Lifehacker

There are lots of ways to pass the time right now. You could read more books. Watch more TV. Take longer family walks after dinner. Or—or—you could build paper models of the computers you grew up with so your kids can see (and appreciate, dammit!) how far technology has come and how lucky they are, what with their…Read more...

The latest report on the state of economy has that dreaded word popping up again: recession.

Staying safe during a pandemic means having to weigh each and every trip out of the house, as well as assess whether any possible emergency is worth risking exposure. If you are in a position where you need a new pair of eyeglasses or extra pairs of contacts, but your prescription has expired, online eye exams are a…Read more...

Your Instagram stories disappear from your feed after 24 hours, but they’re not lost and gone forever: They’re actually saved to a private part of your profile, and you can go back and view or reshare them at any time. Here’s how to do it.Read more...

I am having to get a little creative with my snacks recently. Instead of traipsing to the store whenever a craving strikes, I have to make do with whatever I have at home. Last night, I had to make do with six olives and a few bits of gruyere.Read more...

While we hope you are getting along with the people in your home right now, but the truth is that in tight quarters and trying times, you may need to broach a sensitive topic.Read more...

At this point in the pandemic, your kids are likely missing school and you’re definitely missing the time when your kids used to go to school. The days are all blending together now, and school was able to switch things up in a way we couldn’t fully appreciate before. But you can take a page from your school’s Keep…Read more...

The tweet came late on Monday afternoon, at a time that, in the World Before, would have been somewhere near the end of the work day; it now arrived in the hazy hours of Blursday the someteenth of whatever the hell month it is. (Marpril?)Read more...

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I confess, I’m so fatigued by all things quarantine, I’ve let my guard down. I find myself not caring very much about the services I use to stay connected to my friends—and that’s not ideal, because some video chat apps take security and privacy much more seriously than others.Read more...

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Although most of us aren’t getting on flights, taking road trips or checking into hotels for the time being, we can still make use of all of the travel accessories we’ve collected to make our lives easier on our journeys.

Physical distancing is necessary to keep our communities safe and healthy, yeah, but it sure is making us all a lot lonelier. Yes, we’re flattening the curve—and that’s crucially important—but it’s hard to cut ourselves off from our friends and family for weeks at a time. Zoom calls are simply no replacement for…Read more...

Now that the “new normal” has started feeling, well, normal, how can we ensure we’re still remaining vigilant with our vital public health behaviors? Hand-washing, physical distancing, and mask wearing aren’t going to be less important any time soon, but familiarity can breed laziness, and when it comes to the…Read more...

While most credit card issuers have announced programs to aid consumers having trouble paying their bills during the coronavirus pandemic, it’s far from a universal free pass. Customers need to contact their card issuer to make a case for why they’re encountering an economic hardship; then the creditor needs to offer…Read more...

With our usual systems of social interaction dismantled, people are looking for ways to connect, help and show affection—whether that be via fresh baked goods, vegetables from their garden, pre-batched cocktails or hand-sewn masks. There’s a cooperative generosity in the air right now and I, for one, am really…Read more...

Working out is one of the better ways to stay busy: it’s productive, fills your time, and can give you a chance to make absolutely insufferable posts online. Plus, there’s a medical purpose as well: by being physically active, you can get some of those “endorphins” I’ve heard so much about.

If you’re not using your birth control pills right now, you can save unused pill packs for later. Here’s what you need to know:Read more...

The most theatrical of our kids may be tiring of the simple one-person plays and puppet shows they’ve been performing in the living room. Maybe they had a role in the school’s spring musical before everything—including their would-be rehearsals and performances—shut down. Or maybe they’re just bored and are looking…Read more...

If you’ve been wondering why the free space on your Mac keeps getting smaller, and smaller, and smaller—even if you haven’t been using your Mac all that much—there’s a quirky bug with Apple’s Image Capture app that could be to blame.Read more...

Another day means another night of figuring out what to watch.

Do you feel like you should be mad at Shake Shack or Potbelly Sandwich Shop right now, but you can’t explain exactly they did wrong?Read more...

“They would’ve died anyway.” These past few weeks, an argument has gained prevalence in social media spheres that the death of a person with underlying conditions who has been infected with COVID-19 shouldn’t “count” as a COVID-19 death. Yes, fatal cases of COVID-19 are more common among people with conditions like…Read more...

If you search the phrase “mandoline slicer” on Twitter, you will see a fair amount of ads, a few tweets praising it as a “game changer” and many of tales of woe and dismemberment. Mandolines are not a kitchen toy, you see, they are a kitchen weapon.Read more...

There has been a lot of talk lately about a few COVID-19 studies that use antibody testing to estimate the prevalence of infection across the population. In theory, antibody tests detect evidence that a person has already had and recovered from COVID-19, which, given the lack of available testing while people are…Read more...

You’ve heard about hydroxychloroquine, but do you know about Remdesivir, Roivant, and Athersys? If you’re keeping an eye on a possible vaccine, do you know there are more than a dozen vaccine candidates that are either doing trials now or hoping to start soon? This tracker from healthcare news outlet STAT has you…Read more...

Our family wall calendar for the month of March is a wee bit haunting. While we each have our own systems for tracking personal appointments or assignments, the calendar that hangs in our kitchen is the way we keep track of the things all three of us need to know. Soccer practices and basketball games. Out-of-town…Read more...

Does physical distancing have you feeling the blahs? We’re reviving our creative instincts this week with help from Jerry Saltz, New York Magazine’s senior art critic and author of the New York Times bestseller How to Be An Artist. Hear Jerry talk about his secrets to finding inspiration in these isolating times, as…Read more...

I’m not saying I’m going to be the next Deadmau5, but the Library of Congress’ new “Citizen DJ” web app is pretty awesome to play around with—even if you don’t think you’ll use any of the sick beats it can create.

May is just a few days away, and when it arrives, a ton of new content on HBO Now arrives with it.Read more...

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If you have access to a treadmill or live in an area where you can run without worrying about too many people around, then you’ve probably thought about adding running to your pandemic workout routine. For some of us, that means dusting off our old running shoes. For others, that might mean buying their first pair.…Read more...

The second-generation Pixel Buds are finally here. While most will still have to wait for their order to show up from Google’s online store—since, y’know, most physical stores are currently shut down—you can prepare for them by downloading the just-launched Pixel Buds app right now.Read more...

The simple task of grocery shopping has become one of the most stressful—yet unavoidable—activities we all need to figure out during the coronavirus pandemic. For people who can’t get to the store easily, the problem is even more complex—especially as many delivery services warn of long wait times.Read more...

The reality is that most of us are living through 2020 from behind a screen, whether it’s a phone or a laptop. Our jobs are virtual. Our children’s education is online. Even birthdays and dating are now a matter of booting up video chat. It only follows that our hobbies are following suit—certainly, and by necessity,…Read more...

I’ve been thinking about Disney World a lot these days. Before the pandemic hit, my husband and I were in the very early stages of planning a trip there with our nine-year-son this fall. How innocent we were, way back in February, when standing in long lines with strangers and touching handrails all day seemed like a…Read more...

I am not a person who goes out for brunch very often but, as soon as something is taken away from me, I desire it. Crappy bottomless mimosas, overpriced egg dishes, and waiting in line (with other people!) all sound pretty appealing at the moment, as do piles of bougie pancakes.Read more...

It’s the start of a new week, which means it’s time to start looking for new things to watch.

“Quarantine” was never quite right. “Reopening” isn’t an accurate term either. What we’re going through as a society is unprecedented, and we do not have the words to describe it. I think that’s because we can’t name that which we can barely wrap our minds around.Read more...

Windows: The best things in life are free, right? Fun as it is to get some extra Wendy’s nuggets, I much prefer free things that can give me 100+ hours of entertainment. And this is why I’m thrilled to see that everyone can score a free copy of the critically acclaimed (and addictive) Total War: Shogun 2, a game that…Read more...

Google is resurrecting older Google Doodle games to entertain us while we’re all stuck indoors. For the next two weeks, the search giant plans to highlight older popular Doodles as its featured Doodle of the day. But if you don’t mind doing a little digging, you can find plenty of games in Google’s archive, too.Read more...

Ever been so stressed out that making the smallest decision feels exhausting? Under those circumstances, the thought of making a big decision could make you feel frozen in place, unable to act at all.Read more...

Now that we’ve all been staying home for a while, chances are good that you or a family member or friend has marked at least one special occasion that, in the Before Times, would’ve been celebrated with a party or a night out: A nice round birthday. A fancy anniversary dinner. A bachelorette party. Obviously, such…Read more...

If anyone was going to be the best at social distancing while also simultaneously keeping all their friends happy and connected, it would be Leslie Knope.

Baking sourdough bread has become a cliché of non-essential privilege in the social isolation era. It’s a time-consuming stay-at-home endeavor that somehow every blogger on my news feed has decided to post about, and I’ve mocked it. But after baking a loaf based solely on advice from a viral tweet and its tweeter, I…Read more...

Hands up if you’ve hurt yourself doing something stupid during a home workout. I, for one, smacked my hand into the ceiling-mounted garage door opener while following along with a dance workout. And twice now I’ve had a dumbbell fall apart mid-lift because I hadn’t tightened the collars enough.Read more...

There’s plenty of anxiety to go around these days, and unfortunately, it’s not only reserved for the grown-ups in the home. Kids can get anxious in even the best of times, let alone when they’re stuck at home in the middle of a pandemic, distanced from their friends and trying to keep up with their virtual school…Read more...

Windows: You’ve seen the dreaded bars before—that fun little graphic that indicates the strength of your wireless connection. While full bars mean you’re probably getting good wifi speed, you’ve also probably encountered situations where the bars aren’t quite so full—and your wireless connection is terrible.Read more...

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Friday marks the beginning of a new month, which means we’re about to get an influx of new additions to Netflix just in time for the weekend.