Setting Up Your Home Office

This week, a meme-based generational civil war is breaking out on TikTok, and only one side knows it's even happening; a throwaway tweet from rapper Young Thug has me looking into why so many rappers put "ASAP" in front of their names, and we're going back in time to 2012, when prank videos ruled the internet. TikTok’s Le Snack Demon and why it signals a generational riftTikTok has been around since 2016; Instagram, since 2010. Both have lived long enough to see long-time users butting heads with newcomers, and generational battle lines are being drawn around a little AI cartoon character called Snack Demon. It started on (older-coded) Instagram, where this video from a…

As powerful as LLMs can be, all have one shared weakness: hallucination. For reasons beyond our understanding, AI models have a habit of making things up, totally out of the blue. A response might be accurate, with well-cited sources and relevant information; then, all of a sudden, the AI pushes a false claim, or mistakenly interprets an ironic forum comment as fact. (That's how you end up with Google's AI Overviews recommending adding glue to your pizza.) Some LLMs may hallucinate less than others, but none are immune. That's why anytime you use a chatbot, you'll see some kind of warning on-screen, letting you know that the AI can make mistakes. Apple Intelligence, App…

The Opera you're using today is obviously a very different browser from the one it was decades ago. Perhaps the most significant change is that it's a Chromium-based browser, which means you can install Chrome extensions to fill any features you may be missing. That said, the browser still retains its core philosophy of shipping useful integrated features—even if those options aren't always obvious. From bypassing unskippable YouTube ads to using a built-in volume booster for every tab, here are the best Opera hacks you should know about: Use "Early Bird" to try experimental features before releaseIf you live on the bleeding edge of tech, you can use Opera's "Early Bird" …

If you're in the Google ecosystem or use Google Workspace at work, Google Chat is a popular choice for messaging and collaboration. The app replaced Hangouts in Gmail (RIP), originally launching for business before rolling out to everyone. Regardless of the context for using Google Chat, there are a handful of hacks to maximize its features. Add Chat to Gmail to keep everything in one tabIf you already have too many tabs open—and one of them is Gmail—you don't actually need another one for Google Chat. Instead, you can add Chat to your Gmail taskbar and toggle between your inbox and chat interface in the same tab (as long as they are under the same Google Account). Hit t…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Portable projectors provide a big screen for cozy movie nights without committing to a full home theater setup, and they’ve come a long way in the past few years. Still, many force you to choose between design and function. The LG CineBeam Q portable projector blends a sleek look with true 4K laser projection, making it perfect for flexible viewing—and right now, it’s $200 off at $799.99 (originally $999.99). LG CineBeam Q HU710PB 4K Smart Portable Projector …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. A versatile portable speaker is a great addition to your summer kit—but while lots of speakers claim to be portable, many of them are surprisingly bulky, not very durable, or deliver tinny sound. The JBL Go 4 has none of those issues. It's currently one of the best travel speakers in its price range, and right now, it's even cheaper on Amazon: At $40, it's 20% off and at its lowest price ever. JBL Go 4 …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Echo Show has come a long way since its humble beginnings. The latest smart display from Amazon came out in the winter of 2025 and, for the first time, brings Fire TV integrated into the display, so you can stream your shows directly on it, as well as Alexa+ AI voice control, among other improvements. Right now, the 11-inch Echo Show 11 is $169.99 (originally $219.99) and the 8-inch Echo Show 8 is $139.99 (originally $179.99), both at their lowest prices according to price-tracking tools. …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Not everyone is looking for a five-star TV experience. Sometimes, a decent TV at the right price is good enough. That's exactly what the Hisense QLED E6QF Fire TV can offer, and right now, the 50-inch class is just $236.97 (originally $379.99), dropping to the lowest price it has ever been, according to price-tracking tools. Other bigger sizes are also discounted, including the 55-inch, which is $299.99 (originally $429.99). This is one of the best deals for budget TVs right now. …

If you have your YouTube watch history disabled and you are now being prompted to turn it on if you want to receive recommendations, you're not alone. Watch history on YouTube is used to generate personalized recommendations on the platform—when it's disabled, suggested videos and channels are instead pulled from your likes, saves, and subscriptions rather than from videos you've watched. While some YouTube users want to be able to see a list of what they've viewed, many have watch history turned off for privacy reasons or to keep junk out of their algorithm in favor of a more curated experience. Some Reddit users have recently reported that their recommendations have di…

I can't stand when a subscription tells me its "monthly" price, when, in actuality, the plan charges me annually. Sure, when you divide the yearly cost by 12, the price looks better, but if I'm paying all at once for the year, then it's really not that amount per month. It's all a way to get more customers in the digital door, and I'm sure it works—even if I'm not happy about it. Apple's new plan improves annual subscriptions While this pricing isn't going anywhere anytime soon, there is a positive change on the way—for most of the world, anyway. As highlighted by MacRumors, Apple is giving developers a new type of subscription plan to market to their users. In addition …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Apple TV's sci-fi series For All Mankind starts with a tantalizing alt-history premise: What if Soviet space pioneer Sergei Korolev hadn’t died prematurely in 1966, but instead helped bring his country’s space program into full bloom, extending the space race indefinitely? If America and the world had been forced to continue the space program, our past (and present) would look quite different—at least according to this show, which jumps across decades to imagine how that might have unfolded in an alternate past. (By the current fifth season, set in alt-2012, some humans are living off-planet in a Martian habitat.) For All…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. This weekend’s London Marathon was a phenomenal event, with not one but two men (Sabastian Sawe and Yomif Kejelcha) breaking the sub-two-hour barrier that people used to say would never be broken. The women’s winner, Tigst Assefa, also smashed her own world record. So what kind of running watches do these elite marathoners wear? Mostly cheap ones, including older Garmins. Garmin Forerunner 255 GPS Running Smartwatch (Gray) …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Hulu’s adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale hit our screens at precisely the right moment—a time when many had Americans begun to wonder if our democracy was as robust as we’d always assumed. It brought Margaret Atwood’s grim vision of a totalitarian, patriarchal, and fanatical future America (now known as The Republic of Gilead) to life with sharp writing, electric performances, a striking visual style, and instantly iconic costume designs. Now that the series has ended, you might be wondering how you’ll get your fix of feel-bad dystopian futures. Thanks in part to its success, there are a lot of other TV series you can stre…

Searching for a video on YouTube hasn't changed much in the past 20 years: You launch the site, bypass the algorithmic recommendations, and enter your query. I've found this to be a relatively reliable method for finding a video I'm looking for. In my experience, if it doesn't pop up in a search, that usually means YouTube doesn't have the video in question. But we're now in 2026, which means I can only wonder: Why isn't YouTube search powered by AI? How YouTube's new AI search worksSarcasm aside, AI search is of course something Google is working on. As reported by The Verge, the company is testing a new search experience that takes a page from its "AI Mode" feature in G…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Earlier this month, T-Mobile started offering free iPhone 17s to new customers (they still are)—and now, they're offering a $200 prepaid Mastercard for a limited time for anyone who brings their unlocked device and phone number and switches to them. Here are the details you need to know. Starts at $50/mo with AutoPay for 1 phone line. Essentials Pla…

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The following content is brought to you by Lifehacker partners. If you buy a product featured here, we may earn an affiliate commission or other compensation. View the full article

Slack is one of the most commonly used business messaging apps—beyond basic communication, the service has plenty of built-in features that can help you be both more productive and less overwhelmed by the volume of messages you receive. These are the top tips and tricks to use Slack efficiently. Create sections to organize your sidebarIf you have dozens of channels and DMs to keep track of and a long sidebar list that requires scrolling, you can create custom sections to keep related conversations together and prioritize those you need most at the top. You can create, for example, a section for conversations with just your team or a grouping of channels and DMs related t…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Soundcore Boom Go 3i Portable Bluetooth Speaker has dropped to $49.99 from its usual $79.99, and price trackers suggest this is the lowest it has reached so far. It is a compact, palm-sized speaker designed for portability, weighing just about 380 grams. There’s also a built-in silicone strap, which is basic but practical, letting you loop it onto a bike handlebar or hang it at a campsite without needing extra accessories. Soundcore Boom Go 3i …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Eufy SoloCam S340 is now $119.99, down from $199.99, which marks its lowest price so far based on price tracking data. That drop makes it easier to consider if you want a home security camera without ongoing fees. It’s a fully wireless outdoor camera powered by a solar panel, so once it’s installed, you’re not dealing with frequent charging or routing cables through walls. You can place the included solar panel either on top of the unit or a little farther away with a 10-foot USB-C cable, if your ideal mounting spot does not get direct or consis…

Since the release of the original Avatar in 2009, James Cameron’s epic interstellar franchise has taken over popular culture with the brute force of an RDA battalion invading a distant moon. It has grown from a single movie into an omni-franchise—a $10 billion entertainment ecosphere that includes three feature films, two AAA video games, seven primary comic book series, a Disney theme park, and even a Cirque du Soleil show. Given the movies’ collective nine-hour runtime and a 150-year internal timeline, keeping track of the lore of Pandora can be a lot; Cameron’s world-building is famously obsessive, involving everything from a fully functional alien language to scientif…

Apple AirPods have always supported Bluetooth, so you can pair them with any phone, tablet, or computer you like—whether or not it's made by Apple—for basic audio listening. Until now, though, getting the full set of features on these earbuds, including head gestures and all the rest, required using an iPhone, iPad, or Mac. That's now changed with the arrival of LibrePods, an app that actually launched a couple of years ago but that's now available on the Google Play Store. Previously, to get LibrePods to work, you had to jailbreak your Android device and sideload it. That's no longer necessary—you can just install it like any regular Android app. According to developer K…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. No matter how new or how well-built, every house needs work or maintenance on a regular basis. You can pay professionals to do it all, of course, but if you’re looking to save a little money (or just want to learn and be in control of your home maintenance fate), there are plenty of home repair jobs that can be DIY’d. If you’re a beginner who’s just getting started on DIY maintenance and repair, however, you should watch out for some easy and common mistakes inexperienced DIYers make. While some of these mistakes will be obvious the moment you make them, it’s also easy to get through an entire project and experience superf…

This week, the gaming community was abuzz with frustration, anger, and confusion over a supposed change in Sony's digital game policy. Reportedly, Sony was rolling out a new system, where digital games would need to connect to the internet once every 30 days in order to function as expected. When some players dug through a digital game's information page, they indeed found a timer, in the form of a "remaining time" deadline, stating how much time they had left before needing to connect to the internet again. If the player missed the deadline, they might lose access to the game, until they connect their PlayStation to the internet again. This is a pretty serious policy sh…

Amazon Prime Day 2026 is sure to be the biggest online sale of the year, and it's coming a bit sooner than you may have expected. In a press release yesterday, quickly issued after the sale's timeframe was revealed in Amazon's own first-quarter earnings statement, the company confirmed this year's event will be held in June. This is the first time Amazon has moved its biggest sale of the year earlier since the height of the pandemic in 2021. Amazon doesn't usually announce its sales months beforehand, typically waiting until at most a month out to give shoppers a heads-up on when a shopping event will take place. But after this early news drop, it's likely the other major…