Setting Up Your Home Office

For many of us, Monday was a workday defined by the AWS outage. Amazon Web Services experienced intermittent issues, throwing a huge fraction of the internet into chaos, as the sites and services built on it faltered or stopped working altogether. It was a sobering reminder that a lot of the world relies on AWS for networking, computing, and data storage. Truth be told, I was surprised to learn just how owned we really are, especially after a number of my work apps experienced issues. In fact, over four million business with a physical address use AWS for cloud-computing needs. It is the largest cloud infrastructure servicer in the world, with a whopping 30% of the marke…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Exercise is a healthy and, one might argue, necessary part of our lives. The guidelines from public health organizations tell you to aim for at least 150 minutes of “moderate” exercise each week, and that each minute of “vigorous” exercise counts double. That raises the question: What the hell is “moderate” exercise? How do you know when you’re doing it? Scientists measure METs, but you don't have to If you have any kind of smartwatch or fitness tracker, it may try to tell you that "moderate" exercise occurs at a certain heart rate. This isn't actually the case. The scientists who came up with the exercise guidelines didn…

One of the best ways to maximize your productivity and output is to plan out what you need to do in advance, which you can do with a brain dump, a ruthlessly curated daily schedule, a collection of planning tools, or any other number of methods. Unfortunately, even the best practices come with a dark side if you take them too far. In this case, that dark side is Parkinson’s Law, an observation that suggests the longer you give yourself to do something, the longer you’ll take to actually get it done. The truth of the matter is that you can schedule, plan, and fret your way right into accomplishing nothing. It’s always better to get difficult things done as soon as possibl…

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 …

YouTube is about to get less scammy. The video-sharing platform today rolled out likeness-detection technology designed to identify AI-generated content featuring fake faces and voices of YouTube creators. This program is only open to eligible creators in the YouTube Partner Program right now. Creators interested in the program upload a picture and a voice recording of themselves with proof of their identity, then they can view any detected videos, and request their removal, either through YouTube’s privacy guidelines or a copyright request. There's also an option to archive the video, to prevent sneaky deletions. In the short term, this is unlikely to nuke the growing sc…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Meta Quest Pro is currently down to $799.95 at Walmart, a $200 drop from its original $999 price tag and a solid $90 less than what Amazon is asking right now. It’s one of the most advanced VR and mixed reality devices you can buy without needing a gaming PC (meaning you can dive straight into immersive apps and environments right out of the box). PCMag named it the best VR headset of 2022, and even two years later, it remains one of the most well-built and feature-rich VR headsets around. Meta Quest Pro …

As a rule of thumb, if you receive an unsolicited text, especially one claiming to include a security code, it's likely part of a phishing scheme. Such is the case with a recent spate of unprompted texts purporting to be from the crypto wallet service Coinbase. If you receive such a message, even if you have a Coinbase account, delete it. Someone is likely trying to scam you. Coinbase isn't texting you Here's how the scam works: You receive an unsolicited text message that reads "Your Coinbase withdrawal code is..." followed by a six-digit number. The message continues: "Please do not share this code with anyone. If you have no requested this, please call:" followed by a…

Netflix's November lineup includes the long-awaited return of the hit sci-fi show Stranger Things—the first of three "volumes" that makes up the fifth and final season drops at 5 p.m. PT on Nov. 26. The show picks up a year after the events of the fourth installment, with the group attempting to find and kill their inter-dimensional antagonist Vecna, even as Hawkins falls under military quarantine. Expect all of the series regulars to return: Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, etc. Also returning in November is Squid Game: The Challenge (Nov. 4). The second season of the Emmy-nominated show brings 456 new contestants together to comp…

One of my favorite tabs to check when I'm looking at new PC Games on the Steam Store is "Popular Upcoming," but over the years, it's gotten far less useful. While it's supposed to show me what the next big game is ahead of time, the truth is, there are just too many games and too many types of players out there for it to keep up anymore. My tastes probably aren't the same as yours, and limiting the highlights to a small selection of popular picks could bury smaller titles some players might be more interested in. That's why I'm so excited about Steam's new Personal Calendar page. Released last night, it's technically an experiment, but it's already looking great. Essentia…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. I've been a fan of Soundcore's Sleep A20 earbuds since I first put them on to go to sleep over a year ago. I've never experienced earbuds that feel so comfortable when sleeping on your side. But that model was missing one crucial feature: ANC. The new Sleep A30 earbuds have taken care of that, and more—and despite their recent release this past August, they're already discounted. Right now, you can get them for $193.99 (originally $229.99), the lowest price ever, according to price tracking tools. …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. When you track a strength training workout on a fitness watch, that watch will happily tell you what heart rate zones you were in during the workout. In fact, they'll do that for any workout, whether it makes sense or not. So you might be tempted to interpret this data in terms of the benefits of zone 2 training. If my heart rate is in zone 2 when I’m lifting weights, that means I just did an hour of zone 2 training, right? Unfortunately, no. Heart rate zones only apply to cardioZones are meaningless for strength training, but to understand why, we have to go back to the reason zones were invented in the first place: to gi…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Do you love the idea of running—getting outdoors, burning calories, building cardio fitness—but you wish you could do it without, you know, running? Try walking with a weighted pack instead, an activity that’s become known as "rucking." Some fitness watches even support tracking your pack weight alongside your mileage. What is rucking?Rucking means walking or hiking with a weighted pack. It’s the fitness version of what they do in the military: marching long distances while carrying supplies in a rucksack. (Rucksack, rucking, get it?) When you ruck as part of a fitness routine, you probably won’t carry hiking or military …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Beats' Studio series has been around for years—their over-the-ear design, ANC, and more premium build and features set them apart from other Beats earphones. The Beats Studio3 are not the newest model (they came out in 2017) but they are still plenty good headphones in 2025, especially at their current price of $89 (originally $349.99). Beats Studio3 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones …

If you're looking to buy a new iPhone 17 this year, not only do you have a number of models to consider, you also have a number of colors to choose from. But some users who opted for the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max are claiming that the color they picked isn't the color they see today. According to these users, their iPhones have changed color over the short period of time they've owned them. Obviously, the internet has dubbed the issue "colorgate." Apple is no stranger to "gates," of course, especially when it comes to the iPhone: There was "antennagate," when the iPhone 4's redesigned antennas reported caused cellular connection issues; "bendgate," when the iPhone 6 P…

If you've ever had to drink an extra cup of coffee the next day to make up for a scrolling spiral watching TikTok videos or YouTube Shorts, we have something in common. As a safeguard to keep us from scrolling on and on (and on) into the wee hours of the morning, YouTube's adding a system to limit the amount of Shorts a user watches in a day—but it's a little less strict than what exists on other apps. Still, it's better than nothing. Once you have the update, you'll be able to set your limit under Settings, although YouTube hasn't specified the specific steps yet. I assume it'll be under the General tab (I don't have the feature yet), but I've reached out to YouTube for …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. If you've been waiting to get your hands on a Samsung Galaxy XR virtual reality headset, now's your moment: The device is available to order now on Samsung's or Google's website for $1,799 and orders are scheduled to arrive Nov. 4. To offset the price, the Galaxy XR comes with a free year of Google AI Pro, YouTube Premium, and Google Play Pass. Built in partnership with Google and Qualcomm, the Galaxy XR features dual, 4K micro-OLED screens delivering 27 million pixels total and 100-degree horizontal field of view, all powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chip and packed into a lightweight (1.2 pounds) form factor. …

OpenAI has officially entered the browser wars. On Tuesday, the company announced Atlas, a new web browser with ChatGPT integration. At the moment, it's Mac-only, but I wouldn't recommend even my Apple friends jumping on board immediately—at least not without understanding the underlying risks. Atlas' AI web browsing If you've already used other AI browsers, like Perplexity's Comet, Atlas is going to feel familiar. In fact, that's also likely true if you've used any web browser before: Atlas is built on Chromium, the engine that powers browsers like Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Opera. That means the core mechanics of Atlas are fairly standard; there's nothi…

Throughout my academic and professional journeys, one thing has remained my constant ally: Google Docs. Not only is having all your documents available no matter where you are helpful, but the software itself is surprisingly versatile and intricate. I have used it for over 15 years to manage basically my entire life. I have never encountered anything I couldn’t do with Google Docs, from signing a contract to seamlessly working with huge groups of collaborators. There are other, smaller hacks for the word processor that you may not even know about, though, whether you're a student or not. Google Docs hacks for essays and notesSo much of schoolwork centers on writing, from…

Over the past few months, I felt overwhelmed by all the changes going on in my life—and the things I need to do because of and for them. I've been providing administrative help to my partner as he opens a new business, managing professional expansions of my own, studying for a certification exam, overseeing renovations to my apartment, and restructuring my finances while still keeping up with my regular jobs and responsibilities. For a while, I was waking up tired before the day even started despite the fact that most of these boil down to never-ending, tedious, but little tasks like "send that email," "return that phone call," "confirm that account number," and "pick a p…

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 eyeing a big-screen upgrade without blowing past your budget, the Vizio 65-inch 4K UHD LED Smart TV (V4K65M-08) might just be the solution you need. It’s currently $348 at Walmart (down from $428)—a solid deal for a name-brand 65-inch TV that supports 4K, Dolby Vision, and HDR10. VIZIO V Series 65" 4K HDR Full Array LED Smart TV (V4K65M-0804) …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you’re in the market for a new mesh router that’s smart-home ready and has a minimalist appearance, the Google Nest Wifi Pro is currently down to $121.14 (originally $199.99). At a nearly 40% discount, this system offers comprehensive, high-speed coverage for anyone dealing with dead spots or spotty wifi. Google Nest Wifi Pro $121.14 …

Breaches are an unfortunate reality of the digital era. Chances are, some of the companies you trust your data to are going to get hacked, and sensitive information stored on those servers is going to leak. If you've been online for a long time, that means quite a bit of your data is floating around various corners of the internet. While there isn't one centralized database for all the stolen credentials on the web, one researcher has compiled quite a large database, that you can check to see if your email address is affected. 183 million email addresses Cybersecurity researcher Synthient has compiled a massive database of stolen credentials from sources across the intern…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Fire TV sticks have one advantage over every other streaming stick: They're owned by Amazon, which means they're more likely to get discounted. Right now, for instance, you can get Amazon's best streaming stick, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max, for $39.99 (originally $59.99). Fire TV Stick 4K Max Streaming Player With Remote (2023 Model) $39.99 …

The Spotify app is currently experiencing crashes and freezing on Android, the company has acknowledged after about two weeks of pressure from listeners. A fix is purportedly on the way, but in the meantime, there are a few steps you can take to get your music going. Reports of problems with the Android Spotify app first started on the Spotify help forums, although they have since spread to social media as well. Those affected complain that the app either freezes when opening, or crashes midway through listening. Others mention that problems only pick up when connecting to wifi—Spotify has since confirmed that "the issue doesn't occur while using mobile data." According t…

Sora, OpenAI's short-form AI video platform, has been available for iPhones for the past few weeks. Users have spent that time generating hyper-realistic vertical videos that, despite their watermarks, might already be fooling people on the internet. I, for one, see nothing good about a tool that can make these types of videos from simple prompts, perhaps outside the sheer novelty alone. But the app is undeniably popular, and, as expected, OpenAI is continuing to "improve" it. On Wednesday, the head of Sora, Bill Peebles, shared a roadmap of updates coming to the app, from cameos for your pets to video editing tools. Sora will soon let you make cameos of anything you wa…