Setting Up Your Home Office

There are a million reasons not to use Instagram, from it taking up too much of your time to not wanting to support Mark Zuckerberg. While the best alternative might be just getting off social network altogether, hey, who's perfect? Perhaps you're just tired of doomscrolling, or you want more control over your feeds. There are better options out there for you. Here are a few of my favorite photography-first social media platforms not owned by Meta (yet). Instagram alternatives for the social butterflyPixelfed Credit: Khamosh Pathak …

Web browsers collect a lot of data and share it with the sites we visit, so if you're concerned about your privacy, it's worth wondering which browsers are best for keeping our online habits to ourselves. Whether you're an activist concerned about surveillance, someone doing research in a country where your topic can get you in trouble, or simply a person who doesn't want spying eyes on their search history, using a more private browser can be one of the simplest steps you can take towards less worry. I spoke to William Budington, a Senior Staff Technologist on The Electronic Frontier Foundation's (EFF) Public Interest Team, and Janet Vertesi, an Associate Professor of So…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The 10th-generation iPad may have been replaced by a newer model in 2025, but it remains an excellent entry-level Apple tablet, and among the best options in its price range. And right now, you can pick one up for a record-low price at Walmart. It's currently $242, marked down more than $100 from its $349.99 list price, and $68 cheaper than Amazon. According to price comparison tools, this is the cheapest price this iPad has reached since its release in 2022. (iPads hold their value really well even after newer models are released, which explains th…

Since you're already carrying your phone with you everywhere like a digital appendage, you might as well use it for journaling. It's always at hand, can capture photos, videos, and voice notes as well as text, and is able to log locations, trips and more. Its new AI tools can even draft a few entries automatically for you. What's more, your phone probably now comes with a journal app preinstalled: Apple's Journal app launched in 2023, and a brand new Journal app from Google, initially exclusive to the Pixel 10, is now available on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 9 too (apparently because these phones also have Gemini Nano on board). Plus, a wide selection of third-party options is …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Knife blocks seem like a great idea at first. You assume there are a variety of useful knives in there, and you get a whole row of steak knives for one low price. You may not eat steak that often, and never with seven other people, but who can say “no” to so many matching knives? You, that’s who. That mass-produced knife set is unlikely to work with your unique food personality. Skip the block of cheap knives (many of which you won’t touch anyway). Instead, focus on fewer, better, personalized knives. A high-quality knife (or three) can be versatile enough to meet all of your needs without blowing your budget. Use this gui…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Amazon Big Deal Days is coming October 7-8, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before it's over. Follow our live blog to stay up to date on the best sales we find. Subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox. New to Prime Day? We have a primer on everything you need to know. Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change. I've spent more than a decade reviewing laptops—which has invo…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Amazon Big Deal Days end tonight, Oct. 8, and until then, Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before it’s over. Follow our live blog to stay up to date on the best sales we find. Browse our editors’ picks for a curated list of our favorite sales on laptops, fitness tech, appliances, and more. Subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox. New to Prime Day? We have a primer on everything you need to know. Sales are accurate at the time of publi…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. For some people, it just doesn’t feel like Christmas until you’re curled up by the fire, eating Christmas cookies, or hanging your favorite ornaments on the tree. For me, the holiday season doesn’t feel real until an overwhelming state of panic sets in and I’m feverishly typing “last-minute gift ideas” in the hours leading up to a Secret Santa exchange. If you’re like me, you procrastinate at least one gift until the window for pre-Christmas delivery slips out of your grasp. Calm your panic—I’ve rounded up your top prospects for physically getting s…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. We’ve all experienced gift panic—that sinking feeling when you realize you need a present in an hour and you just don’t have one to give. Whether you spent all year chasing the “perfect” gift or simply procrastinated, your time is nearly up. But don’t panic. The clock may have run out, but your options haven’t. Before you resort to re-gifting something from the back of a closet, here’s how to pull off a last-minute gift that is effortless but feels elevated and worthy of the person you’re giving it to. Sometimes the gift is in the deliveryWith the right presentation, even the most last-minute gift can read as thoughtful. A…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. A quick public service announcement: Mother’s Day is this Sunday. If this holiday snuck up on you again this year (I’m in the same boat), it’s not too late to grab a thoughtful gift. Here’s a list of gift ideas for the chef, baker, coffee connoisseur, and everyone in between. While you may not have time to get something engraved or monogrammed, these gifts still say “You deserve to do more of what you love.” The vendors listed below offer expedited shipping so your gift will arrive on time. Just make sure to check the two-day shipping option during checkout. …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Valentine's Day is tomorrow. By this point, you should've already ordered your love a dozen roses. And of course, there are plenty of non-floral gift ideas that are perfect for the day of love, which I've rounded up for you here. But don't panic if you haven't found the perfect gift yet—or if you forgot about the holiday entirely. I've curated a selection of thoughtful, budget-friendly presents that prove you don't need to break the bank to show someone you care. Personalized photo gifts Transform your favorite memories into meaningful presents using same-day printing services at a local drugstore or big-box retailer. Cre…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding Lifehacker as a preferred source for tech news. "Never pay full price for a MacBook Air" seems to be the takeaway from the latest Apple launches. Apple unveiled its updated lineup of M4-powered MacBook Air laptops in early March, and all the M4s saw their first discounts a few weeks later. The M4, M3, M2, and M1 MacBook Airs are all discounted right now, with some at their lowest prices ever, according to price-tracking tools. If…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source. After crossing six marathon finish lines—and with NYC coming up in just two weeks—I've learned that the right training plan can make or break your 26.2-mile journey. The difference between hitting the wall at mile 20 and finishing strong often comes down to matching your plan to your current fitness level (and all the brutal honesty that entails). I've tried several of the most popular programs out there, and here's what actually works, based on my experience…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding Lifehacker as a preferred source for tech news. For as basic a necessity as it is, feeding yourself is a lot of work. What's more, feeding a household is even worse. There's the planning, then the shopping, the unpacking, the cooking, the storing, and finally, the cleaning, all of which has to be done over and over again forever. We all know what it's like to be faced with this task and just decide to open up Uber Eats and pay a bunch of fees to have someone do (most of) it for us. Apps are the saving g…

Mind-mapping is beneficial for productivity in your daily tasks, but it’s also a technique that is widely used for studying. A mind map isn’t just a diagram that lays out tasks, but a visualization of how ideas connect to one another. Once you see the core concepts represented with shapes and their connections represented with lines, you can better understand your material overall, especially if you're more of a visual learner. Here’s what you need to know when using a mind map for studying and how to make the creation of one a lot easier. What is the benefit of a mind map for studying?A mind map helps you generate ideas based on their association to other concepts, plus …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. The movies and television shows below are the best of what's coming to Hulu this month—according to me. Because I'm an expert at watching things. The best of the month is Deli Boys, a fishes-out-of-water comedy about pampered Pakistani brothers who inherit a criminal empire. Also of note: Good American Family, a series based on a very strange true story. Deli Boys, season 1 Created by Abdullah Saeed, Deli Boys is an outrageous comedy series about a pair of sheltered, pampered Pakistani American brothers whose lives are upended when their father dies, and they learn that baba's real money didn't come from the delis…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. I've looked into everything coming to Max this month, and the below TV shows and movies are the best of the bunch, or at least the most interesting. The premiere of the third season of HBO's beloved dark comedy series The White Lotus tops the list—everyone will be watching this one. There's also a new season of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and the premiere of Common Side Effects, an animated drama series that looks fascinating. The White Lotus, Season 3 Mike White's Emmy-winning series The White Lotus is the best. Its mix of biting commentary on wealth and privilege, well-drawn (but nearly always reprehens…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. I've pored over Netflix's release schedule to bring you the best movies and TV shows premiering on the service this month. My must-watch of the month: The Electric State, a comedy sci-fi movie starring Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, and adorable (but maybe deadly) robots. I'm also psyched for Chaos: The Manson Murders, a new film from documentary GOAT Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line, Mr. Death), and I'll be checking in on Everybody’s Live, a talk show hosted by John Mulaney that's streamed live. The Electric State Based on the acclaimed graphic novel by Simon Stålenhag, The Electric State is a sci-fi comedy set …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. I've scoured the February releases on Amazon's Prime platform to find the best new and new-to-streaming movies and shows. This month sees the premiere of Clean Slate, a series created by Norman Lear. There's also a third season of Reacher to enjoy, and an Amazon retelling of the story of King David on tap. So February is pretty eclectic over on Prime. Clean Slate This Amazon original series was dreamed up by the late, great Norman Lear, a man who was known for spinning comedy gold from hot-button social issues with grace. Clean Slate stars actress and trans activist Laverne Cox as Desiree, who returns to her home…

We're now up to the second public beta release of Android 16, which brings new features across a variety of areas, including photography, system security, device management, and foldable form factors. The official Google blog post announcing the beta release leads with the media and camera updates. If you want more of a say over how your photos and videos end up looking, you can make use of additional manual control options covering exposure, color temperature, and tint. There's also support for Ultra HDR images if you're saving your snaps in the HEIC image format. Essentially, these are new hybrid options between fully automatic processing and fully manual processing, so…

Each year, Samsung takes what Google has made with the annual Android update—the Android Open Source Project (or AOSP) to be precise—and builds a fresh version of One UI, its bespoke mobile operating system complete with all the extra Samsung bells and whistles. This year, we're getting One UI 7, which is based on Android 15. One UI 7 comes preinstalled on the new Galaxy S25 phones, including the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, but the rest of us are still waiting for it to roll out at the time of writing. Here's everything new that's coming with the software update, and when you can expect it to make its way to your Galaxy handset. Best new features in One UI 7Perhaps the most…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Looking to settle in with a good movie? Me too. That's why I've pored over release schedules to bring you the best original and new-to-streaming movies you can watch on Netflix, Prime, Max, Hulu, and other streaming platforms this week. Late January is the perfect time to check out a sensitive character comedy like A Real Pain, and it's never a bad time to dig into the story of P. Diddy with a documentary like Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy. A Real Pain (2024) Written by, directed by, and starring Jesse Eisenberg, A Real Pain is a buddy comedy/road movie in which a pair of mismatched cousins tour through Poland to …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. It's impressive when new flagship TVs that came out this year drop in price months after their release, but when they also happen to be the best OLED TV your money can buy, it becomes a bargain (well, if you can afford it). The 65-inch LG G5 OLED TV is $1,996.99 (originally $2,496.99), the lowest price it has been since its recent release, according to price-tracking tools. The bigger 77-inch and 83-inch series are also at their lowest prices right now. …

Amazon Big Deal Days is coming October 7-8, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before it's over. Follow our live blog to stay up to date on the best sales we find. Subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox. New to Prime Day? We have a primer on everything you need to know. Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change. It's not exactly easy to score a deal on game consoles right now. If anything, the cost of a shiny new PS5 is only getting higher. That means every dollar you can save on accessories or g…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Amazon Big Deal Days is coming October 7-8, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before it's over. Follow our live blog to stay up to date on the best sales we find. Subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox. New to Prime Day? We have a primer on everything you need to know. Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change. Over the years, I've subjected my ears to more headphones and …