Setting Up Your Home Office

Gmail is one of—if not the—most popular email platform in the world. But it's not the favorite for users who care about their privacy. Google doesn't offer end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for basic Gmail users, instead opting for "Transport Layer Security" (TLS). This provides security in transit, but doesn't help once the message reaches its destination. While TLS is better than nothing, it doesn't offer the same level of security as E2EE, which scrambles messages for everyone other than the sender, recipients, and whoever else has the decryption key. As such, privacy-minded users often look elsewhere for their email needs, like Proton Mail. But Google does offer more adva…

Last month, Microsoft announced that it planned to remove "unnecessary" Copilot features in Windows 11. The news was a bit shocking to say the least: Microsoft has been one of the biggest proponents of generative AI, pushing the technology into as many corners of its apps and OS as possible—despite negative feedback from users. Now, it seems the company is paying attention, and is actually sticking to its word. As spotted by The Verge's Tom Warren, Microsoft has already started removing some "unnecessary" Copilot buttons from certain Windows apps. Warren notes that the latest Windows Insider version of the Notepad app is missing the Copilot button. In its place, Microsof…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. I traditionally have avoided tying my phone to a specific carrier, but I threw all my principles out the window when my local AT&T offered me a free iPhone 17 Pro if I switched, and traded in my beloved unlocked Pixel 9. It was an offer too good to refuse. Now, T-Mobile is offering a similar deal nationwide. Switch allegiances to them and get a free iPhone 17e, no trade-in necessary. Or, you can choose an iPhone 17 if you trade in an eligible device and choose a premium T-Mobile plan. Here are the details. …

Running influencers are nothing new, but some of us plugged into the online running scene have noticed a shift lately. When I am drawn in by a caption that reads "my 5K race-day routine 🏃‍♀️ (full breakdown below)" only to discover that breakdown is sponsored by a major running app, I have to roll my eyes. Even if they aren't going as far as lying about their times, these "runfluencers" add a lot of noise and distraction to the community. Not that there's anything wrong with running influencers in theory. I love seeing someone share their journey from couch to 10K—community is everything in this sport! The issue comes when, in their attempts to profit off the content cre…

It happens to the best of us: You write up a comment on an Instagram post, hit send, and, whoops, realize you made a glaring typo. What do you do? Do you delete the comment, retype it, and submit again, doubling the notifications the poster will receive? Leave it, and hope others will overlook your foolish use of "it's" instead of "its"? Neither option is great, but they're the only two choices you have on Instagram, right? No longer: On Thursday, Instagram announced some exciting news for frequent commenters: Going forward, you'll be able to edit your Instagram comments. Whether you regret one part of your comment, or you only need to fix a mistake, this new feature let…

Every major browser puts a thin strip of tabs at the top of the window. It's great, until you open dozens of tabs, and all you can really see are little website favicons. A better way exists—placing tabs vertically in a sidebar—but browsers have been resisting it for years. Arc was the first mainstream browser that pioneered a sidebar-based navigation system, and since then it has propagated to Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Arc's spiritual successor, Zen browser. If you're using one of these browsers, I highly recommend making the switch. Why vertical tabs make more sense So much wasted space on…

I've been on Threads since it first launched in 2023, and throughout my experience, I've learned a few hacks to save time (and sanity) on the platform. If you're a regular Threads user, you should try these methods to reduce unwanted content from your feed, speed up searches, and customize the app to your liking. Use these tools to download videos from ThreadsLike most of my social media feeds, my Threads feed is also full of cat videos. When I see one I like, I sometimes download the video to watch later. As you may know, Threads doesn't support media downloads, which means that you'll need to rely on third-party tools to download videos from the app. You can try Threads…

You may know that Reddit can be a treasure trove of useful information and opinion, and that RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a clean and straightforward way to keep up with what's happening on the web—but you might not be aware that you can combine both Reddit and RSS in numerous ways. Reddit actually has a variety of RSS integrations built in, so you can point your RSS reader straight to your subreddits of choice and keep up with the latest posts. The usual benefits of RSS apply: You get an uncluttered, customizable interface, free from ads and other extras, and which you can work through at your own pace. If you're new to RSS, we've previously picked out a selection …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Calling it a step towards "super intelligence," Meta announced it is releasing Muse Spark, an overhauled and improved AI. This "natively multimodal reasoning model" goes way beyond a chatbot, and it will soon live in your glasses and your social feeds. It's available now in the Meta AI app, with plans to roll out with a smart glasses update in the next few weeks. Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2), Headliner, Matte Black | Smart AI Glasses for Men, Women — 2x Battery Life — 3K Ultra HD Resolution — 12 MP Ultra-Wide Camera, Audio, Video — Clear Lenses — Wearable Technology …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Hisense 85QD7QF Smart TV has dropped to $797.96 (originally $1,299.99) on Amazon—its lowest price yet, according to price trackers. That kind of discount makes an 85-inch screen feel a lot more attainable than it usually is. The 85QD7QF is large enough to anchor a living room, and while it comes with free delivery to your room, you will need to handle setup yourself. CNET also named it one of the best 85-inch TVs to buy in 2026, which gives you an idea of how it stacks up. 85" Hisense QD7 S…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Soundcore P31i earbuds are down to $36.98 (originally $59.99), which is about as low as they’ve been, according to price trackers. At this price, most earbuds stick to the basics, so it’s unusual to see features like active noise cancellation and LDAC included here. That doesn’t mean they compete with premium pairs, but they do give you more to work with than you’d expect for under $40. Soundcore P31i Earbuds ANC wireless Bluetooth earbud…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. When you lift a weight, how many times should you lift it? Supposedly, there’s a correct “rep range” to use to build strength, and a different rep range to build muscle size, or endurance, or to “tone.” But how much of the oft-repeated wisdom is true? Not as much as you’d think. What are reps and sets? Just so we’re on the same page here: if you pick up a dumbbell and do eight curls before putting the weight down, you have just done one set of eight reps. (Rep is short for repetition.) Typically a workout will call for several sets of each exercise, separated by a rest period of a minute or two, or by another exercise. Ty…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. I’ve previously shared the Good News about mosquito dunks, which stop mosquitoes from being able to breed in standing water. For the fourth year running, I am using dunks to create what’s sometimes called a “mosquito bucket of doom” or a "mosquito death bucket"—a trap that entices mosquitoes to breed in standing water that you have (muahahaha) poisoned against them. Summit Mosquito Dunk Tablet, 20 Count (Pack of 1) $21.…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Home Depot's Spring Black Friday sale is underway, featuring deals on grills, outdoor power tools, patio furniture, and more spring essentials for the next two weeks. Below are the best deals I've found so far, but I'll continue to keep an eye out as the sale rolls on. Stainless Steel Main Lid NexGrill 4-Burner Propane Gas Grill …

You might have heard about Signal, the encrypted chat app the U.S. government infamously used to discuss war plans last year. (Yikes.) But while the app is no alternative to a dedicated SCIF, it is a good option for the rest of us to communicate more securely. Signal uses end-to-end encryption (E2EE), which, very simply, means that messages are "scrambled" in transit, and can only be "unscrambled" by the sender and the recipient or recipients. If you're in a Signal chat, you'll be able to read incoming messages just like you would any other chat app—if you're an attacker, and intercept that message, all you'll find is a jumble of code. E2EE makes it difficult for anyone …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. My wife and I live in an urban area where outdoor space is at a premium, so I consider our home's second floor roof deck one of its standout features. It’s sunny and relatively private—and, crucially, it’s outdoor space in a city where a Juliet balcony is often the best you can do. There are two downsides to the space, however. One is that it is plagued by bugs, especially since one of our neighbors began hosting the dreaded spotted lanternfly like they were protecting an endangered species. The other is that our cats love being on the deck, but also love launching themselves over the fence to explore the neighborhood. (Di…

I've written before about various software tricks to nudge a smartphone toward dumb-phone territory: stripping the home screen down to essentials, enabling greyscale mode, scheduling downtime windows. I tried all of it, and for a time it worked for me, but only in the way that hiding a bag of chips in a high cabinet works—technically an obstacle, but not really a barrier. One tap to "Ignore Limit," and I'm back to scrolling. The problem is that the key to unlock everything is right there in your pocket. Turns out I needed a small device called Brick to physically restrain me create a physical barrier, and I can feel my screen time habits finally change for the better. …

On Wednesday, Google announced "notebooks," a new feature for Gemini designed to help organize your research materials while using the company's flagship chatbot. Google says you should think of notebooks as "personal knowledge bases shared across Google products, starting in Gemini." If that's a bit too vague for you, here's a simpler explanation: Notebooks are like Gemini chats, but designed to focus on a single topic, complete with bespoke resources Gemini can reference as you discuss that topic. How Gemini's "notebooks" workIf you're a frequent Gemini user, you probably have a number of chats spanning any number of topics. The goal of notebooks is similar, but more …

The StairMaster may be having a moment, but straight-up stair running has been around forever. As a runner myself, I know real-world stair workouts are one of the most effective and accessible training tools out there, no gym membership required. Especially for my fellow city runners without mountains or hills nearby—or really anyone looking to add some variety into their workouts—stair workouts are a great option to try. What is vertical training?Vertical training is exactly what it sounds like: deliberately incorporating upward movement into your workout. Unlike "flat" running, every step up forces your body to fight gravity, which changes the muscular demand, the card…

YouTube is a melting pot for everything from music videos and movie trailers to wilderness survival tutorials and funny animal clips. You could quite literally spend all day, every day plugged into the app and never run out of things to watch, or rabbit holes to go down. That's great, but it's also something of a problem—many of us use YouTube in different ways and for different purposes at different times, and that can make organizing and finding new content tricky. Just because you've spent four hours trying to troubleshoot a car engine problem doesn't mean you necessarily ever want to see a vehicle maintenance video ever again. For me, the issue is my love of lo-fi and…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. There is something for every kind of TV fan in March 2026's most-streamed TV shows, whether you like gritty medical dramas, long-awaited sequels, or vibrant adaptations, your new favorite show is below. Here are ten most popular shows in March, according to Just Watch. The Madison It's no surprise The Madison is the most-streamed series in the nation; Yellowstone creator Tyler Sheridan has a knack for making crowd-pleasing TV. Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell star in this Yellowstone spinoff, a neo-Western family drama about grief and redemption. After the family patriarch and his brother die in a plane crash,…

I've never been a big fan of watching videos in music streaming apps on my phone. I want to listen to songs, make playlists, and look at lyrics, but I never pick up my phone to watch a video on Spotify. If you're like me, you're going to be happy to know that Spotify is now rolling out a new feature that lets you turn off videos in its app. This goes beyond disabling the looping videos that appear when you play songs: The new feature also turns off music videos and vertical videos added by authors, returning Spotify to an audio-only platform. How to turn off videos in Spotify …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Google Nest Doorbell has dropped to $139.99 (originally $179.99), and that’s the lowest price it has hit so far, according to price trackers. The design is familiar if you’ve seen Nest cameras before, with a single camera module up top and a lit doorbell button below in an IP65-rated body that handles rain and dust without issue. This is a wired unit, so it only makes sense if your home already has the right wiring in place or you’re willing to install it—it's manageable if you’re comfortable handling low-voltage wiring (16–24VAC); otherwise, it…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Asus ROG Swift PG32UCDP is down to $899 from $1,299. This is a 32-inch 4K OLED monitor built for people who split their time between gaming and everything else. It’s a typical ROG display, but you also get USB-C with up to 90W charging, so a laptop can run and charge through one cable. There’s also a built-in KVM switch, which lets you jump between two systems without unplugging anything—that makes it easier to use this as a single screen for both work and play. ASUS ROG Swift (PG32UCDP) …

WhatsApp is finally getting a long-awaited privacy feature that allows you to display a username rather than your phone number, which will remain hidden from other users. This feature has been in the works for more than a year, with few details released as to its functionality and ETA. While it's still not rolling out to all users just yet, we now know a little bit more about how it will work. According to WABetaInfo (and as reported by 9to5Google), WhatsApp is set to launch usernames to a very limited number of accounts as part of a phased rollout. This means that you may not have access to this update now—but you should consider the switch as soon as it becomes availa…