Laptop fire on AA flight

Whoever said to throw the laptop out, instead of squeezing everyone else out, is a genius.

Pretty n’ productive

📋 Ready to tackle your to-do list? I’ve got the tools to help you get it done.

I order supplements online: They’re more affordable that way, and I never run out. On my daily list: collagen. Hit this link for 45% off NativePath.* Their collagen mixes into coffee and smoothies, and it’s great for your joints and recovery.

It never hurts to ask: Some credit cards offer extended warranties on anything you buy with the card. If your expensive vacuum or laptop craps out, it’s worth asking Amex or Chase if they’ll pay to repair or replace it.

Electronics to buy before tariffs hit

Open/download audio

A lot of your tech is made outside of the U.S. If you’re planning to get a new phone or laptop, don’t wait.

Very Apple-esque: Dell is ditching iconic laptop names like XPS, Inspiron and Latitude for “simplified” lines: Dell, Dell Pro and Dell Pro Max. Each has Base, Plus and Premium tiers. Pro laptops are the new Latitude, and Premium models are replacing the XPS line.

1,000+ 

Used laptop batteries power an entire home. In November 2016, a clever guy decided to ditch the electrical grid and power his home through solar and recycled batteries. Eight years later, it’s going strong. Talk about positive energy. Ba-dum-tss! 🥁

💻 Dock and roll: Turn your laptop into a desktop powerhouse with a docking station. No need for a new computer or dealing with messy cables. This one ($54) has eight ports and supports two monitors. Nice!

From dusty to sparkly

🧽 Amazon’s Big Spring Sale has the tools you need to tackle spring-cleaning.

🤧 Spring sniffles? Breathe easier with an air purifier (20% off) to filter out all dust and pollen.

Check your laptop battery: On Windows, get a detailed report that includes usage, capacity and battery life estimates. Open the command prompt by hitting the Start menu, then typing in cmd or cmd⁠.⁠exe in the Run command box. Press Enter. Now, smarty-pants, type or paste in the following: powercfg /batteryreport

Early bird gets the deals

🐣 Amazon’s throwing a Big Spring Sale. Now’s your chance to grab some tech at smokin’ deals.

🛒 Don’t stop here: Amazon has more where this came from. Click here to snag whatever else you’ve been eyeing.

Staple of the team

📝 These nifty upgrades go a long way.

💻 Privacy, please: Keep prying eyes away with a laptop screen for your MacBook or PC (10% off).

Laptop getting warm? It happens when you’re doing intensive stuff like rendering a video. Besides annoyingly loud fans, your system might throttle performance to cool down. A cooling pad helps improve airflow and keeps things running smoothly. Here’s a good one on sale.

🔋 Make your laptop battery last longer: Windows 11 has a Dynamic Refresh Rate option that adjusts how often your screen updates for simple tasks. Go to Settings > System > Display > Advanced Display > Choose a refresh rate > Dynamic.

MacBook battery widget: It’ll regularly remind you how much juice is left in your laptop. On your Mac, click the date and time in the top right corner. In the notification center pop-up, click Edit Widgets. Search for “batteries” and pick your favorite options.

Stuck at a desk all day?

💻 Upgrade your workspace for a new year of getting stuff done.

  • A memory foam seat cushion ($45) helps with booty and back pain. You can use it in cars and airplanes, too. Click the coupon box for 30% off!
  • Pair the seat cushion with a foot stand ($39) for extra relief. Ahh.
  • If you use a laptop, this stand (15% off, $17) is your posture’s new BFF. Plus, it helps your computer’s ventilation so it lasts longer.
  • A room divider is nice for more privacy or hiding all your junk on video meetings.
  • Quick! Name something more annoying than a cord you need falling behind your desk. You can’t, huh? A magnetic cord holder (25% off) stops that from happening.

🤑 Amazon Outlet is like the sale aisle at Target. It’s where they list all the super-cheap overstock and clearance items. I like the under-$10 section.

Make an old laptop or PC work again: Install ChromeOS Flex, a free, cloud-based operating system. With processing done on Google’s servers and a bare-bones interface, you’ll get surprisingly good performance. Your PC needs to meet these minimum specs: x64 CPU, 4GB of RAM, 16GB of storage and a USB port for installation.

🍏 Bad apple: This doesn’t happen often. Move over, Newton (the $700 tiny pre-iPad), Pippin (the $600 gaming console) and Portable (the 16-pound $6,500 laptop). Make room for Apple’s $3,500 Vision Pro AR headset, which has sold fewer than 500,000 units since launch. They’re not making it anymore. About 600,000 are stocked up to last the rest of the year. Don’t buy one.

Windows laptop feeling extra warm? Consider an app to monitor the temperature in real time. CoreTemp and Real Temp for Windows are good options. Anything higher than 176 degrees Fahrenheit is bad news.

How to test-drive a laptop

Open/download audio

Some stores make it easy, others not so much. Here’s how to avoid surprises and get the most out of your trial run.

Laptop catches fire on plane

Open/download audio

It started smoking inside a passenger’s bag. Plus, the RiteAid hack, and AT&T data breach. We also talk to Elliston Berry and Anna McAdams, a mother-daughter team fighting deepfake revenge porn.