Setting Up Your Home Office

We may earn a commission from links on this page. The founders of Runna announced today that Strava has bought their company. Runna is a paid running app that provides structured training plans (which I personally loved when I tried it), while Strava is a hugely popular tracking and social app for runners and cyclists, with both a free and a paid tier. Runna customers don’t seem to be thrilled, but Runna’s founders say that the app and its team will stay independent, and they’re optimistic for the future. What is changing right now? Runna’s founders say “no immediate changes [are] planned other than sensible integrations (e.g., the ability to sign in with Strava).” No e…

There are two kinds of iPad fans in this world: those who love the tablet just the way it is, and those who desperately wish Apple would make a touchscreen Mac, already. While Apple may never bring macOS to the iPad (at least, not in my lifetime), there's reason to believe Apple's tablet might soon be closing the computing gap between it and the Mac. Could iPadOS 19 finally solve the iPad's multitasking problem? According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is planning a sizable overhaul to its tablets with iPadOS 19. Gurman's sources say the changes this year focus on "productivity, multitasking and app window management." It seems the team wants the iPad to function more …

Your kitchen should have the right tools. Welcome to A Guide to Gearing Up Your Kitchen, a series where I help you outfit the space with all the small appliances you need (and ditch the ones you don’t). The air fryer has blessed us all with quick convection heating at affordable prices, and the unparalleled reheating of leftover fried food. What more could a girl ask for? Compared to a microwave or stand mixer, it’s an appliance I haven’t lived with for very long, but I can’t imagine living without it now. Whether it’s your first time using an air fryer or your 500th, you’ll love these fool-proof dishes. Here are some of my favorite air fryer recipes to date. Charred por…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Garmin Vivoactive 5 is currently going for $219.99 on Amazon—down from its original $299—and it walks the line pretty well for a midrange fitness smartwatch. Garmin Vivoactive 5 $219.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $299.99 Save $80.00 …

Notifications on the Mac show up in the top-right corner as a rule. This is fine most of the time, but on large displays you might not notice what's happening in the top-right corner if you're reading a document on the left side of the screen. Wouldn't the notifications be better in the middle, the way they show up on the iPhone and iPad? PingPlace is a free Mac application that will move your notifications to other corners or even the top center of your screen. The application lives in the menu bar and lets you choose between the four corners of the display along with the top and bottom middle. Setting the application up is easy: Just download it, drag it to your Applica…

If you have a Samsung Galaxy phone, then you also have access to the Good Lock app from the Galaxy Store or the Play Store. This free app provides a host of extra ways to tweak and customize your handset, above and beyond what you get in One UI, and it covers everything from 3D wallpapers to advanced camera settings. There's a lot to explore in Good Lock, and you can pick and choose from its various modules (mini-apps) as needed. Samsung recently shared the three modules that have been most popular with users since Good Lock first launched back in April 2016, and they're good starting points for anyone new to the app or wanting to explore it further. When you open up Good…

No matter how much Google has tried over the past couple of years, it's never managed to make Android updates as seamless as iOS updates. On the iPhone, every compatible iPhone across the globe gets the same updates, at the same time. On Android, it's anyone's guess. Google releases the latest and greatest Android updates for Developers and its Pixel devices, and then Android smartphone manufactures get started with developing their own versions. For instance, because Samsung's version of Android 15 is different from what OnePlus is doing, that can sometimes mean key features don't show up on your phone until quite a ways down the line. To mitigate this to some extent, Go…

Tax Day is here. Many of us high achievers have already received our tax refunds—and are perhaps enjoying slightly larger checks than expected this year. While it might be tempting to spend that entire sum on a vacation or shopping spree, I recommend a more balanced approach. Enter the "1/3 rule": a simple and effective strategy to maximize the benefits of your tax refund. The 1/3 rule is straightforward: Divide your tax refund into three equal portions and allocate them to three different financial priorities. Allocate 1/3 for savingSet aside the first third of your refund for your financial future. I've recommended before that dividing your money into multiple accounts …

It's officially Tax Day. If you already filed months ago, first off: Good for you. And secondly, you may have already received a pleasant surprise in the form of a slightly larger tax refund compared to last year. According to the most recent IRS report, over $211 billion has been refunded this cycle so far—a 5% increase over last year. On an individual basis, the average direct deposit refund amount is $3,186, up 3.2% from last year's $3,088. But what's driving these larger refunds? Inflation adjustments boost refundsThe primary reason for the increase in tax refunds stems from the IRS's annual inflation adjustments. For the 2024 tax year (filed in 2025), the IRS implem…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Every person's definition of funny is a little different, which is why it’s cool that Netflix has an impressive variety of movies representing a broad genre. If you’re looking for something to make you laugh, you can choose a smart, critically-acclaimed classic or a brainless comedy that critics hated. High-minded satire or expertly timed farts: Many of the best comedies blend highbrow and lowbrow, but, at the end of the day, the best comedy is the one that makes you laugh the most. Barbie (2023) The movie that absolutely slayed the zeitgeist in 2023 is also, perhaps surprisingly, a ton of fun. Greta Gerwig's Matt…

Android is getting a new security feature that makes it harder for someone to break into your device if it has been lost, stolen, or seized. With the latest Google Play services update, Android phones and tablets will automatically restart (and require a passcode to decrypt) if they remain locked for three consecutive days. How Android auto-restart worksAndroid and iOS devices already revert to a Before First Unlock (BFU) state when restarted, requiring a user to enter their passcode or PIN before certain features—such as notifications and biometrics—are enabled. Data is encrypted and inaccessible in a BFU state until the correct passcode is entered to shift the device t…

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 meaning to grab an e-reader for the first time, this Kindle Paperwhite deal on Woot might be worth a closer look, especially if you don’t mind a gently used product. It’s the 11th Gen model from 2021, refurbished to Grade-A condition, starting at $89.99 for 16GB and $109.99 for 32GB versions. You can knock another $5 off with code FIREFIVE at checkout, but only through April 29—or until they sell out. 11th Gen Kindle Paperwhite (grade A condition) …

As much as Apple keeps hyping them up, those 4K 60fps videos will chew through your iPhone's storage space like you wouldn't believe. When you get to the point where you have to choose between keeping videos of your kids and clips from that beloved once-in-a-lifetime vacation, you have a problem. But I've got a solution—not all videos need to be stored at full quality, at all times. There are many ways to go about compressing your iPhone videos, but like most things in life, the simplest option is often the best. Kompresso is a free to use, native iPhone app that uses the powerful processor on your smartphone to compress files. This means there's no need to upload or shar…

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. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Samsung Galaxy Buds FE are down to $47.99 on Woot right now—their lowest price to date, according to price trackers. That’s a solid $22 cheaper than Amazon’s current listing at $69.99. This deal is live for two weeks or until it sells out, and it comes with a 90-day Woot limited warranty. If you're a Prime member, you’ll get free shipping—otherwise, there’s a $6 shipping charge. Samsung Galaxy Buds FE …

Hulu's May lineup brings viewers back into the world of Mormon "MomTok" with the second season of cult reality show The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives (May 15). The series centers on eight Utah-based, Mormon TikTok influencers navigating ongoing relationship drama. Also back for a second season is reality series Vanderpump Villa (May 8), which follows the staff at Real Housewives and Vanderpump Rules star Lisa Vanderpump's French estate. Nine Perfect Strangers (May 21), originally produced as a miniseries, is returning with another installment as an anthology series starring Nicole Kidman and ensemble cast that includes Annie Murphy, Christine Baransky, and Murray…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Google TV Streamer 4K is Google's latest iteration on the smart TV stick. No longer is it hiding behind your TV, but now takes center stage with a hub on your TV stand. Right now, you can get the Google TV Streamer 4K for $79 (originally $99.99), its first discount since its release last summer, according to price tracking tools. Google TV Streamer 4K Connectivity: Wi-Fi or Ethernet, Connector: HDMI, Special Feature: Google TV and Voice Search Remote …

The latest trend in AI chatbots is memory. It's not good enough for these models to provide you the same quick and detailed answers as everyone else; rather, each should be personalized to you based on your past conversations. Now, it's Grok's turn to remember. xAI, the company behind Grok, announced the chatbot's new memory feature in a post on X on Wednesday. The company says Grok now remembers your conversations, so your future queries will receive personalized responses. In the post, Grok uses an example of a user asking the chatbot to "plan me a workout for today." The assumption is Grok pulls from past conversations with the user to develop a custom workout that fi…

Your company’s human resources (HR) department is often pitched as an employee advocate—the place where you take problems or concerns. But most employees know by now that HR—or, in some start-up environments, "the people team"—isn’t really intended to protect you, the human resource in question. Instead, HR works to protect the company’s interests more than anything. And the way job hunting has become a grueling gauntlet of ghost jobs, endless interviews, and zero responses from HR representatives hasn’t exactly endeared HR to workers. In fact, research shows that more than 70% of employees don’t trust their HR department. While it’s true that HR departments work for and …

When preparing for homemade pizza, it’s easy to hit the grocery store with mozzarella on your list. But what kind of mozzarella is best? Fresh, shredded, string? And is that really the best cheese for the pizza you’re craving? I sit here typing away when I should be nursing the burnt roof of my mouth because great pizza discoveries have been made in my kitchen today—my cheese-scorched mouth can wait. Similar to why there are good and bad cheese options for the best grilled cheese sandwich, pizza requires one with good melting properties (a fatty cheese), with a good balance of water, and not an overload of protein (which can resist melting). There are some surprises here…

Heart rate zones are a way to describe how hard you're working during a cardio workout, like running or cycling. The faster your heart beats, the harder you're working. So an easy jog might have you in zone 2 for a whole workout, while a HIIT workout might have you bouncing between zones 1 and 5. Read on for a breakdown of what heart rate zones are, how to use them, and some of the caveats you should know when you're training this way. One quick thing before we dive in: heart rate zones are for cardio. Cardio means exercise that involves doing the same rhythmic movement over and over, like running or swimming or stair climbing. Heart rate zones mean nothing for strength …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Welcome to “Cookbook of the Week.” This is a series where I highlight cookbooks that are unique, easy to use, or just special to me. While finding a particular recipe online serves a quick purpose, flipping through a truly excellent cookbook has a magic all its own. I cook on a daily basis (no surprises there), and most of the time, the meals I make hit the spot. But there are some special meals I make that spur a spontaneous exclamation from my partner, or make me shake my head in disbelief that all of my intentions for this dish have been realized. The meal I made yesterday did exactly that, and the recipe was from Paki…

Every home needs upkeep and maintenance. Sometimes it can feel like you get one problem fixed, only to face another one. That can lead to tunnel vision, focusing on the present because you feel like there’s no time to worry about the future. But the future is coming, and if you don’t want to inordinately trouble your future self, there are several small steps you can take to make Future You a little happier. Record your paintPainting is an easy way to upgrade your house. Choosing the right color and sheen can be a project in itself, but once you get there you’ll have a space you feel comfortable in. Right as you start your paint project, snap photos of the can’s mixing f…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. As Lifehacker's resident marathon runner and senior finance writer, there is one perfect point where my worlds intersect: buying sneakers. When it comes to investing in—and maybe even splurging on—running gear, nothing affects your running experience more than your shoes. Finding the perfect running shoes is about much more than style or brand preference. Proper footwear can be the difference between achieving your running goals and suffering through preventable injuries. Why proper shoe fit mattersMany runners unknowingly wear the wrong shoes for years. According to Jessica Lyons-Quirk, director of footwear merchandising…