Setting Up Your Home Office

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Welcome to “Cookbook of the Week.” This is a series where I highlight cookbooks that are unique, easy to use, or just special to me. While finding a particular recipe online serves a quick purpose, flipping through a truly excellent cookbook has a magic all its own. Baking bread isn't for everyone, and I get it: Spending hours (or days) making one “simple” staple item that you could easily purchase at the store for a few dollars is arguably absurd. I fully accept that I may never be able to bring folks who feel this way over to the other side, and that’s fine. But what about the home cooks who are intrigued, rather than …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Amazon's Memorial Day sale is in full swing, featuring deals on garden, sports, beauty, home items, electronics, and more. A particular sale that stood out to me, as a deals writer who frequently reviews headphones and speakers, is the one on Beats products. While it's not uncommon to see Beats products with a good discount, it is rare to see the newest product (the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2) included in the sale. Right now, you can get the Beats Pill, Beats Powerbeats Pro 2, and the Beats Studio Buds+ for up to 41% off. All of these options are at t…

Google announced a lot of new stuff today at I/O, but few things were more eye-watering than the company's new Google AI Ultra subscription. At $250 per month, it's by far the most expensive subscription Google has yet launched. So it makes sense it comes with everything. And I mean everything. For starters, subscribers at this tier get to use Gemini Ultra, which includes the new Veo 3 video generation model that can also generate sounds alongside video, to...some effect. This tier will also be the first to get access to the upcoming 2.5 Pro Deep Think reasoning model that Google says can "consider multiple hypotheses before responding." It also brings access to tools lik…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Tariffs on products being imported to the U.S., especially from China, Canada, and Mexico, have been a hotly debated topic in the news, and many people are predicting a hike in prices on things like tools and materials for DIY projects as the tariffs are enacted. There is a lot of conjecture about how to keep your home improvement and DIY projects prices down, with many commentators advising people to simply “buy American"—but that probably won’t work. The economy is increasingly international, with parts of almost everything made in the U.S. being imported from all over the world. Most tools made in the U.S., even from b…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. While Anker might be known best for its power banks, speakers, and smartphone accessories, the brand also has a track record for delivering high-quality audio products. Currently, Anker Soundcore AeroClip open-ear earbuds are available for the lowest price ever at $129.98, according to price-trackers. These earbuds are lightweight and flexible, yet stay in place due to their open-ring design. Anker Soundcore AeroClip Earbuds …

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 looking for a wireless outdoor camera that doesn’t need constant babysitting, the Arlo Essential Wireless Security Camera (2nd Gen) bundled with a solar panel is now at its lowest-ever price (according to price trackers)—$69.99, down from $99.99. Arlo Essential Wireless Security Camera $69.99 at Amazon …

Max may be adding the "HBO" back into its name, but don't let that fool you into thinking that streaming is getting any better for classic film fans in 2025—great movies older than a few decades are still hard to come by on popular subscription services like Hulu and Netflix. Sure, you could sign up for The Criterion Channel, the streaming service from the boutique media label dedicated to highlighting the best in classic and contemporary films (if you are any kind of film history geek, it's practically a moral imperative). But you actually don't need to pay anything at all to enjoy a substantial library of Criterion-approved gems: As spotted on Reddit (and possibly insp…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Amazon’s Big Spring Sale is back for a second year and runs through March 31. It’s not quite the frenzy of Prime Day, but there are still plenty of decent tech deals worth checking out. You don’t need a Prime membership to shop the sale either, though Prime members do get access to a few better prices. If you’re curious, you can always sign up for the free 30-day trial and cancel later. Either way, this week’s a solid time to pull the trigger on those bigger purchases you’ve been eyeing. Like, say, a giant new TV. Right now, the 65-inch Sony Bravia …

While it doesn't have quite the same prominence as ChatGPT or Google Gemini, the Claude AI bot developed by Anthropic continues to improve and innovate. Brand new Claude 4 models are now available, promising upgrades in coding, reasoning, precision, and the ability to manage long-running tasks independently. There are two new models, Claude Opus 4 and Claude Sonnet 4, and Anthropic says they're both "setting new standards" for what you can expect from AI. Coding is a big focus, and the models are said to have achieved the highest scores to date on two widely used AI coding benchmarking tools, SWE-bench and Terminal-bench. Claude 4 models can actually work for hours on pro…

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 thinking about adding a security camera to your setup but want something a little more refined than the entry-level options, the Ring Spotlight Cam Pro might hit that middle ground. Normally priced at $229.99, it’s now down to $159.99 on Amazon, which price trackers confirm is its lowest ever. Ring Spotlight Cam Pro, Battery $159.99 …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. It's Amazon's Big Spring Sale—not quite Prime Day, but as close as you're going to get in March. But while Prime Day usually includes a bunch of discounts of Apple devices, including the ubiquitous AirPods, they aren't included among the retailer's Spring Sale offers. But that's fine, because the Apple-made headphones I would actually recommend buying over the AirPods Pro actually are in the Big Spring Sale: the similarly full-featured, great-sounding Beats Fit Pro, which are currently $30 off. Beats Fit Pro A…

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 compact speaker that won’t flake out on sound or durability, this refurbished Sony SRS-XB100 wireless Bluetooth speaker is worth a closer look. It's on sale right now for $34.99 at StackSocial (down from its original $59.99 price), and this Grade “A” refurbished unit arrives in like-new condition and ships free across the contiguous U.S. It’s not brand-new—those are going for around $48 on Amazon—but this version comes with barely noticeable wear, if any, and still delivers the same sound and features you'd expect. Physically…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. There are certain limitations that I tolerate with apartment living. One of these that I begrudgingly accept is the lack of an outdoor grill set up. Apparently building owners don’t want flames spitting and embers glowing within 10 feet of their precious buildings—fine. But what if I could smoke meat with real wood pellets and also not set my apartment on fire? Well the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill and Smoker is offering this opportunity. I’ve had my eye on it for a while now, and it’s finally on sale for Memorial Day. …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. I love Kindle e-readers, and have been using them since the first Kindle Paperwhite came out in 2012. One thing I've been looking forward to since I first had one in my hands is the color version. It finally came out in November with the Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition, which is on sale for $224.99 (originally $279.99), the lowest price it has been since its release, according to price-tracking tools. Right now, you can also get it with three months of free Kindle Unlimited (it'll auto-renew unless you cancel it), and if you're a Prime Member, yo…

This week, OpenAI announced its latest models: o3 and o4-mini. These are reasoning models, which break down a prompt into multiple parts that are then addressed one at a time. The goal is for the bot to “think” through a request more deeply than other models might, and arrive at a deeper, more accurate result. While there are many possible functions for OpenAI’s “most powerful” reasoning model, one use that has blown up a bit on social media is for geoguessing—the act of identifying a location by analyzing only what you can see in an image. As TechCrunch reported, users on X are posting about their experiences asking o3 to pinpoint locations from random photos, and showi…

Scammers can make good money by selling you something you can actually get for free—like government services. The Federal Trade Commission is alerting consumers to fraudulent websites that are claiming to be associated with the IRS and charging up to $300 to file paperwork for obtaining an Employer Identification Number (EIN). The EIN application is available for free on the real IRS website and requires just a few minutes to complete. An EIN, which is a corporate identifier for filing taxes, is required for anyone opening a business, estate, or nonprofit as well as those with household employees (such as a family hiring a nanny). How the EIN scam worksThe services iden…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. The big shopping outlets are gearing up for another Black Friday sale season, and we’ll be on top of all those deals. In particular, I’ll be looking out for deals on fitness gear including fitness trackers and smartwatches, so let me give you a preview of what I’m expecting—and hoping—to see. My predictions here are based on what sales we’ve seen from these models in the past, and what last year’s Black Friday looked like with respect to the then-current models. This year, most of the companies on my list have introduced new watches, but are also still selling their older models. Here are the prices I’ll be looking for t…

We've learned a lot about the Switch 2 since Nintendo announced it in back in January. We know how basic specs compare on paper to the original Switch; we know that many physical game carts won't actually have the games on them; and we know what games to expect this year. While there's still more to learn about the console before it officially launches next month, some new leaks have provided fresh insights into how the Switch 2 actually performs. Digital Foundry reports that it can definitively confirm leaks surrounding the Switch 2's hardware, answering many of the remaining questions that Nintendo and Nvidia have left a mystery thus far. The outlet highlights the key …

Even the most loyal Apple users will admit that the company is lagging behind when it comes to AI, with Siri's big Apple Intelligence upgrade now officially delayed (having been heavily promoted throughout last year). In a new blog post, Apple outlines some of the ways it's hoping to get back on track. One of the potential reasons for Apple's generative AI struggles may be that it prioritizes user privacy a lot more than the likes of OpenAI and Google. Apple doesn't gather any user data to train its large language models or LLMs (though it has trained its models on free text on the web), and relies heavily on synthetic data to produce AI text from prompts and from existin…

While soup season should should be winding down, frost is still threatening parts of the U.S. Just when I should be cracking my knuckles to make burger patties, the wind chill has me hauling out the Dutch oven to make soup. Again. If your palate is tired of the same old soup recipes, I understand—lots of salt and umami can get boring. That's why you need my trick for bringing fresh interest to tired flavors (while also prepping your palate for spring): Simply brighten them with a dose of acidity. American-style soups tend to be heavily focused on the savory, salty end of the flavor spectrum—stews, chilis, chicken noodle variations, gumbos, chowders, and creamy soups. We…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Amazon's Memorial Day sale is in full swing, and you can find more than just the usual appliances and tools on sale. There are discounts on many tech products for audiophiles as well, from Beats headphones, to the Sonos Arc Soundbar, and the beloved Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones, which have dropped in price after the release of the WH-1000XM6. If you're looking for bargains on budget headphones and earbuds, I've rounded up the best ones that you can find under $100, whether you're looking for earbuds, bone conduction headsets, or open-ear, in-ear, or …

If you receive an email about your Social Security statement, proceed with caution: According to a new report from Malwarebytes Labs, hackers are impersonating the Social Security Administration (SSA) to trick people into installing a remote access tool and handing over full control of their devices. The SSA is no stranger to phishing scams—the Office of the Inspector General put out an alert last month warning the public of fraudulent emails purporting to include Social Security statements that in reality led to fake websites. How the Social Security phishing scam worksThe current attack is the work of a phishing group known as Molatori. It begins with an email that a…

If you're a gamer born in the '80s or '90s, you might have some strong nostalgia for the Nintendo GameCube. It's not just your childhood memories fueling those opinions: It's a great console, with classic library to boot: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker; Mario Kart: Double Dash; and Super Smash Bros. Melee, just to name a few. It might be tempting, then, to pick up a new GameCube controller, specifically designed for Nintendo Switch 2, and all the GameCube games Nintendo plans to make available through a Nintendo Switch Online subscription. If you're lucky enough to snag the new console at launch, you'll be able to play Wind Waker, Soulcalibur II, and F-Zero GX, with …