Setting Up Your Home Office

Even the most loyal Apple users will admit that the company is lagging behind when it comes to AI, with Siri's big Apple Intelligence upgrade now officially delayed (having been heavily promoted throughout last year). In a new blog post, Apple outlines some of the ways it's hoping to get back on track. One of the potential reasons for Apple's generative AI struggles may be that it prioritizes user privacy a lot more than the likes of OpenAI and Google. Apple doesn't gather any user data to train its large language models or LLMs (though it has trained its models on free text on the web), and relies heavily on synthetic data to produce AI text from prompts and from existin…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Heart rate variability (HRV) and resting heart rate (RHR) are the metrics that most wearables' "recovery" numbers are based on. I wore five devices to bed for two weeks to see how their readings compared. Those devices were an Apple Watch Series 10, a Fitbit Charge 6, a Garmin Forerunner 265S, an Oura Ring 4, and a Whoop 4.0. Why these five? Well, they're the major brands that people tend to gravitate toward when they want to track sleep, and for each I chose the best (in my opinion) of each company's current offerings. I had most of them on hand due to testing them for recent or upcoming reviews. The Apple Watch Series 1…

Fortnite is coming back to the iPhone next week, according to Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney. That may not sound like huge news to those of you that have never played Fortnite, but the game's return follows a court ruling that has implications for many other apps you likely use every day. The ruling, from judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, states definitively that Apple is no longer allowed to stop developers from linking to purchases outside the App Store or limit them from explaining where such purchases can be made. What does this mean practically? Well, have you ever tried to subscribe to Netflix, upgrade Spotify, or buy a Kindle book on your iPhone? These things can't be done…

If there words or phrases you want to remove from you vocabulary, but can't seem to shake, there's a helpful trick I have learned over the years: Set up your computer and phone to automatically replace the word when you type it. I've written about Mac computers for a long time, which among other things means I mention the menu bar—that strip at the top of the screen with text menus and icons—multiple times a week while writing. For a long time, I combined those two words, writing "menubar," even though that is technically incorrect. A former editor of mine hated that I did this. Like, really hated it. He got so sick of it that he told me to go into my Mac's settings and s…

Following the major image editing upgrades added to Google Gemini back in August—under the whimsical codename Nano Banana—it's OpenAI's turn to supercharge the tools you get for image manipulations inside ChatGPT. The new update is called GPT Image 1.5, and is rolling out now for all users. One of the key improvements here, as was the case with Nano Banana, is the way that ChatGPT can now edit a specific part of an image while keeping everything else consistent. You can add or remove something, or change the color or style of something, without ending up with an entirely different looking picture. Another feature ChatGPT has now borrowed from Gemini: the ability to combin…

AI bots want to help with your web searches as well as everything else, and Claude is the latest artificial intelligence assistant to get the ability to look up information online—whether that's the latest news headlines or the latest prices on gadgets. "With web search, Claude has access to the latest events and information, boosting its accuracy on tasks that benefit from the most recent data," says developer Anthropic. The feature is available now across all paid plans, and is "coming soon" for free users. Web search is a different kind of challenge for AI models, testing their ability to sift through and assess content published on the web, rather than embedded in its…

Dedicated runners and winter athletes will tell you that exercising in the cold is not as tough as it looks. Personally, I'd rather risk frostbite over any treadmill run that lasts longer than 20 minutes. But is there a point where winter runs cross over from difficult to dangerous? There is no clear cut-offMost experts suggest that the danger zone begins around -18°F (-28° Celcius), particularly when factoring in wind chill. At these extreme temperatures, the risk of frostbite increases dramatically, and breathing frigid air can become uncomfortable or even harmful to your lungs and airways. But beyond the raw temperature, certain conditions should prompt you to choose …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. I’m one who can appreciate the great diversity of squats in the world. High squats, low squats, front squats, back squats—they’re all beautiful. And yet, people on the internet love to argue about which squat is the best. So here’s a little guide to squat depth, and how to find the squat that’s right for you. The short, easy answer is that you probably want to squat "to parallel," and I'll explain what that means, but there are advantages to squatting lower and higher than parallel, depending on your goals in the gym. What is squat depth, anyway? When people talk about how "deep" a squat is, they're referring to how low yo…

Like millions of Americans, I've been watching the news of Nancy Guthrie's disappearance with concern—so I was somewhat relieved when the FBI announced they were releasing new footage of a suspect. Finally, the case had something to go on, even if it was only doorbell video of a masked stranger. When I saw the footage, I assumed this was something the FBI had in their possession since the beginning, and had finally decided to release to the public. But that's not what happened at all. If you have been following this case closely, you may know that law enforcement had previously confirmed that Guthrie's Google Nest camera was disconnected (presumably by the perpetrator), a…

I gave up wearing an Apple Watch about three marathons ago. Fitness watches are fantastic tools for most runners, but they're not for me—especially when I'm not training for a specific race. It turns out that, for me, there's a distinct freedom in running without a training plan. After years of following structured programs with specific paces, distances, and workout types, I've learned to appreciate the art of intuitive running—letting my body guide the way rather than my watch. The joy of watchless runningThe decision to ditch my running watch was a conscious one. No more obsessing over pace, distance, or heart rate. Instead, I've developed a deeper connection with my …

While OpenAI is pushing ads on its free users, DuckDuckGo's Duck.ai portal is going a different way. Duck.ai is a privacy-first AI chatbot that doesn't use your data for training, but still gives you AI answers using popular models, including those from OpenAI. The data privacy feature goes beyond as well. DuckDuckGo removes all private metadata (like your location and IP address) before prompting the AI model, and it doesn't share anything about you or your device. Your questions, as well as DuckDuckGo's answers, are never used for AI training. Since its launch in 2024, the portal has only offered a chatbot interface, but now, DuckDuckGo has added a voice mode as well. …

If you've ever joined me in the misfortune of downloading TikTok, you've probably spent at least one evening mindlessly scrolling until two or three in the morning, not even looking for anything in particular to watch. According to the EU, that needs to change, as the region has preliminarily determined that the "addictive" app is in violation of its Digital Services Act. The decision came on Feb. 5 and followed an investigation from the European Commission into the effects that features including infinite scrolling, autoplay, push notifications, and the fabled TikTok algorithm have on the minds of users. According to the commission's findings, "TikTok did not adequately…

Everyone wants privacy, but how far are you willing to go for it? For most people, the answer is "not very far." The cost of privacy is not only the knowledge it takes to navigate safely and invisibly online, but often also the inconvenience that comes with security practices practices like using VPNs, installing ad blockers and other extensions, and using a non-Chrome browser. If you go to extra lengths to protect your online privacy, we want to hear from you. And if you go to extreme lengths, we definitely want to hear from you. The first time I switched to a privacy-focused browser, I wondered why I hadn't done it sooner. I left Google Chrome after reading one of the …

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. Though its mobile app is quite bad, the web version Google's NotebookLM has become one of my most-used tools since I started playing around with the AI large language model last spring. I've found a ton of ways to use it to be more efficient in my everyday life, which is (much) more than I can say for other AI-enabled applications I've tried. Instead of (poorly) doing the work for you, NotebookLM acts as a true helper, assisting in organizing information for you without being intrusive. And one of the mo…

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. When I first unboxed the Hydrow Arc Rowing Machine, I was cautiously optimistic. While rowing machines always sounded great in theory—an efficient, low-impact, full-body workout!—when I tried them in the past, I felt like reality fell far short of the hype, but my initial impressions were promising, and the machine itself is really nice. And now, after 30 days of consistent rowing, I can confidently say that my legs do indeed feel stronger than ever. Moreover…

I am not a morning person, and I never have been—well, unless I have to make money. For years, my start time at my old job was 5 a.m. and, against all odds, I made it in every day. Now, I teach a 6 a.m. spin class twice a week after being moved off the more-tolerable late morning shift. Until a few months ago, though, I was sleeping through every alarm on all the other days, even though I knew I should be getting up and going to the gym early as a solid way to start my day. It took me a long time, but I have managed to force myself into being the kind of person who is up before the sun and done with my daily exercise routine before my friends are even out of bed. Here's e…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. If you’ve been shopping around for knives, you’ve probably noticed that there are tons of options available to you. Between boning knives, filet knives, bread knives and the like, it can start to feel like each ingredient needs its own special blade. Recently, I was wondering if a carving knife would be worth adding to my toolkit, so I got one to test out. It was sharp, light, and pretty to look at, but it turns out I didn’t need a carving knife at all. I have been working with a lot of chicken lately—spatchcocked birds, butterflied chicken breasts, and deboned chicken thighs—and when you’re slicing a lot of meat you begi…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. If your kitchen counter is currently housing a Vitamix blender, you know that you can whip up some serious soups, sauces, and nut butters in that thing. In fact, my Vitamix's hot soup function is one of my favorite ways to use it. But it is almost summer, and I am no longer in the mood for soup. Now I crave chilled treats. Can my favorite blender, the Vitamix Ascent X5 go from hot soup to sorbet? Yes, and surprisingly well. Here’s how to make yourself a frozen dessert in this amazing blender. The Vitamix is not an ice cream machineIt’s important to note that the Vitamix is a blender, and not an ice cream machine. Most ice…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. While I was a total pizza hater as a child, I've come around as an adult—maybe a little too far around. It's one of my favorite things to make at home. I use pizza as a vehicle for using up leftovers, and as a way to save money on lunch. Through years of pizza trials, I've collected some sure-fire tricks that ensure the best homemade pizza possible. Flavorful crusts, balanced toppings, and even browning—you don’t need to have a home kitchen outfitted with a giant stone kiln to reach pizza perfection. But you do need to know a few things. Ferment the dough …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Unsightly water stains will kill the vibes in even the most beautiful bathroom, to say nothing of what they do to the look of other parts of your home. From shower humidity to internal leaks and ventilation problems, these stains have all kinds of causes. But after you’ve identified what made the mark on your wall in the first place, you still need to remove it without making the problem worse. Water stains typically won't appear on tile; they need a more absorbent surface, which is why they show up on bare walls. Since your walls are probably painted, this presents a problem: How can you wash a wall without damaging it a…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. When I first reviewed the Boox Palma e-reader, I called it the ideal solution to your doomscrolling habit—a device as portable and pocketable as a phone, with an adaptable Android operating system that allows you to run any apps you want, but with an e-ink screen that is both easier on the eyes and not nearly as stimulating to stare at as your smartphone’s LED display. Weirdly, by looking like a smartphone but feeling just a little bit worse to use (complimentary), this little device helped me smash my 2025 reading goal in fewer than six months. But doomscrolling isn’t a mobile-only problem (at least, not for me)—it’s just…

There are plenty of distractions to deal with in our modern digital age—see if you can manage to get all the way through this article without turning your attention elsewhere at least once, for example. All that surrounding noise can make it difficult to stick to the task at hand, and actually get some solid work done. I enjoy browsing social media and exploring the web as much as the next person, but I've also got plenty of writing to get through every day, and distractions can seriously slow me down. Studies have shown that we do much better when we focus on one task at a time, which for me is writing guides and articles. While distraction-free devices such as the Freew…

Like everybody else, at the end of every December, I start thinking hard about what I want the next year to be like for me. You can chalk it up to all the Capricorn placements in my birth chart if you want (and I do!) or blame the cultural obsession with a "new year, new me" approach, but I take my New Year's resolutions seriously and generally try to come up with realistic, actionable plans to improve myself and my life. It's easy to identify the things I want to change and even easy to figure out how, exactly, I should do that, but that doesn't mean it's easy to stick to the new plan. Real life gets in the way no matter what year it is, but the degree to which it does t…

There’s a stereotype of the phone-obsessed gym rat hogging equipment while they “just sit there and scroll on their phone.” Excuse me, I am logging my sets and trimming my training videos and, um, scrolling Reddit, and yeah I kind of got sucked into TikTok somehow? And there’s a work email, crap, it could wait until after but I’m really curious what it says. Just a sec while I open it... Yeah, I’m not the only one who can get a bit distracted during a training session. You're probably doing it too. So I've always loved this tip from powerlifting coach Claire Zai about setting a “focus” on your phone for when you’re working out. How your phone can actually help you focus …

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…