Do you guys remember a little commenter named “Phoenix?” That was me. Way back when Lifehacker was new, I, like you, sat at a job I disliked, reading about how I could make my life better. Then I was lucky to be given the opportunity to make your lives better. I hope I have. And now it’s time to move on.
Chrome: Rearrange Tabs lets you move your Chrome tabs around an open window with keyboard shortcuts. It’s fairly simple, and a nice way to organize them if you have a ton of tabs open. The default shortcuts are good, but if you don’t like them, you can customize them and add your own.
Learning to sharpen a knife by feel makes sure your knives last longer and are easier (and safer) to use—even moreso than an automatic sharpener, which can grind your knives down and shorten their life. This method, from sharpening master Peter Nowlan, is a solid “four pressure” system you can learn at home.
Reader Saifali has submitted desktops in the past to our Desktop Showcase, but this one’s a fresh look, and we like it. If you dig it too—or just the Antarctic landscape in it—here’s how you can bring the same look to your computer.
We’ve highlighted a bunch of multi-display setups recently, but this single-panel workspace from reader Wayne shows off that one display—especially when it’s huge—can be just as good looking as several. He submitted his setup to our Workspace Show and Tell Pool, and here are some more photos.
This week on The Upgrade we’re upgrading your HDTV, just in time for Super Bowl Sunday! It’s all about how to buy a great TV, for the big game, or anytime you’re in the market for one—plus a call out for your questions for the show!
Planting season will soon be here, and if you’re planning a garden, you should also consider how you’re going to control weeds. Our friends at the Old World Garden Farms suggest leaving behind the harsh herbicides this year and opting for these gentler treatments, from mulch to a weed torch that looks fun to use.
Windows/macOS/Linux: If you’re on the lookout for a digital painting tool and Photoshop is too expensive, Krita is a fast, free, and open source art tool that was developed by artists looking for something that met their needs without a ton of bloat or overhead. Plus, it’s completely cross-platform.
If you ever have to step up and manage people, it can be pretty difficult to figure out the best way to do it in a way that both works with your personality and gets the job done. This flowchart can help you figure out—in broad categories, of course—what type of leader you might be.
There’s nothing good about running out of juice when you’re trying to get stuff done, and being unable to find a plug to recharge your battery in the meantime. If you work on the go at all, here are some easy tips to extend the life of your laptop’s battery, both in a pinch and before you leave the house.
The Lifehacker podcast is back, and it’s called The Upgrade! It’s a whole new format, but the same great tips and tricks to help you live your best life. Whether you were an avid listener to the old Ask Lifehacker podcast, or never knew we even had a podcast, you’ll want to tune in for this.
Web: Lots of music services have playlists based on how you’re feeling right now, but Vibesmood tries to make it as simple as possible. Click one of five vibes to match your mood, and pick a playlist that looks good to get something that’ll lift you up, comfort you, or help you get stuff done.
Chrome: If you need a little help staying away from distracting web sites when you need to focus, or you want to give your sanity a break and block specific topics, SiteCop can help. Once installed, tell it when and how long to keep you focused, give it web addresses or keywords to block, and it’ll do the rest.
Reader Linux Jess submitted this monochrome desktop, powered by Arch Linux, to our Desktop Showcase, and we couldn’t help but feature it. It’s clean, elegant, and simple to reproduce. Here’s how.
What do you do when you have three beautiful curved ultrawide displays? Mount them side-by-side for a glorious, pixel-packed super-wide experience, like elliotvs did with his workspace. Here’s a closer look.
iOS: A Mac app called Self Control made a name for itself for being serious about blocking out distractions—you couldn’t just turn the app off, or reboot your computer, to make it go away. Now, an app inspired by the original has landed on the iPhone, offering a similar no-nonsense approach to keeping you focused on…
Windows: RansomFree is a new tool that promises to stop ransomware attacks before they can get busy encrypting all of your data. Instead of watching specific processes or trying to use signatures to identify ransomware, it observes the behavior of running processes instead, warning you when something’s up.
