Setting Up Your Home Office

Adobe, the company behind big creative programs like Photoshop and Premiere, just wrapped up its 2025 Adobe Max keynote, and you know what that means. That's right: more AI. Over the course of the three-hour presentation, the company went big on automating creativity, introducing new generative AI tools for Photoshop, Lightroom, Premiere Pro, and other Creative Cloud apps. Some of these are expansions of tools that already exist, like better generative fill, while other are all new—like Firefly's new AI audio generation. Adobe Express can design based on vibes …

Wikipedia is a treasured online resource that, despite massive changes across the web, has managed to remained truly great to this day. I, alongside millions of other users, visit the site daily to learn something new or double-check existing knowledge. In an age of non-stop AI slop, Wikipedia is something of an antidote. If you look at Wikipedia and think "this is alright, but an AI version would be a lot better," you might just be Elon Musk. Musk's AI company, xAI, just launched Grokipedia—yes, that really is its name—an online encyclopedia that closely resembles Wikipedia in name and surface-level appearance. But under the hood, the two could hardly be any more differe…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. The Cardio Load calculation is a metric the Fitbit app uses to suggest how much Pixel Watch and Fitbit users should exercise, but it can be hard to understand. It's also recently been updated for the new version of the app, and it works a bit differently there. Here's how you should use this number, and what it means to hit your target. What is cardio load?Cardio load is a way of understanding how much exercise you’ve been doing, whether the app logged it as a workout or not. Exercising for a longer time, and exercising at a higher intensity, both increase your cardio load. For example, on a day that you go for a five-mil…

If you’ve ever heard the word “kanban,” you probably remember it, since it is inarguably fun to say. You likely heard it tossed around by someone who works in a corporate office, as it's extremely popular in that setting. “Kanban,” it turns out, is more than a fun word or something practiced by that friend whose job makes no sense to you. It’s an effective system for scheduling tasks in a highly productive way—and it can be used by anybody, not just people who also use corporate jargon about how they'll "put a pin in that" and "circle back." Don't be intimidated. While it's a little involved, it's ultimately just a visual method for determining what you need to do, what …

Adobe just wrapped up its Max keynote, which means its time for its biggest free competitor to announce its own set of new features. While Adobe's done its best to keep up with Canva by adding its own free, web-based tools to its lineup, the simple browser-based editor has become a key part of my creative routine. Now, it's coming for more of Adobe's lunch by launching a "creative operating system," which while largely a rebrand of existing (but expanding) tools, smacks of the Photoshop makers' "creative cloud" branding. As part of the update, Canva's introducing a bunch of—say it with me—AI to its products, but is also taking a big swing by making popular Photoshop alter…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. If you're looking for your next pair of running shoes, why not look for guidance from the runners logging more miles than the rest of us? After all, finding the perfect running shoes is about much more than style or brand preference—the right shoes are essential for performance, comfort, and injury prevention. But with countless options available for both men and women, choosing the perfect pair can feel overwhelming. That's where data from Strava comes in: Thanks to thousands of runners logging their gear into the app, we know what some of the most popular shoes that real runners trust to carry them all 26.2 miles. …

Leading AI chatbot platform Character.ai announced yesterday that it will no longer allow anyone under 18 to have open-ended conversations with its chatbots. Character.ai's parent company, Character Technologies, said the ban will go into effect by Nov. 25, and in the meantime, it will impose time limits on children and "transition younger users to alternative creative features such as video, story, and stream creation with AI characters." In a statement posted online, Character Technologies said it was making the change "in light of the evolving landscape around AI and teens," which seems like a nice way of saying "because of the lawsuits." Character Technologies was re…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Prioritizing your to-do list is key to getting everything done. You need to make sure you’re allocating enough time to the difficult and important tasks but saving space for the little ones, too, all while not designating too much time, either. Try the ABC method for categorizing your responsibilities for the day. It's simple to implement and will help you make sense of your to-do lists. What is the ABC method?Categorizing your tasks by need, timeline, and time necessary for completion is important, which is why some people use the Eisenhower matrix and others overload their Google Calendars. These are great methods, but y…

Computers are supposed to be unambiguous. When you click a function, that function is supposed to do what it says it does. So, when you click "Update and shut down" on your PC, you assume your PC will install any available updates, then shut down. Simple. As you might expect from this headline, that isn't actually the case. For some reason, when you choose "Update and shut down," Windows only listens to the first half of the command. Sure, your updates will download and install, but if you watch your computer, you'll see that it doesn't shut down, but restarts instead. That might come as a surprise, especially if you walked away from your PC under the assumption that it w…

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 pair of on-ear ANC headphones from a premium brand, here's a deal to check out: The Bose QuietComfort Headphones are currently $199 (originally $359) in every color. This represents a 45% discount and the lowest price ever for these well-reviewed headphones, according to price tracking tools. Bose QuietComfort Headphones …

I'm always harping about how everyone should familiarize themselves with and start using time boxing and time blocking, the techniques that call on you to pre-plan your entire day down to the minute, filling up every space on your calendar with defined tasks. I stand by my enthusiasm for the methods, but even when you’re time boxing your whole day, you’ll notice you end up with a few random pockets of time sprinkled throughout your schedule. If you don’t have a plan for what to do with these, they’ll become unproductive—so start thinking of how you can maximize your productivity with “time pockets.” What are time pockets?Time pockets are small amounts of time throughout y…

Since the days of Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer, you've always have a choice when it comes to the program you use to access the internet—but we now have a whole new breed of software to consider: The AI browser. These browsers place AI models front and center, even more so than integrations like Gemini in Chrome or Copilot in Edge. These browsers give you AI-powered search, AI-powered answers to just about any question you can come up with, and even agentic AI control—so the browser can actually do some browsing and complete simple tasks for you. A future where we never have to manually fill out another web form or compare prices on sixteen different flights is…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Ahead of Black Friday, Amazon has discounted several versions of the Google Pixel 10. Right now, you can get the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL with 256 GB of storage and 16 GB of RAM for $899 (originally $1,199), marking a record-low price according to price-tracking tools. Google Pixel 10 Pro XL $899.00 at Amazon …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Meta has begun rolling out its latest firmware update for its Ray-Ban and Oakley smart glasses. The update, V19.2, is available this week, and improves Garmin integration and video recording for both first and second generation Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta wearables. Ray-Ban Meta - Wayfarer Large glasses with Meta AI, Audio, Photo, Video Compatibility - Polarized Gradient Graphite Lens (Refurbished) - Matte Black $263.00…

Anna's Archive, a popular website for pirating books and articles, seems to be square in Google's sights, according to copyright and digital rights publication TorrentFreak. The search giant is said to have blocked some 749 million Anna's Archive URLs from showing up in search results, TorrentFreak found, after combing through a recent transparency report. The removal wasn't necessarily targeted, as Google regularly delists content at the request of copyright holders. At time of this writing, has taken down links to 15,125,359,564 pages since 2011. But this is the latest in an ongoing, AI-prompted saga that is seeing copyright holders crack down on so-called "shadow libra…

Yesterday, Nintendo launched a new Nintendo Store app for iOS and Android, finally catching up with Sony and Xbox. On the surface, it does about what you'd expect, making it easy to browse games and Nintendo news, and even purchase games outright (albeit through an in-app browser window, presumably to avoid funneling Apple hefty commission fees). But hidden in the tiniest, most out-of-the-way button in the app is a detailed tracker for your play activity—finally fixing a feature that Nintendo consoles have dropped the ball on since the original Switch launched way back in 2017. The Switch has its own activity tracker, but it doesn't tell you much …

If you're out of cell service in an emergency, the ability to contact 911 can be lifesaving. Now many users with older phones are getting access to emergency texting to 911 via T-Mobile's Starlink-powered T-Satellite network for free. On Wednesday, T-Mobile announced that it would open up its Text to 911 feature—which allows users to text emergency services through their phone's native messaging app when outside of coverage areas—to everyone, including AT&T and Verizon customers, at no cost. It's worth noting that many iPhone and Pixel users already have access to emergency SOS via satellite regardless of carrier, as these features are built into newer devices. Appl…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Power tools make everything easier and your finishes more professional. You might think that connecting those power tools to an app on your phone via Bluetooth is an unnecessary upgrade—why in the world does your power drill need to be connected to your phone? The truth is that Bluetooth-connected, “smart” power tools offer a lot of real advantages, and you should definitely start thinking about upgrading your tools to include them. More controlThe biggest reason smart power tools are a good investment is the increased control they offer. If you’ve ever wasted time experimenting with the torque settings on a drill (and the…

How you allocate and use your time every day is as important to productivity as the work you actually do, which is why it's important to pre-plan your schedule down to the minute. You have to be smart and strategic about when you work, what you work on, and how long you do it—otherwise, some of your time may be wasted. Illich’s Law, or the Law of Diminishing Returns, says that after working for a while, your productivity decreases—then becomes negative. What does Illich’s Law mean?We often think of being productive as getting a lot done, but productivity can—and should—also focus on the quality of that work, too. Some good work is, in most cases, better than a lot of sho…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. A Costco membership usually pays for itself, but this deal makes it even easier to justify: You can get a one-year Costco Gold Star Membership, plus a $40 Digital Costco Shop Card, on sale for just $65 on StackSocial right now. That effectively drops the cost of membership to just $25 for the year, and it's sent straight to your inbox within two weeks of redemption. If you were planning to shop there anyway, it’s a no-brainer, but this offer is only available to new members or those whose membership has expired for at least 18 months. The Gold Star …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Amazon’s early Black Friday sale just made one of Samsung’s best midrange OLEDs a lot more tempting. The 65-inch Samsung S90F OLED TV is now $1,397.99, down from its regular price of $1,997.99—the lowest price so far, according to price trackers. SAMSUNG 65-Inch Class OLED S90F 4K Smart TV $1,397.99 at Amazon …

Following posts on social media last week where some YouTube TV subscribers noticed a $60 credit waiting for them in their account settings, Variety is reporting that YouTube is now sending subscribers an additional $20 credit. The company has not yet made an official statement on the matter, although a YouTube spokesperson confirmed the timetable for the credit's rollout to TechCrunch. The news follows promises from YouTube to give YouTube TV customers a $20 credit if the blackout of Disney content on the Live TV service continued. According to the report, emails with instructions on how to claim the credit began sending out yesterday, and "all credits will be issued by…

You already know that scheduling your tasks—whether you’re time blocking, task batching, or theming entire days—is a major priority when it comes to being productive and getting stuff done. But when you have a bunch of tasks and don’t even know where to start with scheduling them, you need an efficient method to decide what to get on right away, what to delegate, and what to forget about. Essentially, not only do you need to know what you need to do, but you need to rank those tasks based on how crucial they are, how much time they'll take, and what you'll need to get them done. What is the Eisenhower Matrix?This assessment and productivity tool is named for former presid…

Most of our apps these days continue to receive AI upgrades—whether or not we actually want them. That's no surprise from a company like Google, who is among those leading the AI charge right now. If you use Chrome, Android, or Google Workspace, you've likely dealt with Gemini in some capacity. The charge, as you might expect, continues to this day. On Tuesday, Google announced a set of new AI-powered features coming to Google Photos, for both iOS and Android users. Google doesn't yet have a definitive release date for these new features, but it seems they're rolling out soon. These are largely optional—you can keep using Photos as an image library, and avoid using the A…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Your home is under constant threat from the elements—but especially from water. From roof leaks to burst pipes—water damage is the second-most claimed loss on home insurance policies, just below “wind and hail.” In fact, there are way more losses due to water damage than fire. And the most troubling aspect of water damage is how silent it can be. You can have a leak for a long time before the damage becomes bad enough to notice. And even if you know you have a water leak somewhere, locating it can often be difficult because water can travel a long way from the source before making its presence known. That’s why you need th…