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 considering upgrading your earbuds without shelling out top dollar, a pair of refurbished Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) could be the smarter way in. They're $159.99 on StackSocial right now (a noticeable cut from buying new) and come with a Grade "A" refurbished rating, meaning they might come with a little cosmetic wear but are guaranteed to work like new. They ship free across the contiguous U.S. and come backed by a third-party 30-day parts and labor warranty—not as reassuring as AppleCare, but enough to cover any immediate surprises…

If you’re at all like me, spring cleaning can be something of a domino situation. I might start by cleaning the baseboards, but when I get to the stairs, I’m like, wow these handrails are dirty. And so on. By the time I’m done, I’ve also discovered coffee splashes on walls, cobwebs in ceiling corners, and the dustiest blinds one has ever seen—and I’m feeling rather disgusted with myself. I’m also feeling sore, because my back is not what it once was and it seems like the worst of the dirt is either way low or way high. You know who still has good backs, though? Our kids, that’s who. Spring cleaning should, I believe, be a family affair. From the inside of the home to the …

AI tools are suddenly everywhere, and you've probably tried out using an AI program to generate text and images, or perhaps even audio and video. But AI isn't just coming for media you passively experience: Companies are also using interactive entertainment, including video games. We've seen examples of this over the past year or so. Google's Genie model, for example, aims to generate playable video game environments from user prompts. Earlier this year, Microsoft unveiled a similar AI model, called Muse, and that model's first mainstream experience is now here: The company is offering an experimental version of Quake II, a game originally released in 1997, that is power…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you’ve ever tried dragging a too-large speaker—or worse, relied on your phone’s tiny audio for sound projection—you should appreciate this sale on the Skullcandy Terrain Mini: It's palm-sized, no-frills, and currently on sale for $34.99 down from $39.99 on StackSocial, with free shipping in the U.S. That price drop isn’t jaw-dropping, but for under $35, you’re looking at a IPX7-rated waterproof speaker that won’t be damaged if it's dropped in the pool this summer. The Skullcandy Terrain Mini has Bluetooth 5.3, so the connection holds steady withi…

By default, Google Photos now uses Gemini AI to search through your photo library. This is thanks to a new feature called Ask Photos that rolled out late last year. While this feature is great for locating specific photos, it's not as fast as the older search option, so it's not ideal for every search, especially more general ones. If you're tired of using Gemini's slower search in Google Photos for Android, there's a shortcut that helps you return to the classic search functionality. As spotted by 9to5Google, you can long-press the search button (which is labelled Ask and is located in the bottom-right corner) to use the classic, faster and AI-free search method instead.…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Garmin Forerunner 255 is on sale right now for $229.99, its lowest price ever. That’s about half the price of the Forerunner 265 ($449.99), which is the current generation (and my personal favorite running watch). The two watches have nearly identical features—I’ll explain the differences below—making the 255 an incredible bargain. Garmin Forerunner 255 GPS Running Smartwatch (Gray) …

Nintendo has never been known for high-performance hardware, but that certainly hasn't hurt its bottom line—especially in the Switch age. The company's decision to use more basic components for the Switch back in 2017 helped keep the console cheaper than any of its competitors. It's tough to get too hung up on the lack of 4K 60fps support when you can play the latest Zelda on a handheld that can cost less than $200. But lo, a new Switch is here, and with it, a new price. The Switch 2 is, indeed, a more powerful version of the Switch, and comes with a number of advantages: a larger 1080p HDR display with a 120Hz refresh rate, a dock equipped with a fan to support 4K 60fps …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Spring hasn’t really been as big of an online shopping season, comparatively speaking: We've got Prime Day during the summer, October Prime Day and Black Friday during the fall, and a bunch of holiday sales during winter. But that might be changing with the recent Big Spring Sale from Amazon, in its second year. Target has decided to compete for your money as well with a Circle Week event, coming later this month. What is Target's Circle Week?Circle Week is Target’s name for its biggest sale, which used to happen once a year but, much to the dismay of Target workers, now happens multiple times a year. Usually, you’ll see …

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…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Netflix's streaming era began way back in 2007, right around the time the company had delivered its billionth DVD by mail (a copy of Babel to a woman in Texas). That’s the year when the company began development of an app that would allow you to watch video-on-demand content on your actual TV, rather than in a window on your PC via Internet Explorer—or whatever the hell browser you happened to be using during the George W. Bush administration. Internet speeds and interest built and, by 2011, the company had moved fully away from its DVD-by-mail business as streaming took on a life of its own. While distribution rights for…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Kodak Printomatic Mini Instant Print Camera is about the size of a power bank, light enough to toss in your pocket, and quick to fire up when something photo-worthy happens. You snap, it prints, and you get a little sticker photo you can slap on your scrapbook, phone case, bedroom wall, or wherever you want. There are no cables, ink cartridges, or waiting for an app to sync—you can just point, shoot, and print, and it's on sale for $59.99 on StackSocial right now. It's obviously more of a playful gift or party gadget than something you’d use for…

If you've got a Samsung phone, you've got an alternative, lightweight option for computing on the go: Galaxy handsets come with a desktop interface called DeX built right in, and depending on what you need to do, you might be able to use this mode in place of a laptop while on your travels. Essentially, you plug your Samsung phone into a TV or monitor, and Android shifts to look more like Windows or macOS. You're still using the same software and the same apps, but you get floating windows and easier multitasking. While a lot of the apps will stick to their mobile views, you can make use of apps such as Google Docs or Google Chrome to get work done while you're away from …

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 Nintendo Switch OLED but haven’t wanted to pay full price, you might want to check out this refurbished model (with white Joy-Cons) going for $249.99 on Woot—that’s a solid chunk cheaper than Amazon’s $289 sale-price tag. However, this price is only live for four days or until it sells out, whichever comes first. This is a refurbished unit (tested and certified to work like new), so it may show light cosmetic wear, but performance-wise, you’re getting the same console that PCMag called the “Best Gaming Console of the Year” in…

Neighbor relations can be fraught—a whopping three-fourths of Americans dislike at least one neighbor, although just about the same number of people report being friends with a neighbor as well. It's safe to say that most people want to be good neighbors, and are generally willing to observe little courtesies like keeping the noise down or accommodating the occasional contractor truck parked on the street. Sometimes you want to go a little above and beyond for a neighbor and do a surprise good deed. The idea of helping someone out with no expectation of reward can make you feel great, and seems like a surefire way to build a solid neighbor relationship and bank some good …

There are a lot of trends in generative AI right now. There are the reasoning models like OpenAI's o3, that "think" through each step of a problem before it answers. There are also "deep research" features that can compile information from across the web to generate reports for you. But perhaps the trend that is most "futuristic" of all is Voice Mode. This is the future 2013's Her promised: a chatbot that you can talk to like any other person. The chatbot doesn't say anything differently than it would if you were chatting over text; however, it responds in a "realistic" and "natural" voice, which could create the illusion that you're talking to a person, not a robot. I'v…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Sony might be better known for its headphones, but it also makes decent speakers. Its latest portable speaker is the ULT Field 3, which launched along with the ULT Field t and ULT Tower 9 this spring, all made to be portable and rugged. Right now, you can get the smallest one of the lineup for $148 (originally $199.99), the lowest price it has been, according to price tracking tools. Sony ULT Field 3…

As Google prepares Android 16 for launch, users are discovering interesting new features in its various betas. The latest one, discovered by Android Authority, allows you to unlock your Google Pixel phone even when its screen is turned off. This is possible on Pixel phones that have an in-display fingerprint sensor and are running Android 16 beta 3. How to unlock your Pixel phone with the screen offHere's how the new feature works. First, get an eligible Pixel phone and then update it to Android 16 beta 3 (I'll go over how in a little bit). Next, go to Settings > Security & privacy > Device unlock > Face & Fingerprint Unlock > Fingerprint Unlock, and e…

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…

If it seems like every tech company is trying shove AI into all of their products and services, that's because they are. And as someone who rarely (if ever) uses AI, it's a lot: I don't need AI to write my emails, nor do I want it to generate realistic videos that might trick viewers into thinking they're human-made. I certainly don't need it to serve up incorrect information when I try to search the internet. But Firefox's latest AI feature seems genuinely useful, likely because it isn't "making" anything for me. Instead its new AI-powered link previews simply show a small summary of the content on a webpage hidden behind a URL, so you'll have a better idea whether or no…

Fresh produce is probably one of the greatest gifts we can enjoy from nature. Call me a tree-hugger, but plants are seriously incredible. I don’t have a proper garden at the moment—it’s a north-facing potted plant set-up on my balcony—but if you’ve ever grown vegetables or even flowers from seeds, you know what I mean. Plants make gigantic blooms and fruit out of dirt and sunshine. That’s magic, and we reap the benefits. In this monthly article, I'll take a look at the fruits and veggies coming into season and some recipes you can use them in. As for this month: It's been spring for a while but it finally feels like it. And after a long winter, greens and a few fruits ar…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Samsung announced the new Galaxy S25 Series back in January, a three-phone lineup with a fourth variation that was teased a month later, which you can preorder right now with a $50 Amazon gift card before its May 30 release. Out of those four, the Galaxy S25 is the most basic model with the lowest price, and currently, it's hitting a new record low price of $624.99 (originally $799.99), according to price-tracking tools. SAMSUNG Galaxy S25 128GB AI Smartphon…

If you like the Kanban method but have grown tired of using bloated, online-only tools, Kanri is a free open-source alternative you can install on Linux, macOS, and Windows that works entirely offline. It even supports importing from Trello. We've recommended the Kanban method, and related tools, for tracking your work and visualizing projects. And there's nothing about Kanban that needs to be digital—it works well with sticky notes on a wall or even a notepad. Most people, however, depend on apps like Trello for the job—but Trello has a few limitations. There's no offline mode on the computer, for one thing, and the app has a habit of asking you to upgrade. If you'd pref…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you’re looking for a home security camera that doesn’t cost a fortune but still delivers sharp video and smart features, the TP-Link Tapo C120 might be worth a closer look. At $24.99 (down from $39.99), it undercuts a lot of competition while still offering 2K video, color night vision, and voice control via Alexa and Google Assistant. TP-Link Tapo Indoor/Outdoor Home Security Wi-Fi Camera C120 …

Access to a high-quality webcam isn't always guaranteed: While decent options are now built into most laptops, they're not all of an acceptable standard. Maybe you've got a monitor without a webcam attached; maybe you want a different angle—there are numerous reasons why you might need another webcam. If you've got an iPhone, you've actually got a webcam, too. The process for setting up your iPhone as a webcam has gotten easier down the years, especially on macOS, though you can also use it as a connected camera on a Windows PC with a little more effort. Use your iPhone as a webcam on macOSMacs, iPhones, and other Apple gadgets all work fairly seamlessly together in a var…

Like many AI chatbots, ChatGPT has offered image generation for some time now. You might be well acquainted with it, seeing as its latest image generation tools have recently gone viral. Putting both the ethics of AI art as well as its errors, quirks, and inconsistencies aside for a moment, you may have noticed some issues with ChatGPT's image generation, especially if you've been using a lot. Since each image is contained to the ChatGPT conversation in which it was generated, it's quite difficult to keep tabs on all your images, unless you're exporting and cataloging them somewhere else manually. OpenAI might not be able to solve the other issues with AI art yet, but it …