Lifehacker

If you’re one of those people who buys a brand-new TV, spends hours straining your back trying to place it in your home entertainment center (or affix it to your wall), and starts watching your favorite show to celebrate... you missed a crucial step. Your television, new or old, comes with a bunch of settings that are…Read more...

If you have money to invest, what’s keeping you from realizing higher gains? Probably time.

Happy weekend, and welcome back to 3-Ingredient Happy Hour, the weekly drink column featuring super simple yet delicious libations. Today we are taking two of my longtime favorite things—ginger and martinis—and combining them to make my new favorite thing.Read more...

Hello all you horsepersons of the Twitter Apocalypse, and welcome to Ask Dr. NerdLove, the only dating advice column that’s the latest competitor in Smash Bros.

If you ate nothing but steak for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, would you die? Get scurvy? Have terrible poops? To be honest, the science isn’t totally clear on this, but we asked some experts anyway. (Spoiler: they think it’s a bad idea.)

Update: This ends tomorrow, so get your workout gear while it’s an extra 20% off.Read more...

When we launched the handstand challenge last week, I confessed that I’m not really comfortable with being upside down—but I hoped to change that. Yesterday I did a handstand against a wall for the first time, and felt strong and stable. I’ll let you in on a few secrets.Read more...

The internet has leveled the playing field for car buyers more than ever, but despite a wealth of useful information out there, we still encounter a ton of misconceptions about buying from a dealership. As a professional car buyer, I’m going to clear up some of the most common ones and hopefully save you some…Read more...

When last we corralled the Lifehacker staff’s Weekly Upgrades, our editors were cutting back on Twitter and Taco Bell, basking in puppy pictures, and finding new ways to cut down on our coffee consumption.Read more...

Hello, and welcome back to Will It Casserole?, the column where I take your delicious concepts and re-imagine them as tasty casserole creations. Today we’re taking one of my favorite courses—the cheese course—and turning into one hot dish.Read more...

Here’s an easy weekend financial task for you: Update your tax withholdings.

Cupcakes are a universal good, and using silicone liners makes for a cleaner, cheaper, and more colorful baking experience. But these little reusable wrappers have a wider range of uses beyond simply baking. They make great mini organizers for all kinds of sortable snacks and toys. You can even poach the perfect egg…Read more...

The Perseid Meteor shower is expected to peak Sunday and Monday evening, which means it will be prime time to catch a glimpse of a falling star (or 20). Over 75 shooting stars are expected to fly by an hour, which means you should be able to catch that glimpse not only with your eyes but also with your camera.

Here’s a dumb shortcut that will come in handy some day. In some apps, ⌘-. does the same thing as the escape key. So if that key is broken, or your stupid Touch Bar is hiding your stupid virtual escape key, or your hands can’t reach the corner of your keyboard, or you just like the ergonomics better, then go for it.

Surprise! You don’t need a Roku device or television to watch a ton of free, ad-supported movies and shows anymore. This week, Roku brought “The Roku Channel” to the web, and it’s free for you to watch from your favorite browser (or select Samsung televisions).

Picture books can be magical for readers of all ages, even adults. But when it comes to reading aloud to young kids, I’ve learned not to ignore chapter books and novels. It may seem daunting to open up a hundred-plus-page tome when your audience has an attention span the length of a Peppa Pig episode, but the…Read more...

Nothing kills typos faster than predictive text. Just think of how often you go about your day, texting away, using your smartphone’s built-in capabilities to predict the big words you’re trying to type before you finish them. If you’re good, you can compose a decent thought without ever hitting an actual letter.

Deadspin Cam Newton Seems Miffed That Kelvin Benjamin Said He Sucked | The A.V. Club Sam Raimi’s bright, fun Spider-Man doubled as a valentine to a post-9/11 New York | The Slot Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Dismisses Ben Shapiro’s Bad Faith Debate Invitation With Catcalling Comparison | Splinter ‘Hitler Was Right,’ Says…Read more...

Canoes and kayaks are always fun, but the trendiest rental at boat places these days is the stand-up paddleboard, or SUP. They’re fun to paddle, and can provide an excellent core workout too.

Webcams make the world feel magic, and that’s why they’ve survived 17 years on the internet. The webcam has evolved from still images to video, from tiny, muddy pictures to pristine 4k streams. Video technologies like Twitch, Snapchat, and Skype haven’t killed the appeal of a mounted camera pointed at the same spot…Read more...

Android: Fortnite Battle Royale, one of the most popular battle royale games around, is finally on Android. And you get first dibs with the beta if you own a Samsung device—a list that includes its flagship Galaxy S9 / S9 Plus (and its predecessors, the S8 / S8 Plus); the Note 8 (and the just-announced Galaxy Note 9,…Read more...

Google has given us the best email service, the best Maps app, one of the best AI assistants, and the best search engine. And now, they’re getting into the mindfulness game, as well.

Much has been written about the importance of the family meal. There’s something about setting aside time every day, away from the distractions of work to-dos and house chores and Instagram notifications, to connect over food with your clan. Kids who grow up with the ritual will be fundamentally different from those…Read more...

I am an absolute fiend for pickled ginger. I always order extra, not for eating with my sushi, but for after I have eaten my sushi. The spicy sweet slices are a perfect stomach-settling end to a meal and, if you plan on getting dessert, they make a great palate cleanser.

Having trouble falling asleep, but meditation isn’t your thing? The good people of Reddit have some recommendations for chatty podcasts and tracks where the sounds of voices can lull you into dreamland.

Maybe you bought a brand-new phone; maybe your phone just went through a major OS update. Either way, the result is the same: you can’t connect it via Bluetooth to your older car anymore, which means you’ve lost the ability to rock out, enrich yourself with podcasts, or make hands-free calls.Read more...

Samsung officially unveiled the Galaxy Note 9 Thursday, the latest in its stylus-welding line of smartphones. This year’s model starts at $999.99 for the 128GB model and $1249.99 for a 512GB version.

When buying school supplies for your kid—perhaps during one of the tax-free weekends happening around the country—know that not all wooden pencils are created equal. Some break constantly. Others have erasers that smudge whatever they touch. The worst ones are basically sticks of agony that deserve to be left deep in…Read more...

If you want to gift your frequent flyer miles to a family or friend (or would like to accept the points yourself), there are a few things you should know so that you don’t lose out on a ton of value.

iOS: Navigating along roads is easy—just start up Google Maps or Waze—but finding your way on a trail in the woods tends to require a patchwork of PDFs, paper maps, and apps that only work for one park or system. Hikepack aims to change that.Read more...

The travel tips for Edinburgh, Scotland got real sweary, in a good way. Here are the highlights of this week’s Hack Your City. Most of the tips below are from longer comments, so go read the full comments under the Staff tab in our Monday post. Read them in your best worst Scottish accent.

All-Clad is one of Kinja Deals’ best-selling brands, and today you can add another pan to your collection for around $20 off.Read more...

Everyone has their preferred point of banana ripeness. I like mine completely yellow, without a brown spot in sight. Some people like them freckled, and some monsters like them mushy and brown. No matter what your preference, buying a whole bunch at once always seems to leave you with some less than desirable nanners.Read more...

Usually when I load up a “biggest hits” playlist, I end up skipping half the tracks. I’m barely skipping anything on NPR’s new playlist, “The 200 Greatest Songs By 21st Century Women+.” Every song is good! Even the country songs! And the lead performers are all women or non-binary. Highlights include “Fuck the Pain…Read more...

Save big on MacBooks, a digital photo frame, a Bosch brushless drill, and the rest of today’s deals.Read more...

Chrome: Keeping up on the latest security information is tough, and odds are good that you don’t think about website hacks very much unless you see a headline that a particular site or service exposed your user name and password.Read more...

Deadspin The End Of Felix Hernandez | The Root #BrooklynBecky Exposes ‘Wokewashed’ White Supremacy | Jezebel Brad Pitt Calls Angelina Jolie’s Request for Child Support an ‘Effort to Manipulate Media Coverage’ | Splinter Devin Nunes Says the Quiet Part Loud | The A.V. Club How did …Read more...

If you own an Instant Pot, and I know for a fact that a lot of you do, this $19 kit (with promo code KINJA35OFF) will let you use it in a few new ways. You get a steamer basket, an egg bite mold, and two oven mitts, all made from non-reactive, easy-to-store, and dishwasher-safe silicone.

Rather than rushing to cancel your credit card after briefly losing it in the cushions of your sister’s couch (just me?), Amex is letting you temporarily freeze it, according to Consumer Affairs.

When you become a parent, you are initiated into the weird world of modern baby products. There is something out there to “solve” every issue (and trust me, moms and dads navigating the messy terrain of new parenthood encounter a lot of issues). But how do you separate the truly world-changing innovations from the…Read more...

Maybe it is the Southerness in me, but I have always enjoyed guests, even unexpected ones. I also really enjoy feeding people, but there’s not always time to cook. As such, I have an arsenal of tasty snacks and drinks I like to keep in the kitchen, just in case someone hungry (or thirsty) pops over.Read more...

Asbestos, a fireproof, fibrous mineral, was once in all kinds of products: building insulation and tiles, the linings of anything that could be exposed to heat, and even fake snow used as a Christmas decoration. Too bad it’s a carcinogen.

When was the last time autocorrect made your life easier? Reach back in your memory and try to conjure up a time that autocorrect really nailed it. I know we only notice technology when it’s not working, but if you can’t think of one, it’s time to accept that autocorrect is bad.Read more...

Is Amazon’s Fire HD 8 in the same ballpark as, say, an iPad Pro? Of course not. But $60 is an insane price for a tablet with a 1280x800 screen, 32GB of storage (with a microSD slot for more), and a 12 hour battery. If you mostly want a tablet for passive media consumption, or just want one for your kid, this is…Read more...

Happy International Cat Day! The perfect way to celebrate is by enjoying the company of a local feline. Sadly, cat allergies prevent some cat admirers from enjoying their adorable smooshy faces. But even if you’re terribly allergic, there are steps you can take to help alleviate symptoms and enjoy every day with these…Read more...

It’s the Year of the Robocall, it seems. I haven’t noticed this directly, but a number of friends, colleagues, and internet posters seem to be inundated with bullshit phone calls now more than ever before. What great times we live in, where anyone with an auto-dialer can blast out millions of calls to people who don’t…Read more...

If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you may be able to buy groceries at Whole Foods without actually having to wander the aisles of Whole Foods, which we all know to be a dangerous excursion (“How did I spend 32 dollars on cheese dip?”). Today, Amazon announced the launch of grocery pickup, which has rolled out in…Read more...

Imitation crab—also known as “krab,” “kay-rab,” “fake crab,” and “krab sticks”—is a mixture of fish (usually Alaska pollock) and starch that has been shaped and colored to resemble the leg of a crab. It’s basically the lunchmeat of the sea, and it can be surprisingly tasty. (I used to eat it straight from the package,…Read more...

Most Americans can rely on direct deposit, debit cards and online bill pay to work seamlessly in everyday life. There might be fees, sure, and most of us could use a few more bucks in our accounts, but the mechanics of the financial system work so well we don’t even think about them.

Amazon is complicated. Search for a good hand soap and you spend a half hour comparison shopping, parsing star ratings and cost per weight, hunting through third-party suppliers, avoiding Prime Pantry traps, and picking through reviews written by idiots with a grudge. A whole industry of review sites—Wirecutter, the …Read more...