Setting Up Your Home Office

Anyone on the hunt for a new home knows how quick the turnaround can be on a listing. I’m currently looking to rent an apartment in New York City, and know well the pain of seeing a dream listing get posted in the morning and snagged by someone (presumably wealthier and faster than I) within a few hours. You might not be able to control the time of year you need to move, but you can control how you time your search for specific listings. If you want to optimize your house or apartment hunt, you need to know the best times to look for new listings. When to search new house and apartment listingsLet's do a little reverse-engineering here. In order to figure out the best t…

I enjoy Super Bowl Sunday. I’m not much of a football fan, but my friend always hosts a lovely party with plentiful snacks, and I don’t have to do a thing. You see, hosting a dinner party is one thing—there’s a set meal, and you can plan out the timing—but a party based on hot snacks means lots of upkeep, and frequent refreshing. You need a lineup of snacks that are delicious, easy to prep, and quick to churn out, leaving you plenty of time to yell at the TV. This sounds like a job for the air fryer. Here’s a list of my favorite Air Fryday snacks fit for the big game. Cheese-stuffed biscuit ballsYou know what’s better than cheesy breadsticks? These cheese-stuffed biscuit…

A recent software update meant to stabilize battery performance on the Pixel 4a has had an unexpected side effect: Some Pixel 4a owners are reporting that their phones can now barely hold a charge. There's a particularly egregious example on Reddit, where a user reported that their phone is down from seven hours of screen time on a single charge to just 30 minutes. Pixel 4a's battery performance issuesEarlier this month, Google published a detailed document explaining the Pixel 4a software update to Android 13. The company says that some people are experiencing a degradation in the battery's capacity, runtime, or performance, as is expected with lithium-ion batteries of a…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. GoPro has such a hold over the action camera world, casual users might assume its brand name is synonymous with action cameras as a whole. But simply assuming GoPro is the be-all and end-all of small, dedicated cameras would do a disservice to popular competitors like DJI. It won’t take long when watching any tech YouTuber’s behind the scenes videos to start seeing DJI's products pop up—one creator has even famously gotten in trouble for stress testing a DJI camera by speeding—and that’s for good reason. DJI’s gear tends to punch in the same weight class as GoPro’s while costing a little less, and arguably having slightly …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Samsung's Galaxy Buds 3 are down to $79.99 (from $119.99) on Woot for the next five days or until they sell out. If you’re a Prime member, you also get free shipping; otherwise, it’ll cost you an extra $6 (just a heads-up, though: These won’t ship to Alaska, Hawaii, or any P.O. B\boxes). Samsung's Galaxy Buds 3 at Woot …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. I'll download any app. If I see an ad or hear about an app, it's going right on my phone. I don't care at all if it's all a scheme to get my data. My data is out there, baby, and it's too late to care, so I might as well reap all the benefits these flash-in-the-pan, VC-bolstering apps can give me. Most of the time, I don't get much. But sometimes, I get free stuff! I love trading my data and precious, finite time on this earth for meager rewards. Here are my favorite ways to do it. The best ways to get free food or drinksI've mentioned this before, but the Dunkin' Donuts app is elite in terms of rewards. The powers that b…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Amazon dropped the Kindle Colorsoft, its first e-reader with a color screen, last fall, and you'd be forgiven for thinking that they were the first company to crack the concept: a device with a screen that offers all the benefits of e-ink—no harsh backlight, easy readability in any light—that wasn't just in muddy-looking greyscale. But while Amazon controls the vast majority of the e-reader market, lots of other companies are more innovative in their device designs, and others have been iterating on color e-ink for half a decade. One of the companies is Onyx International, a Chinese tech company that has been producing e-i…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. There was a time when I would confuse the terms “Dutch oven” and “slow cooker.” I couldn’t tell you why, but it was probably because I had never really operated either of them before and these vague, old-timey titles fused together in my mind. (I envisioned a cauldron over a fire.) Well, let the record show that they’re not the same. Not only are they completely dissimilar in appearances, but they specialize in somewhat different cooking tasks. H Both cookers are known for their slow and steady cooking properties, and due to their deep shape, the Dutch oven and slow cooker are both good candidates for high-moisture foods. …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. It can get a bit confusing to decide between the standard iPad, the iPad Air, and the iPad Pro. For the most budget-friendlyoption, the iPad 10th gen is your best bet. For those looking for top-of-the-line specs, the iPad Pro is the way to go. If you're somewhere in between, that's where the iPad Air's sweet spot is. Right now, the latest 11-inch M2 Wifi iPad Air is $499 (originally $599), and the Wifi + Cellular version (if you don't want to rely on wifi) is $649 (originally $749)—for both models, those match their lowest-ever prices, according to …

Searching for a job can feel like a full time job itself. It’s easy to feel defeated when it feels like you’re sending your resume out into the void and hearing nothing back the majority of the time. Maybe you’re graduating soon, or making a career pivot, or jumping back into the workforce after some time away—the job hunt humbles us all. An action plan is key to turning your overwhelming job search into a much more manageable process—both in terms of your sanity and to increase your chances of getting hired. Personally, I love a good spreadsheet. Whether or not you’re Team Spreadsheet, you should create some form of a career search action plan. Why you need an action pla…

The cold weather has had me putting my Dutch oven through its paces the past couple weeks with a succession of stews, breads, and soups. Everything I make just seems to come out better during the winter, maybe because the thick cast iron emanates warmth long after I turn off the flame, or because removing the lid of the heavy pot always feels like opening a treasure chest. Whatever the reason, every meal has more than satisfied. This week, I tried out my crispy chicken and rice recipe, and I’d like to encourage you to do the same. Chicken and rice is one of those rare dishes with countless iterations from across the world. It’s an undeniably comforting combination, and i…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. In the same way that cranking up blues music can serve as a balm to a troubled soul, sinking into a deeply sad movie can be just the thing to give you a sense of catharsis. After all, everyone loves a good wallow once in a while—and in an era of highly calculated blockbusters designed not to offend anyone, it’s oddly refreshing to watch a movie that’s unafraid to make you feel bad. It takes more than a mere unhappy ending to join the ranks of the all-time most depressing movies, however. These flicks favor a pervasive sense of existential gloom, whether they are drawing attention to the plight of people facing unimaginable…

If you want to become a faster runner, you’ll probably end up doing a lot of speedwork on a track. Or if you live in a hilly place, you might wish you had a nice flat track to run on. But how do you find one that’s open to the public? Turns out it’s easier than you might think. Many public high school tracks are available for the community to use. Call local schoolsWord of mouth is your best option for finding the best local tracks; guaranteed there are tons of people in your community who know which schools have an open track. You can ask runners, ask parents (they'll know the schools pretty well), or cut out the middleman and call the school. I run on a local school tr…

This week, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that Fitbit has agreed to pay a $12.25 million settlement over one of their older smartwatches, which had a battery defect that left some users with serious burns. Meanwhile, Fitbit itself announced that some of its more recent smartwatches—the Sense and the Versa 3—may also have an issue with overheating batteries that could pose a hazard to wearers, and is updating their software to fix the issue. What is the problem with Sense and Versa 3?According to a notice posted on the Fitbit Help Center, some (not all) Sense and Versa 3 devices have a defective battery that could overheat and possibly cause burns. Both o…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Super Bowl LIX kicks off on Sunday, Feb. 9 at 6:30 p.m. ET. This year, the game is being broadcast by Fox with a pregame show starting at 2 p.m. ET and game coverage at 6 p.m. ET. Even if you don't have cable, there are a few ways, both paid and free, that you can watch all the action live from Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. Watch free on TubiThe game—as well as pre- and post-game coverage—will be streaming on Fox-owned Tubi for free, with 4K available on some devices (including Roku, Fire TV, Android TV, and Apple TV). You do need to sign up for a Tubi account, but no credit card is required. Tubi also includes the NF…

If you had an Apple Watch between 2015 and February of last year, there’s a chance the company might owe you a small payout. That’s thanks to a recent $20 million settlement on a class action lawsuit over swollen batteries. Apple has denied all wrongdoing, saying in a statement sent to Lifehacker sister publication CNET that “we strongly disagree with the claims made against these early generation Apple Watch models.” Still, rather than move forward with legal fees, the company is just choosing to pay a lump sum and get it over with instead. Given that the lawsuit, Smith et al. v. Apple Inc, lasted for over five years, that’s understandable. Getting your piece of the set…

Max's March slate includes the fourth and final season of original comedy series The Righteous Gemstones (March 9), featuring Danny McBride, Adam Devine, John Goodman, and Edi Patterson, among others, as members of the famous televangelist Gemstone family. Episodes will debut weekly on Sundays. At the end of the month, Max Original reality series Paul American (March 27) will premiere, with weekly episodes stretching into April and May. The eight-installment show gives an inside look into the lives of Jake and Logan Paul. HBO is also releasing a nine-part sports documentary, Celtics City (first episode premieres on March 3), about the NBA franchise from its orig…

Home ownership is a key goal for many Americans despite the financial and environmental challenges posed in today's real estate market—and the transition from renting an apartment to owning a house is, in itself, a challenge in many ways. One of those challenges is adjusting your approach to furnishing and decorating your living spaces, especially if you’re going from a small rental to a large house. Decking out a house you own can be a different experience from making a rental into a comfortable space because the scale is different: Budgets have to be bigger because you’re usually filling more space, purchases tend to be more long-term because you’re not sweating the en…

As with other AI bots like ChatGPT and Copilot, there are free and paid options for Google Gemini: For $20 a month, you can upgrade to a Google One AI Premium plan, which includes Gemini Advanced. Chances are you're already signed up to a host of digital subscriptions, so is Gemini Advanced shelling out even more cash? Here's how the features on the free plan and the Google One AI Premium plan stack up against each other right now—bear in mind the paid plan includes some extras beyond the Gemini Advanced AI, which I've listed at the end. As a Google One AI Premium subscriber, I've talked a little bit about my experience of these features, too. Comparable features …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Have you ever switched gyms and tried to do your usual workout, only to find that the machines are a lot harder—or maybe a lot easier? Before you start questioning your strength or your training, you need to know something: you can’t trust the numbers on the weight stack, and you shouldn’t expect them to match from gym to gym or even machine to machine. What do the numbers on the weight stacks mean? When you’re looking at a cable machine, or any type of strength training machine with a stack of rectangular weights, there is probably a little sticker on each plate with a number. Sometimes those numbers are in pounds, and …

There are a lot of music streaming services to choose from right now. Many of us subscribe to Spotify or Apple Music, but still others may use YouTube Music, Amazon Music, or Tidal. They all have their pros and cons, but if price is the most important factor for you, it's a good time to check out Apple's offering. Apple Music usually costs $10.99 for individual users, $16.99 for families, and $5.99 for students—pretty standard for music streaming pricing. Today, however, Apple announced an impressive deal for eligible new subscribers: Six months of Apple Music for $2.99. That's not three dollars per months, but three dollars total. Who's eligibleThat's a pretty great val…

When you have a project to work on but just can't get started or make significant progress, it's easy to beat yourself up about it—which also doesn't do much to put you in a go-getter mindset. When you're feeling stuck, you can certainly choose a productivity method that might work better for you, but before you do that, it's a good idea to orient yourself by asking yourself a handful of questions about what you are hoping to accomplish. Here are five questions to ask yourself the next time you're stuck and feeling unproductive, so you can get moving again. "When was the last time I was as productive as I wanted to be?"We all go through periods where we're less or more p…

If you have T-Mobile, and either an iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy device, you now have access to Starlink—potentially. Here's the scoop: Back in December, T-Mobile announced a partnership between itself and SpaceX to bring Starlink service to customers. Then, earlier this month, the company started accepting users into the beta, but only those with specific, recent Samsung devices. However, that changed when Apple released iOS 18.3 this week. It seems the iPhone maker has been working with SpaceX and T-Mobile to roll out Starlink support to iPhones as well—though none of this was announced from Apple as part of the update. T-Mobile isn't letting all iPhones customers into…

Your eyes are fragile, complex, and important to your well-being, but taking care of them can be expensive. First of all, it’s not easy to get glasses without a recent prescription, and the average cost of an eye exam without insurance coverage is close to $200. The average cost of the glasses themselves is about $230—and that’s before you add on the coatings you need. This can be a real challenge for the estimated 63% of Americans who don’t have vision insurance, meaning they’re paying out of pocket. There are resources that can offer low-cost or even free eye exams and glasses, however, if you meet certain requirements (like income level and lack of insurance). If you o…

On Tuesday, Apple announced Apple Invites, a new app for iPhones that creates custom event invitations "for any occasion." If that sounds a lot like popular party planning apps like Partiful, that's because, well, it is—only, this app integrates with the greater iOS experience, which is likely bad news for third-party competitors. This isn't a surprise to anyone follow Apple rumors closely. As reported by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple has been working on an invite system for iOS, internally referred to as "Confetti." It wasn't clear whether those plans would manifest as a standalone app, or rather as options built-into existing apps like Calendar and iMessage. Of course,…