Lifehacker

I really have no allegiance to any airline aside from the one that will take the least of my money, and even then, I often realize I am wrong (Frontier: fuck you!!). BUT, I always try my luck at the seasonal Southwest sale, that magical time of year (that seems to come at least once a month, now that I think about…Read more...

One of the best parts about dogs is how affectionate they can be. It’s almost like they can sense when we’re hurt or feeling down, and then try to help us with extra snuggles or kisses. But while well-intentioned, those kisses—well, licks—may not always be good for your health.

For former Jezebel staffer Ellie Shechet, it is nearly always time to freak out. Doom—personal, professional, planetary—awaits, beckoning at the wings. No one has exactly asked for her advice, but we gave her a column anyway. Advice for the End of the World is a limited edition advice column for catastrophic thinkers,…Read more...

Ads for apps like Stash, Acorns and Robinhood make it look easy to start investing with just a few dollars. But microinvesting newbies should be aware that using these apps to try to make a few extra bucks could leave you with some extra paperwork come tax season.Read more...

Anker first joined in the robotic vacuum arms race about three years ago, and has come out with new, iterative improvements every few months since (of which our readers have purchased thousands). Each new Anker (and later Eufy) RoboVac offered more powerful suction, a thinner profile, Wi-Fi support, or some…Read more...

I am becoming increasingly concerned—alarmed, even—that my favorite food is cottage cheese. It’s an excellent, easy breakfast, makes a wonderful dip when whipped, and—I have just now discovered—is the secret to the fluffiest, sponge-cake-like pancakes.Read more...

Google Assistant has quietly received a major upgrade to its messaging features, giving the AI helper the ability to read messages from third-party apps.Read more...

When you opened up your 401(k), you were probably presented with a few default options. Maybe your workplace automatically put 3% of your paycheck towards 401(k) contributions, for example. Maybe you were told that the company would match your contributions up to 5%, so you elected to contribute 5% to get that company…Read more...

If you’re a college student with an Amazon Prime Student account, now you can add Amazon Music Unlimited to that membership for an additional $.99 a month.

Two rockets carrying large communications satellites are scheduled to launch today within a couple of hours of each other, first from South America and then from North America. You can watch each one go up via livestream coverage.Read more...

“You don’t have to be so angry,” I wish I could tell myself at 16. “Get a real job and stick with it,” I wish I could tell myself at 23. You can’t tell your younger self what you know now. But you can give advice to everyone of the same age. And you can read what other people wish they’d known at your current age: at…Read more...

One of the few perks you might be able to get with your cell phone subscription is free access to paid-for versions of Spotify, Apple Music, and other services—typically offered alongside a carrier’s unlimited data plans. Sure, these plans are usually the most expensive a carrier offers, but getting a free…Read more...

Making pastry in the summer means fighting an uphill battle against the laws of thermodynamics. Even when you’ve taken every possible precaution to keep your ingredients—and your tools—nice and cold, pie dough is still liable to melt the second it hits your counter.Read more...

If you find a good deal for a flight on an unfamiliar booking website, don’t press the “check out” button just yet. This week, one family shared their experience booking a flight through a website claiming to be affiliated with Delta, which turned out to be a scam. In the process, the family lost almost $300.Read more...

I woke up in a van in a Walmart parking lot in Phoenix, certain that I was choking.Read more...

Since the mid-1990s, parents have been clipping small rectangular “Box Top” symbols from the tops of our Cheerios, Lucky Charms and Ziplock boxes. We stash them away in our junk drawers, largely unforgotten, until 1. we feel like we finally have enough to bundle up and send in to our kid’s school or 2. we clean out…Read more...

A good grape is juicy, sweet (with just a touch of tartness), and firm. Once a grape starts to get mushy, it becomes a bad grape. Usually I deal with bad grapes by roasting them, but that maneuver is less appealing in the summer months, especially when you can firm them up in the freezer.Read more...

How much do you pay for your health insurance? If you only think about your health insurance costs in terms of the monthly premiums, you’re leaving out a lot of potential expenses.Read more...

A class-action settlement website is never going to win an award for being the most polished. These sites are often so rudimentary compared to the slick experience you had when you paid for a company’s goods or services that you might doubt you’re even in the right place. Can you trust it with your personal…Read more...

To board an American Airlines flight before any other passenger, you’ll have to spend at least $45,000—at least, that’s the rumor surrounding the airline’s highest elite status of “Concierge Key” members, who are brought in on a secret, invitation-only basis⁠. (With the status, passengers also earn perks like access…Read more...

When your wifi is bad, you know it—oh, do you know it. And getting it working well again isn’t always as simple as unplugging and replugging your router, one of our favorite troubleshooting techniques for all things technological.

Twitter users recently admitted to the most basic things they never learned to do: blow up a balloon, whistle, wink, snap their fingers. Some people can’t tie their shoes or unscrew a cap without reciting a mnemonic. Some can’t tell time. Some could get lost in a hallway. We all skipped a day of basic-life-skill…Read more...

If you’ve ever thought about having kids, I’m sure nothing you read and no one you talked to about it promised you it would be cheap. Quick reminder: It costs an estimated $233,610 to raise a child through age 17, according to government data.Read more...

Amazon, Alexa and Shaquille O’Neal are teaming up this month to donate backpacks filled with school supplies to kids in need. If you have an Alexa in your home, you can say, “Alexa, Donate to Happy School Year” to participate.Read more...

Welcome to Tech Etiquette, a new advice column from Lifehacker, wherein we try to adjudicate the lawless terrain of the so-called “digital age.” Everyone’s got an opinion about everyone else’s terrible tech manners: how you should behave online, when and where it’s okay to use your phone, which emoji are acceptable at…Read more...

Almost every weekend this year, I’ve ended up at the movies. In a relentless news environment, it’s nice to head over to the local multiplex, plop down, and turn off the rest of the world for a couple of hours. Sadly, I’ve noticed a disturbing trend: Even there, before the greatest spectacle that Hollywood can…Read more...

We can control so many devices through voice interactions with digital assistants like Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant. This can be incredibly convenient, but it can also be nerve-wracking, knowing that technology companies now possess recordings of your voice and interactions.Read more...

No one can recognize our relentless misuse of the English language quite like an editor. Misplace a modifier, and your editor will (hopefully) let you know. Over-use intensifiers such as “very,” “just,” and “really,” and your editor will tell you that you’re really just not doing your writing any favors. My editor…Read more...

Tuesday is “National Root Beer Float Day.” Did we need a day to celebrate the root beer float? Probably not. But since we have one, we might as well use it to score some free root beer.

After sending interest rates climbing over the past few years, the Federal Reserve cut the federal funds rate last week for the first time since 2008. The move has financial analysts atwitter–but what does it mean for you?

Once, YouTube thumbnails actually resembled the videos they advertised. Once, the recommended videos list was not a sensory overload of Photoshopped headshots and graphic overlays where every thumbnail looks like an Epic Rap Battle of History. You can return to that time, and replace the clickbaity thumbnails with…Read more...

Windows: Most gamers love updating their graphics card’s drivers to score the best performance for their favorite titles. But even if you’re a “filthy casual,” you’re going to want to make sure your system’s Nvidia drivers are up to date. Nvidia recently found a few critical vulnerabilities in its display driver that…Read more...

We all think we’re experts at “doing nothing,” but there’s a difference between numbing out by staring at Facebook and truly letting your mind rest. There are concrete benefits to doing absolutely nothing—like actually being present in your life and noticing what’s around you. To help us constructively veg out, we’ve…Read more...

Over the weekend, a combined 29 people were killed, with dozens of others injured, in mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio. Several politicians including New York rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and presidential candidate and former El Paso congressmember Beto O’Rourke have called for stricter gun laws. “My…Read more...

If your Nintendo Switch is experiencing Joy-Con drift, you might be able to get your Switch repaired for free—and if you’ve already paid to get your Switch repaired, you might be eligible for a refund.Read more...

Last week, online sneaker-trading platform StockX asked its users to reset their passwords due to “recently completed system updates on the StockX platform.” In actuality, the company suffered a large data breach back in May, and only finally came clean about it when pressed by reporters who had access to some of the…Read more...

It’s Monday, which means that you’re probably thinking about what you hope to do differently this week—the habits you want to change, the temptations you want to avoid, and so on. Right?Read more...

There have been plenty of rumors about the upcoming Pixel 4 and 4 XL, which are all but confirmed to be making their first official appearance at the Made by Google 2019 event later this year. One of the most convincing pieces of evidence is that last year’s Pixel 3 and 3 XL phones are currently on sale for $300 less …Read more...

If you haven’t picked up a controller in a while, you might see your kids’ video games as mindless fun, or as their reward for cleaning their room. But video games can be more than that. While immersed in a virtual world, children can learn how to solve complex problems—a skill they’ll need long after they run out of…Read more...

Last week, the issue of gun control took center stage among the Democratic presidential candidates at the Detroit debates and in the wake of the Gilroy, California and Brownsville, Brooklyn shootings (and days before shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio over the weekend). Gun violence—and inadequate gun…Read more...

VLC is easily one of our favorite media players (and yours too). While it can handle nearly every movie you throw at it, it can also do so much more. You don’t need to be a power user to understand all of its incredible, built-in features; you just need to know they exist. And we’re happy to show you everything…Read more...

Some cities know what food they’re good at, and they’re proud of it. You don’t visit New York without eating a bagel, or Paris without a croissant, or L.A. without tacos. Some local foods are more infamous than famous: Philadelphia’s cheese steak, Chicago’s deep dish pizza. But anyone can tell you what food you have…Read more...

I am counting down the seconds until I can watch The Family, a documentary about the secretive D.C. ministry whose influence penetrates the highest reaches of government. The group puts on the National Prayer Breakfast each year, but otherwise operates in the shadows, and if there is one thing I love it’s an…Read more...

Cubii Jr. Under-Desk Elliptical (Purple, Royal Blue, and Turquoise) | $185 | AmazonRead more...

On Wednesday, Samsung is expected to unveil the Galaxy Note 10, the next generation of its popular stylus-wielding smartphone.

I’m a big fan of buying gift cards for myself.

Watching videos on YouTube can be entertaining, but watching one video can quickly turn into watch fifty if you’re not careful. YouTube Rabbit Hole is an extension that can help.

After a Guardian story revealed that Apple uses human contractors to review some of its Siri recordings this week, Apple made the decision to temporarily suspend the program. Google followed suit with its virtual assistant, and now Amazon has done the same for Alexa—except instead of ditching the human review it’s…Read more...

If you use Poshmark, then it’s time to change your password.

Getting glasses used to be pretty straightforward: if you couldn’t see the blackboard in school or road signs when driving (or other equally far-away things), you went to the eye doctor, took a test and then got glasses if you needed them. But now that so much of our time is spent staring at screens—whether it’s our…Read more...