Setting Up Your Home Office

If you're tired of how your Mac desktop looks, consider changing your app icons. It can be a fiddly process by default, but luckily, there are ways to make it easier. By using these methods, you can make your dock reflect your wallpaper's aesthetic, ensure that all app icons are the same size, or just replace ugly app icons with something better. Where to find Mac app icons Credit: Pranay Parab While you can easily find icons for various Mac apps with a quick web search, it's much easier to get them from a site dedicated to ic…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. There are plenty of places worth investing your money for long-term growth. But what about short-term savings? Shouldn’t you be able to earn a little something extra on that, too? A high-yield savings account functions like a traditional savings account but offers significantly higher interest rates. More specifically, the average interest rate on savings accounts is currently 0.41% per the FDIC. Compared to those meager returns on a traditional savings account, high-yield alternatives can deliver more than 4.50% APY—turning a potential $50 annual return on $10,000 into $450 or more. These accounts are typically offered b…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Kitchen appliances seem to gain more and more functionality each year, and with that, the lines can blur. Two appliances that might seem similar and equally capable (some look nearly identical) are the juicer and blender, but they’re actually quite different. Before you start shopping, consider the differences between these machines. It’s pretty likely that one will serve you better than the other. How does a juicer work?A juicer, as its name implies, is specifically and exclusively for producing juice from whatever you cram inside. Typically, that means fruits and vegetables. Some juicers are simple handheld machines with…

You might be used to AI chatbots answering your questions with a few sentences or even paragraphs, but how about multipage reports? With Deep Research, that's exactly what the likes of ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity are doing, utilizing their large language models alongside web searches and reasoning capabilities to become research assistants of sorts. A Deep Research query takes time (anything between five minutes to 30 minutes, depending on what you ask), but comes back to you with a detailed report on any subject you can ask about, including complex things like niche market research or scientific mysteries. Even better, all three major Deep Research AI providers now h…

Apple Music and Spotify are the two most popular streaming services in the world; most of us already have our favorite. Fans get into endless debates about which service is better, and for many people, that boils down to two factors: pricing and recommendation algorithms. However, there are many other factors that settle the Apple Music vs. Spotify debate—you could be after better sound quality, sharing features, support for your preferred platforms, and many other things. But which service is superior? It depends on what you're looking for. Apple Music vs. Spotify: pricingIf you're on a really tight budget and just cannot afford to pay for a music streaming service, Spo…

Considering that America was a relative latecomer to the Christmas tree—the practice didn’t really become popular here until the mid-19th century—we sure have come to love them. While plenty of Christmas traditions have entered the dustbin of history, the mighty Christmas tree has survived the years; about 25-30 million real trees are purchased each year. Unless you have zero plans to celebrate the holiday, chances are you’re one of those people. If you think finding a Christmas tree is just a matter of heading to the empty lot or the tree farm down the road and grabbing one that looks vaguely tree-shaped, you would be wrong. If you want the best possible Christmas tree e…

I've been reading and writing about productivity techniques for years now, and I continue to be shocked by the sheer variety and quantity on offer. There are so many (some admittedly more "duh" than others), and while many could easily slot right into my workflow, others led me to think, "Wow, that one wouldn't work for me at all." Obviously I don't personally use all of the methods I've written about, but it's not because I don't believe in them. The fact is that no technique will work for every person, and no one person is going to be suited to every technique. The trick is to figure out which one(s) might work for you. It's easy to learn about a technique, be persuad…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. The U.S. power grid is suffering more outages than ever—about 45% of utility customers experienced one in the first half of 2025—and the resultant blackouts are lasting longer. As our aging electrical grid struggles to keep up with increasing air conditioner use due to a hotter planet, not to mention artificial intelligence’s insatiable thirst for power, the problem will likely get worse: The U.S. Department of Energy estimates the risk of power outages will increase a mere 100 times over the next few years. If you're looking to stave off the worst of the fallout from our shaky power grid, you might be looking to purchase …

If you grow vegetables in the summer, you probably grow tomatoes, and they’re often the first vegetable a budding gardener tries to grow. It's not a bad call—there’s nothing like eating a vine-ripened tomato you grew yourself. But not all tomatoes are created equally, and it can be confusing to decide which tomatoes to grow. There are countless varieties, and instead of choosing based on the color or a cute name, learning the characteristics of different tomato types can help ensure a more successful tomato growing (and tomato eating) season. Whether you are growing tomatoes from seeds or buying seedlings at the nursery, here's what to consider to help you choose the rig…

There are many good reasons to get a VPN (Virtual Private Network) app installed on your phone or laptop: They make it harder for anyone else to track your browsing, they keep your data safe when you're on public wifi networks, and they even let you spoof your location so you can access geolocation-locked content. You'll also find plenty of choice when it comes to VPNs. Our own guides to the best paid VPNs and the best free VPNs show the wealth of impressive apps out there, and even when you narrow down the criteria, you've still got lots of options to pick from—see our recommendations for the best free VPNs for Android. So what exactly should you be looking for when it c…

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…

It's not surprising at this point to find out that a company you entrusted your data to turned around and sold it without your knowledge or consent—as antivirus provider Avast did for years through its software and browser extensions. And while monetary compensation doesn't undo the potential damage, nearly 3.7 million Avast customers are eligible for a refund for the trouble. Last year, Avast reached a $16.5 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, which includes compensation for users who bought Avast software between August 2014 and January 2020. The FTC found that the company collected information on religious beliefs, health concerns, political leanings…

I'll confess: my MacBook's keyboard has seen better days. I've been meaning to clean it for a while, but I always put it off because of how hard Apple makes disabling the keyboard in general: Whenever I switch off my MacBook, pressing literally any key powers it on again—not just the power button. That makes cleaning it tricky, since since an accidental keypress could trigger unwanted actions on my Mac. Luckily, there is a way to disable a MacBook's keyboard to make it possible to clean the laptop properly: It's just not obvious. Disabling your MacBook's keyboard for cleanupApple recommends turning off your MacBook before you try to clean it. To keep it switched off, you …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. I wear my Apple Watch continuously, only removing to to charge it or when I'm showering. I wear it to sleep and to work out, under heavy sweatshirts, on the beach—basically anywhere and everywhere. As you can imagine, the device gets dirty. But as you might also imagine, I have no interest in cleaning my expensive smartwatch in a way that might damage it. Here are the two methods I use to clean my fitness tracker without harming it—plus some other things to keep in mind when cleaning yours. Before doing any kind of cleaning, remove your watch band to make it easier to access all of its crevices. It's also a good idea to …

One of Apple's best recent features is iPhone mirroring, which lets you control an iPhone from a Mac. Scrcpy is a free application for Linux, Windows, and macOS that does the same thing: It allows you to control your Android phone from a window on your computer. This application takes a bit to set up—it launches from the terminal or command prompt, for one thing, and it only works if you enable developer mode on your Android phone. Once you set it up, though, you can control your Android's screen from your computer, or even turn on a virtual screen so you can launch applications while your phone is off. To get started, you will need to install Scrcpy (which is just "scree…

Rice noodle dishes are some of the most popular at Asian restaurants—pad see ew, pad Thai, pho, and mei fun—but cooking them at home can be tricky if you’re not familiar with their quirks. Don’t worry, though: None of the steps involved are that complex, and once you know how to handle rice noodles, you'll likely be able to use them in any dish without running into problems with them ever again. Here are three of my favorite tips for cooking rice noodles and avoiding a mushy mess. What are rice noodles?Rice noodles can be dry or fresh. They’re made by grinding fermented rice and water down into a paste, from which noodles are shaped and then dried. Once dry, they have a …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. It's amazing how many problems can be solved with good sleep hygiene. If you often feel low on energy, one of the first things you should ask yourself is how much sleep you're getting. Good sleep also helps our overall health, our recovery from exercise, our ability to focus, and more. And while there are plenty of gadgets and biohacks that claim to help, the fundamentals of sleep hygiene are basic and simple. How to know if you need more sleepMost adults need seven to nine hours of sleep, on average, each night. This varies: Uou might be a seven-hour person or a nine-hour person. (Young people usually need even more; old…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. When my cheap Amazon spin bike broke, I wanted to upgrade to something better. But even though I was already following along with Peloton videos on the company's app, I thought getting an actual Peloton was out of reach. Yet as I shopped, I began to change my mind: Even a good off-brand spin bike will start in the high triple digits, and it turns out Pelotons can be rented, or even purchased used. Thus began my quest for a cheaper Peloton, and in the end, I bought a used model I’m very happy with. Mine cost $950 through a Facebook Marketplace sale in 2022. If I had taken the time to shop around and negotiate more, I likely…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Making homemade bread and pizza can be greatly improved with the use of a pizza stone. I’ve used one for years, and it’s the best way to get a well-browned bottom crust. I thought I had it all figured out, until the pizza steel arrived. If you’re getting serious about cooking (and reheating) pizza at home, one of these tools should be in your oven. What’s a baking (or pizza) stone?A pizza stone is a plank or circle of ceramic or cordierite (a type of thermal shock-resistant ceramic). They’re typically between a half-inch to three-quarters of an inch thick and can range in size from nine to 20 inches across. Compared to a…

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. Despite some strong language I've used in the past, I don't believe that weight loss apps are inherently evil. At the same time, you're putting a whole lot of trust into this kind of app, and that can go poorly. You're depending on it to tell you how many calories you need, to accurately tell you how many calories you're eating and burning, to calculate how many calories you need in the first place, and to effectively motivate you toward healthy goals so you …

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…

Any new phone almost certainly comes with a handful of preinstalled apps you'll never use, regardless of which manufacturer you buy from or which operating system you're on. Some devices are more bloated than others: Google Pixels have a relatively "clean" build compared to Samsung phones, for example, and don't typically come with third-party apps and games. But you may still want to eliminate apps and features that clutter your home screen, take up valuable space, and create a drag on performance, especially if you have alternatives you like more. On Android, that likely means uninstalling what you easily can and disabling everything else. What you can (and can't) uni…

If I told you that your TV watches everything you do in the name of data collection and advertising, it likely wouldn’t shock you. It’s 2025, after all; we're used to a general lack of privacy. Still, it’s not cool, and it turns out you can stop it (even if your TV manufacturer has opted you into it). So, how do you stop your smart TV from tracking what you watch, so you can go back to the days of watching Netflix or playing video games in peace? You need to turn off ACR. How does your TV track what you watch?Meet ACR: This technology, short for automatic content recognition, allows your smart TV to watch what you watch, identify what you watch, and use that information …

If you're out and about with your laptop, or just in a different room than your charging cable, you want to eke out as much time as possible before the next recharge—and an important part of that is knowing which apps are draining the battery the quickest. Once you know who the worst offenders are as far as battery drain is concerned, you can do something about it. Maybe you can use the programs in question less often, enable any battery-saving features (if they're available), or uninstall them altogether and switch to less power-hungry alternatives. Take Google Chrome, for instance—not a program known for its light touch on system resources. If you find it's putting a lo…