Setting Up Your Home Office

Spotify frequently adds new features, packing the app with everything from AI-powered playlists to stories about the music you're listening to and the artists who contributed. But Spotify also has a range of simpler settings designed for making tracks sound better and personalizing your playlists—so if Spotify is your preferred music service, you should try these tips, tricks, and hidden methods to maximize your listening experience. Use folders to organize your playlistsIf you have dozens of playlists in your Spotify library, it can be tedious to locate what you want to listen to or to remember everything you've created over the years. Playlist folders allow you to orga…

Saying “my back hurts” is a bit like saying “my car is making a noise.” It may be serious, or it may be nothing, and only a professional will know for sure. But if you have back pain, especially in your lower back, you’re not alone: By some estimates, 75% of us will have an achy lower back at some point in our lives, often without any obvious cause. I cannot diagnose your back pain over the internet. That said, I can tell you about common reasons for back pain, and provide general strategies that can help you feel less achy. Back pain doesn’t always mean you’re injuredWe tend to assume that pain is a sign that some part of our body is damaged and needs fixing. But that’…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. A like-new unit of the Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus is down to $109.99 (originally $249.99) on Woot, and using the code FIRE20—valid through April 14, 2026—drops the price another 20 percent to $88. For comparison, a brand-new unit is currently listed at $189.99 on Amazon, and most past discounts haven’t gone much lower than $149.99, according to price trackers. Shipping is free if you have Prime; otherwise, expect to pay about $6. It is also worth noting that shipping is limited to the contiguous U.S. …

OpenAI is trying its best to turn ChatGPT into an app platform, so you can access apps such as Adobe Photoshop, Canva, and Apple Music right inside the AI chatbot interface—and now Tubi has arrived as the first video streaming app to be available in ChatGPT. You can't load up actual movies and TV shows from the ChatGPT prompt box, but you can search for titles that you might enjoy, and see what's available in the Tubi library. The idea is that you're never stuck for what to watch next: Tell ChatGPT and Tubi what you're looking for, and you'll get personalized results back. As a keen watcher of films and shows, I was eager to put it to the test as soon as it became availab…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Almost everybody who sticks to their workout routine has found a type of fitness they love. That may mean Crossfit classes multiple times a week, going for a run every morning, or hiring a personal trainer to walk them through a customized workout. Everything comes with a cost, though. So let’s talk about what you’ll be spending in a variety of scenarios, from the cost of each type of gym, to the upgrades you’ll probably go for, to the comparative cost of at-home alternatives. The cost of joining a no-frills gymWhat it takes to get started: The main cost here is the membership itself. Budget chain gyms like Crunch and Plan…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. “Be able to do a pull-up” is a common fitness goal, and if you work hard—with negative pull-ups, inverted rows, and more—someday you’ll get there. Go ahead, take a minute to celebrate. But don’t drop the workouts that you were doing pre-pull-up. It’s tempting to change up your training, because for weeks or months (maybe years!) you were doing the things that you do when you can’t do a pull-up. You may have been doing negative pull-ups, where you start at the top of the movement and slowly lower yourself down. You may have been doing inverted rows, where you pull yourself toward a low bar or rings. You may have been doing …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. As HBO's Industry begins, the recent grads working at prestigious investment bank Pierpoint & Co. are given their marching orders: There are a lot of them and only a few full-time job openings, so they'll need to prove themselves if they hope to stick around. They respond to this challenge by doing whatever it takes—whatever it takes. Renewed for a fifth and final season, Industry has been the streaming era's most cogent take on the world of finance bros (of any gender), and modern white collar workers in a more upscale Glengarry Glen Ross mode. While you wait for this story of disaster capitalism to return, dive into…

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…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. The Xteink X4 is a wallet-sized e-reader from China that has attracted a cult following of tinkerers online for its no-frills charm and crisp 4.3-inch display. When I reviewed it last year, I had a few minor complaints, but "too big" definitely wasn't one of them—not surprising, given I was already an adherent of the phone-sized Boox Palma 2. But now that I have tested out the Xteink X3, the X4's even tinier brother, I can't help but wonder if there exists an e-reader so small I won't prefer it. …

My most anticipated iOS 27 feature is not a new feature at all: If the rumors are true, Apple will use its next major iPhone update as an opportunity to squash bugs and improve stability across iOS. The company has already started work on this front ahead of iOS 27—with iOS 26.4, Apple fixed some key issues with the iPhone's keyboard, which users have complained about since the company initially rolled out iOS 26., and launched new settings to tone down the look of Liquid Glass in response to negative feedback from some users. But while I hope that iOS 27 is mostly a stability update, I know it won't be totally absent any new features. In fact, the rumors suggest Apple wi…

DuckDuckGo's whole shtick is privacy, so it isn't surprising that the company makes its own VPN—so long as you pay for it. Now, there are a lot of VPNs out there, and the best ones do typically require a fee, but it would seen on the surface that DuckDuckGo's offerings were as solid a choice as any other similar service. Of course, there's always the question of privacy and security anytime you use a service like this: How well is this VPN really working? Is the company behind it secretly accessing my browsing data as I use the app? DuckDuckGo seems to be confident in this area: The company hired independent cybersecurity firm Securitum to conduct an audit of its "no-l…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Today, Whoop furthered its quest to become a comprehensive, one-stop health platform. Since last fall, Whoop members have had access to the Advanced Labs blood testing service—now, the performance wearable company is rolling out "Specialized Panels," a new line of targeted blood tests that let users drill down into even more insights about their body. Whoop Peak 12-Month Membership, 5.0 Fitness Wearable $239.00 …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The two-cam kit of EufyCam S3 Pro with HomeBase 3 is now down to $399.98 from $549.99, and price trackers show this is the lowest it has reached so far. It is still a premium setup, but this drop makes it easier to consider if you were already planning to invest in a long-term system. You get two 4K outdoor cameras and the HomeBase 3 hub, which handles local storage and system controls. That means no required monthly fees, since your footage stays on the device locally instead of being pushed to the cloud. …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Anker Solix C1000 Gen 2 Portable Power Station with a 400W solar panel is down to $829.98 (from $1,116.99) on Amazon—its lowest price, according to price trackers. Anker has been building out its Solix line as a more serious push into home backup, and the C1000 Gen 2 sits in that space where it is still portable but capable enough to handle essential appliances. It weighs just under 30 pounds, so it isn't something you’ll carry all day, but it is manageable to move from room to room or load into a car. …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. In many ways, Yellowstone is the Platonic ideal of a Taylor Sheridan joint, combining a neo-western vibe with an incredibly detailed sense of place, a nonpolitical exploration of the tension between individual rights and the collective forces of society, and some really banger lines delivered by Kevin Costner as badass patriarch John Dutton. It’s no wonder the show was a huge hit that keeps spawning prequels and spinoffs. If you can’t get enough Yellowstone, we’ve already offered up suggestions for other TV series you could be streaming. If you need more Big Sky-esque drama, the good news is there are plenty of books, movi…

Gemini has long been able to connect to other Google apps, but earlier this year those integrations were made tighter and more seamless with a feature called Personal Intelligence. Now, Personal Intelligence is expanding into Google Photos and picking up AI image creation capabilities, courtesy of the Nano Banana 2 model. The idea is that you don't have to manually select a picture in Google Photos and tell the AI to do something with it. Instead you just type a prompt such as "create a cartoon showing my family enjoying our favorite activities," and Gemini will do the rest—mining your Google Photos library for the relevant information and people. Another example prompt G…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Although many wireless outdoor security cams come with a hefty price tag, there are a select few from reliable brands that are affordable enough to buy in multiples for full-home coverage while still taking advantage of popular features, and when you opt for a refurbished one from Amazon, that value is boosted even further. This refurbished Arlo Essential 2K Cam (2nd Gen) is a great example, and right now it’s 64% off at a record low of $24.99 (originally $69.99) on Amazon. Renewed Arlo Essenti…

Since early Thursday morning, Bluesky has been experiencing intermittent downtime. It's not unusual for a platform to go through outages, of course. If you check in with Downdetector every now and then, you'll see how often users of websites big and small report issues with the service. In most cases, some bug or small issue has gummed up the works behind the scenes, and it doesn't take long for the platform's engineers locate the problem and issue a fix: downtime over. But that doesn't seem to be the case with Bluesky—at least, not this time. Bluesky was hit with a DDoS attackOn Thursday at 7:47 p.m., Bluesky posted an update on its official Bluesky page. The post says …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Compared to traditional speaker setups, soundbars are an affordable alternative to upgrading your television’s sound without adding clutter to your space. Some, like the Sonos Beam Gen 1 soundbar, also come with built-in voice assistants—and right now, a new Sonos Beam is 46% off on Woot, taking it to $269 (down from $499). According to price tracking tools, this is $30 under its lowest previous price. Sonos Beam (Gen 1) Soundbar …

When you service a niche market like e-reader enthusiasts—the kind of folks who can name five different e-ink devices that aren't the Amazon Kindle—you'd do well to pay attention to what your customers are saying, and respond accordingly. That's what Chinese tech firm Bigme had to do this week: The announcement of its latest smartphone was so poorly received, the company has now issued an apology. If you've somehow missed the tempest in this particular teapot, a few weeks ago Bigme teased the new device, calling it the "world's first" dual-screen color e-ink and LCD smartphone. It seems most Bigme fans imagined a device exactly like the one you're probably picturing: A ph…

In recent years, Apple has taken significant steps to make the iPad more like a Mac. But while windowed multitasking and a desktop-like Files app helps bridge the gap, the gap still exists. It's still a bit too difficult to use an iPad like a touchscreen MacBook, leaving fans who want such a product wanting. Luckily, a touchscreen MacBook is in the works—it might just take a bit longer than expected to get here. 11-inch iPad Pro (256GB) $899.99 …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The CRKD Nitro Deck is down to $34.99 on Woot, which is a noticeable drop from its usual $59.99 and lower than its current price on Amazon. Price-trackers also suggest this is the lowest it has gone so far. Shipping is free with Prime, or $6 otherwise, and the deal is expected to run for about 12 days unless it sells out sooner. That said, Woot does not ship to Alaska, Hawaii, or PO box addresses. CRKD Nitro Deck Handheld Deck for Nintendo Sw…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The My Arcade Atari Gamestation Go is down to $124.99 on Woot, compared to its usual $179.99, and still below the $148.99 it’s currently listed for on Amazon. Price-trackers show this is the lowest it has dropped so far. Shipping is free for Prime members, and the deal is expected to run for about 12 days, though it could end sooner if the stock runs out. My Arcade Atari Gamestation Go Handheld Retro Gaming Console …

Nikkei Asia has some bad news for anyone hoping for RAM prices to fall anytime soon: The outlet reported on Friday that the global shortage of memory chips will likely continue until around 2027. According to Nikkei, U.S. and South Korean memory suppliers are raising DRAM production, but are only going to be able to meet about 60% of the demand. What's more, the current conflicts in the Middle East are making electricity and other relevant goods more expensive. Even Samsung, which is launching a fourth RAM plant this year, won't be at full-scale production until at least 2027, if not later. The memory crisis is ongoingPart of the problem is split production needs: Sam…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. I spent the last month testing and reviewing the Garmin Forerunner 970, and my biggest disappointment (one of only a few) was that I couldn't use it to test my running economy, since it requires a heart rate monitor like Garmin's HRM-600 chest strap. At the same time, it does lend a lot of legitimacy to Garmin's running economy metric, knowing it requires key inputs like heart rate, stride length, ground contract time, vertical oscillation, and step speed loss. "Running economy" has a lot of buzz around it right now. When I asked a running coach (who happens to be a good friend) what separates two athletes with identical c…