Setting Up Your Home Office

If you're in the Apple ecosystem, AirPods Pro are just about the best earbuds you can buy. They sound great, work across your various Apple devices, and ship with features like Adaptive Transparency and a built-in heart rate sensor. They're even FDA-certified hearing aids. Not bad for $249. But all those perks don't mean Apple's AirPods Pro are perfect. In fact, you can ask any of the customers complaining of a static noise coming from their AirPods Pro 3, when nothing is actually playing at all. As reported by MacRumors, it appears this is affecting some AirPods Pro 3 users when using Active Noise Cancellation, Adaptive Transparency, and Transparency modes, but only when…

Apple might be dead last in the AI race—at least when you consider competition from companies like OpenAI, Google, and Meta—but that doesn't mean the company isn't working on the tech. In fact, it seems most of the work Apple does on AI is behind the scenes: While Apple Intelligence is, well, there, the company's researchers are working on other ways to improve AI models for everyone, not just Apple users. The latest project? Improving AI image editors based on text prompts. In a paper published last week, researchers introduced Pico-Banana-400K, a dataset of 400,000 "text-guided" images selected to improve AI-based image editing. Apple believes its image dataset improve…

Responding to posts on social media claiming that ChatGPT will no longer offer legal or health advice, OpenAI is clarifying that "model behavior remains unchanged" and there is "not a new change to our terms." The clarification follows a since-deleted viral post from betting platform Kalshi, which claimed "JUST IN: ChatGPT will no longer provide health or legal advice." Since then, concerned users have repeated the claim, while others have attempted to push back against it. The confusion likely stems from an Oct. 29 update to OpenAI's Usage policies, which appeared to add a stipulation that users cannot use OpenAI for "provision of tailored advice that requires a license,…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Your house is supposed to be your refuge from the weather, a place where you can feel comfortable no matter how frigid it gets outside. But with rising utility costs, keeping your house warm can be more of a challenge than it used to be—and even if you’re proactive about defending against the cold, your home can still take a wintry beating. Now’s the time to take action. Home maintenance products designed to defend your home against freezing temperatures, blowing snow, and freezing damage will not only make your home more comfortable, but also hardened against winter damage. The basicsThere are a few simple purchases you…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. It's not Black Friday yet, but OLED TVs are already dropping to new record-low prices. Last week, the LG G5 OLED TV dropped to its lowest price, and now, Samsung's OLED S95F TV has followed suit. You can get the 65-inch for $2,297.99 (originally $2,997.99), the lowest price, according to price-tracking tools. The 55-, 77-, and 83-inch models also have good discounts right now. 55" Samsung OLED S95F 4…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. If you have a Fitbit, or if you use the Fitbit app with a compatible device like a Pixel watch, you’ve probably seen “zone minutes” or "active zone minutes" pop up on your screen. So what exactly are active zone minutes, and how do they compare to the other ways we measure exercise, like steps? Zone minutes relate to the U.S. Physical Activity GuidelinesBefore we get into how zone minutes are measured, I think it will be most useful to look at why we’re counting up minutes at all. Fitbit’s purpose here is actually pretty neat: They’re trying to give you an automated way of telling whether you are keeping up with public h…

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 planning to tighten up your home security without spending much, the Blink Wired Floodlight Camera is worth a look. It’s selling for $49.99 (down from $99.99), which is its lowest price yet, according to price trackers. Blink Wired Floodlight Camera $49.99 at Amazon …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Pennywise is back, baby, and pop culture's favorite freaky clown is going back in time to kill the kids of Derry, Maine, in 1962, with future seasons (should they materialize) visiting other time periods. If my hometown saw mass slaughterings of children every generation or so, I might be tempted to pick up stakes and head on out—but the Stephen King IP train must keep rolling, and so here we are. So far, the show isn't hitting the heights of previous It adaptations, but it's shown an admirable willingness to shock—the opening scene includes an impressively graphic and rather unconventional birthing sequence, and the show…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Amazon is already rolling out early Black Friday deals, and Google’s unlocked Pixel 9 just dropped to $499—a solid $300 off its original $799 price. Google Pixel 9 $499.00 at Amazon $799.00 Save $300.00 …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. It’s been nearly six years since Microsoft released the Surface Laptop 3, but it still holds up as a solid choice for anyone who values portability, clean design, and day-to-day reliability over bleeding-edge specs. The 2019 model is available again through StackSocial in refurbished, Grade A condition (meaning it looks close to new and works like it should) with prices starting at $379.99 for the 13.5-inch i7 model with 512GB of storage and going up to $614.99 for the 15-inch version with 1TB. All variants come with 16GB of RAM and a 10th Gen Intel…

Planning out what you’re going to do is huge for productivity, which is why SMART goals (and their alternatives) are so popular throughout the working world. Another important—but perhaps more overlooked—element of the productivity process is the assessment, however. Reviewing what you did is just as integral as planning how you’ll do it—in reviewing, you get a chance to plan better (and improve!) for next time, while also carving out space to appreciate what you did well—also a major motivator! What is an after-action review? An after-action review, or AAR, is a way to measure the results of your performance and improve on your processes. It was first introduced by the …

Having previously been tested as an experimental flag, Google Chrome's Split View feature is now rolling out in the stable version of the browser (version 142). It doesn't seem to be live for everyone at the same time, but some people are seeing it. (I've got it in Chrome on my Mac, but not yet on Windows.) To check you're on the latest version of Chrome, click the three dots (top right) in a browser tab, then choose Settings and About Chrome. If an update is available, it'll be downloaded, and you can restart your browser to apply it. If you're running the latest version of Chrome and still don't see Split View, you can either wait for the feature to reach you or switch…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Amazon announced its Black Friday and Cyber Monday plans this week—although it won't start until Nov. 20, you can already find early Black Friday deals on Amazon devices. Their "like-new" Kindle readers, in particular, have good discounts right now. The Kindle Paperwhite is $106.99 (originally $143.99), the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition is $126.99 (originally $179.99), the 16GB Kindle Scribe is $212.99 (originally $309.99), and the 64GB Kindle Scribe is $278.99 (originally $404.99). …

If you're a Windows user, this is your monthly reminder to ensure you install all available security updates. Microsoft's November Patch Tuesday release fixes one zero-day vulnerability that has been actively exploited in the wild, with 63 flaws patched in total. As reported by Bleeping Computer, the November Patch Tuesday update addresses 29 elevation of privilege vulnerabilities, 2 security feature bypass vulnerabilities, 16 remote code execution vulnerabilities, 11 information disclosure vulnerabilities, 2 denial of service vulnerabilities, and 3 spoofing vulnerabilities. (Note that these figures do not include patches for Microsoft Edge and Mariner.) In addition to t…

Paid surveys may seem like easy money, as you can complete them anywhere, at any time, to earn gift cards or points that can be redeemed for cash. Naturally, scammers are using this model to collect your personal data and promising huge rewards that never materialize. According to a report from Malwarebytes Labs, bad actors are luring users into taking surveys through malvertising ads claiming you've won a Walmart voucher for hundreds of dollars. All you have to do is answer a few questions—easy enough—but you're actually handing over information that can be used to target you even further. Surveys promising big rewards are a scamThese scams start with malvertising (mali…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The 65-inch Hisense U65QF TV is now selling for $547.99, marked down from $847.99, and price trackers confirm this is its lowest recorded price. 65" Hisense U6 Series 4K Mini-LED QLED Smart TV (2025 Model) $547.99 at Amazon $847.99 Save $300.00 …

MacOS is great in all kinds of ways, but it's far from the most customizable operating system out there. Sure, it's not locked down to the extent iOS and iPadOS are, but compared to Linux and even Windows, macOS really doesn't let you change the look and feel very much. But that isn't to say there's no room to tweak the operating system to make it the way you like—if you know where to look. Here are a few third-party tools that let you make macOS your own. Use a custom cursorIt's pretty easy to change how the mouse pointer looks on Windows and Linux—you just need to dig around in the settings. On macOS, you can only change the size of the pointer. Unless, that is, you ins…

Today, short-form videos dominate our free time (and our working time, at that)—but this wasn't always the case. Before the likes of TikTok and Instagram Reels, online video content was more long-form than not. It might have felt short by the standards of cable TV, but many of the videos on platforms like YouTube were regularly anywhere from two to 10 minutes, if not longer. The first platform to really popularize short-form content as we think of it now was Vine. These videos were short—a maximum of six seconds at a time, which should have spelled the platform's doom. Who would want to watch these tiny videos back to back for hours at a time? A lot of us, apparently. V…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. I fell in love with cold weather running while I was training for a spring marathon. It wasn’t a choice at first: Some weeks, the weather was bad for days on end, and if I stayed home I would fall behind in my training. Everybody else in my training group was braving the elements, so I did too—with no regrets. I got to run on quiet mornings while snow was softly falling. I signed up for a winter race that herded finishers into a heated barn for hot chocolate and soup. I set a personal record at a spring race, during which I pushed myself hard without breaking a sweat. I now find it sad when somebody tells me they’re afraid…

At this late stage in the streaming era, we're all overwhelmed by more digital subscriptions than we can keep track of, from fitness apps to cloud storage. Still, it certainly feels as though Netflix is one of the subscriptions that people are least likely to ditch—and that's backed up by the numbers. Perhaps it's because Netflix was the first company to really make streaming work, or perhaps it's the vast catalog of content it's amassed, or perhaps it's just because of Stranger Things and Squid Game. Whatever the reason, Netflix's churn rate is impressively low. Subscribers stick with it. Certainly it's always something I've long considered a mainstay on my streaming dev…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Giving the gift of tools for the holidays can be a great way to bring a smile to your favorite DIY enthusiast or home improvement weekend warrior, but quality tools can be expensive. However, you can still give a nice gift to someone who wants to do their own home maintenance or build their own shelves—you just have to know what to look for. Here are some of the best tools you can give for under $100, from someone who personally loves to wield a power drill. Best cordless tools under $100Cordless tools can be some of the most expensive for a home to…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Black Friday sales officially start Friday, November 28, and run through Cyber Monday, December 1, 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. 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. Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices an…

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. The market for fitness bands competing with Whoop is beginning to fill out, and the latest one I’ve gotten my hands on is the Polar Loop. (I recently reviewed Amazfit’s Helio Strap and Garmin’s screenless tracker, which turned out to be a sleep-only specialty device.) My full review of the Polar Loop will have to wait until I have more data, but right away I noticed some significant physical differences between the Polar Loop and its competitors. Below is a …

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. You once needed a decent computer and expensive software in order to seriously edit video. No longer. These days, you can download a free app on any smartphone, and instantly have the tools necessary to put together a legitimate video, especially for social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. It would have been difficult to imagine something like Adobe Premiere working properly on a smartphone in the heyday of desktop video editing, but these days, it's a reality. Perhaps that's why Adobe …

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 my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source. Early Prime Day deals have started, and you can find many Amazon devices with record-low prices, including Kindle readers, all leading up to October Prime Day. One of these deals worth highlighting is the Amazon Echo Frames + Echo Spot bundle, currently going for $119.99 (originally $229.99), the lowest price it has been, according to price-tracking tools. …