Setting Up Your Home Office

YouTube Music isn't the most feature-rich of all the music streaming services, but it is a great option for those who love music videos, user-generated content, and the YouTube ecosystem overall. If you have YouTube Music, or are considering switching from another platform, these are the best tips and tricks to get the most out of your listening experience. Use these tools to transfer your playlists from another streaming serviceIf you're moving to YouTube Music from another app, you don't have to start from scratch. YouTube has a direct integration with Apple Music for playlist transfers. For other streaming services like Spotify, you can import using third-party apps l…

For all its faults as a platform, YouTube’s video player functionality is easily among the best online. It streams reliably to almost every device you can think of, in your choice of both video quality and playback speed. But it’s the array of hidden features and interface tricks that push it over the edge for me. (Other video players, take note.) Here are 10 of my favorite hacks that make YouTube easier to use. Search YouTube video transcripts with Ctrl-FAlmost every video on YouTube either has an official or auto-generated subtitled track. While these are mainly used for captioning, you can also pull up this transcript on the web and use Ctrl-F (or Cmd-F on Macs) to sea…

Virtual meetings are essential to remote work—but they can also be tedious. If Zoom is your video conferencing platform of choice, there are lots of hidden features you can tap to make meetings more efficient for hosts and engaging for participants. Here are the best tips and tricks for getting the most out of Zoom. Use self-selected breakout rooms to create a virtual networking eventVirtual networking is already awkward, and potentially even more so if you send people to random breakout rooms to force conversation. While meeting participants are commonly assigned to breakout rooms automatically, Zoom has a feature that allows individuals to choose their breakout and mov…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Who among us has not looked at a newly framed picture, then looked at their wall and thought, "Eh, surely I can eye-ball it this time." Hanging pictures should be an easy feat, but so often they end up uncentered or slightly crooked, causing us to add more holes the wall than intended or desired. The next time you hang pictures or artwork in your home, use one of these 10 hacks so they're level and evenly spaced on the first try. Use a small ball as a makeshift level to hang picturesA level is essential when hanging art—a frame that’s even slightly crooked will be an eyesore, and if you’re hanging multiple pieces in a grou…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. More than 37 million Americans moved last year—and while that’s actually a historic low, one thing that hasn’t changed is the levels of hair-tearing stress the experience can inspire. Everything about moving, from packing to hiring movers to switching utilities, comes with a little spice of stress and anxiety. Even the most competent and careful planning can leave you with an ulcer and an incipient nervous breakdown as you try to pack your entire life into a truck and transport it to another location. There are lots of little ways to reduce that stress and make moving a little easier. These hacks can help anyone, no matter…

The internet has become a vital tool for human connection, but it comes with its fair share of risks, with the biggest being your privacy and security. With the big tech giants hungry for every ounce of your data they can get and scammers looking to target you every day, you do need to take a few precautions to protect your online privacy and security. There's no foolproof approach to these two things, and unfortunately, the onus is on you to take care of your data. Before you start looking for a VPN or ways to delete your online accounts, you should take a moment to understand your privacy and security needs. Once you do, it'll be a lot easier to take a few proactive ste…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. More than 45 million people in the United States rent their homes, and as purchasing a home continues to be out of reach for many, that number probably isn’t going down anytime soon. If you’re a renter, you know that renting often comes with some compromises in terms of control over your environment, space, and interior design. Being limited in what you can do because you don’t actually own the walls and floors can be a real challenge when it comes to making the space nice. But with a few clever ideas, you can make your rental more comfortable, more useful, and less expensive—and ensure that you get all of your security de…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. My smart home routines are ready for a refresh. As new standards have emerged for connecting gadgets in the home, and Google and Amazon have been updating their respective hardware and apps, I've been lagging in keeping things sharp and running smoothly. So, I'm doing something about it now. If you've been feeling bored by your smart home and its current routines too, keep reading. These are ways to configure the smart devices around you to make them for more than just turning the lights on and off (although there's always plenty of that). Although my personal smart home is in the Google Home ecosystem, these features als…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Once you’ve lived in a place for a while, one fact becomes clear: Your home isn’t getting any bigger, at least not without time and effort (and a truckload of cash). We all tend to grow into our homes, filling it with stuff over time, and that can lead to a storage crisis. But your house can probably offer you extra storage with the right purchases and approach. There are all kinds of clever ways to increase the storage around your house. If you’re ready to get all that stuff off the floors and furniture and nearly tucked away, here are some ideas to explore. …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. A lot of us spend significant time and energy organizing our closets, home offices, and even our kitchen cabinets, but we toss our weekly groceries and daily leftovers into the fridge with little thought. Soon enough, we can't find the ranch dressing behind all the plastic containers filled with food that looks more like a science experiment. Even if you don’t let your fridge situation get quite that bad, a lack of organization in there will make it harder to keep it clean and find and grab what you need. If you want to get serious about organizing your fridge, you have to go beyond the standard drawers and shelves most mo…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. The final months of 2024 saw the release of two major cinematic works, each laser focused on design and architecture. While very different films (that is, one Oscar-nominated, one Razzie-nominated), each is monumental in its own right. First came Francis Ford Coppola's decades-in-the-making sci-fi drama Megalopolis, following a visionary architect, played by Adam Driver, who dreams of transforming the future city of New Rome into a utopian paradise with the help of a magical metal. Critics were not kind to Coppola's film, but a much warmer reception greeted Brady Corbet's The Brutalist, a more down-to-earth but no less ep…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. When you're using devices that are always connected to the internet, it's difficult to completely protect your privacy. Luckily, there are plenty of great privacy hacks for your iPhone, which you can use to make it hard for trackers and spies to collect your data and snoop on your business. From built-in solutions, like adjusting app permissions, to purchasing privacy screen protectors, here are 10 hacks every iPhone user should consider to protect their privacy. Get yourself a privacy screen protectorNo software privacy hack can protect you from people looking over your shoulder to memorize your password, or from peeking …

Processing fees. Service fees. Hidden fees. It feels like most companies and services these days have found countless ways to sneakily squeeze money out of me. Even when it’s only a few dollars here and there, it’s the principle of the thing: Why am I being charged in the first place? What can I do to circumvent these fees and save my hard-earned money? Here are some of the most common fees that have been infuriating me lately, and what you can do to avoid paying them. Concert “service” feesIf you’ve tried to buy a concert ticket in recent history, you’ve been slapped with a shocking string of processing, commission, or transaction fees. From secondary sellers like StubHu…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The key to any successful DIY job is having the right tools—which can be a problem when you're away from your toolbox. While the handy folks on your holiday shopping list probably already have all the tools they need, they probably only have the full-sized or powered-up versions. Instead, go small and gift them one (or more) of these awesome, pocket-sized tools designed to be carried around everywhere. …

Jonathan Goldstein’s Heavyweight, where he helps people confront things from their past, is one of the most beloved podcasts of all time. In 2023 when Spotify was making huge cuts, it was one of them. But earlier this year, Malcolm Gladwell’s Pushkin Industries picked it back up, and episodes will be returning soon. If you want more Heavyweight-ish stuff now, this list of podcasts will keep you satisfied. They share Heavyweight’s ethos—curiosity, empathy, a sense of humor, and beautiful audio. Wiretap Credit: Wiretap Wiretap i…

The Reminders app on the iPhone is perhaps one of the most underrated apps that Apple makes. On the surface, it's a simple to-do list app: You can use Siri to add reminders, get notifications, and check them off. But hiding under the surface is a complex program, with features that help you get things done with the right context and at the right time. You can organize your list as a Kanban board, set blaring alarms for important reminders, manage tasks from the Calendar app, and generate your own smart lists. Here are 10 ways to make the most of your Reminders app: Use "When Messaging" to get a reminder when texting a specific contact …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Cleaning your home can be exhausting and time-consuming at the best of times—but then there are all of those areas that are also just downright annoying to clean, often because they are difficult to reach or uncomfortable to work on. To help you out, here is a range of gadgets, tools, and products that can make cleaning those problem areas a little faster, easier, and less likely to raise your blood pressure. If you’re tired of climbing ladders, kneeling until your back aches, and wasting time doing cleaning tasks that don’t actually seem to leave your house feeling cleaner, consider these 10 products that can make cleanin…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. A carnival thrill-ride that manages to evoke America's radical revolutionary history while referencing and responding to decades of cinematic rebellion, One Movie After Another is one of writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson's richest films, and somehow maybe even his most fun. Its 13 Oscar nominations put it in line with the most-honored movies ever, alongside the likes of From Here to Eternity, Mary Poppins, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and The Fellowship of the Ring. Of course, One Battle has the slight misfortune to be running against Sinners, with its all-time high of 16 nominations. Still: not bad. With a variety …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. We're going back to Westeros, baby! Not that we ever really left, given that we're merely between seasons of that other Game of Thrones spin-off, and with several more allegedly in development. It seems the only place the Game of Thrones universe is completely stalled is on the page—but I digress. Where the original series saw a kingdom in decline and House of the Dragon takes us back to the Targaryen Dynasty at its height, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms occurs roughly in-between, shifting the focus from the realm's power players to more tangential (at least for now) smallfolk: Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey), a lowbo…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Netflix's conflict-heavy anthology series Beef, from creator Lee Sung Jin, just concluded its second season, which saw wealthy country club managers Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan go head-to-head with the help, played by Cailee Spaeny and Charles Melton. That followed up a first season involving Steven Yeun and Ali Wong in a road-rage scenario that developed to operatic levels of chaos before the run of episodes was over. All dramatic, but also funny! Nothing wrong with a little conflict, as long as it's happening to other people. Dead to Me (2019 – 2022) Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini make for an all-tim…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Dan Levy's follow-up to Schitt's Creek teams him with I Love LA creator Rachel Sennott for a comedy that, in the best tradition of crime shows, starts small and gets absolutely ridonculous. Laurie Metcalf stars as mom and matriarch Linda alongside Dan Levy's closeted gay minister Nicky and Taylor Ortega's chaos-magnet Morgan. Linda demands that the two of them get a piece of jewelry for their dying grandmother's last birthday, leading to a tiny bit of theft that finds them in debt to the mob. Not content to put the family through the wringer just once, Netflix has renewed it for a second season. In the meantime, enjoy the…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Who knew that, here in the mid 2020s, a show involving gays in the military (even a relatively pro-army one) would prove its own relevance by drawing a fierce, angry denunciation from the current administration—a response strong enough that it maybe, just maybe, got the show cancelled in spite of high viewership and buzz. But then again, given the precariousness of the streaming landscape, it's best to treat everything like a miniseries these days. Based on a memoir from Greg Cope White, the Netflix series stars Miles Heizer as Cameron Cope, a closeted gay teen who follows his bestie into the Army in the era before "Don't…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. In its 15th season, unlikely phenomenon Call the Midwife hasn't slowed down: Season 16 is already confirmed, as are a feature film and a WWII-era prequel series. Plenty of babies still need to be born, it would seem. Initially set in 1957, with the current plots entering the 1970s, the show takes place in and around Poplar, London, one of the city's most desperately poor districts. As the National Health Service is born, secular trained midwives team up with the nuns of Nonnatus House, a nursing convent that had been in the business of providing medical care to the area's poor for decades. Though occasionally veering into…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Each of writer/creator/director Steven Conrad's series has been distinctive, which is to say, unsettling and off-kilter. Patriot; Perpetual Grace, LTD, and the tough-to-stream Ultra City Smiths each has a style and tone that sets it apart from anything else on television, and also each other. They've also all struggled to break out amid a bustling streaming pack, though that may well be changing: only a few episodes in, Conrad's new HBO series DTF St. Louis is building buzz. The shows follows Floyd Smernitch (Stranger Things' David Harbour), a married sign language interpreter with a fading sex life and a weird penis (it…