Lifehacker

Those of us fully entrenched in the Apple ecosystem have a lot of batteries to think about; you might have a MacBook, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and AirPods to boot, all of which are consuming precious portable power by just sitting there. Instead of constantly jumping among products to know whether you need them to…Read more...

Rejoice, at least partially vaccinated doughnut lovers, for Krispy Kreme is doubling down on their free doughnut program, giving away two doughnuts to anyone who has had at least one COVID-19 vaccination shot from Aug. 30 through Sept. 5.Read more...

Sure, maybe you wish you had thousands of dollars to pour into updating your living room so that it sports a new—massive—TV (plus surround sound), new recessed lighting, a large leather sectional to relax on, and a handmade coffee table from your favorite local craftsman. That does sound nice. But if your budget is…Read more...

There are so many games available for digital download on the Nintendo Switch, but the library varies depending on where you live. Tons of fun games are only officially on sale in Japan and Europe, and every now and then a country will get early access to an upcoming global release before other parts of the world.

In case you somehow missed the memo, big, bushy brows are in and have been for a few years now. There are all manner of makeup products and procedures that can help someone with even the sparsest of facial hair achieve full, luxurious brows—or the illusion of them—but how do you even know where to begin? Let’s start…Read more...

There are times when backgrounds sounds can help you sleep or calm you down—like sounds of the ocean or even static noise. There are many websites and iPhone apps that can help you play a wide variety of background sounds, but if you’re running iOS 15 or iPadOS 15, you can just use the built-in Background Sounds…Read more...

I’m not one of those people who uses their cast iron pan for everything. I understand that it can be done, and I understand that a properly seasoned cast iron pan is a thing of slippery beauty, but I’m kind of lazy and will always have a nonstick pan in my arsenal, mostly for egg-making purposes.

There was a time when you could count the big, blockbuster action films starring women on one hand. In a stunning reflection of how things are changing in Hollywood, now you’d probably need to use two hands—and in fact, we’ve progressed so much that women can now lay claim to an extremely problematic, culturally…Read more...

You should think twice before giving out your real email address to a random business or a website. Not only can it lead to spam, but your email address can also end up in a marketing database.

You might have a kid who loves bath time from start to finish—who giggles at the bubbles and merely blinks when they get doused with H20. Or you might, dear reader, you have a child who howls like they’re having their toenails pulled off when the shampoo touches their heads.Read more...

Picture-in-picture (or PiP) is a feature that iPhones have had since iOS 13, and iPads since iOS 9. YouTube, being YouTube, is arriving fashionably late to the PiP party; it announced in June that it would bring the feature to Apple devices for both Premium subscribers and regular users, and just started rolling out…Read more...

Nostalgia for the ‘90s is big right now, so it’s probably not a huge surprise Candyman is coming back. The love-lorn killer with the haunting bass voice and hook hand never had quite the box office cred of a Freddy, Jason, or Michael Myers, but Tony Todd’s performance—and his signature vocal rasp—made him an instant…Read more...

Last year’s flu season occurred in the midst of a COVID-19 surge, sparking concerns of a “twindemic,” in which the coronavirus and the flu would be circulating simultaneously. Healthcare resources would be stretched even thinner, and some people might contract both illnesses at the same time.

Water, temperature fluctuations, and sunlight can all damage your outdoor furniture—but luckily, a few simple maintenance practices can restore dried-out wood, bring back color, prevent water damage, and strengthen the joints of your furniture. You’ll get more life out of your patio, deck, and yard pieces, saving you…Read more...

With the iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS Monterey update, Apple is automatically upgrading all iCloud paid plans to iCloud+. If you’re paying for iCloud storage, you now get access to the Private Relay feature, and the ability to hide your email address online.

The pandemic not only altered the way our kids learn, it also changed how they ate. Gone were the days of prepping lunches the night before or morning of school—now we were making upwards of three meals a day on the fly, even as we balanced virtual learning and working from home. But now that many districts are…Read more...

Growing vegetables indoors takes some finesse, but is entirely possible. It’s even doable for beginners, if you’re willing to do a little research (and maybe practice on a couple of houseplants first); and if you’re an intermediate gardener, well, what are you waiting for? It’s time to take on the challenge of growing…Read more...

As we near ever closer to iOS 15’s fall 2021 release, more and more features are being added to the beta builds. One of the latest additions is a new, system-level translation feature that can translate just about any text on your iPhone’s screen.

We’re all familiar with the basic eco-friendly suggestions, like easing up on single-use plastic, bringing your own shopping bags to the store, and not leaving the water running when you brush your teeth. But beyond the basics, there are a host of interesting sustainability suggestions flying under the radar of the…Read more...

Vegetable oil and canola oil are not sexy. They’re both incredibly cheap, tastes like nothing, and come in big, plastic bottles. Unlike an expensive glass bottle of olive oil or an idyllically-labeled, tiny canister of pistachio oil, neither vegetable nor canola is something you leave out on the counter for guests to…Read more...

It’s already hard enough for parents to find toys that will stir their child’s imagination—in a positive way. Walking down the toy aisle of your favorite store is a minefield of warning labels, messy goop that is certain to ruin your carpet, and packaging that reinforces gender stereotypes.Read more...

Stuffy summer evenings call for dinners that are fast, easy, and require minimal cooking—perhaps a salad, bread, and a charcuterie board piled high with your favorite cured meats. If that’s what’s on your menu though, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests a minor modification: Heat that meat.Read more...

During difficult times, we often find ourselves defaulting to a single, dominant emotion, even when another might be more “logical.” For example, your default emotion may be anxiety, which is what you’ll feel during the stressful times, even if a more appropriate emotional reaction might be anger, sadness, or…Read more...

The FDA had to warn people this week not to medicate themselves with ivermectin, a drug often used to deworm horses. Yes, folks are apparently purchasing the stuff themselves from animal feed stores and using it as a self-treatment for COVID-19.

I wish my skateboarding journey had started like the opening lyrics to Lupe Fiasco’s “Kick, Push,” but I wasn’t 6 years old when I got my first skateboard. Hell, I wasn’t 16 or 26 either. I was, in fact, well into my thirties when I started skateboarding... about a month ago. So, how’d it go?Read more...

Cryptocurrencies continue to grow in popularity, but as interest increases, so does the creativity of scammers looking to capitalize on a cultural shift in order to rip people off. According to a recent report by Trend Micro’s cybersecurity team, there are now scores of fake crypto mining and wallet apps on the Google…Read more...

Storage management on any device can be a challenge. Often without warning, your Mac is like, “Hey, I’m full, friend. Delete some stuff.” Of course, you oblige, but there’s a hitch: “Other” files are taking up a ton of data, and your computer won’t tell you what those “Other” files are. How are you supposed to delete…Read more...

In my experience, exercise dresses are mostly a thing of Instagram ads, and for a while there I thought Halara was trying to make them happen all by itself. But according to two recent articles from New York-based publications (the New York Times and the Cut), these things are everywhere (in NYC, apparently) and…Read more...

There was a period of time, in the early and mid 2000s, when I ordered every salad with “oil and balsamic.” I would drizzle them on, one at a time, then gently toss the leaves with my fork to distribute evenly. It wasn’t good, but it made me feel in control of my diet (and calorie count), which was very important to…Read more...

Writer/director Kay Cannon—who worked with Tina Fey on 30 Rock before penning the Pitch Perfect trilogy and directing the underrated raunchy teen comedy Blockers—is from my hometown. When I was in high school, she even judged me at a forensics meet. I mention this only because that fact is basically the only thing…Read more...

Let me start by saying: I have never been one to share an email address, or (gasp) Facebook account, with a significant other. I don’t believe couples need to “share everything,” especially not a treacly joint social media profile stuffed with photos of their commingled toes at the beach.

Online reviews are a huge part of how we spend money nowadays, and nothing makes people hit that “Order Now” button like a 5-star review. Unfortunately, good reviews are so easily bought and faked that they often drown out the legit ones—even if they’re equally positive.

Sometimes we say things to ourselves that aren’t in our self-interest. Calling yourself a loser or saying “I’m such an idiot” every time you make a mistake isn’t having a positive effect on your self-esteem (on the other hand, you should definitely try affirmations), but beyond the obviously negative self-talk, there…Read more...

Like many people, I picked up Skyward Sword HD to relive one of my favorite Zelda games (that’s right; it’s great). While some critics maligned the motion controls of the original, I never had a problem with them. I had a blast aiming the bow and arrow in real space, and physically changing my sword swings to match an…Read more...

Optimism tells you that your new glasses with the updated prescription will surely make the world around you clearer. And they do! But then you walk outside and everything looks a little off. Maybe the ground looks slanted, causing dizziness, or you find yourself fighting back headaches or nausea. Your new glasses are…Read more...

For many of us, working from home has been a budget-friendly adjustment to our professional lives. Minus any initial home office setup—especially if your employer didn’t provide financial support for it—you likely haven’t had many of the usual expenses associated with getting dressed, commuting, and socializing. But…Read more...

In 2021, a smartphone and a tablet are a college student’s lifeline. Thanks to innovative and useful apps, these devices can help you manage your tasks, keep your calendar, and even help you be a better student through innovative note taking, flashcard, and visualization tools.

Flipping houses is a popular thing to do right now. Your college buddy does it. The guy you used to work for does it. Seemingly everyone on HGTV does it. Hell, even Scott Disick does it. The whole thing seems straightforward: Buy up a crusty old house, do some manual labor, and resell it for much more than you paid.…Read more...

Even if you don’t bake all that much, you probably have a bag of flour in your pantry. Beyond bread and other baked goods, the processed wheat powder is used as a breading and thickening agent in a wide variety of cuisines. It’s obviously shelf-stable—which is why we keep it on the shelves of our pantries—but just how…Read more...

If you frequently find yourself wishing for larger text or icons on your phone, you’re not alone. Some people prefer microscopic font sizes but others want large, bold text everywhere. Luckily, there are things you can do to make text more readable—and everything else easier to see—while using your iPhone.

Chrome’s new tab groups is a polarizing subject among users, but Google continues to bolster the feature with new capabilities that make it worth trying. Tab groups let you organize open pages into different groups—which makes juggling all those tabs a lot easier—and now, Google is testing the ability to save tab g…Read more...

This week, we’re learning to shift our mindset with help from Eduardo Briceño—keynote speaker and expert on growth mindset theory. Listen to hear Eduardo talk about how embracing a growth mindset can help you improve in whatever you do, what questions to ask yourself when you catch yourself slipping into a fixed…Read more...

In the past year and a half, we have spent a lot of waking time in our bedrooms. It has been a place to relax, escape from work, and hide from the world (or small children). Maybe it suddenly seems drab or outdated—or maybe you’re just tired of looking at the same old space after so much time spent within its four…Read more...

Twitter user Cuchillo Lope just dropped an inadvertent bomb on the social media platform, asking users for the kinds of movies that, when recommended, feel like green flags for your relationship with the recommender (as opposed to, well, red ones):

Everything in life has a set of etiquette rules, and running is no exception. But if you normally run by yourself, the rules may be a bit inscrutable. Here, thanks to Reddit’s r/running, are some of those “unwritten rules” that you might not know until you break them.

When you start a new job with an employer that sponsors 401(k) plans, you’re usually given the option to contribute part of your monthly earnings as either a flat dollar amount or a fixed percentage. But what’s the better option? Here’s a look at the difference in your longterm savings for both flat-rate and…Read more...

With iOS 15, Apple tried to revamp Safari’s traditional user interface. In some ways, it was an ambitious effort, like how the UI changes colors to match the website you’re browsing. The company’s decision to move the search bar to the bottom of the display, however, was not so well-received. Apple did add the option…Read more...

Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is now fully approved for ages 16 and up, the FDA announced today. The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are still covered under an emergency use authorization, as is the Pfizer vaccine’s use in children aged 12 to 15.

I don’t care for expensive coasters. Big, heavy, un-absorbent disks or squares may look pretty, but my personal favorites are the freebies I’ve taken from bars. These cardboardand plastic beauties are cheap (free), usually quite absorbent, and easy to store, and—if you make a habit of collecting them during your…Read more...

You’ve already gotten underwear, pants, and a shirt on your toddler who really prefers doing life in the buff. They have reluctantly acquiesced to socks and shoes, and you’ve managed to brush their teeth for the requisite eight seconds that qualifies as thorough for the age group. And now, you must get the most…Read more...