Setting Up Your Home Office

Google's Smart Replies are getting an AI-themed, and to me, slightly creepy update. At its Google I/O 2025 keynote, Google announced a new feature called Personalized Smart Replies. This feature uses Gemini AI, alongside the data in your Gmail and Google Drive, to reply to emails in a way that sounds like you. Google promises is can write like you would, using your tone and writing style, as learned by your Gmail history. With this new update, the Smart Replies option that shows up when you reply to an email will be a lot more powerful and a lot more contextual. On stage, Google CEO Sundar Pichai used planning a trip as an example. Let's say a friend emails you asking for…

It's that time again, for Google to announce that real-time translation has come to one of its communication apps. This time, it's Google Meet, which can translate between English and Spanish as you speak in a video call. If that sounds familiar, it's because it's not the first time Google has announced something like this. Google Translate has had features that let you speak to someone in another language in real time for a while. For example, back in 2019, there was a real-time translation feature called Interpreter Mode built into Google Assistant. It's also been possible on Pixel phones for a while (and even Samsung phones). Most of these, however, have been either te…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Motorola is set to release its latest wearable, the Moto Watch Fit, on May 22 with a price tag of $199 in the U.S. ($249 in Canada). The new smartwatch, which was initially unveiled alongside updated Razr flip phones last month, will be available through Motorola's official website at launch, with availability expanding to Amazon and Best Buy in the coming weeks. What to know about the Moto Watch FitUnlike most Android smartwatches on the market, the Moto Watch Fit runs on a proprietary operating system rather than Google's Wear OS. While this might raise some concerns for potential buyers wary of an untested system, there…

I never considered myself a walking girl. I never engaged in the "hot girl walk" trends on social media or went on "mental health walks" during the pandemic lockdown. In fact, I long thought walking—the milestone most of us reach as babies, the activity the majority of us do each day to accomplish all the other basic tasks of living—had a little too much PR hype, especially after learning that the much-ballyhooed "10,000 steps" we're supposed to take every day relied on an arbitrary, made-up figure for marketing pedometers. If I am going to do cardio, I reasoned, I'm going to do cardio: cycling, running, swimming, or playing sports with my friends. If I'm not sweating, wh…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. For anyone looking for a straightforward, budget laptop for school, writing, or browsing, this open-box Microsoft Surface Laptop SE sale is worth a look. It’s priced at $189.99 right now on StackSocial, down from its original $378.99 listing. Even Amazon has it for about $20 more at the moment. Being an open-box item means you're not getting the out-of-the-plastic wrap experience—these units were likely returned, displayed, or pulled from shelves—so the box might be bruised or have a sticker or two, but the product itself is tested, verified, repack…

With the weather warming up, your thoughts may be turning to spending lazy summer afternoons at the beach with a good book. Tina, an online creator and co-host of the podcast Book Talk, Etc., opened her edition of the Chicago Sun-Times on Monday to find the newspaper's "Summer reading list for 2025." If Tina were me, someone who isn't in-tune with the latest in literature, this article might have seemed like a useful jumping-off point for some new book recommendations. But seeing as Tina creates content all about books, I imagine she is acutely aware of which authors are writing which books—which is why she was able to immediately spot a number of books on the list that s…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. When I first reviewed the Boox Palma e-reader, I called it the ideal solution to your doomscrolling habit—a device as portable and pocketable as a phone, with an adaptable Android operating system that allows you to run any apps you want, but with an e-ink screen that is both easier on the eyes and not nearly as stimulating to stare at as your smartphone’s LED display. Weirdly, by looking like a smartphone but feeling just a little bit worse to use (complimentary), this little device helped me smash my 2025 reading goal in fewer than six months. But doomscrolling isn’t a mobile-only problem (at least, not for me)—it’s just…

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. If you’ve been waiting for a chance to grab a MacBook without wrecking your budget, this refurbished 2020 M1 Apple MacBook Air deal is worth your time. It’s currently on sale for $499.99 on StackSocial, which is a huge drop from its original $1,499.99 price. Since it's a Grade "A" refurbished unit, it should arrive looking almost brand new, with little to no visible wear. You’re getting the 13.3-inch model in the Gold finish, with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD—pretty much the combo most people need for everyday work, casual creative projects, and light…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If your current version of Office is starting to feel a little old, this might be the right time to upgrade without committing to a subscription. Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows is down to $49.97 on StackSocial—marked down from its regular $219.99 price. It’s a one-time purchase with a lifetime license for one Windows PC. That means no monthly fees, no renewals, and no cloud dependency to use the core apps. You’ll get instant delivery of your license key after checkout, and setup is straightforward. Just note that the license ties to …

App notifications need careful balancing across Android, iOS, Windows, and of course macOS. Too many of them and you're in a state of constant distraction; too few of them, and you risk missing out on something important that one of your programs is trying to tell you. macOS has you covered when it comes to finding the right balance for you, providing a full suite of controls for managing interruptions and staying up to date with your notifications. It doesn't take long to set up these notification options, and then once they're configured, you can use Focus modes for specific scenarios (like working or watching movies). Note that some individual apps come with their own …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. If your kitchen counter is currently housing a Vitamix blender, you know that you can whip up some serious soups, sauces, and nut butters in that thing. In fact, my Vitamix's hot soup function is one of my favorite ways to use it. But it is almost summer, and I am no longer in the mood for soup. Now I crave chilled treats. Can my favorite blender, the Vitamix Ascent X5 go from hot soup to sorbet? Yes, and surprisingly well. Here’s how to make yourself a frozen dessert in this amazing blender. The Vitamix is not an ice cream machineIt’s important to note that the Vitamix is a blender, and not an ice cream machine. Most ice…

Another week, another "gotcha" video debunked. This time it's "Cop Pulls Over Black Judge and Lives To Regret It," a piece of pseudo-documentary street drama that's been viewed millions of times on YouTube and TikTok (and elsewhere, I'm sure). The video is part of a growing online video genre based on documenting cops' confrontations with public, either through police-worn body camera footage or citizen-filmed footage. Some of these videos are real, but many of them are not. Here's the "Cop Pulls Over Judge" video: The tells: bad improv in a Florida parking lotIf you have a smidge of media literacy, it's easy to spot this as fake. The acting is sub-community-the…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Adjustable dumbbells are incredible space-savers compared to full dumbbell sets, but still, they're heavy and awkward to reposition. And look, I get it—the point of weights is to lift them, right? When testing and reviewing dumbbells like the Nüobells or REP Quickdraws, I quickly discovered that the genius of adjustable dumbbells is exactly what makes them so hard to lug around: In order to adjust from 5 to 80 pounds, they end up weighing, you know, at least 80 pounds. And not every dumbbell user has built up to that strength yet. You can buy a specialized dumbbells storage cart, but that'll run you anywhere from $112 to …

Earlier this week, TikTok user CatGPT posted a video of a woman in line at a store seemingly scrolling on a completely transparent phone. The caption reads "I'm sorry, WTF IS THAT???" Check it out: The video quickly took off, with over 52 million people having viewed it on TikTok in only four days. So WTF is it? A techie casually breaking an NDA by openly rocking a prototype transparent phone? The new "Plex from Nokia" (as the top comment suggests)? A casual time-traveler caught in the act? The real story behind the "transparent phone"Sorry, it's none of the above. It's exactly what it looks like: a transparent piece of acrylic shaped like a phone. Specifically, it'…

If you get a text or voice message from someone claiming to be a U.S. government official, they probably aren't who they say they are. The FBI is warning the public about an ongoing campaign in which scammers are using AI-generated voice messages to impersonate senior government staff in an attempt to gain access to personal accounts and, by extension, sensitive information or money. Many of those targeted have been other current and former government officials—both federal and state—and their contacts, but that doesn't mean this scam or something like it won't land in your inbox or on your phone sooner or later. Here's how these AI-powered attacks work, and how to avoid…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. I used to regularly read more than 125 books a year, each meticulously logged on my Goodreads profile. I read during my commute and to wind down at night. I always had a paperback in my bag or an audiobook in my ears. Then I got a smartphone. Then I got on Twitter. Then the 2016 presidential election happened. Then there was a pandemic, and for a while I stopped commuting altogether. With every year, it seemed like there were more things to spiral about online, and less hours in the day to relax with a novel or read some stimulating non-fiction. Suddenly I found it hard to meet my much more modest reading goals, which dro…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Audio enthusiasts need no introduction to Sony's 1000X series. They've been around since 2016, improving on the previous iteration to eventually land on the latest Sony WH-1000XM6, the best over-ear headphones for ANC your money can buy in 2025. As you can imagine, that means the still excellent 1000XM5 is dropping in price. If you're willing to splurge, it's a good time to do so during Amazon's Memorial Day Sale. The WH-1000XM5 are currently $298 (originally $399.99), matching Black Friday and Christmas prices, according to price-tracking tools. …

If you were under the assumption that Siri was soon going to be supercharged with AI, you wouldn't be alone. In fact, Apple has advertised as much since last WWDC, showing off its ChatGPT-like assistant in commercials and promotional materials. It's been nearly a year since WWDC 2024, and that new Siri is still not here. The thing is, it likely won't be for a long time. How long is anyone's guess (I've been tracking the delays here), but one thing seems for certain: Apple is not showing off AI Siri at next month's WWDC 2025. Apple's AI program is a mess In Mark Gurman's latest piece for Bloomberg, he describes a chaotic situation regrading Apple's AI department. The pie…

If you’re like most folks, you use your home's entryway to hang a few coats, store an unruly pile of shoes, and give you a place to drop your keys and the mail when you walk in. If you have the space, you might use it as a full-fledged mud room—a space to shed your wet coats, boots, and umbrellas before stepping into the house proper. But your entryway could be a lot more than that—especially if you live in a small space and need to make use of every inch of square footage. Just because it’s a space you and your guests pass through on the way to somewhere else doesn’t mean you can’t use it for other purposes. And you can enhance the space for the guest experience as well,…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. The Oura ring can give you a ton of data on your sleep, health, and fitness, but you need to pay for a $5.99/month subscription to see all of it. So what happens if you get an Oura ring but don’t pony up for the subscription? Here’s the full rundown, with screenshots of exactly what you’ll see—and a little-known way of getting data the app doesn’t show you.. As I explain in my review of the Oura ring 4, you should budget for both the ring and its ongoing subscription if you want to get the data and analysis the Oura ring is famous for offering. The subscription isn’t for premium extras; it’s for the basic functionality of…

Continuing the steady stream of news about the upcoming Switch 2 console, Nintendo has now revealed that it's improved the console's ability to find lost Joy-Con controllers. The company demonstrated this in a video posted in the Nintendo Today app, which is available on Android and iPhone. How to locate missing Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-ConsTo find your missing Switch 2 Joy-Cons, go to the home screen, open the Controllers menu, and select Search for controllers. Now, select the missing controller to start your search. If you don't have the Nintendo Today app, check out this Bluesky post to see the feature in action. A similar feature was available on the original Nintendo …

If you're a Firefox user, you need to update your browser. Mozilla has released a security patch for two zero-day vulnerabilities identified at the recent Pwn2Own hacker contest held in Berlin. Zero-days are critical security flaws that have been actively exploited or publicly disclosed before an official fix is available. Browsers are targets for malware, and Firefox isn't the only browser to discover zero-day exploits in recent days. Earlier this month, Google released an emergency patch for Chrome to address a high-severity vulnerability (CVE-2025-4664) that permitted full account takeover—CISA later confirmed that this flaw was being actively exploited in attacks. (I…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. The only thing I didn’t love about the Mammotion Luba robot lawn mower I tested last summer was its size. It’s a hulking four-wheel-drive robot and I live in the city, where we don’t have huge lawns. Enter the Luba Mini, a halved version of the Luba meant for smaller lawns (and tighter budgets). In fact, if you paid attention this spring, miniaturized versions of some of my favorite technology were everywhere. These mini-me versions seem to be driven, according to the companies themselves, by two market needs. While smart home tech is incredible in terms of functionality and independence, it often comes at a steep cost. Bu…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Building your DIY home maintenance or repair kit can get expensive quickly. If you have some big summer plans for home improvement projects, you might be looking for savings on tools and materials to bring your DIY dreams to life. Luckily, there are some deals on Craftsman tools on Amazon right now that you can check out to help you get your projects finished under budget. Tools setsIf you’re building a new toolbox from scratch, Craftsman makes a few sets that are invaluable for DIY projects, and a few of them are on sale on Amazon right now: The Cr…