blow off some steam. Hopefully you have some floor space next to your twin bed. Tactical door-closed push-ups (10-15 reps)Thes…

Rest days are a standard part of exercise programs, but they’re not the only way to avoid overworking yourself. Contrary to what a lot of beginner advice says, you don't always need a rest day after each day of exercise, and you can even work out seven days a week if you like. But once you start bending the rules, you'll need to take some extra effort to make sure you allow yourself enough recovery, even if it doesn't come in the form of rest. Recovery is important (whether it comes in the form of "rest days" or not)Most strength training programs either work your whole body and then have you rest the next day, or else they have you split up your workouts so that each mu…

I’m sure you’ve heard it everywhere: Check with a doctor before beginning any exercise program. This is the standard disclaimer on fitness advice of any sort, which most of us probably ignore. But should you? Not necessarily, it turns out. Why are you supposed to check with a doctor before exercising?The concern underlying this oft-repeated statement is that there are rare cases where a person can die suddenly during exercise. When this happens, it’s usually in a person who (a) had some kind of underlying medical issue; (b) was not used to exercising; and (c) did very intense exercise that they were unprepared for. For a long time, there was a sense among many medical an…

Walking is an easy way to get some exercise in your day, and it delivers mental health benefits as well. I’m one of the many people who added daily walks to my routine during the pandemic, and they improved my life so much I don’t intend to stop. But does walking do enough for your body that you can count it as cardio exercise? The answer is complicated. Walking counts as cardio in some respects: it can burn calories, it gets your heart rate up, and it counts toward the exercise we should all be getting every week. But on the other hand, it’s not going to increase your cardio fitness in the same way as a run or an intense aerobics class would. If you want to improve your…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Like most of the eastern United States this winter, I experienced some rough snowstorms with ice rain. Now that I've seen what can happen during any winter, I wasted no time getting myself a power station. This is a great time to get yourself one, since the Anker SOLIX C1000 Portable Power Station is 50% off right now, going for $397 (originally $799). This is the lowest price it has been, according to price-tracking tools. Anker SOLIX C1000 …

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…