Setting Up Your Home Office

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you’ve been eyeing a pair of noise-canceling headphones but don’t want to spend over $300 for the usual suspects, this deal on the Anker Soundcore Space One Pro might be worth a closer look. It’s currently going for $129.99 on Woot for the next three weeks or until it sells out, which is $70 less than the current Amazon price. It’s new, has an 18-month manufacturer warranty from Anker, and ships free if you have Amazon Prime (if not, it'll cost you $6 for shipping). Just keep in mind, Woot only ships to the 48 contiguous states—so if you're in Al…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Warm weather is finally here, and it deserves a proper soundtrack. Whether you’re headed to the beach, camping in the woods, or taking a bike ride, the JBL Clip 5 is a compact Bluetooth speaker that’s built to tag along. Its IP67 rating ensures it’s both waterproof and dustproof, making it suitable for any outdoor adventure this summer. At 38% off, it's currently at its lowest price ever, according to price-trackers. JBL Clip 5 Speaker …

For many, Microsoft Edge's only purpose is to download another browser entirely, like Chrome or Firefox. But this isn't Internet Explorer: Edge is a competent browser in its own right, whether you have a Mac or a PC. If you do use the browser, you might be pleasantly surprised by how snappy it feels after you update it—at least, according to Microsoft. Edge 134 and newer's performance gains In a Thursday post on Windows Blogs, Microsoft confirmed that, starting with version 134, Microsoft Edge is a tad faster than previous iterations. In fact, Edge 134 is up to 9% faster, when you run it through Speedometer 3.0, a benchmarking tool for web browsers. Microsoft says that wh…

On Thursday, Google rolled out a number of previously-paywalled Gemini features to free users. You can now use Gemini custom chatbots, which the company calls "Gems"; Deep Research, which runs AI models that "think" through each step of a problem; and upload files to Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking, whether you pay for Google's AI services or not. But that's not all: The company also introduced new experimental feature for Gemini—Gemini with personalization. This feature, which runs on Google's Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking model, connects Gemini to your Google apps and services, with the goal of offering you a more personal AI assistant. The idea is, by connecting your Google Acc…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. We all know that renovating and remodeling a house is expensive. An average kitchen renovation costs more than $27,000, and a bathroom will run you more than $25,000 even if your plans are relatively modest. A lot of that cost is labor, which runs anywhere from $20 to $150 per hour depending on the trade involved and the specific contractor. If you’re looking to save some money on your home project, doing it yourself is one of the most obvious ways to go. But there are other, less obvious ways you can trim costs on your DIY renovation or remodel. To save money on a house project, it’s not always about buying cheaper materi…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you're in the market for a budget-friendly Apple Watch, the SE 2nd Gen is currently $80 off during Amazon's Big Spring Sale. Normally priced at $299, the current discount brings the smartwatch down 27% to $219. This is as low a price as this watch ever gets, according to price-tracking tools. Apple currently sells three Apple Watch models: the Series 10, Ultra 2, and second-generation SE. The SE line comes with the smallest size option and bare minimum specs, making it the go-to budget option for most smartwatch wearers. Its aluminum body packs a…

Moving is something that drains you of time, energy, and money, and you probably don't want to do any extra work if you don't have to. But hear me out: You should still use a big move as an opportunity to declutter. Here is your chance to assess every item you own and make decisions about what you really need. Who knows the next time you'll be able to handle every single possession, categorize everything, and make a truly meaningful dent in your clutter? Why you should declutter right before you move First of all, decluttering before a move can actually save you money. "The biggest mistake we see people make time and time again is underestimating how much stuff they hav…

It's spring again: The time of renewal, rebirth, and cleaning your damn house. I mean really cleaning—not just picking up a little, but moving the couch, wiping the blades of the ceiling fan, and getting behind the fridge. Spring cleaning. If you’re putting effort into it, you can make both the returning Messiah and the Easter Bunny proud, but you'll need to avoid these common spring cleaning mistakes. Doing all the heavy lifting yourselfI’m putting this one first because moving the furniture is what separates spring cleaning from regular cleaning. That said, a spotless home is not worth screwing up your back. Like anything else, there’s technique to moving furniture: ke…

You probably know you don't have to pay to use Spotify, as long as you're good with ads. For a commercial-free experience, of course, you need to subscribe to Premium. If you ever tried to sign up for Spotify Premium on your iPhone, however, you might have noticed there was no way to do so—neither a "pay now" button, nor a link to subscribe elsewhere. The Apple taxThat's because Spotify didn't want 15–30% of the money you gave it going directly to Apple. That's how Apple's App Store works (and largely Google's, for that matter). Any payments you make within an app on your iPhone, Apple gets a cut—either 15% or 30%, depending on how much money the app in question has paid,…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Back when I biked everywhere, I would wear my regular sneakers and slip my feet into the toe cages I’d attached to the pedals of my bike. But when I got into the habit of riding a spin bike regularly, I grudgingly switched to "real" cycling shoes—the kind with the cleat on the bottom of the shoe that clicks into a special socket on the pedal. I’ve written before about how I struggled those first few spin classes, trying to get the hang of using the rental shoes. It wasn't until I got a spin bike to use at home that I realized, after a few rides, I really needed those shoes. Why do cyclists use shoes with cleats?Serious cy…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Every year around this time, I prepare to move my living room lemon tree outside for the season. In the fall, when temperatures drop below 40 degrees overnight, Daisy (yes, she has a name) gets rolled into my living room, where she winters under a grow light, and then as soon as the overnight temperatures stabilize in spring, back out she goes to live on the patio. Since I live in the Pacific Northwest, this is the only way to keep a lemon tree; they simply aren’t built to withstand a real winter outside. But, even if you are unwilling or unable to host your trees inside your home or greenhouse over the winter, you may st…

Sometimes the trickiest part of cleaning is knowing where to start—and, once you've started, where to go from there. A handy checklist can help you move through the task systematically and easily. That's where these room-by-room checklists can help. Below, you'll find links to advice on how to complete many of the tasks you'll be facing. I've also turned the cleaning checklists into a downloadable spreadsheet you can print out, so you can mark off each chore as you go. Your kitchen spring cleaning checklist Before you start cleaning, take a minute to make sure you have everything you need. Nothing saps your mojo quite like having to leave the house to buy supplies, so ma…

If you wanted to get a COVID vaccine during pregnancy, to protect yourself and your future baby from the virus, that may soon be difficult to impossible. According to a short video posted on X, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, who is also a noted anti-vaccine activist, said that the COVID-19 vaccine “has been removed” from the list of vaccines recommended in pregnancy, as well as the list of vaccines recommended for healthy children. This announcement sidesteps the usual regulatory process, and it’s not clear exactly what will happen next—but here’s what we know. The announcement may not be entirely validRFK, Jr made the annou…

Ever since Apple made it easy to change certain default apps on your iPhone, it's become quite convenient to switch away from the company's apps whenever there's a third-party option you prefer. With iOS 18.4, Apple made it possible to change your default translation app as well. First spotted by MacRumors, you can officially set Google Translate as the default app for translation, in case you prefer it over Apple Translate. Make Google Translate the default translation app on your iPhoneThere are a couple of ways to go about this, but I recommend the easiest method. If you never use it, just delete Apple's Translate app from your iPhone, and the device will automatically…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Getting a premium economy or business class seat for the price of economy sounds like a fantasy, but that’s what the Dollar Flight Club Premium+ Plan helps you do: This subscription service does the heavy lifting of hunting down the best flight deals and sending them to your inbox. Usually, a year of DFC Premium+ costs $99.99, but right now, new users can get it for just $29.99 on StackSocial. That’s a solid discount—unless, of course, you already have an account (in which case, no dice). Also, you have to redeem your code within 30 days of buying, …

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—and while it’s no Prime Day, it still brings a solid lineup of discounts for anyone looking to snag big-ticket items for less. Running from March 25 through March 31, this seven-day sale is only in its second year but already feels like a decent excuse to shop. You don’t need to be a Prime member to grab deals, though Amazon claims members get “more and better” prices. If you don’t want to commit, the 30-day free trial might be worth it just for the week. Just set a reminder to cancel if you're not planning on keepin…

May the Fourth is upon us, and Disney+ of course has a lineup of Star Wars premieres to celebrate. First is Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld, a Lucasfilm Animation sequel to 2022's Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi and 2024's Star Wars: Tales of the Empire. The new mini-series tells the stories of bounty hunter and former assassin Asajj Ventress and outlaw Cad Bane. Disney+ will also have two P.O.V. experiences from Disneyland: Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. Aside from Star Wars, May will bring Tucci in Italy (May 19), a new National Geographic miniseries combining travel and food with actor Stanley Tucci in, well, Italy. Lastly, Di…

Earlier this week, TikTok user CatGPT posted a video of a woman in line at a store seemingly scrolling on a completely transparent phone. The caption reads "I'm sorry, WTF IS THAT???" Check it out: The video quickly took off, with over 52 million people having viewed it on TikTok in only four days. So WTF is it? A techie casually breaking an NDA by openly rocking a prototype transparent phone? The new "Plex from Nokia" (as the top comment suggests)? A casual time-traveler caught in the act? The real story behind the "transparent phone"Sorry, it's none of the above. It's exactly what it looks like: a transparent piece of acrylic shaped like a phone. Specifically, it'…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. I’m no stranger to the crisping prowess of the air fryer. (Here are some of my favorite models.) The powerful convection heating mechanism reheats leftovers, blisters veggies, and roasts meats quickly and with a sizzling finish reminiscent of an actual deep fryer—sans the vat of oil. But after using the Ninja Crispi—an air fryer that comes apart for easy storage—my interest in crispy crusts has changed to something totally unexpected: dips. Making dip in an air fryer is not normal. Dips have always been a stove top thing—you cook the ingredients in a pot or pan, then you pour it all into a casserole dish. Maybe at the end…

AI video generators are rapidly improving and becoming more widely available, with Google's Veo 2 now built into the Gemini app for anyone paying for a Google One AI Premium plan. Like OpenAI's Sora, Runway, Adobe's Firefly, and others, Veo 2 enables you to create a professional-looking video from nothing more than a text prompt. With Veo 2 now available to paying users, it seems like a good opportunity to test these different AI video generators against each other, and compare their strengths and weaknesses—and to assess where we're at with AI video in general. We keep being told that these tools will transform movie-making, or at least fill the internet with AI slop, bu…

While apples and broccoli have become basic—constantly on the grocery store shelves year-round—rhubarb is a vegetable unicorn. It only appears for a very short and magical window. I'll spot it in the market for maybe a month and before I know it, I’ve missed it. That’s why I buy bundles of it when I do happen to catch it, and I get right to work. Not cooking it down in a pot with a cup of sugar, no: My favorite way to prepare rhubarb for pies and cakes is roasting. Roasting keeps things from getting soggyMy first time working with rhubarb was right out of culinary school, making dozens of miniature strawberry and rhubarb tarts. It was actually my first time eating it to…

From infamous tyrants to modern media monsters, these podcasts explore the most messy, menacing, and sometimes misunderstood figures throughout history. Whether you’re into true crime, pop culture, philosophy, or political intrigue, here are 10 standout podcasts that dive deep into the dark side. Behind the Bastards Credit: 'Behind the Bastards' Hosted by Robert Evans (not the film guy, the journalist and former war correspondent,) Behind the Bastards is a deep dive into some of the worst people in history, from brutal dictator…

While updating, upgrading, and reimagining your home can transform it into your dream home, the logistics involved can be daunting, even if you have a general contractor managing the project for you. One of the biggest challenges is setting your budget—unless you have an unlimited budget (lucky you!), determining what a home renovation will involve based on what you can afford is a key aspect of your plan. It’s also one of the most confusing. When budgeting reality bumps up against your dream home fantasy, figuring out what to remove from the project can be difficult because of the emotional aspects involved—everything can seem equally necessary when you’re imagining your…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Like shopping on Amazon itself, Prime Video can sometimes feel like a jumble sale: a proliferation of TV and movies from every era, none of it terribly well-curated. There’s a lot to sort through, and the choices can be a little overwhelming. Presentation issues aside, there are some real gems to be found, as long as you’re willing to dig a bit—the streamer offers more than a few impressive exclusives, though they sometimes get lost amid the noise. Here are 20 of the best TV series Prime Video has to offer, including both ongoing and concluded shows. Overcompensating (2025 – ) Comedian Benito Skinner plays himself…

Apple is finally giving some love to the often ignored AirPods Max. Well, the $549 AirPods Max with USB-C anyway—sorry if you've got the older model with the Lightning connector. With the iOS 18.4 update that's coming in April, Apple is enabling lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio for the AirPods Max. In the words of Lifehacker Senior Tech Editor Jake Peterson, this upgrade finally makes the new AirPods Max worth buying. Oh, but you're probably going to need a new dongle too. Why another dongle in 2025?Lossless audio only works when connected to an Apple device using a USB-C cable. With the update, AirPods Max users will be able to enjoy more than 100 million songs…