Lifehacker

Tuesday’s Best Deals | Kinja Deals

Google now lets you test Stadia Pro for 30 minutes, no payment information required. That’s not a lot of time, but it’s great to be able to see if you like the streaming service without needing to worry about cancelling a free trial that will otherwise automatically convert into a paid subscription. But with such a…Read more...

If only the holidays could last throughout the winter months—the twinkling lights and Christmas cookies make the cold and dark so much more bearable. For this reason, I once kept my tree up until March—I know, I know, and I’m the first to admit that that was a terrible idea. But when is the best time to take down your…Read more...

Who would have thought that one of the more useful troubleshooting tools in Windows 10—good ol’ chkdsk—would itself become wrapped up in a paralyzing bug that could brick your PC. Not me, that’s for sure, given the “Check Disk” command is typically used to scan for and fix errors with your file system (and related…Read more...

Congress passed a second COVID-19 relief bill Monday, which includes one-time direct payments that total up to $600 per individual. But how soon will people receive their checks? Here’s what you need to know about direct payments and when you’ll receive them.Read more...

A simple walk in the woods can be a sensory treat: in addition to everything you see, there’s also the feel of the ground under you, the sounds of the birds, the wind in the branches.Read more...

Spanish tortillas—aka eggs stuffed with potatoes and other things—are not difficult to make, especially if you cheat and use potato chips, but they are time-consuming. They take about half an hour to assemble and cook, and they are usually quite large. This is not the best news if you’re a single person with limited…Read more...

Even as life on Earth continues to get worse, cool stuff is happening in space. If you happened to miss the great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn last night, the heavens have absolved you for being remiss, and given you something else to look at: The Ursid Meteor Shower will peak tonight in the Northern Hemisphere.

2021 is around the corner, and a vaccine is on the way—but for now, we’re stuck inside. It’s time to seek out the shows that can help you set your intentions for the new year.

Philips Hue Smart Bulb 3 Pack | $90 | Best BuyRead more...

As we come within a stone’s throw of one year since all non-dickheaded people began covering their blowholes and sequestering themselves for the greater good, many have started to wonder what the post-vaccine world will look like when our pale bodies trundle back into the sun, or probably more likely the darkened…Read more...

Considering it’s one of the biggest-selling games of the year, Cyberpunk 2077 is a mess. It might run well on your PC, if you have good enough specs, but there are still plenty of game-breaking bugs to deal with. One of the worst can corrupt your save file without warning, leading to hours of lost gameplay.Read more...

We bought a lot of new stuff in 2020: toilet paper, workout app subscriptions, sourdough starters, and masks that go with every outfit.Read more...

All year, parents have been worried about the longterm effects this pandemic will have on our kids, and rightfully so: Their mental health, their physical health, and their academic and social skills have probably all taken a hit as schools closed and activities they love were cancelled and their friendships had to…Read more...

I love ham. When I was nine years old, my parents went away for the night on Boxing Day; when they returned, they found that someone had eaten most of a 20-pound leg of ham. I didn’t even understand how to slice it properly. I just shaved it from the top down. (One could say that I was ham-fisted in my approach.) In…Read more...

As much as you might hope your internet connection, games, and services will be there for you when you need them, guess what? Shit breaks. Facebook goes down. Gmail stops delivering. Slack pushes everyone offline and into (blissful) workplace silence. And every time this happens, I think to myself: “Why didn’t I have…Read more...

Ibanez AEG50N Acoustic Electric Guitar | $300 | AdoramaRead more...

If you play games on PC or Xbox consoles, consider subscribing to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. You’ll get access to a massive library of 100-plus Xbox and Windows PC games, members-only discounts, and cloud streaming to Android devices (and, in 2021, on desktop, iOS, and Xbox consoles) for $15 a month. That’s an…Read more...

As theaters remain closed or operating at a limited capacity, the ongoing pandemic has forced entertainment giants from Warner Bros. to Disney to radically rethink their movie release strategies. Disney has already dropped its one-time spring tentpole Mulan onto Disney+ for a $30 upcharge, but on Christmas day, Warner…Read more...

A new variant of the coronavirus was discovered in the UK, and scientists think it may be more infectious than the more other lineages of the virus that are more common across the world. So how big a deal is this? The short answer: We don’t entirely know yet.Read more...

You probably spent a lot of thought on choosing your running shoes, but what about your socks? They go through just as many miles and footsteps as their more visible sole (ha) mates, and they can make or break your comfort on a run.Read more...

This week we’re joined by educator, activist and stand-up comedian Alvin Irby who tells us how we can get our kids into reading. According to Alvin, it all comes down to the development of their “reading identity.” Listen to hear Alvin talk with Jordan and Lifehacker senior health editor (and parent) Beth Skwarecki…Read more...

The open enrollment period has ended, but it’s not too late to sign up for Obamacare coverage in 2021—or at least, not if you live in one of 12 states or Washington, DC. While the regular enrollment period for Affordable Care Act coverage most states expired on Dec. 15, the deadline has been extended for some…Read more...

Samsung has not even announced the Galaxy S21—its not-so-secret future flagship device—yet the smartphone’s wallpapers have already been leaked and are available for download right now.Read more...

Given how relatively common it is for presidents and shady political activist groups to secretly record phone conversations, it makes it seem possibly acceptable. But is it? Turns out the answer is kinda complicated. If you’re thinking of secretly recording a conversation with someone, you should probably read this…Read more...

Christmas is coming soon, very soon, and some of us—I won’t say who—are still scrambling to find gifts for people in our respective bubbles. Food is a good gift, because people like to eat, and cookies, candies, and sweet treats are always welcome. But confectionary and baking can get rather involved and, as I…Read more...

For most people, the winter solstice marks one of the most predictable non-events in the calendar year. It’s usually associated with the onset of a long winter and all the emotional drudgery that comes with it. But the event remains a fixture of our year-end activities because of its millennia-spanning cultural…Read more...

At any stage in life, deciding what you want to “do” with your life can feel fraught. It can come when you’re 18 or when you’re 50, and it’s always a difficult process to work through—especially if a recent life change or job loss has thrown you off a prior path. But as stressful as this time is, it can also be…Read more...

Anker Soundcore Flare 2 | $50 | Best BuyRead more...

We all have our holiday staples, the movies we turn to time and time again. But before you break out Elf for the 42nd time, spend another week trying to convince people Die Hard is a holiday movie, or press your luck with NBC’s version of The Grinch musical (although I wouldn’t), maybe give some of these special…Read more...

Earlier this year, Google launched Camera Go, a stripped-down version of its Camera app for Android Go devices. Android Go phones are entry-level devices with weaker hardware but aggressively affordable prices—usually below $100. Camera Go lacked most of the Android Camera app’s best features at launch, but select…Read more...

For many of us, what began in mid-March as a two-week “remote learning” nightmare slowly but steadily morphed into a months-long experiment in keeping our children progressing in school while staying at home. Sometimes I like to think back on those early weeks—how naive we were; how hard we thought those first days…Read more...

Super Mario 3D All-Stars and an extra 20% off Sephora sale items lead Monday’s best deals.

My favorite part of the holiday season, next to family time and watching every Hallmark movie ever created, is the food. My mom and grandma make homemade kremas (think eggnog, but Haitian and much better) and my sisters and I eat dozens of Christmas cookies, while my dad judges us all for forcing our dogs into…Read more...

After the release of iOS 14.3, I’ve been doing a little more digging into iOS 14, and I stumbled across a little trick I never knew about before, even though I’ve been using iPhones since their 2007 launch. Such is the joy of technology.Read more...

Buckle up everybody, for I am here to defend and exalt turnips. In fact, I’d go so far as to claim that turnips, when mashed, are better than their potato counterparts, and a far more interesting vehicle for gravy. Cooked turnips are firm yet velvety, slightly nutty, and bring a bit more oomph to your holiday spread.…Read more...

Nearly a year into the pandemic, many of those who relied on public transportation to get around in the Before Times have at least considered taking the plunge and getting a car. But it’s not exactly like we’re financially flourishing right now, which makes used cars especially popular this year.

Gone are the days of taking your laptop to a coffee shop and getting your caffeine fix in public while getting work done at the same time. But while those shared, sticky tables aren’t an option at the moment, that doesn’t mean the coffee has gone anywhere.Read more...

If you’ve lived somewhere that counted vendors roasting chestnuts on street corners among its holiday traditions, then you’re already familiar with their comforting aroma. But if your roasted chestnut experience is limited to the Nat King Cole song, you’re in for a treat. (And no, the slimy ones you can buy in pouches…Read more...

Steliron Automatic Hand Sanitizer Mist Dispenser | $19 | SideDealRead more...

Luncia Double-Decker Dish Carrier | $11 | Amazon | Promo code SDDU9S7FRead more...

Are you a fan of video games? Have you ever been told that spending all that time, energy and money on new consoles and games was a waste? Or that you’d never get paid to sit on the couch and play video games all day? Well, it turns out, you sort-of can. That’s right: it’s time for this week’s dream job contest, and…Read more...

The holiday season in New York City is something that people—many (or most) of whom don’t live here—seem to really love. It does make sense: the city’s usual glow is taken to the next level, thanks to holiday lights strung all over the place. Even our buildings dress up for the occasion, including the Empire State…Read more...

We’ve gotten to that point of the holiday season where it feels as though a lot of people have already checked out for the year. Whether they’ve decided to use all their vacation days that piled up throughout the year as vacations were cancelled, or they’re still technically working (but not really), those of us who…Read more...

It pains me to write this, but for every loogie or spit wad I see hocked onto the ground during the pandemic, I fume just a bit more. This is a scourge that predates COVID-19, and it’s so ingrained in our culture to use the sidewalk or street as a personal spittoon that the trend continues unabated, even as people on…Read more...

3 Months Free | Amazon Music UnlimitedRead more...

Last week we did a little test to see how many reps you could do (whether of push-ups or your favorite exercise) and how long you could hold something like a plank. This week, let’s take a look at that classic strength benchmark, the one rep max (1RM).Read more...

We’ve told you before about JustWatch, a service that allows you to search for a movie to discover where it is available for streaming or rental. But JustWatch also offers features to help you find a movie if you aren’t sure what you want to watch—including a new one that lets you search for films and TV shows based…Read more...

Friday’s Best Deals | Kinja Deals

Google search’s new online shopping feature makes buying beauty products online slightly less of a gamble. You can now virtually “try on” beauty products from Google Shopping using professional models or, if you prefer, on your own face—thanks to a little augmented reality magic and your smartphone’s selfie camera.Read more...