Setting Up Your Home Office

A recent YouTube video from channel The Ultimate Discovery makes some claims that might surprise fans of actor Gene Hackman. According to the video, FBI agents searching Hackman's home following his death discovered a "hidden passageway concealed behind the library wall" that led to a "vast, eerie underground warehouse" containing documents, antiques, old photographs, and parts of unidentifiable machines. The walls were covered in runes and symbols that seem to be of ancient origin and could not be translated. Not only that, the bunker connects to larger network of tunnels, "similar to the catacombs of Paris." It's a pretty good story (if you can swallow the pre…

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. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Amazon's Big Spring Sale is back for only the second time, and while it’s not quite Prime Day levels of excitement, it still has a few solid gems tucked in. The event runs from March 25 to March 31, giving you a full week to poke around for deals. You don’t need to be a Prime member to participate, though Amazon claims Prime users will see deeper discounts. If you’re not already subscribed but are eyeing a few things, it might be worth signing up for a free 30-day trial, loading up your cart, and then dipping out before the billing cycle kicks in. O…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. As the weather warms up, it's a great time to get out for a run or a bike ride—but if you need some music to keep you motivated, it's crucial to have headphones that won't entirely shut out the outside world. A good bop is a wonderful thing; not being able to hear traffic and nearby cyclists is not. Earphones like the Anker Soundcore C40i, on sale for $89.99 (originally $119.99), are a good option because they clip onto the ear and don't entirely fill the ear canal. Anker Soundcore C40i Open Earbuds …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Peppers are one of the best vegetables to grow. They are expensive to buy, even when in season; they don’t take up a lot of garden space; and although there are a limited number of peppers available in stores, there are thousands of varieties are out there that you can grow. Plus, you can choose precisely when to harvest them. The pepper most people choose to grow in their garden—full size bell peppers—are a waste, though, in my opinion. Each plant only yields a few peppers, and because of their size, bell peppers take a while to grow and then to ripen. In that time, the pepper is susceptible to pests and disease. Even in…

Not that long ago, sending a message was final. It didn't matter if you had an embarrassing typo, or you sent a message to the wrong person: Once you tapped that "send" button, you were locked in, and whoever that message was sent to would have it as long as they wanted. These days, however, we have the technology to save ourselves from such embarrassment. Many chat apps now have options to retrieve a message after it was sent, whether by editing the message to fix a mistake, or the ability to delete a message from everyone in the chat. It doesn't guarantee that the people who received the message didn't see it, but it does remove that message from view. If they didn't c…

Apple has officially announced the date for its annual Worldwide Developer's Conference (WWDC), where it announces the latest and greatest software updates for many of its platforms, including the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch. This year, the event kicks off on June 9th with the public keynote, followed by a developers conference that will run until June 13. This is shaping up to be a big event for Apple, with sweeping changes in the iPhone user experience, including redesigned icons, menus, and apps. And we might even see a hardware announcement (but likely not any new MacBooks, as we just got an M4 MacBook Air). Updates to all major Apple operating systemsAs this i…

It's been clear for some time that the Gemini AI app would be replacing Google Assistant, once it had learned all the necessary tricks and been granted all the required hooks into other apps. Now, Google is in the process of actively dismantling the features available in Google Assistant ahead of its retirement. As per Google's official support document (as spotted by 9to5Google), seven more Google Assistant features have recently been pulled across Android devices and Nest smart speakers and displays. These deactivated features add to a bunch of other capabilities that were taken away last year. On smart displays, you can no longer use your voice and Google Assistant to …

I really like the iPhone's Dynamic Island, the pill-shaped cutout near the top of the device's screen. It's an aesthetically pleasing way to check your battery percentage, record voice notes, and control music playback, among many other things. Since many MacBooks have a display notch too, you can use an app to bring an iPhone-like Dynamic Island to your laptop. Doing this makes the cutout look like a useful design feature rather than an abrupt gap in the screen, and some apps even let you move the giant volume and brightness adjustment popups to the Dynamic Island. Alcove brings the Dynamic Island to your Mac …

Paramount+ is light on original content in April, though there are a handful of titles for viewers looking for music and sports. Following the music features that debuted in March, Paramount+ will debut An Evening with Elton John and Brandi Carlile (April 6), a primetime concert special—filmed on March 26 at London's Palladium Theatre—with live performances from both artists. There's also the premiere of the two-part documentary The Carters: Hurts to Love You (April 15), which gives an intimate look at the family of pop stars Nick and Aaron Carter through the eyes of their sister Angel. Paramount+ is exclusively streaming matches from the UEFA Champions League Q…

This is no time to be making inferior scrambled eggs—each shell must be cracked with a purpose and cooked to perfection. While you’ve probably scrambled a good few eggs in your time, it’s important to know that there are multiple ways to set up your scramble, and each way delivers a different result. Find out if you’ve actually been scrambling up the perfect egg, or if you need to switch your method. Heat and added ingredientsThere are plenty of ingredients that can alter the texture of your eggs, so I wanted to keep the components consistent to zoom in on which texture results from each scrambling tool (whisk, fork, immersion blender, and jar shaking). The addition of …

AI always reminds me of Clippy, the infamous talking paperclip added to Microsoft Office in the '90s. This little guy frustrated users, was based on a faulty understanding of how people want to use technology, and had a way of showing up even after you specifically turned it off. It was probably inevitable, then, for someone to make a tool that combines large language models and the 30-year-old animated paperclip. That someone is developer Felix Rieseberg, who built a Windows 95-themed Clippy app that can run real large language models on your computer. The application is available on Windows, Mac, and Linux devices, and works offline. Clippy looks just the way you rememb…

Last year, I advised readers that the "second-generation" AirPods Max were actually a worse deal than the original pair. Apple was charging $549 for headphones that were virtually identical to the pair that launched in 2020, only with USB-C instead of Lightning. What's more, Apple actually took away a feature with the USB-C pair: Unlike the Lightning AirPods Max, the USB-C model was not compatible with 3.5mm adapter, meaning you couldn't use them for wired playback. Seeing as the Lightning AirPods Max are frequently on sale by around $150, it seemed silly to recommend the newer, more expensive AirPods Max—unless you really couldn't live without USB-C. That is, until toda…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. There have been many earbuds with great active noise canceling (ANC) over the years, but none have reached the standard set in 2023 by the Bose QuietComfort Ultra. They are still the best ANC earbuds you can get in 2025. Right now, you can get them for $219 (originally $299) on Amazon, the lowest price they've ever been, according to price-tracking tools. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Bluetooth Earbuds Brand: Bose, Color: Black, Ear Placement: In Ear, Noise Contro…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. There was a time when you needed to spend over $1,000 to get your hands on a MacBook that could handle everything from spreadsheets to video edits without complaint. That’s no longer the case—at least not with this deal. This refurbished 2020 MacBook Air with the Apple M1 chip is down to $549.99 for the 8GB RAM + 512GB SSD model and $589.99 for the 16GB RAM + 256GB SSD configuration. Both are “Grade A” units, meaning they might have little to no visible wear even though they are refurbished. You get the same M1 chip that helped Apple cut ties with I…

Google I/O 2025 was chock full of announcements. The problem is, Google isn't always clear about which features are new, which have already been released, and which are coming out in the future. While there are plenty of features to look out for on the horizon, and a number still that you've been able to use for some time, there are brand new features Google rolled out immediately after announcing them. Here are all the Google I/O features you can check out right now—though some do require you to pay. Imagen 4 Credit: Google G…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. If you find running intimidating, know that there is another way to get some fresh air while doing a reasonably intense workout. It’s called interval walking training (IWT), or sometimes "Japanese walking" or "3x3 walking." It’s a form of HIIT, but it won’t end in you collapsing on the floor, hating your life. Here’s how to do it. How to do the 3x3 "Japanese walking" workoutThe original protocol for this exercise, as published here in 2007 by Hiroshi Nose’s team at Shinshu University in Japan, used a lab test to help people determine how fast they should walk during the workout. Since that’s not practical for most of us,…

If your Windows computer is crashing unexpectedly and showing you a blue screen error, there's now a fix for that. As BleepingComputer reports, Windows updates pushed in March and April are triggering a secure kernel fatal error, causing devices running Windows 11 version 24H2 to crash and display a blue screen exception with error code 0x18B, indicating a SECURE_KERNEL_ERROR. To address this issue, Microsoft has released a Known Issue Rollback (KIR), which is a quick, targeted fix for non-security bugs. It's a temporary solution since it rolls back earlier updates, while the company works on a new update to patch the problem. Here's how to apply it to your device. Wha…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. No matter how locked down your identity information is, there’s probably a gaping hole in your security efforts: your car. Just like you, your car is linked to a few numbers. Unlike you, it rolls around with those numbers—your license plate number and the vehicle’s VIN—out in the open. Your car’s identity is even more vulnerable than yours, and that vulnerability can have a huge negative impact on you. Here’s what to know about car identity theft and how to protect your vehicle. Plates and VINsYour car’s public identity is tied to two things, its license plate number and vehicle identification number (VIN). The license pla…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. What exactly makes a movie a “classic” varies wildly and with the viewer, as does the appropriate timescale. For some, a movie from a decade ago might be eligible (I call these movie fans “children”). For others, you have to go back much further. Today, I’m going to do the latter, taking a look at some of the great (or, at least, greatly entertaining) movies that were released no later than the tail end of the 1970s. (Even if I find it personally distressing to label movies younger than I am “classics.”) Quibbling over semantics aside, these offerings prove how deeply rewarding it is to dig through the back catalog of mo…

This post is part of our Home Remedy Handbook, a tour of the landscape of home remedies from the iffy to the doctor-approved. Read more here. Children under 4 years old shouldn’t use over-the-counter cough and cold medicines, the FDA has warned. So what do you do instead? Try home remedies, which “may work better than medicines” for young children, the American Academy of Pediatrics says. The AAP also notes that you don’t have to treat a child’s symptoms just because they have a cold. If your kid is acting normally and the cough or runny nose don’t seem to bother them, no action is needed. This includes fevers: While you should call the doctor for a fever over 102 (or, f…

In a move that should surprise no one, Meta—the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and Threads—wants to monetize its websites. Threads, which launched two years ago, had somehow mostly avoided showing ads until now, only allowing a limited number to certain users in the US and Japan. But the site has become quite popular since then, so now, it's time for it to start contributing to the family business. Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced this update in a Threads post this week, which reads, "Ads are rolling out more broadly on Threads today, and our goal is still for them to enhance your overall experience. We’re closely monitoring and will continue listening to you…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Corporations are a driving force behind almost every part of American life—including the movies we watch. It sometimes feels like they hold all the power, and, actually, they kinda do. But if the power of capitalism can’t be overcome, it can at least be checked once in a while. And it can be extremely satisfying to watch a crusader standing up for the rest of us. Here are 15 movies about heroes defying big corporations, most of them at least inspired by true events. Usually, reality is at least as wild as what made it to the screen. As The Constant Gardener author John le Carré observed in the afterward to (and the end cre…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. As you embark on this year's spring cleaning, take it seriously. Upgrade your supplies and tools so you can do the best possible job. Some of the tools I've featured here save you time, some of these get your stuff even cleaner, and some of them will save you money by reducing the single-use products you rely on. When it's time for spring cleaning, these are a good jumping-off point to get your home in order and keep it in order. Upgraded cleaning tools for the kitchen O-Ce…