Setting Up Your Home Office

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Every few decades, the pop culture machine spits out a person who purports to have supernatural powers. In the 1980s, it was spoon-bending swami Uri Geller. In the 1990s and 2000s, it was “mediums” like John Edward, who supposedly talked to people’s dead relatives. In 2025, we have Oz Pearlman. To be fair, unlike the rest of these examples, Pearlman doesn't claim supernatural powers himself, but a lot of people seem to be taking his stage patter explanation for his mentalist tricks as the unvarnished truth. They're wrong. Oz (pronounced “Oh’s”) has a hell of a schtick. The 43-year-old dude seems like an unassuming nerd, un…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Amazon is having a big Google sale right now while retailers are churning out early Black Friday deals. The standout deal is the Google Pixel 10, with the 128GB going for $599 (originally $799) and the 256GB for $699 (originally $899), both at record low prices, according to price-tracking tools. Google Pixel 10 - Unlocked Android Smartphone with Gemini, Your AI Assistant - Advanced Triple Rear Came…

If you're keeping up with generative AI, especially generative AI video models, then you've probably heard about Sora, OpenAI's short-form AI video app. Even though the app has only been available for a bit over a month, you've probably seen Sora videos on your other feeds—whether you realized it or not. Sora is capable of producing hyperrealistic AI videos that can be hard to distinguish from clips of actual reality. It doesn't help that the app's "cameo" feature lets you insert real people into these videos, leading to confusion and creating a risk of spreading misinformation. While the memes might be fun, if you ask me, there's really not much good that can come out o…

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,…

Apple dropped iOS 26.1 on Monday, introducing some small but meaningful changes to iPhones. But just one day after changing how alarms work, and adding options to adjust the look of Liquid Glass, the company is back at it with another update: iOS 26.2. To be clear, iOS 26.2 is not currently available to the public. Instead, Apple is now beta testing this version of iOS, allowing developers to trial the software against their apps, and report any and all issues back to Apple. While anyone can technically download this new software, I wouldn't recommend it. iOS 26.2 is not intended for public use, and, as such, it might introduce problems on your device. If you'd like to be…

For me, part of the appeal of TikTok is seeing smaller, less polished videos from people who don't fashion themselves as influencers. But what do I know? The company has announced it is holding its first U.S. awards show later this year. It seems the Oscars-ification of short form video is here. In a blog over on the TikTok site, the company said the show, fittingly called the TikTok Awards, will be held in the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles on Dec. 18, 2025, and will "honor the creators who have inspired, entertained, and connected communities across the country." To that end, the site also says it will invite users to "vote for their favorite creators" starting on N…

The kind of productivity method you need depends largely on the kind of person you are. Some methods are adaptable, open to interpretation, and fluid, which is nice if you just need a little guidance. Others, though, are detailed and rule-driven, which is great if you need to be told exactly what to do and when to do it. Agile Results, a system devised by J. D. Meier, is in the second category; it's stricter than others, but for some of us, that's what's needed to get things done. With Agile Results, you schedule and plan around all your goals, from the short- to long-term, so everything gets taken care of—even the biggest big-picture tasks. Here’s how it works. What is …

Productivity is an essential skill for getting things done in your life and career, but it’s also important because it can gives you a sense of accomplishment and it enhances your sense of wellbeing. When you don’t get all your tasks done, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and disappointed in yourself, which doesn’t help you push through to finish those tasks, let alone feel like you’re thriving. You should be happy. You need to be productive. Reaching a state of zen can help you accomplish both—or so goes the theory behind the “Zen to Done” method, which aims to help you get more good and feel good about it. Unlike some other productivity approaches, this one has less to do …

Scammers never miss an opportunity to prey on people's fear and confusion—and now they're capitalizing on the ongoing federal government shutdown to steal money and information from vulnerable targets. As Axios notes, reports of imposter scams—in which fraudsters impersonate government officials or agency representatives—rose in October as Americans experienced the loss of federal services and benefits. The Better Business Bureau's (BBB) Scam Tracker received 211 such complaints last month. Scammers are also taking advantage of shutdown stress to pull people into investment schemes and other malicious (and AI-driven) activity. Common government shutdown scams One common…

Losing something you spent time working on, or photos that you can't replace, is devastating. You might think this is a problem of the past because of cloud storage services like Apple's own iCloud, but that's not completely true. For one thing, users sometimes get locked out of their cloud accounts, which makes it impossible to retrieve their files. For another, not everything on your Mac is stored in iCloud. Things like settings, applications, and customizations aren't easy to recover should something happen to your Mac. It's also a lot faster to retrieve files from a local backup than a cloud one, which is important if you're backing up things like videos or photo libr…

The new version of Fitbit’s app (currently in “public preview” mode) has some improvements and some shortcomings. On the first day it was available, the built-in AI confused and frustrated me, but I figured I needed to give it a little time. Maybe it would learn more about me and give better responses. Maybe I would learn my way around its features. Maybe the team at Google would correct the worst of the problems. That last prediction came partly true. When I woke up the next morning, the AI finally admitted that the watch I was wearing, Google’s Pixel Watch 4, does actually exist. (The initial version of the app had claimed that the Pixel Watch 2, released in 2023, was …

One of the main reasons I've always insisted on having a keyboard with a full number pad—apart from being able to bash out numbers quickly—is that it lets me type out the Windows shortcut codes for an em dash (ALT+0151) and en dash (ALT+0150). They're punctuation marks I use a lot, and apparently AI bots do too. What you'll notice about those shortcut codes, if you've spent time with both Microsoft and Apple operating systems, is that they're longer and more awkward to type than the equivalents on macOS. On a Mac, you can type an em dash by holding down Shift+Option and pressing the hyphen ("-") button. For en dashes, it's even easier: Hold down Option, then press hyphen.…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you just need a tablet for streaming, browsing, and the occasional recipe lookup, the Amazon Fire HD 10 (2023) is tough to ignore at its current price. It’s down to $79.99 (from $179.99), and according to price trackers, this is the lowest it's ever been. The 32GB version costs $10 less, but spending that extra ten bucks is worth it if you plan to download movies or books for offline use. Whichever version you pick, you can expand the storage by up to 1TB with a microSD card (sold separately), so space won’t be an issue. Also, the battery life of…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. It's a good day for Apple shoppers looking for the latest Apple Watches. The Apple Watch Ultra 3, Apple's latest and most premium smartwatch, dropped to its lowest price, and now, the Apple Watch SE 3, their most affordable smartwatch (and truly, the best one for most people), also dropped to its lowest price yet, according to price-tracking tools. Despite being released just this past September, you can get the GPS 40mm Apple Watch SE 3 for $199.99 (originally $249). The bigger 44mm case is $229.99 (originally $279), also with a $50 discount. …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. If you've ever tried to tackle a DIY project with just the hammer and screwdriver you bought at a convenience store, you’ve already learned the most important lesson: The right tools make all the difference. The difference in effort it takes to complete a job when you have exactly the tool you need for it is startling. There are plenty of fancy power tools that you probably didn't know about, but the humble hand tool can be transformative, too. If you’re planning some work around the homestead, consider picking up some of these simple but powerful specialty tools that will make your project easier. Cabinet jackI’m a solo …

I’ve been enjoying Shuffalo, a quick daily word game from the New Yorker that I can’t help but compare to the New York Times’s Wordle, which is so popular we publish hints for it every day. But it really feels like an improvement on a different New York Times game, Spelling Bee—quicker and with more useful hints. What is Shuffalo? Shuffalo lives on the New Yorker games page, with a different puzzle each day. For each day’s puzzle, you get a collection of letters that you have to form into a word. First you get four letters, and you need to use them all to make a four-letter word. Once you do that, a fifth letter is added, then a sixth, and so on up to eight. Get that fa…

Google isn't new to adding AI to its products, and that includes Google Maps. The company already has AI tools that let you ask Gemini for directions to your destination, or get more info about it, and today, it's rolling out new features to help turn the chatbot into a (to borrow a term from Microsoft) copilot. With Gemini in Google Maps, you'll be able to ask open-ended questions and even have the AI take action for you, based on its responses. The idea is to make the app easier to work with while driving, which, yes, means you can also wake the bot with a simple "Hey Google." Let's say you get peckish while driving. You'll be able to wake the bot with your voice, ask …

At my local Blink Fitness—which is now a PureGym—I recently worked in sets with another woman on the assisted pull-up machine. For me, the vibe was utter relief. No one was being rude about sharing equipment, it didn't feel remotely competitive, and there was a safety and solidarity in being the only two women in that quadrant of the gym at that moment. For a brief window, the gym felt like a space for both catharsis and camaraderie. Unfortunately, this moment only made me realize how rare this sort of shared gym culture has become. Truthfully, I don't know if gym culture was ever for me. The stereotype is it's all bros, right? I'm no Joey Swoll, self-described "CEO of g…

Google's AI Mode has new agentic capabilities for booking event tickets and beauty and wellness appointments, so AI will do most of the work to find and curate the best options based on your inputs. Google first launched agentic capabilities for AI Mode in August: The initial feature could help locate restaurant reservations based on inputs like party size, location, cuisine, and preferred dates and times. For example, you can enter "find me a table for 8 people next Saturday for a birthday dinner ... thinking outdoor rustic garden vibes with live music" and AI Mode will return suggestions with links to book. While they won't actually finalize the reservation for you, Go…

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. If you’re looking for a new QLED TV for everyday gaming and watching TV shows and movies, the 2025 Samsung 50” QN90F Neo QLED TV is a smart option, offering high-end picture performance for an LED TV. Right now, it’s $997.99 (originally $1,397.99) on Amazon, marking a 25% discount and its lowest price ever, according to price tracking tools. Samsung 50-Inch Class Neo QLED 4K QN90F Series …

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…

Google's NotebookLM, by far my favorite AI tool, rolled out two new features this week. The app that can turn your notes into a podcast can now generate an educational video based on your study materials. It can also create a report or document from suggested, pre-made templates. How the new NotebookLM tools workIf you're unfamiliar, NotebookLM is a large language model akin to the better-known chatbot ChatGPT, but instead of pulling information from all over the internet (with all the risks of inaccuracy that creates), it relies only on material you input directly. You can upload PDFs, links, YouTube videos, plain text, and more, then ask the chatbot questions and it wi…

Finally—two years after its release, and one year-long beta later—the PlayStation Plus handheld can finally officially play games without needing to connect to a PS5 console first. The portable machine is not strictly playing them all by itself, and you do need a PlayStation Plus Premium subscription to do it, but the latest system update brings the PlayStation Portal a lot closer to being a true PSP successor. The news came earlier today via the official PlayStation blog, where Sony announced that cloud streaming for the PS Portal will soon officially go live for everyone with a compatible subscription, a little less than a year after the company started testing it with …

As Lifehacker’s smart glasses and virtual reality expert, I spend a lot of time flooding my eyes with bright light. Last night, I was testing a pair of soon-to-be released display style glasses that blast out 1,200 nits of light. That’s roughly car-headlight-bright, squeezed into a postage-stamp-sized image projected on glass about a half inch from my eyes. I thought to myself, “Wait, am I frying my eyeballs?” So I called up Dr. Sunir Garg, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology and professor of ophthalmology at Wills Eye Hospital, and asked him point blank: What am I doing to my eyes with this stuff? “We think not much,” Garg replied. “If the light is …