Lifehacker

Amazon and Microsoft recently announced a collaboration that lets Xbox Game Pass subscribers download games and get the latest updates about the service using Alexa commands.

Does this sound familiar? You’ve taken such good care of your older MacBook that Tim Cook himself wouldn’t be able to tell it from a fresh out-of-the-box model. You’ve fawned over it, protected it from harm, and are now ready to trade it in for something newer and better. Since your MacBook is perfect, you’re…Read more...

Many people use buttermilk powder to make their own ranch seasoning mix, which they then use to make their own ranch dressing. This is perfectly reasonable—aspirational, even!—but ranch isn’t the only salad dressing that benefits from a bit of dehydrated dairy.Read more...

The original Disney vacation spot is reopening to the world. Unlike Disney World, which reopened in July 2020 just months after lockdowns began last year, Disneyland took a slower approach and is reopening later this month with things like tiered ticketing and capacity limits. Here’s what you need to know about the…Read more...

As we emerge from our pandemic cocoons and begin catching up on all the things we either purposefully put off or simply couldn’t fathom attempting over the past year, we may come to the realization that it’s been way too long since a dentist has seen the inside of our kid’s mouth. Whether they’ve got their first-ever…Read more...

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The IRS has confirmed that families can expect their 2021 child tax credit subsidy to begin paying out as advanced monthly payments in July, rather than next year as part of a tax return. The monthly payments have also increased from a maximum of $2,000 to up to $3,600 per child. Here’s what you can expect and how to…Read more...

The Oculus Quest 2 is perhaps the first of all the virtual reality headsets I’ve used over the years that’s been more than an expensive paperweight. However, there’s still one small catch that makes Facebook’s VR headset slightly annoying for those of us with a lot of SteamVR games: You have to connect the headset…Read more...

The beer industry’s latest viral marketing gimmick wants to promote your presumably unemployed pooch to a C-suite level position as the next Chief Tasting Officer of Busch Dog Brew.

I don’t usually heavily season my steaks—I like to let the meat speak for itself—but there is something deeply enticing (and summery) about a pile of flame-kissed beef that’s been dressed with a bright, aggressively herby sauce. Like most people, I used to make my sauces separately and serve them alongside the beef.…Read more...

It’s a corporate custom that might seem outdated, or even like a trivial formality. Yet anyone with a good deal of job hunting experience will tell you how important it is to send a thank-you note after an interview. That’s the conventional wisdom, at least. How much does it really matter?

Candles make for a great ambiance, make a room smell nice, and they come in handy when the power goes out. We love their versatility, and naturally, that comes with some hacks—whether it’s inventive ways to remove wax after the wick has burned down, or ways to use the empty glass container after a candle burns out.…Read more...

In theory, making your own cleaning products is a great way to save money without sacrificing effectiveness. In practice, a lot of DIY “natural” cleaners work about as well as plain water. If you want to avoid messy, potentially expensive failure, stick to baking soda, vinegar, and borax (otherwise known as sodium…Read more...

Taking a screenshot may seem simple enough, but odds are there’s an even easier way to capture what’s on your screen. I say this as someone who has happily been using command+shift+4 for years, only to have my mind blown when we started making this video.Read more...

Sleep is top of mind for most new parents. They’re not always going to be able to sleep when the baby sleeps, what with all the bottles that need to be cleaned and the laundry that needs to be done, but if they ever want to rest, the baby needs to rest quite a bit, too. Some babies get into a nice, regular sleep…Read more...

The 2020 tax season has been a confusing mélange of missing stimulus check rebates, new credits, and of course, shifting deadlines. Considering a recent IPX 1031 survey, 32% of Americans didn’t know the federal tax deadline was extended to May 17, a refresher on other important IRS deadlines coming in the next two…Read more...

Shortly before Christmas last year, I sent a message to Jeff Sharlet, a writer I don’t know, thanking him for memorializing the dead. It was a Sunday night, past 2 a.m., and though I can’t remember the specific thing keeping me awake I know its basic contours. Most every feeling I’ve had this year is a shifting…Read more...

When you can’t hear anything from your YouTube videos—either nothing at all, or that which was once loud is now way too soft—the last thing you should do is crank the volume on your Windows PC. Sure, that might be a temporary fix, but it means everything else on your system will be earsplittingly loud too. And that’s…Read more...

Google Pixel 3 (Used) | $100+ | Woot

Ramadan began yesterday, so this week you might start to notice your Muslim coworkers and friends skipping lunch. The month of fasting commemorates God’s revelation of the Quran to Muhammad, and believers use this time to practice reflection and self control. So if you’re not Muslim, how can you be more considerate of…Read more...

Of all the bakery-style bread products you can make at home, bagels might be the most intimidating. They really shouldn’t be. The dough is easy to handle and very hard to mess up; with the right recipe, even your first attempt will taste 10 times better than anything you can get outside of a legit bagel shop.Read more...

The word “Angus” conjures up the spirit of quality American beef, and it’s used by restaurants and grocery stores alike to push their products. When I was a tween, my favorite food was beef, and my favorite “grown-up” restaurant was Black Angus, a mid-level steakhouse chain that served a savory steak soup with sweet…Read more...

Android users can finally access Google Photos’ upgraded video editor and its more than 30 new editing tools. The new features were announced back in February and launched first on iOS, and they’re rolling out for Android users starting today.

In the western world, we typically associate springtime with renewal and festivals of gratitude, and the Islamic calendar is no different: The month-long celebration of Ramadan, which is observed by the religion’s 1.8 billion global adherents as the holiest time of the year, is currently underway, bringing with it…Read more...

For over a year now, the work-from-home lifestyle has become the norm for many Americans, requiring us to retrofit our spaces to serve a dual purpose. Some very creative makeshift desks and home office spaces have emerged during the pandemic, few more intriguing than the car desk.

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Considering Substack’s low-entry costs, a paid subscriber base that’s nearly doubled over the past 12 months, and the news that its top writers make up to a million dollars a year, you might be wondering: Can I really make a living publishing on the newsletter publishing platform? If you have an established audience…Read more...

Given the pandemic, you’ll be forgiven if you’ve briefly forgotten about the other apocalyptic catastrophe that’s been dominating our anxieties. But climate change is still a continuing threat, and Kendra Pierre-Louis covers the fallout from it in the hit podcast, How to Save a Planet, where she’s a producer and…Read more...

Though the result is more annoying than dangerous, a newly exploited quirk of WhatsApp’s two-factor authentication system does appear to make it relatively easy for an attacker to lock you out of your account for varying amounts of time. And all a bad actor needs to pull it off, as of this writing, is to know the…Read more...

Butcher blocks are large, thick pieces of wood ideally suited for meat preparation. Over time they’ve also become a popular choice for kitchen countertops, as their natural look and durability for food preparation make them an aesthetically pleasing and functional choice.

To celebrate the launch of Google Pay’s new GPay app, Google is holding a “Spring Challenge” during which users have a chance to win $30. The event is live now and runs through April 22—though there are only 200,000 gifts available, meaning those $30 gifts could be gone before April 22 and you’d need to act fast if…Read more...

My household is always stocked with least two different kinds of butter: I have cooking butter for sautéing and baking, which is mostly a cheap store brand, and a separate eating butter, usually Kerrygold, for slathering.Read more...

There are lots of unpleasant behaviors our young children will display over the course of their childhood, but biting—which not only can leave marks, bruises, and break the skin, but also freaking hurts—is one we all hope our kids will never adopt. Unfortunately, there’s a fairly good chance they’ll chomp down on…Read more...

The emerging debate over whether care is infrastructure isn’t new or surprising. The question “what is infrastructure?” was triggered by President Biden’s announcement that the American Jobs Plan includes a $400 billion investment to expand Medicaid coverage of home and community-based services for people with…Read more...

In addition to a Super Moon and warming spring air, April comes with tidings of space rocks. Beginning April 16, Earth will traverse the tail of the comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, which will see the Lyrid meteor shower streak across the night sky. Of course, this isn’t the same as glancing upwards to witness the looming…Read more...

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If you’ve ever asked yourself if would be more correct to say, “Since I don’t feel well, I shouldn’t go to work today,” or “I shouldn’t go to work today because I don’t feel well,” you’ve come to the right place. Since and because are another of those pairs of English words that seem like synonyms, but we’ve sensed…Read more...

Home renovation and real estate shows almost always paint backyard pools in a positive light, but they come with significant maintenance, repair, and insurance costs that you may not think about when you’re buying a home. Whether you plan to install a pool—which is a bad idea if you’re trying to make your money back…Read more...

Wouldn’t it be lovely if you could browse the web without having to worry about your actions and activities being tracked, dumped into a profile, and sold to marketers so they can more effectively target you with ads for stuff that might interest you slightly more than other stuff?Read more...

Malta wants to cover most of your hotel expenses this summer, as they’re offering a cash handout worth up to $238 if you stay in the country’s hotels for at least three days. Since the Mediterranean archipelago is expected to open up most of its borders by June 1, the tourism ministry is hoping to get the jump on the…Read more...

Most hard-boiled egg recipes will tell you to cover your eggs with cold water, bring them to a boil, then cover and move them off the heat for 12 minutes or so. In my experience, this has always resulted in eggs that are impossible to peel.Read more...

An apartment walkthrough is like a job interview. You get the chance to view the space, while the super or landlord gets to see if you seem like a good tenant. And just like at a job interview, asking questions during your walkthrough is vital. There are definitely a few things the landlord or property manager …Read more...

This one goes out to the beginner-ish lifters out there who squat and bench, but never feel quite as stable as the experienced lifter in the next rack over. While your form might need a bit of work (and you could probably benefit from squat shoes), there’s another thing you’ve probably overlooked: the height of the…Read more...

People “know” meat comes from animals, but sometimes it’s easy to forget just how complex those animals are. A cow’s diet, living conditions, and lifespan can all have an effect on how steaks, roasts, or any other cut reacts to heat, and one way you can predict the outcome is by understanding the different USDA beef…Read more...

The past year has inundated us with so many horrors—untold lives needlessly lost to a virus allowed to proliferate unchecked, so many others forever damaged by the ongoing pandemic of racism, not to mention the ever-present specters of economic uncertainty and looming climate disaster—I won’t fault you if you’ve…Read more...

Swapping from iOS to Android is much easier if you’re already familiar with the Android experience, but going hands-on with an Android device before you buy is difficult—especially these days. Luckily, Samsung New Zealand recently created iTest, a tiny web app for iPhone that includes everything curious iOS users…Read more...

With a new month comes fresh opportunity to experience the full moon you may have been too nonchalant to witness four weeks ago. This month, the forthcoming celestial wonder will brighten skies and presumably streak across Instagram feeds, as the pink Super Moon emerges again on April 26, about a year and six weeks…Read more...

It’s fair to assume that most parents have felt despair at some point during the past year over what our children have been missing out on. Little kids missed a lot of basic socialization, or a “real” school experience. Pre-teens, who were already in the midst of desperately trying to figure out their place in the…Read more...

It’s Monday and time for Ask Kotaku, the weekly feature in which Kotaku-ites deliberate on a single burning question. Then, we ask your take.Read more...

You don’t need a fancy app to shut down your computer at a certain time in Windows 10, but having one on hand doesn’t hurt. A quick line dropped into your Command Prompt is usually all you need to have your system automatically shut down after a set time period has elapsed, but you can also grab an app that does all…Read more...