Setting Up Your Home Office

Another Google tool is biting the dust: The company's dark web monitoring tool, launched in March 2023, will be shut down on Feb. 16. According to Google, feedback on the feature suggested it "didn't provide helpful next steps"—so while it alerted users when their data was out in the wild, it wasn't clear what to do about it. Now, Google is shifting its focus from the dark web monitoring tool to features like its online Security Check-Up and passkey protection. In other words, instead of flagging when your account credentials appear in a data breach, Google wants to make sure that your accounts stay safe even if a breach has occurred. There are reasons why you should be k…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The 65-inch TCL QM7K is currently selling for $797.99, down from $999.99, and price-trackers show this is the lowest it has dropped so far. The QM7K isn’t a stripped-down budget model—it’s a mini-LED TV with full-array local dimming, wide HDR format support, and brightness levels that push past 2,000 nits. In practice, that means HDR highlights pop, contrast stays controlled, and the screen remains usable even in rooms with a lot of daylight. It doesn’t reach the extreme peak brightness of TCL’s higher-end QM8, but for most living rooms, the differe…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. For a lot of people, the appeal of a streaming stick is simple: You have an older TV that still works, but the software is dated or missing entirely. The Roku Streaming Stick HD (2025) fits that exact situation, and right now it’s selling for $15.99 on Amazon. Marked down from $29.99, it’s just a buck over its all-time low (according to price-trackers), and that makes it a tempting plug-and-play upgrade if you're tired of fiddling with HDMI cables or watching Netflix on a laptop screen. PCMag gave this streaming hub an “excellent” rating, largely be…

When the Nintendo Switch 2 came out, I was a bit skeptical that such a thin and light device could handle AAA, blockbuster games. But when I actually got it in my hands and reviewed it, I was impressed to see that it was capable of running demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077 just as well as my Steam Deck could. Since then, it's continued to prove itself by capably running other beefy games like Star Wars Outlaws and, more recently, Final Fantasy VIII Remake. The catch? All these games were all a few years old, and with the exception of Star Wars Outlaws, they all had versions for last-generation systems. As we started moving into 2026, I was still left wondering how well…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. When Nintendo's Virtual Boy launched in 1995, I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. 3D games with a giant, personal screen? Portable 32-bit power in the same year that the original PlayStation came out in the U.S.? "Who cares if you need to prop the thing up on a stand and stare through an obnoxious red filter to use it," I thought, "that's awesome." Fast forward to 2026, and I was pretty glad I never got one. The console has become famous over the years as one of Nintendo's most notorious flops, with poor sales, an extremely limited library, and reports of severe discomfort from players who did actually get on…

Since ChatGPT kicked off the generative AI revolution in 2022, it seems like every company under the sun has tried to stuff AI features into their products in one way or another. Sometimes, these features can be useful; often, they're not, only serving as proof these companies are "keeping up with the times." Can you even say you're a tech company if you aren't all-in on AI in 2026? There's nothing wrong with companies offering AI features to users, so long as they also offer easy ways to disable them. Some customers don't want AI in their day-to-day products, but, anecdotally, I know many do not. Give us an off switch though, and it's all good. The issue is when these fe…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. As we head into 2026, many people are setting fitness goals and signing up for gym memberships. But if you have the space at home, it’s a lot more convenient to get your cardio in with an at-home treadmill and skip the crowds. While this is by no means the most advanced model on the market, the NordicTrack T Series 5 treadmill is an entry-level smart treadmill for walkers and runners, offering reliable performance and a smaller-than-average footprint. Right now, it’s 20% off at $479 (originally $599). …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. With the rise of streaming culture, a lot of gamers have started investing in computers that don't just play games well, but that look good while doing it. Asus's newest pre-built gaming desktop, the ROG G1000, is pretty by-the-book when it comes to high-end performance, but it's got one major selling point when it comes to those all-important gamer aesthetics: holograms. Built into this computer's front panel and one of its side panels, safely tucked into inaccessible glass windows, are rapidly rotating LED strips that, when in motion, create convincing full-color images that appear to have depth. The "frame rate" can be …

During last year's CES, Dell killed the brand behind the very first laptop I ever owned, ditching its beloved XPS branding alongside other classic names like Inspiron and Precision. In its place, the company said all of its future (non-gaming) computers would now be known simply as "Dell," either being Dell, Dell Pro, or Dell Pro Max devices. In addition to these, other monikers like Dell Plus and Dell Premium were also tossed into the mix—and with all those similar-sounding adjectives floating around, it was just a mess to know what you were actually buying. If you can tell me the difference between a Dell 14 Plus, a Dell 14 Premium, and a Dell 14 Pro Premium without loo…

CES is the time of year for weird computers, and Asus is bringing back an old fan favorite to help fill its unusual form factor quota. Gamers who miss the days of dual screens, get excited: the ROG Zephyrus Duo is returning for 2026, and it's bigger than ever. Looking a bit like a gigantic Nintendo DS, the new ROG Zephyrus Duo stacks two full-sized 3K OLED screens on top of each other, with a standard laptop hinge in between. It's a lot like the company's existing Zenbook Duo, but that one's geared more for productivity users—the Zephyrus Duo is fully specced out for gamers, with a 120Hz refresh rate on both screens, the latest Intel Core Ultra chips, up to an RTX 5090 la…

I don't have a cat, but I do have a dog, and my dog can be a picky eater. After months of trial and error, the only way we could get him to consistently eat breakfast and dinner was with wet food. There is no scenario in which I or someone watching my dog can outsource the task of feeding him, but that's not the case for cat owners. I know that cats sometimes stay home alone for extended periods of time, where an automatic food dispenser becomes essential. I can only imagine, then, that cat owners who, like me, feed their pet wet food, now have a challenge: Someone has to be there to feed the cat. That's what intrigues me about Petkit's Yumshare Daily Feast, an automated …

I spent some time with Petkit on the show floor of CES on Monday, where I got to see the company's automatic wet food cat feeder, its newest smart litter box, as well as an AI-powered water dispenser. Of course, a water dispenser should ideally do one thing: dispense fresh water for your pet. The Eversweet Ultra water dispenser, however, adds a number of smart features to the mix, some of which actually seem particular useful for owners of multiple cats. The Eversweet's camera tracks your cats' drinking habits I first learned about this water dispenser last week when Petkit officially announced it, and some of the specs and features are the same on paper as they are in pe…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. “Smart” glasses have been big at CES this year, but the headset that has impressed me most is a device that helps people with central vision loss, including those who are considered “legally blind,” to see what they otherwise couldn’t. At a press event, I met a woman with macular degeneration, Liz Baker, who uses them daily—and I got to try them myself. What eSight Go is, and how it works Credit: Beth Skwarecki The device is called eSight Go. It’s a headset with little screens …

At last year's CES, Sony's press conference showed off products from all over its portfolio, including a first look at The Last of Us season 2. This year, it was all about the Afeela, an electric car Sony's making in collaboration with Honda that it's been teasing for years, but is now finally getting ready to release. Sony has big plans for Afeela. Previews have been less about hard specs like mileage or speed and more about the company's plans to change how we look at cars. Previously, that's included demo'ing integrations with other Sony services like Crunchyroll and themes for the car's interior based on Sony brands. Just last month, the company confirmed it would sup…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. If you're anything like me, you spend 90% of your time using your laptop with it docked and plugged into a monitor (or two). And if you're at that point, you might be wondering why you even bother having a screen attached to your computer at all. If so, HP's got your back. Announced at this year's CES, the HP Eliteboard G1a looks like a normal keyboard on the outside, but on the inside, it's got a whole Windows PC. That's not exactly a new concept, but with the experimental days of Windows XP long behind us, it's mostly been reserved for less powerful, Linux-based single-board computers like the Raspberry Pi. That's great …

When you come across an AI video on Instagram, or watch ChatGPT respond to your query, do you ever think about how that content was generated? Beyond the actual programs and prompts, generative AI takes an enormous amount of compute to support, especially as it skyrockets in popularity. As such, AI companies are looking for more power than ever, which means, of course, turning to those that make the hardware. AMD calls Helios "The world's best AI rack" During a Monday evening keynote, AMD's CEO Dr. Lisa Su showed off the hardware that will soon power everything from ChatGPT to the AI videos overwhelming your feeds. Su introduced "Helios" against a backdrop of dramatic mu…

Every year at CES, Intel and AMD announce their newest processors. This year, Intel debuted its first line of chips made with its 18a process, which stands for 18 angstroms, or under 2nm. To make that a little less nerdy, that means these chips can fit a lot of tech into a small area, which means big gains in performance. Colloquially called Panther Lake, the new Intel Core Ultra Series 3 chips are focused on laptops and mini-PCs. But that doesn't mean they don't put out impressive numbers. During its keynote, Intel promised "77% faster gaming performance," and for everyone actually using their PCs to do work, "60% better multithread performance." Impressively, it also sa…

There's very little privacy on the internet: Data brokers collect tons of information about you and your online activity and sell it to anyone interested in marketing to you. California residents have gained more control over their personal data than those in other states since the passage of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in 2018, and they now have a one-stop shop for requesting that their information be removed from hundreds of data brokers registered with the state (and any that do so in the future). California isn't the only state to enact stronger consumer privacy laws in recent years, but its Delete Requests and Opt-Out Platform (DROP) is the first of i…

Many people think the world is going to end in 2026. Man people think the world is going to end every year—maybe because the Bible said so, or The Simpsons said so—but this 2026-doomsday prediction seems to have a scientific basis. In a 1960 issue of Science magazine, Austrian scientist and polymath Heinz von Foerster detailed what he called the “Doomsday Equation,” a model he used to calculate the last day of civilization on earth. According to von Foerster (and probably Homer Simpson), The End is coming on Friday, November 13, 2026. Who is Heinz von Foerster?Foerster was not a crank. A pioneer in computer science, artificial intelligence, physics, biophysics, and other…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. The USB-C charging port is likely to remain ubiquitous on phones for the foreseeable future—at least until the engineers at Apple figure out how to make the long-rumored portless iPhone—but this little socket is more versatile than you may have realized. Here are four other ways to put your USB-C port to use, no matter what your make and model of phone—from freeing up space on your handset to boosting your on-the-go productivity. It's almost like adding extra superpowers to your handset. Attach external storage Both iOS and Android have integr…

There are a lot of apps on the market that claim to "clean up" your Mac—for a price. Some offer subscriptions, some cost a lot up front, but for the most part, they offer the same few features—wiping things like caches and logs, completely uninstalling apps, and monitoring system health. These apps all tend to be a little on the bloated side, with a lot of animations and graphics. The free, open source, Terminal-based Mole is the opposite of those applications. Running entirely from the command line, Mole couldn't possibly look less flashy, but it combines a number of different tools that can free up hard drive space on your Mac while also keeping things running smoothly.…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Last year, one of my New Year's resolutions was to overhaul my apartment and turn it into a cleaner, more comfortable, more organized, and more efficient space. Knowing that a messy space can negatively impact your productivity and overall mental health, I reasoned that this would actually serve the purpose of making me a more efficient, peaceful person, so I took it seriously. One major issue was quickly apparent: My kitchen is tiny, which meant it was disorganized and more or less useless when it came to its primary function, which is to facilitate my cooking. It took some creativity (and money), but I figured out what t…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The new Google Pixel Watch 4 came out in the late summer of 2025, and it's already heavily discounted. You can now get the 41mm LTE Google Pixel Watch 4 in all three colors for $349.99 (originally $449.99), the lowest price it has ever been, according to price tracking tools. It now comes with a much faster charging time, satellite SOS, dual-band GPS, and a new circular display design. Google Pixel Watch 4 (41mm, LTE, Matte Black) …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. While we’ve reviewed Anker’s Solix C800 and covered deals on the C1000—whose second-gen version even earned a Guinness World Record for being the fastest recharging portable power station in the 1,000Wh category—Anker has added another new and improved solar generator to its lineup. The brand’s newest portable power station, released in October 2025, is the Anker Solix C2000 Gen 2, and it’s currently 52% off on Amazon at $719.10 (originally $1,499). Anker Solix C2000 Gen 2 Portable Power Stati…

Anker launched a pair of "2-in-1" earbuds under its Soundcore brand at CES 2026, and it has a unique feature: They can be worn in two ways by adjusting the ear hooks. When you want active noise cancellation, you can wear it in-ear, and when you don't, you can adjust the hooks for an open-ear design. This quirky product is called the Soundcore Aerofit 2 Pro—and you can already buy it for $150, which includes a launch discount of $30. When it comes to CES announcements, I'm always wary of vaporware, aka products that are announced but never shipped. That's why I keep an eye out for products with a shorter launch window so you can actually get your hands on the things you're…