Setting Up Your Home Office

OpenAI is having a hell of a day. First, the company announced a $1 billion equity investment from Disney, alongside a licensing deal that will let Sora users generate videos with characters like Mickey Mouse, Luke Skywalker, and Simba. Shortly after, OpenAI revealed its latest large language model: GPT-5.2. OpenAI says that this new GPT model is particularly useful for "professional knowledge work." The company advertises how GPT-5.2 is better than previous models at making spreadsheets, putting together presentations, writing code, analyzing pictures, and working through multi-step projects. For this model, the company also gathered insights from tech companies: Suppo…

Take a moment to list all the digital accounts you've signed up for, and it's probably more than you realized: email, social media, banking, streaming services, cloud storage, music, gaming, and fitness...it adds up. But using the same login credentials for every service is a bad idea, and if you reuse passwords across accounts, let me summarize the simplest advice you should take away from this article: You shouldn't. But, of course, it's nearly impossible to remember as many unique usernames and secure passwords as you need for your various accounts. That's where password managers come in. Password managers hide your various login credentials behind one main username an…

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. Earlier this week, Peloton unveiled a whole host of new app features and updates to its equipment, from AI coaching to enhanced bikes and treadmills. I've spent the last few days playing around with all of the new stuff (Peloton devotee that I am) and was especially curious about the little rank that suddenly appeared on my profile. It's a signifier of my progression through Club Peloton, a new member recognition program that comes with some solid rewards. What is Club Peloton?Club Peloton is a new ranki…

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 Lifehacker as a preferred source for tech news. Peloton announced this week, among other things, that all of its devices are getting a bit of an overhaul. While the Bike, Bike+, Tread, Tread+, and Row each got some improvements, this doesn't necessarily mean you have to upgrade your equipment just yet. Comparing old Peloton models with the new Cross Training SeriesFirst, the basics: Peloton unveiled all-new versions of its classic at-home fitness equipment Wednesday. Collectively, they're known as the C…

Of all the confusing display tech terms, few are easier to mix up than OLED and QLED. Barely half a letter separates them, but they work very differently, and those differences can matter a lot when it comes to the quality of your TV or monitor. Let's break down the differences, and why you should care when display shopping. There are a lot of sub-categories in both of these display types, but for the purposes of this article, I'm going to mainly focus on the core distinctions between these two main groups. It's also worth pointing out that while you may sometimes see OLED panels in smartphones, there aren't any QLED smartphones just yet. OLED vs. QLED: The simple version…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. If you've been waiting to get your hands on a Samsung Galaxy XR virtual reality headset, now's your moment: The device is available to order now on Samsung's or Google's website for $1,799 and orders are scheduled to arrive Nov. 4. To offset the price, the Galaxy XR comes with a free year of Google AI Pro, YouTube Premium, and Google Play Pass. Built in partnership with Google and Qualcomm, the Galaxy XR features dual, 4K micro-OLED screens delivering 27 million pixels total and 100-degree horizontal field of view, all powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chip and packed into a lightweight (1.2 pounds) form factor. …

Scammers never miss an opportunity to prey on people's fear and confusion—and now they're capitalizing on the ongoing federal government shutdown to steal money and information from vulnerable targets. As Axios notes, reports of imposter scams—in which fraudsters impersonate government officials or agency representatives—rose in October as Americans experienced the loss of federal services and benefits. The Better Business Bureau's (BBB) Scam Tracker received 211 such complaints last month. Scammers are also taking advantage of shutdown stress to pull people into investment schemes and other malicious (and AI-driven) activity. Common government shutdown scams One common…

If you are planning spring or summer travel, you may want to slow down and pay close attention to the process. Scammers have a lot to gain by targeting travelers: The Federal Trade Commission tracked more than 58,000 reports of travel, vacation, and timeshare plan fraud in 2024 totaling $274 million in losses. And AI is helping them get away with it. How scammers are targeting travelersSome of the most common travel scams involve impersonation: of people, brands, and listings. For example, fraudsters will post fake vacation rental listings and collect payment (sometimes by pressuring you to use wire transfers or peer-to-peer apps) and leave you stranded with no place to …

Have you ever woken up and been filled with immediate dread because the day ahead of you is so busy? It happens to me all the time and is, frankly, a miserable way to greet the morning, setting an equally miserable tone for the day. It simply does not set you up to have a positive experience or be productive. There’s a way to quickly right the ship, however, and turn all those tasks into motivation. It’s called a “brain dump” and you should try doing one in the morning to have a more productive and peaceful day. What is a brain dump?A brain dump is similar to a brainstorm, except you’re actually (figuratively) dumping the contents of your brain. In this case, you’re dump…

Strava drama has become the name of the game in the fitness tracking world. I suppose when your favorite fitness app also includes a social media element, a little tension is inevitable. Add competitive leaderboards into the mix, and you've got a recipe for intrigue that would make reality TV producers salivate. If you're tuned into leaderboard controversies, you'll know that runners and cyclists are deeply divided on whether the platform is doing too much—or not nearly enough—to combat fake entries. If you ask me, when some users are deploying electric unicycles to dominate local climbing segments, that's evidence enough something needs to be done. And now Strava is doi…

Shopping has always been a battle. Companies work hard to convince you that their product is better, while also trying to ensure you pay the highest possible price for your purchase. That’s fair enough, and most of us are accustomed to researching everything we buy to make sure we’re not being ripped off. But modern technology has changed the game. Companies have been hoovering up information about us for years now, and that means they have a pretty good idea about our shopping habits—including what we’re willing to pay for specific products and services, something called Individualized Consumer Data (ICD). New tools like artificial intelligence are now making it very, ve…

While logic might suggest that getting more done means operating in a constant state of productivity, the opposite can actually be true: When you hit that afternoon slump and can’t seem to push through the simplest of tasks, it's probably because you needed a break earlier in the day—certainly science backs up that idea. Put simply, your brain needs regular periods of downtime to maintain peak operation. After periods of intense work, taking a brief break doesn’t just improve your mood—it can actually boost your concentration and performance. So if you want to be truly productive, you should schedule those rest periods into your busy day. The case for scheduling your "b…

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. ChatGPT is a valuable studying tool. It can help you brainstorm, it can quiz you, and it can explain content to you in a thorough way. Of course, it can also be used to cheat, since it can generate long answers (and even entire essays) based on prompts. I’m not here to argue about morals or academic integrity, but I will say that teachers are getting wise to the ways of students who use the AI tool or its competitors to complete written work. Here’s what they’re looking for and how you can still use ChatG…

If you've ever started a new workout routine with the best intentions only to find yourself skipping sessions by week two, you're not alone. I'm the type to get trapped in the same cycle of burnout, where I go hard for a couple of weeks, feel exhausted, feel guilty, and repeat. For me, what finally broke that cycle wasn't a new gym membership or a fancy fitness app, but a simple scheduling hack: the "3-3-3 rule." I'd seen this rule applied it to general productivity, and all the same principles can apply to your fitness habits, too. Here's how you can use the 3-3-3 rules to structure your workouts and create a habit that sticks. What is the 3-3-3 rule?The 3-3-3 "rule" (o…

You might have heard about Signal, the encrypted chat app the U.S. government infamously used to discuss war plans last year. (Yikes.) But while the app is no alternative to a dedicated SCIF, it is a good option for the rest of us to communicate more securely. Signal uses end-to-end encryption (E2EE), which, very simply, means that messages are "scrambled" in transit, and can only be "unscrambled" by the sender and the recipient or recipients. If you're in a Signal chat, you'll be able to read incoming messages just like you would any other chat app—if you're an attacker, and intercept that message, all you'll find is a jumble of code. E2EE makes it difficult for anyone …

The latest Apple Watch costs $429. A basic Peloton Bike is $1,395, plus a $49.99 monthly subscription. Throw in a WHOOP membership at $149 annually, maybe an Oura Ring for another $349, and suddenly you're looking at thousands of dollars to participate in what's become the standard way many Americans approach their health. For some, that price tag is steep. For others, it's a non-starter. I'm no stranger to the appeal of the latest, greatest wearables and smart health devices. But as all this wellness technology become the norm, what does this mean for people who don't strap a smartwatch onto their wrists? If comprehensive health data—and the insights it provides—becomes …

It probably comes as no surprise that government agencies have access to a lot of your data—in part because we hand some of it over to them directly, and in part because they are able to purchase it from data brokers that already exist to harvest, aggregate, and sell it to other companies. A recent report from 404 Media confirms that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is among those buying and using location data collected via ads to track users' movements. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the FBI, and a handful of other federal agencies have also purchased location data from brokers in recent years, but the internal document from the Department of Homeland Se…

In the wake of the controversy surrounding PayPal's Honey browser extension, Google Chrome has updated its policies to ban the practices that the extension was observed to be engaging in. Chrome's updated extension policies for affiliate ads includes wording that seems to be a direct response to many of the tactics Honey was accused of participating in, such as injecting affiliate codes without providing discounts. Given that Chrome powers most browsers available now, expect this to have major ramifications on shopping extensions going forward. If you're out of the loop about the Honey controversy, a multi-year investigation by YouTuber MegaLag recently uncovered evidence…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Kindles aren't the type of device you need to upgrade every couple of years. Because many of these e-readers are such simple devices, they can easily last more than a decade on their own. In fact, there are Kindles from the early 2010s still going strong. The problem with making your Kindles last isn't hardware; it's software controlled by Amazon. Amazon recently announced that starting May 20th, 2026, they are planning to stop supporting Kindle devices that were released in 2012 and earlier. It's not just software support that Amazon is dropping, either: These devices will no longer be able to access the Amazon store to d…

Eating healthy is good for you, no matter who you are or what your goals. You don't have to be trying to lose weight to eat healthier, for one thing. But it can be tricky to know where to start, so here are your basic guidelines for healthy eating. Fruits, veggies, and protein are some of the easiest places to start, and they'll have the biggest impacts. There’s no perfect dietBefore we start, an important ground rule: There isn’t one true perfect way to eat. No matter what your keto friend says, or your mom who has this diet plan you just have to try, or even those ranked lists of the "best" diets. When weight-loss diets have been tested against each other, they all work…

Airport security will probably always be somewhat of a hassle, but one friction point you can potentially minimize is utilizing a digital ID in place of a physical one—and if you're an Android user, your passport added to Google Wallet's ID pass is officially accepted by TSA. It's certainly convenient to not have to carry or keep track of your physical passport when you travel, and a digital passport in ID pass can get you through security screening if you don't have a REAL ID after the requirements take effect on May 7. That said, your digital passport doesn't completely replace your physical document, which you'll still need when traveling internationally and in situat…

Strava's new Training Zones feature promises to help runners and cyclists better understand their training load across metrics like heart rate, power, and pace. That sounds like useful information, but if you've recently discovered that most of your runs fall into what's commonly called the "gray zone" (Zone 3), take a deep breath: You aren't doing everything wrong, you don't need to panic, and you definitely don't need to completely overhaul your training. Here's why—and how you can use training zones as the helpful tool they're meant to be, rather than as a source of anxiety. What are training zones?Before diving into how Strava offers insights into training zones, let'…

SMART goals are typically associated with work done by a team, but you can implement this productivity-boosting strategy for yourself in all kinds of ways on an individual level, too. Some people use them to study, for instance, and you can use them for personal projects at work, around the house, or whatever else. At their core, SMART goals are designed to help you stay on task and focused on your outcome. What are SMART goals?At their core, SMART goals are designed to help you stay on task and focused on your outcome. If you’re not familiar with SMART goals, let’s break down the acronym: Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Time-bound It was conceptualized by George …