Setting Up Your Home Office

With tax season in full swing, smart filers are looking to maximize every deduction available to them. We're all familiar with common tax deductions like mortgage interest, charitable donations, and retirement contributions. However, there are plenty of unexpected deductions and other little-known uses for pre-tax money. Andy Phillips, Vice President of H&R Block’s Tax Institute, shares some more unexpected facts about deductions. For instance, people who are wrongfully incarcerated may be able to exclude settlement money they receive to compensate them. And if you’re just starting to repay your student loans for the first time, you might not know that most taxpayers…

So, you want to buy a MacBook? You have no shortage of options. If you go directly through Apple, you can pick between the Air or the Pro, in two different sizes, across a seemingly endless number of configurations. If you're shopping from a third party retailer, the issue only compounds. There are a lot of MacBooks out there. Which machine you should purchase is entirely up to you and your unique needs. However, unless you have demanding or specialized work to do, there is one model that makes more sense than most. Before today, I recommended the M2 MacBook Air to most people. Its combination of price, portability, and power made it not just the best MacBook for most peo…

While many of us only have one Apple Account to manage, many others have two, and are using both with their Apple devices. I know someone who once created an Apple Account using an employer-linked email address, and at some point, created a second account with their personal ID. Now, they're using two accounts on their devices, with one linked to iCloud and Apple Music, and the other one for all other apps. If you've had Apple devices for a long time, you might have two Apple Accounts of your own. Despite this, Apple didn't allow users to merge purchases onto one account. So, if you wanted to access purchases on an old Apple Account, you needed to sign into it, even thoug…

Obsidian is the Winamp of productivity tools. If you're as ancient as I am, you might remember that the best part of that once-ubiquitous music player extension was the massive number of plugins and themes you could install to make it better, all of them built by enthusiasts. Obsidian is a good note-taking application on its own, stuffed with all kinds of features: You can organize notes in folders, link to notes from other notes, and even use advanced options like Mermaid diagrams. But like Winamp, Obsidian truly shines once you dig into its extensive plugin ecosystem. There are over 2,000 Obsidian plugins available as of this writing, and you can use them to basically t…

Scammers are getting increasingly clever about injecting apps with malware. Certainly it's nothing new that malicious apps are littered across the internet, but lately they've been popping up with alarming frequency even in theoretically safe spots like the Google Play Store and even Apple's App Store. Malware is even showing up on Steam, serving as a reminder that we all need to be careful with each and every app (or game) we choose to download onto our devices. As reported by GameRant, Valve recently removed a title called PirateFi from Steam. Created by developer Seaworth Interactive, the game was free to play, and was advertised as a survival adventure that let playe…

Artificial intelligence may be threatening to take your job, but the tech can also help you find a new one, Google thinks: It's just rolled out a new AI-powered tool called "Career Dreamer," which leverages AI algorithms to help you identify roles that are suited to your skills and experience. Google says it's worked with groups including students, recent graduates, adult learners seeking a career change, and veterans to help develop the tool. It's part of the wider "Grow with Google" portal, which offers a variety of tools and guides for job seekers and businesses—many of which involve some form of AI. …

While they will never have the name recognition of the Amazon Kindle, e-ink devices from Chinese tech company Onyx International—sold under the slightly silly "Boox" brand name—are gaining a cult following in the U.S. I've reviewed three of its e-readers and digital notebooks over the past year, and I'm a huge fan. And if you're reading this article, you probably are too (or soon will be). I love Boox devices not only because they're well built and full-featured (though if you want more of my thoughts there, check out my assessments of the Boox Palma, Note Max, and Note Air 4C). I also can't get enough of their customizability. Nothing makes me crazier than trying to do s…

While a "no-buy month" isn't anywhere in my future, I do stick to certain minimalist rules to keep my finances on track—specifically, the "one in, one out" method. Lifehacker's household expert Lindsey Ellefson recently covered this method for decluttering your homes. When you bring in a new shirt, an old one leaves your closet. I've found this principle works just as well when applied to personal finances. The concept is beautifully simple: Whenever I plan to purchase something new, I commit to selling something of equivalent value that I already own. Unlike traditional budgeting methods that focus solely on limiting purchases, this approach acknowledges our natural des…

As the April 15 tax filing deadline approaches, it's important to separate fact from fiction when it comes to preparing your returns. "Tax laws are often summarized for [the] sake of quickly explaining a potential benefit—or conflict," says Andy Phillips, Vice President of H&R Block’s Tax Institute. "When details are omitted, it’s easy to misinterpret law or consider the advice of a trusted friend versus taking time to do firsthand research." Blindly following someone else’s bad tax advice could cost you precious time and money. "I can file my tax return with the details from my last paycheck stub." The figures listed on your last paycheck stub may be close to what …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Apple’s AirPods Pro are among the best wireless earbuds you can buy, especially if you’re already entrenched in the Apple ecosystem. Like many Apple products, AirPods Pro are pretty simple to set up and use. However, there are also plenty of settings you should be using (and changing) from the default. Because many of the features are found in the same settings page, here's some advice: When I refer to AirPods Pro settings, I'm talking about those found in Settings > [Your AirPods] (iOS). You can also find these options in Settings > Bluetooth (iOS), or System Settings > Bluetooth (macOS), then by tapping the (i)…

At the end of last month, The Google Pixel 4a got a software update that rendered the device nearly unusable for some people, for seemingly unknown reasons. The update included "battery management features" that left some people with phones that couldn't hold a charge for more than 30 minutes. Google explained the problems in a support document and offered a few solutions, but again, it didn't explain the root cause of the issue. But now, there appears to be one possible explanation for the problem—overheating batteries—as mentioned in a Pixel 4a recall issued in Australia, spotted first by Android Authority. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) issue…

This week, I'm taking a look at a brain-rot creator Cookie King, whose constant output of brain-rot videos is shaping the internal lives of millions of kids under 15. I'm also taking a look at what people think ChatGPT would be like if it were a person, introducing the clueless to Beabadoobee, and dunking on "millennial burger joints." Meet Cookie King, the brain behind the brain rotI think of brain-rot internet memes as springing fully formed from the collective unconscious of the internet like Athena sprang from the head of Zeus, but the culture vultures at KnowYourMeme tracked down the actual person who is probably most responsible for brain-rot. Demir Basceri, known …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. In addition to checklists, tips, and tricks that can elevate your tidying game this spring, you're going to need products. It's a good idea to stock up so that once you get going, you know you won't have to take any breaks to gather missing reinforcements. The products can help you do more than clean, though—they can even make cleaning easier and more fun, which is good news for those of us who don't love cleaning up. If you’re like me and find cleaning more monotonous than fulfilling, why not use some tools that can make the endeavor easier? Spring cleaning tools for the kitchen …

YouTube's recent price hike has clearly left a hole in the market. If you want a fully ad-free YouTube experience, you currently need to pay $13.99/month (up from $11.99) or use a third-party workaround. But now, YouTube has a compromise. The service's new Premium Lite plan comes in at $7.99/month ($6 cheaper) and is supposed to block ads on most, but not all, content. With YouTube Premium Lite, YouTube won't show ads on popular categories of long form video, like gaming, fashion, beauty, news, and more. That's a bit vague, but in a video with Johanna Voolich, YouTube's Chief Product Officer, she says this means that all "core creator content", including podcasts…

Earlier this week, I proclaimed the brand new M4 MacBook Air the best MacBook for most people. In short, that's because Apple packages everything that's already great about modern MacBook Airs with its latest M4 chip, all for a fantastic MSRP of $999. The thing is, the M4 chip itself isn't brand new: Apple first rolled it out with the iPad Pro last May, before introducing the M4 MacBook Pro in October. Before this week, Apple had cemented the MacBook Air as the previous generation brand: If you want an entry-level Apple computer, you could buy the M2 MacBook Air for $999, or the M3 MacBook Air for a little more. If you wanted M4, well, that's "Pro" territory. M4 vs. M4No…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. This is a website about hacks, so you know I'm not going to advocate for a cleaning product unless it really gets the job done. Lifehacker has years' worth of archives explaining how, for the most part, common things like hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and vinegar get the major cleaning jobs taken care of, and all you need is a rag or a sponge to go with them. Still, there are some more specialized products that are worth having on hand. These are what I use to make cleaning easier and faster. Useful cleaning tools you might not haveFirst up, you need a little squeegee. In fact, I think you should have a few. The first …

"Photoshop" is synonymous with image editing, and for good reason. The app is an industry standard, and has been for over 30 years. But while Photoshop has been available on computers and tablets for some time now, those looking to edit images on their smartphones have had to make due with alternative programs—or simply stick to their other devices instead. That changes today. As of Tuesday, Feb. 25, Photoshop is officially on iPhone. You can go to the App Store, search "Photoshop," and see not just the usual alternatives—like Lightroom, Canva, and Facetune—but the real deal, too. Plus, the app itself is free, in addition to a number of "core imaging and design tools." A…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. International Women's Day, in one form or another, has existed since around 1909—placing the holiday's inception roughly in line with the early days of film. It seems fitting, then, to take a look at movies that examine and celebrate the accomplishments (and trials) of real women in history. This isn't an exhaustive list of movies about women who've changed the world (or at least changed their worlds), and there are plenty of very important women whose lives have never been touched by filmmakers (and others, sadly, with movies that aren't streaming—I'm looking at you Hypatia of Alexandria and Agora). But, like Internationa…

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 …

Android is redesigning its parental controls to give caregivers easier access to their child’s data, as well as bring what were initially smartwatch-only “School time” features to phones and tablets for the first time. Credit: Google It’s now easier to find screen time tools on AndroidFirst, all of Family Link’s screen time tracking tools are getting consolidated into one tab. This reflects changes Google made to Family Link’s screen time tools during the pandemic, which gave parents a more granular look at which apps their ki…

As a big fan of background music, I was intrigued by iOS 18.4's Control Center changes. It adds a new tab called Ambient Music to Control Center's list of customizable controls. You can use this to add one of four pre-selected Apple Music playlists (or your own) to the Control Center, your lock screen, or the Action Button (provided your iPhone has one). Up until now, you could play music via the Now Playing widget in the Control Center, but dedicated controls to launch playlists were missing. This feature is different from Background Sounds, which lets you play nature sounds on your iPhone in order to help you focus better. Even though Background Sounds is useful for eve…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. When you watch a piece of media produced in a language you don't speak, you have a couple of options. You can, of course, turn on subtitles and follow along by reading. But in some cases, you can switch the audio track to whichever language you speak. This is called the "dub," and it usually requires voice artists to record the lines in this new language—in a way that matches the original tone of the show or movie. This requires time and money, something studios aren't always willing to part with. As such, not everything has a dub. But what if it could? On Wednesday, Amazon announced "AI-aided dubbing" for Prime Video. O…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you don’t mind going the renewed route for automated home cleaning, you can now grab a refurbished iRobot Roomba j7+ for $249.99—a fraction of the cost compared to the $799 price tag on a new unit at Amazon or Best Buy. This deal gets you a Refurbished Premium model, meaning it’s been tested, inspected, and reconditioned to meet Amazon's "Renewed" standards, so you can expect it to work as intended. PCMag gave this vacuum an Editor’s Choice award for its ability to detect and avoid common household obstacles like power cords using its PrecisionVi…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. While there is something special about a physical book, e-books are a great alternative for reading on the go (and building a library that doesn't take up any space). If you want to read on your phone, tablet, or e-reader, there are a number of options for finding millions of titles to borrow or buy. Your e-reader choice doesn't necessarily limit where you can get e-books, as some of the best e-readers (Kindle and non-Kindle) support a wide range of document formats, which you can convert back and forth using a service like Calibre and Adobe Acrobat, with some limitations. (If you're in need of an e-reader, we've broken d…