Lifehacker

Since Minneapolis police officers killed George Floyd on May 25, ongoing demonstrations have taken place in all 50 states. And while thousands of people have participated, many others—who would have otherwise joined the protests—have stayed at home because we’re also in the midst of a global pandemic. But that doesn’t…Read more...

A big sale on Star Wars comics, Sonic the Hedgehog in 4k, a solid mechanical keyboard for $40, one super bright garage light, and more take the lead on Saturday’s best deals.

I imagine I am a street sweeper.Read more...

Earlier this week, I created a post I thought would create a space and a moment for black people to state exactly what they need right now from their white allies. We are grieving. Our mental health is being continuously shaken in the midst of trauma brought on by police misconduct, the violence of white vigilantes…Read more...

When you experience a problem with an Amazon order and need to make a return or request a refund, you probably turn to the site’s live customer support representatives for help. Don’t. Instead, hit up Amazon’s automated chatbot, which can get you near-instant refunds or schedule returns without wasting any of your…Read more...

On Wednesday, for the first time since March 12, NYC reported no new deaths from COVID-19. To put that number into perspective, during the peak in mid-April, NYC reported an average of 500 deaths a day. This is encouraging news, and worth celebrating. Preventative measures—closing businesses, the public adopting…Read more...

Protests get shit done. If you celebrate Independence Day, Pride or Martin Luther King Day, you know that public demonstrations, even riots, have forced change where other means could not. Earlier this week we shared with you five demonstrations that changed history; today let’s talk about what’s happening now.Read more...

Abolishing the police—or at the very least, significantly defunding them, to the point they are only a minimal presence in our communities—might sound like a radical and far-fetched solution to systemic police violence. Who would you call if someone stole your car or broke into your house? What if you were a victim of…Read more...

Earlier this week, I made a jar of pickled cherries, and I found them to be pleasing. They are good on cheese plates and they are good in salads, but they absolutely excel in a coupe full of alcohol. The easy move is to plop one in a Manhattan. The expert move is to smash them into some gin.Read more...

Android: If you’re in a situation where you need to fire off a quick message to a friend or loved one because shit is about to hit the proverbial fan, don’t waste time. By the time it takes you to get out your phone, authenticate in with a PIN or passcode, pull up your messaging app, and start typing out a message,…Read more...

iOS: It’s easy to find guides on blurring or removing photo backgrounds online, but almost all of them require a desktop and image editing software. iOS users, however, can do it right on their phones using the PhotoRoom app.

It’s important to know your rights when attending a protest. In the video above, we speak with lawyer Maryanne Kaishian, a senior staff attorney at Brooklyn Defender Services, about the correct steps to take if you find yourself being arrested at a protest.Read more...

Even if your gym is reopening, it’s still safest to stay home when you can, so we’re going to dedicate this month to DIY workout equipment. Today: the humble paper plate.Read more...

If your boredom-fighting activities during the first few weeks of sheltering in place included major decluttering efforts, you know what the later weeks have meant: Having to look at piles of all your ready-to-purge donations sitting around your house, waiting for thrift stores and donation centers to reopen.Read more...

If you took required minimum distributions from your traditional IRA or 401(k) in 2020, you might be able to put them back in. The CARES Act allows retirees to waive both 2020 required minimum distributions (RMDs) and any 2019 RMDs due by April 1, 2020 for individuals who turned 70.5 in 2019. That means that if you…Read more...

I make a cocktail every Friday morning, not because I need one, but because my job demands it. (I live on the west coast you see; getting a cocktail column up by 3 p.m. in New York means the photo shoot has to happen before noon Pacific time.) I always take a sip (or three) to verify I like the drink, then stick the…Read more...

In contrast to the gloom that has hovered over the economy since the coronavirus pandemic began, the nation’s employment status actually improved in May, according to the jobs report released today. The unemployment rate dropped to 13.3%, and 2.5 million jobs were added to payrolls. That means April’s unemployment…Read more...

As the continued protests over police brutality against black Americans place a renewed focus on the importance of elevating the voices of black writers, artists, thinkers and creators, the Criterion Channel is making it free to view a raft of films from black creators and centering black lives.

As a lifelong New Yorker, I know what the perfect bagel is. (It’s an everything bagel.) I know how it should be prepared. (Lightly toasted, but not hot; you don’t want the cream cheese to melt, that’s disgusting.) And I know what should go on it: (plain) cream cheese, thinly sliced lox, a slice of tomato if it’s in…Read more...

I love a good scavenger hunt—just not when the object of the search is “photos I wanted to keep on my device forever, but that I now can’t find.” While your phone should be pretty smart about what happens when you remove photos from folders or delete folders or batches of photos, sometimes the entire process can be a…Read more...

This week, the New York Times chose to publish a deeply problematic and dangerous op-ed by Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton in which he advocated for the use of military force against protesters. As so many journalists have noted, the decision to run this piece, without context, without fact-checking Cotton’s many…Read more...

Portable cell phone battery chargers have saved my bacon more than once while traveling. From overtaxing my iPhone taking vacation pictures to relying on Google Maps to get me where I’m going in a car without an aux port, there are times that low battery warning would trigger a major anxiety attack were I out and…Read more...

As protests against racial injustice and police brutality continue around the country, you may have heard calls to support black-owned businesses. The pandemic and related economic shutdowns have led to a difficult few months for businesses nationwide. And your spending, as you venture back out into your community,…Read more...

Just like turning off your phone’s GPS or limiting what data you share with Google, people have a right to digital privacy, but the built-in facial recognition algorithms on sites like Facebook or apps like Google Photos actively work against our digital autonomy.Read more...

Looking for something to watch tonight? Every afternoon we’re hunting down and highlighting the best viewing options around.

A layer of fat on and around your food is key if you wish to keep it from getting stuck on grill grates, particularly if that food is something lean and delicate like fish or shrimp. Oil is a fine solution to this problem, I guess. But I think mayo reigns supreme.Read more...

Right now is an incredibly difficult and emotional time in our nation and around the world. The countless deaths of black people at the hands of the police and others is a constant reminder of just how far we have to go as a society, in seeing everyone as equal and worthy of the same things in life—including the right…Read more...

If you tend to have cash lingering in your medical Flexible Spending Account (FSA) at the end of the year, you don’t have to wait until December to start spending it. You can use it to buy first aid supplies now, and consider donating them to groups that organize medical support for protesters.Read more...

The new Windows 10 Version 2004 update is slowly rolling out to compatabile devices, though some users will be waiting for it a little longer. The update brings several new features to the OS, including an all-new version of Microsoft’s digital assistant, Cortana, whether you like it or not.Read more...

Now that more and more states are reopening, job seekers might find themselves in the position of having to decide how to approach an in-person job interview. Should you wear a mask? Should you avoid shaking hands? Should you attempt to stay at least six feet away from your interviewers?Read more...

Recent displays of police violence against members of the public, whether the recent deaths of George Floyd and Breona Taylor at the hands of officers or the many demonstrations of brutality against peaceful protesters, it’s becoming painfully obvious that the problem is systemic, and that it will take a comprehensive…Read more...

It will probably shock you to find out that I do not care much for the prepackaged snack cake, be it from Hostess or the small Debra. I have no use for a Sno Ball, I didn’t try a Twinkie until I was 25 and the charms of the Zebra Cake (my family’s favorite) have always eluded me. The only snack cake that ever mattered…Read more...

There are lots of different budgeting methods you can try to determine the best way to manage your money. But while budgeting guides might mention those methods or provide broad categories on which to focus, they don’t always make it easy to see how your budget will actually look.Read more...

A police department’s use-of-force policies can have a huge impact on the number of people they end up killing. The people at Campaign Zero have identified the eight most important policies that cities can start putting in place right away, and they have built a tool so you can look up where your city stands on each.

Two months after my kids’ schools shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, I feel no shame in saying that the challenges of managing working from home while homeschooling a 3-year-old and an 8-year-old have wrought havoc on our parenting routines. I am slightly ashamed, however, about what that has meant for my…Read more...

Facebook has a brand-new tool for deleting old posts, but it’s not very good. Not only is it unavailable on Facebook’s desktop site—because rollouts—but even if it was, there are much better tools you can use right now to delete your old Facebook posts without deleting Facebook itself.Read more...

The COVID-19 pandemic has meant dealing with challenges most people never thought they’d face: toilet paper shortages, universal homeschooling and a novel virus that has killed more than 100,000 Americans in less than three months. It has also changed the caregiving landscape dramatically. Approximately 39.8 million…Read more...

Addressing police violence is a complicated problem, requiring a number of solutions. When it comes to holding police officers accountable, your local prosecutor plays a critical role. A prosecutor’s job is to represent local, state or federal governments in court, help investigate crime, and decide whether to charge…Read more...

So you’ve been wanting to work on your own car more and heard “one of the best tools is a repair manual.” True, but they’re never as easy as Lego instructions. Today I’ve got some tips on getting the most out of a dense, boring car manual so you can use one more effectively.

Grilling is a fairly straightforward cooking method—you put the food over hot coals or literal fire, and you leave it there to cook—and yet people still find ways to make it very complicated (though, admittedly, delicious). But you know what’s not complicated and still very delicious? Spam.Read more...

Privileges are the benefits and advantages you have over someone else because of your gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, health, level of education, physical ability, and/or socioeconomic level. It’s important to be aware of the benefits and advantages you have in order to be able to help those who do not…Read more...

Do you know what Chrome’s Incognito mode does with your browser’s data? If not, it’s worth a refresher, because it seems some users have been operating under the wrong impression.Read more...

If you’ve never been hospitalized, you might think of the day a patient leaves the hospital as a singular event in their recovery: a sign that they are either fully recovered from their illness, ailment or injury, or are very close to it. But an extended stay in the hospital takes its own toll, often resulting in what…Read more...

There are lots of organizations that need funding to combat police brutality and racial injustice right now. We’ve put together a list of options, and you’ve surely seen calls to donate to various groups on your social media feeds. But once you’ve chosen a worthy organization to which you’d like to donate, there’s an…Read more...

As we become more aware of the racial injustices happening in the present, it’s also important to educate ourselves about the past and how it impacts where we are. Below is a list of books that look at how different aspects of structural and institutionalized racism have affected the black community.

Avoiding large gatherings is part of how we’ve tried to stay safe for the past few months, but protests have something in common with hospital services and (apparently) takeout margaritas: They’re essential to our well-being as a society.Read more...

Owners of Google Pixel Androids are getting a handful of new features, including updates to your device’s Personal Safety app and more. In addition, Personal Safety is now supported on all Pixel smartphones from the Pixel 2 on up, not just the Pixel 4. The problem? Google has made enabling Personal Safety a mess.Read more...

Looking for something to watch tonight? Every afternoon we’re hunting down and highlighting the best viewing options around.

If you’ve been looking for a way to talk to your children about racism and the protests that are happening across the United States but are at a loss for words, Big Bird, Elmo and other Sesame Street favorites are here to help. CNN and Sesame Street are partnering up for another town hall event—this time about…Read more...

There are many free group video chat and teleconferencing apps out there. Plenty of them tout their privacy and security features. Just because they keep certain communications off-limits to other users or potential hackers doesn’t mean your conversations are protected from the companies themselves, nor the other…Read more...