laptop Archives

✨ Light up your life (literally)

Your eyes called. They’re already sending thank-you notes.

🕯️ Your holiday glow-up: Flameless candles ($14, 30% off)

Set the mood, not a fire. A 12-pack of remote-controlled LEDs flicker like real flames. Perfect for your tree, mantel displays or that “Hallmark movie energy” you need.

💻 Laptop, meet your new buddy: Plug in a portable monitor ($125, 26% off) and instantly double your screen real estate. Slim, bright and smooth at 144Hz.

For the late-night readers: This reading light ($15, 52% off) fits comfortably around your neck. Aim it at the page without blinding your partner.

🤓 Long hours in front of screens? Same. Slip on some blue-light-blocking glasses ($16, 20% off) before work. Cut the glare and still look sharp.

See what you’ve been missing: These microfiber sleeves ($9, 31% off) protect your specs and double as lens cleaners. Your shirt can retire from smudge duty.

🎁 Time to deck your halls: Head to Amazon’s Holiday Shop for everything you need to make this season merry, bright and smart.

We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.

Bring an old laptop back to life

Open/download audio

Got an old laptop or PC? Don’t toss it. Install Chrome OS Flex and bring it back to life for free with minimal hassle.

🧨 Rogue laptop reroutes flight: Picture this. Midair, someone’s laptop falls behind a panel, straight down into the plane’s belly. Yeah, I didn’t know that could happen either. The crew panics (hello, lithium batteries), and the Rome flight U-turns back to Dulles. Three hours later, they fish it out and try again. Nothing like an airborne game of “Find My MacBook” to keep things exciting.

🔊 Fix crackling laptop speakers: Open Device Manager > Audio inputs and outputs > find your speaker > right-click > Update driver > Search automatically for drivers. No luck? Go to Settings > System > Sound > More sound settings > Playback. Select your speaker > Properties > Advanced, untick Enable audio enhancements, then hit Apply and OK.

Back to the office

🖨️ My pick: Polono portable printer (62% off)

Print anywhere, without ink drama. Just connect it to your phone or laptop, and boom, crisp 8.5” x 11” docs on the go.

🌬️ Oscillating table fan (25% off): No more sweaty Zoom calls. It’s so quiet you’ll forget it’s even there.

✨ Desktop vacuum cleaner (19% off): Clears up dust, eraser bits and all those crumbs from your snack breaks.

🪑 Lumbar support pillow (15% off): Slouch less, focus more. Easily straps right onto your office chair.

🖊️ Gel ink pens (10% off, six-pack): Use these to jot down the next big business idea on a napkin.

📦 Your digital supply run: Tap here to stock up your cart with 4-star-and-up gadgets. Explore more on my Amazon storefront.

We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.

The phone scam evolution: This is frightening. A cybersecurity firm built a real-time voice deepfake, meaning someone can sound like you on a call instantly. Cheap laptop, open-source tools, done. They tested it, and people fell for it almost every time. So when your “boss” calls asking for gift cards, maybe call back first. You should take a sec and check it out.

Improve laptop performance: Windows 11 intentionally throttles your system to save battery, but you can fix that. Go to Settings > System > Power & battery. Under Power Mode, switch both Plugged in and On battery to Best Performance. Your laptop will feel smoother, though it may drain the battery faster when unplugged.

New chip, same price: In the market for a new laptop or set of VR goggles? Apple dropped new MacBook Pros, iPad Pros and Vision Pros, all running on the turbocharged M5 chip. Basically, they’re four times faster and way smarter, especially with AI stuff, and as expensive as last year, starting at $1,599, $999 and $3,499. You can preorder now, and they start shipping Oct. 22.

We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.

💻 Revive that old laptop for free: Got a dusty Mac or PC lying around? Install ChromeOS Flex and turn it into a Chromebook-like machine that runs smoothly on minimal resources. Perfect for email, browsing, calls and streaming. Bonus: Google Docs works offline, too. All it takes is a USB. Here’s how to do it. Yea, this tip alone was worth the price of this newsletter.

We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.

Turn off sleep mode in Windows 11: Go to Settings > System > Power > Screen, sleep & hibernation timeouts. Set Turn my screen off after, Make my device sleep after and Make my device hibernate after all to Never. But if you’re on a laptop, this will drain the battery when it’s not charging.

💻 Microsoft doomsday alert: Mark your calendars, November 2025 is when Windows 11 23H2 (Home & Pro) officially stops getting updates. Translation: Your laptop becomes an all-you-can-eat buffet for malware. Enterprise folks get an extra year, but for everyone else, upgrade to 24H2 or roll the dice. Some PCs can’t upgrade because of … audio drivers and wallpaper software. Yes, wallpapers. Unbelievable.

🔌 Cable management: When cords are dangling around your desk, tie them up with Velcro straps. It’ll look neater and keep naughty pets from chewing on them. You can also use them to wrap laptop chargers and accessories when you’re on the move. Found a pack of 40 under $14.

We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.

💻 Boost your laptop battery: On Windows 11, turn on Dynamic Refresh Rate to adjust your screen based on what you’re doing. It ramps up for smooth performance during intense tasks, but drops on static pages to save power. Go to Settings > System > Display > Advanced Display > Choose a refresh rate > Dynamic refresh rate.

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Short on laptop ports? Grab a USB hub to charge devices and connect keyboards, mice or drives. Some even come with SD card readers and 3.5mm audio outputs.

We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Don’t keep your laptop plugged in all the time. Heat and stress wear down lithium-ion batteries. Let it cycle between 30% and 80% for longer life.

🧠 Excel in PowerPoint: Incredible. Google’s NotebookLM can now make video explainers in over 80 languages using your uploaded notes. Slides, voiceover, zero hallucinations. It’s like a multilingual teacher who lives in your laptop. It’s not sexy, but it’ll explain your white paper while you fold laundry.

🔥 Laptop running hot? It happens when you’ve got lots of apps open or are doing something resource-heavy. Besides the noisy fans, your system might slow itself down to stay cool. Quick: Get a cooling pad to improve airflow and keep things running smoother. Here’s a good one on sale. You’re welcome.

We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.

Genius hacks for under $25

💰 No need to spend a fortune. Just a few small upgrades with big payoffs.

💻 Work smarter, not hunched: This laptop stand (36% off) keeps you from twisting into a human pretzel.
💡 Dim the distractions: Block those pesky blinking lights with these LED blackout stickers (20% off).
💊 Dose of organization: Perfect for travel, this daily pill organizer (10% off) fits everything from meds to fish oil tablets.
🚛 Moving made easy: These reusable bags ($26, six-pack) with handles and zippers can haul up to 65 lbs.
🫧 Small bathroom? No prob. A floating shelf (33% off) adds two tiers of storage right above your toilet.

⚡ Blink and you’ll miss it: Amazon’s lightning deals are live today but gone in minutes. Snag your faves, and check out my storefront for more good stuff.

We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.

💻 Buying a new computer? Know the specs you need. For basic browsing and streaming, look for at least a dual-core 2.0 GHz processor, 4-8 GB of RAM and an SSD for quick loading. For heavier stuff like gaming or video editing, get a recent multi-core 3.0 GHz+ CPU, a dedicated graphics card and 16 GB+ RAM. Click here for 20 laptop and desktops I trust. You’re welcome.

We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.

Plug in and chill out

🪄 You don’t need a magic wand to organize your digital life, just these:

📚 Glow with the flow: Clip on this reading light (29% off) for bedtime page flipping that won’t bug your partner.

🛋️ Lap of luxury: Work, study or stream in comfort with a memory-foam laptop pillow (5% off).

📺 Tangled TV wires? Poof, this in-wall cable kit (14% off) hides them like they were never there.

📁 For your eyes only: An encrypted USB flash drive (21% off) shields your files from keyloggers.

📸 Snap and go: Transfer photos in seconds with a pocket-size SD card reader (23% off).

💻 From laptops to desktops: I’ve rounded up 20 computer recs that actually keep up with you over on my Amazon shop.

We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.