These Sonos Smart Speakers Are 25% Off Right Now

Sonos's smart speakers aren't as ubiquitous as Apple, Google, or Amazon's voice-activated devices, but they've got it where it counts in terms of audio quality. And like Apple products, Sonos devices rarely go on sale, but right now, Amazon and Best Buy are offering discounts of up to 25% off two of the company's best bets, both of which are at record-low prices, according to price-checking tools.

The Sonos Move 2 is $113 off

Sonos Move 2

Wireless Portable Bluetooth Speaker

$336.00 at Best Buy

$449.00 Save $113.00

$336.00 at Best Buy

$449.00 Save $113.00

The Sonos Move 2 is a portable speaker and a smart speaker in one—a rare combo—and it's currently $336 (down from $449). As the name implies, it was made to be used on the go; it has a 24-hour battery life, is drop resistant, and has an IP56 rating, meaning it can handle heavy rain and splashes without missing a beat, but it will not survive if you fully submerge it.

As noted in PCMag's "excellent" review of the device, the second iteration of the Sonos Move does away with Google Assistant, but it still can be used with Alexa, as well as Sonos' own voice assistant. The Sonos app provides access to media from major streaming music services like Spotify, as well as podcast apps, and the Libby app (for audiobooks). If you have other Sonos speakers, they can be networked together to play the same media.

The Sonos Era 300 is more powerful but lacks portability

Sonos Era 300

Wireless, Alexa Enabled Smart Speaker with Dolby Atmos

$449.00 at Amazon

$449.00 at Amazon

If you don't care about the portable aspects and plan to keep the speaker in the same place most of the time, you can opt for go the Sonos Era 300 for $359 (originally $449). It has better bass, plays Dolby Atmos tracks from Apple Music and Amazon Music, and retains most of the other features as the Sonos Move 2. (Learn more about the Sonos Era 300 from PCMag's "excellent" review.)

Whether you go with the portable Sonos Move 2 or the more powerful Sonos Era 300, you'll be getting a quality smart speaker at its best price since release.

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Why 'ADIEU' Is a Terrible Wordle Starter, and What You Should Use Instead

There’s an art and a science to picking a good starting word when you play Wordle. One computer analysis suggested that CRANE is the best starter; another landed on SALET. Recently the New York Times did its own analysis of the words people actually choose as their starters, and the situation is dire: ADIEU is the most popular starter, yet (allegedly) the least efficient.

That's not to say it's the worst word you could play first, but it is the worst out of the 30 most popular starters—ADIEU, STARE, SLATE, AUDIO, and RAISE. But if you rank the top 30 starters based on how effective they are at revealing letters in any given puzzle, the top five are SLATE, CRANE, LEAST, STARE, and RAISE, with ADIEU landing at number 30. (My personal favorite, ARISE, ranks seventh.)

Should a Wordle starter have a lot of vowels?

I’m going to teach the controversy here. The argument in favor of ADIEU is that it contains four vowels, and you know the solution will have to contain at least one vowels. Thus, knocking out four of them in your first guess is pretty smart. (O and sometimes-vowel Y are the only ones not included.)

But there’s an argument to be made that vowels don’t give you much information, in the data-science sense of narrowing down possibilities. Most words in English remain perfectly legible with all the vowels eliminated, and because every word contains them, you'll still have a lot of options on the table. Here's what I mean: If you play ADIEU and A lights up in yellow, yes, you know that there's an A in the solution somewhere. But that tells you very little about what the solution actually is!

Another strategy is to go with a consonant-heavy word at first, and worry about the vowels later. According to one local Wordle expert('s wife), “there are only five [vowels], and it’s almost never going to be a U.”

Your starter should mesh with your solving style

Scientific analysis aside, I don't think there's much point to picking the theoretically best starter word; you need to find your best starter word. The human brain does not narrow down the problem space in the same way as a computer. I like when I find vowels early, because having the vowels helps me sound out the words in my head. If I know there are vowels in the second and fourth places (say, _A_E_) I know it is probably a two-syllable word. I run through the available letters, trying them out in each position in my head. For me, a vowel-heavy starter is helpful. For you, it might not be.

When choosing a starter, consider the way you think through the possibilities when you're halfway through the puzzle. What starters will set you up for success with your preferred solving style? If your brain works best when you know the initial letters of the word, maybe choose a starter like TRASH, which gets a lot of common beginning consonants into the mix right away.

My own approach splits the difference: I think about my starters as a pair. With ARISE and TOUCH, I get intel on all five vowels and five of the most common consonants. If you play ADIEU, I think you need to be prepared to follow it up with THORN. 

Don’t forget about Y, the sometimes vowel

Should you include Y in your starter? Most of us don't, but there's a good argument to be made for getting it in the mix fairly early in the game.

Y flies under the radar since it’s an end-of-the-alphabet letter. The tendency is to think it must be as rare as X and Z. But Y is fairly common (worth 4 points in Scrabble to X's 8 and Z's 10), showing up in words like FUNNY and JAZZY (JAZZY being the hardest word that appeared as a Wordle answer this year). Words that end in Y also often have a double letter—like the N and Z in those examples—so make sure to consider that as you’re narrowing down the possibilities.

You may recall from grade school that the vowels are “A, E, I, O, U and sometimes Y.” (You may even have learned “...and sometimes Y and W.”) That’s because Y really can stand on its own as a vowel. The ending Y in FUNNY is an example: U is the vowel for the first syllable, and Y is the vowel for the second. There are also words that contain a Y as their only vowel, like GLYPH, NYMPH, and TRYST.

So if you’re working through a Wordle and you don’t seem to have enough vowels to make a word, stick a Y in a guess somewhere—preferably at the end. LANKY or HORNY might be good picks for when you’re stumped.

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Here's When It's Safe to Share Your Bank Details (and When It's Not)

You’re not wrong to worry about getting scammed; fraud in general is on the rise (and anyone can be a victim), with losses attributed to various kinds of fraud topping $10 billion in 2023 alone. And good old-fashioned bank fraud is on the rise, too—including check fraud, which might seem surprising since paper check use has been declining since forever. Although we write fewer checks, the value of those checks has risen from an average of $673 in 1990 to $2,562 today, making them an attractive target.

But avoiding paper checks doesn’t insulate you from fraud. Paying for things online using credit cards or similar tools includes some built-in fraud protections, but there are times when using an e-check and having funds pulled directly from your bank account is preferable (when there’s a “convenience fee” for using a credit card, for example), or you might have money coming in via wire transfer. In either case, you’re suddenly faced with giving away your bank details—the routing number, account number, and wire transfer or SWIFT codes—in order to complete the transaction. And you might reasonably wonder if it’s safe to just give this information away.

The answer is: Yes, generally speaking. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be careful.

Banking information to keep an eye on

A quick rundown of the relevant details we’re talking about here; when I say “bank details,” I mean:

• Routing number: A nine-digit code that identifies your specific bank.

• Account number: The number of digits in your account number varies. It’s a unique identifier for a specific account at the bank or financial institution.

• SWIFT code: If you need to send or receive money internationally, you might need a Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) code. This is a number between eight and eleven digits that identifies your bank.

• ABA number: Also called a “wire routing number,” this nine-digit code is an alternative way to transfer funds internationally.

Most of these numbers are pretty easy to find. If you have paper checks issued by your bank, the routing number is printed on the bottom left, and your account number is printed to the right of that. And you can usually find your bank’s routing number and SWIFT and ABA codes by logging on to their website, calling and asking, or just looking them up online.

As I said earlier, your routing and account numbers are literally printed on your checks. These numbers are used in what are known as Automated Clearing House (ACH) transactions to move money between different banks and accounts. This means anyone who sees your check also sees your ACH info—and with that info they can commit some pretty easy fraud against your accounts. So when should you worry?

When it's OK to share your banking details

First, take note of the fact that you share your routing number and account numbers all the time. Every time you send a check, sign up for direct deposit, or enter your banking info to pay taxes or a utility bill (or sell tickets on StubHub) you’re sharing those numbers. They’re out there. A few things to keep in mind:

• Just having your account number is meaningless. No one can do anything with just your account number. They also need your bank’s routing number.

• As noted, your bank’s routing number and ABA and SWIFT codes are public info and can be looked up online, so there’s no reason to guard those with your life.

So, when should you feel safe sharing your bank routing and account numbers? A few guidelines:

• If you would be comfortable writing a check, it’s generally OK to share your bank details.

• If you know why you’re being asked for this information—you’re setting up an account, or direct deposit, or paying a bill using ACH to avoid a fee, for example—it’s generally OK.

• If there’s a legitimate, compelling reason the organization needs this info (e.g., direct deposit) or you have a compelling reason to offer it up (e.g., avoiding a fee if you pay via credit card or PayPal).

Keep in mind that when you give someone authorization to use ACH to access your bank accounts, you can always revoke that authorization, and you generally have 60 days to report fraud involving your bank account as an individual.

When you should worry

Of course, scammers can wreak serious havoc on your financial life if they get both your routing and account numbers, so you definitely do need to think twice before supplying them. Here’s when to worry:

• Insecure communications. Never give your bank details to anyone who requests them via email or text.

• Supplied links. If you’re sent a link to enter your bank details, be suspicious. Always go directly to the website of any business or organization to enter routing and account info.

• Pressure. If you prefer to use another form of payment—a credit card, for example—but you’re pressured to give out your bank details, be suspicious.

Bottom line: the key is your account number. Scammers can’t do anything without that, and they can find out everything else on their own, so if you don’t give out your account number there isn’t much they can do to you. On the other hand, if you need to get paid via wire transfer or need to pay a bill using your bank account, it’s generally safe to provide your bank details as long as you expected the request. Just be wary if it’s unexpected, or if you don’t understand why it’s necessary to provide that information.

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How to Pack Your Whole Vacation Into a Personal Item

I’m a cheap traveler, which means I’m often packing light. When I took a five-day trip to Paris a few years ago, on a budget airline that charges a fee to bring a carry-on, everything had to fit in a small bag under the seat in front of me. Friends, I did it. You can, too.

I first wrote about this trip right when I returned, in 2017, but I can say now that I still use these techniques (except packing dress shoes for a casual trip—what was I thinking??). We’ll get to the specifics of what I packed and how, but this is a feat that’s more about the planning than the execution. Here’s what I mean.

Measure your bag

The space under the seat in front of you is pretty roomy: It’s big enough for an average-sized backpack, or an overstuffed messenger bag. But don’t eyeball it! If you misjudge, and you can’t quite wedge your bag into that space, the crew will ask you to put it somewhere else. That could mean another fee, or depending on how crowded the plane is, you might even need to hand it over to be gate-checked.

Avoid this minor nightmare by actually checking the airline’s bag measurements. On my trip, the carrier (the now-defunct(?) Wow airlines) allowed 17 by 13 by 10 inches for personal items, including handles and wheels, and with a weight limit of 22 pounds. Check your airline’s website, and then whip out a tape measure and verify. (If your bag is soft-sided, make sure to measure it when it’s fully packed.)

To really be prepared, though, you also need a Plan B. Maybe you’ll buy a few too many souvenirs, and need to check your bag. Or sometimes on domestic flights, you’ll end up in a tiny airplane that doesn’t have any space under the seat, and you’ll have to gate-check your stuff. Here’s your insurance policy: Pack your in-flight essentials in a small purse or packing cube that you can tuck in the seat back pocket. This way, if you have to give up your bag, you’ll have the important things with you.

---

Some great “personal item”-sized bags:

• For a solid backpack option: Swiss Gear 17" Bungee Backpack

• If you’d prefer a tote: 17" Weekender tote with zippered shoe compartment

• Or try something that feels a bit more like a suitcase: 16" suitcase-style backpack

Swiss Gear SA1908 Black TSA Friendly ScanSmart Laptop Backpack

$99.95 at Amazon

$99.95 at Amazon

---

Prune your packing list ruthlessly

I don’t have a magical spell to fit a suit or a formal dress or a sleeping bag into a carry-on. The one-bag approach only really works for people with simple needs who are going on simple trips. I didn’t bring a laptop or any workout gear. I did bring a few changes of clothes, essential toiletries, a sketchbook, and a phone charger.

I didn’t bother with soap or shampoo, since I knew I could buy those at my destination. (Showering with French soap made my stay in France feel just a little more authentic.) My husband bought a six-pack of electrical outlet adapters, and I caught him shoving the whole thing in his bag. “Wait, how many plug-in things are we bringing?” I asked. Just two: his phone charger, and mine. So we left four of the adapters at home.

I packed fresh socks, shirts, and underwear for each day, and planned to wear a dress once and my shorts and pants twice each. (If I were more hardcore, I would have packed just two outfits and washed one in the hotel sink each night.) I resisted the urge to pack a skirt “just in case.”

To winnow the “just in case” pile, ask yourself, what would I do if I needed this but didn’t have it? Without the skirt, I would just wear my dress or shorts instead. That’s fine; the skirt stays home. But if I got sore feet and didn’t have my packet of blister bandages, I’d have to walk the streets of Paris looking for a place to buy some. The bandages came with me.

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$9.85 at Amazon

$12.99 Save $3.14

Think big, pack small

Credit: Beth Skwarecki

Dump out your bag, so you’re not bringing any detritus from a previous trip, and then begin to pack it wisely. A few tips:

• Choose the smallest item that will do the job. Bring the travel-size toothpaste, even if the full size is technically small enough to get through security. Compare your jackets and sweaters, and bring the thinnest one that’s still warm enough—or perhaps you’d prefer a lightweight scarf that you can wear as a shawl?

• Roll your clothes. Rolling is the most compact way to pack. Put socks and t-shirts on the inside of the roll, and carefully smooth your wrinkleable items on the outside. Know how you will remove any surprise wrinkles: Does your room come with an iron? Will you steam the clothes while you’re in the shower?

• Use packing cubes. It wasn’t until after the Paris trip that I discovered just how much time and trouble packing cubes can save. They don’t save space, but they make a tightly packed bag so much easier to pack and unpack.

• Wear the biggest items. You’ll have more room in your bag if you wear your jeans and pack your shorts than vice-versa. You can also wear your travel pillow on the flight, and strap it to your bag while you’re trekking through the airport.

Make sure everything is accessible. You’ll be miserable if the interior of your bag is a random jumble. This is where the packing cubes come in, or you can at least arrange your rolls of clothes to divide up the space as needed. Make good use of pockets, too: flat things in the laptop compartment, for example, and your passport and phone charger in whatever pocket is easiest to reach.

BAGAIL 4 Set Compression Packing Cubes Travel Expandable Packing Organizers

$24.99 at Amazon

$26.99 Save $2.00

$24.99 at Amazon

$26.99 Save $2.00

Keep souvenirs small or intangible

Credit: Beth Skwarecki

You do, eventually, have to bring everything back. If you brought travel-size toiletries, maybe you can finish them off and throw them out before you come home. You also don’t have to worry as much about keeping your clothes unwrinkled. These tweaks can gain you a few cubic inches.

If you’re serious about bringing home souvenirs, consider bringing a collapsible duffel from home, or buying a cheap bag on the road. Then you’re only paying the bag check fee in one direction, not both. Also compare the bag check fee with the cost (and time delay) of mailing things home.

But if you won’t have much room for souvenirs, keep an eye out during your trip for things that pack light. I picked up a French-language cooking magazine for my mom, and translated the tastiest recipes on the flight home. Foreign snacks also make great gifts, and are easy enough to tuck into small spaces. Photos, videos, and good old-fashioned memories make great souvenirs, and they don’t take up any physical space at all. (You could even get a photo book printed when you return, or write down your thoughts in a journal, to make them more tangible without encroaching on your underwear.)

What I actually packed

A top-down view of my bag. In the back pocket (top of photo): book and sketchbook, flattened purse, printouts of documents. Middle pocket: Clothing rolls, sitting on top of carefully packed/stuffed shoes. Front pocket: toiletries, art supplies, wallet, battery pack. In pockets not shown: charging cable, passport, ziploc bag of liquid toiletries. Credit: Beth Skwarecki

OK, time to prove that this is for real. Here’s what I did.

The bag: I used an Eddie Bauer hybrid messenger bag/backpack that I bought many years ago; it’s now discontinued. We have gone on many one-bag trips, this bag and I. My husband, who packed equally light, used a Swiss Gear backpack similar to this one.

Large and unwieldy Items: My one extravagance was a pair of heeled t-strap leather shoes. I stuffed my socks and underwear inside of them, so they held their shape, and then wrapped them loosely in a plastic bag so they wouldn’t get the rest of my items dirty. I also had a travel pillow, strapped to the handle of my bag.

Clothes: For a four-night trip, I brought four shirts, one dress, one pair of shorts, and five sets of socks and underwear. I wore sneakers, a jacket, and a shirt-and-pants outfit.

Toiletries: I had a small zippered pouch with the likes of lipstick and deodorant, and a Ziploc with just a few liquid-phase personal items like moisturizer and toothpaste.

Electronics: All I need for a non-work trip is my phone, a charging cable, and a battery pack. (My husband prefers an electric toothbrush and razor at home, but made do with analog versions for this trip.) We also brought a headphone splitter and a pair of earbuds for each of us.

Fun stuff: A book for the plane; a sketchbook and a small pack of art supplies; Clif bars; wallet, passport, etc.

In hindsight, I only made a few mistakes. I should have left the fancy shoes behind, and either gone without or brought a pair of plain flats instead. I didn’t need the jacket that I wore in the airport, although I’m glad I brought it. And that’s about it; this is one of the most perfectly calibrated trips I’ve taken.

I’ve had a rough time in the past, though. I can think of two trips where I ended up freezing because I didn’t want the bulk of packing warm clothes. In one of those cases, my mistake was that I only had skirts to wear; a pair of fleece-lined tights would have only taken up a tiny amount of space in my bag, and would have been a lifesaver. On a few trips, I forgot to pack a purse, because somehow in my mind the messenger bag was my purse. It is much better to have a real purse (or tote bag, or laptop bag) for your daily excursions instead of having to dump out all your clothes on the hotel bed to make do with your carry-on.

Now, I visualize each day’s activities when I write my packing list, and this helps me remember things like purses. And I apply the “just in case” test to all of those “just in case” items. And now I’m the person who hops off a plane with just a small backpack, breezes past the baggage claim, and takes the Métro to her Airbnb. It’s a great way to vacation.

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You Can Get Windows 11 Pro for $25 Right Now

You can upgrade your PC to Windows 11 Pro on sale for $24.97 right now (reg. $199) through May 31. The activation key is from a Microsoft-verified partner and backed by over 200 user reviews, and the Pro version of Windows 11 has some great features like Azure AD, Hyper-V, Windows Sandbox, and BitLocker Device Encryption.

Windows 11 comes with features like snap layouts, improved voice typing, seamless redocking, and a redesigned search tool. Other improvements include Biometrics login on supported devices, remote desktop access, TPM 2.0 for hardware-based security, Smart App Control, and Windows Studio Effects for video calls, with noise suppression and background blurring. The license code can be used to upgrade two separate PCs or other compatible devices.

You can get Windows 11 Pro on sale for $24.97 right now (reg. $199) until May 31 at 11:59 p.m. PT, though prices may change at any time.

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The Best Ways to Store Shoes in Small Spaces

Like bags, shoes are tricky to store. By their nature, they come in sets of two, so you have to figure out where you have space for both. Most are pretty rigid, too, and you don't want to squish them. Personally, my ultimate goal in life is to have a big walk-in closet where I can display all my shoes, but in the meantime, I spend a lot of time (and a little money) finding other ways to store my footwear in my small apartment.

Shoe storage ideas

I am a shoe fiend. I'm hardcore. Even though I try my best to adopt a "one in, one out" mentality, I'm much more likely to bring a new pair of shoes home and not get rid of an old one. I have shoes stored in my front closet, boots by my front door, hanging storage on the back of my front door and bathroom door, and even more shoes in a fancy rack in my living room. I don't say this to brag, nor do I say it as a cry for help; I'm simply letting you know I know what I'm talking about here. Learn from my storage triumphs and mistakes.

My system is this: Any shoes that have a high resale value and I think I'll list for sale in the future get stored in their original boxes, which are stacked next to my clothing rack. (That's not space-saving, but it's the truth.) Nice shoes that don't have their original box are stored on this shoe tree, which is a major space saver in my closet—it holds the pairs vertically and rotates 360 degrees so I can easily access shoes in the back without disrupting the rest of the stuff in the closet or making a mess digging around in there.

Household Essentials 4-Tier Revolving Shoe Tree

$35.76

$55.99 Save $20.23

$35.76

$55.99 Save $20.23

That is the exact one I have and it has held up well for over six years. It's indispensable to me because of how much space it saves and how well it holds the shoes, maintaining their shape by propping them up from the inside.

For everyday wear or less valuable shoes, I rely on over-the-door racks, but as I'll explain in the next section, I do not use the rigid ones made of metal rods. Instead, I use the fabric kind that feature pockets. These take up less space when the doors they're on are closed and are easy to maintain. I have ones like this:

Gorilla Grip Slip Resistant Breathable Space Saving Mesh Large 24 Pocket Shoe Organizer

$14.89

$14.99 Save $0.10

$14.89

$14.99 Save $0.10

To store boots, you need to keep the structure and shape at top of mind. The goal should be not allowing the tops to fall over or crease, so even if you're just storing them on the floor of the closet or a shelf, make sure they're always stuffed with newspaper or even out-of-season clothes, for a two-for-one storage solution. (You can also try hanging them.) You only need two things: A hanging chain designed for holding clothing hangers ($9.99 for seven) and a set of clips on hooks ($9.99 for 50). Thread the hooks of the clips through the chain, then use the clips themselves to hold the boot pairs together from the top. Not only will this maintain the boots' shape, but it will save major floor and shelf space, too.

Finally, consider some multifunction storage furniture, as long as you have the space. Try an entryway bench with shelving underneath to store everyday shoes and rain boots.

Bamboo Shoe Bench, Shoe Storage Bench with Cushion

$77.80

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$77.80

$79.99 Save $2.19

How not to store shoes

In my years of being a true shoe hound, I've tried many more storage methods than the ones listed above. I don't recommend acrylic storage boxes, for instance, if your goal is to save space; they actually take up way too much. The most ineffective tool, in my opinion, is one that I see being promoted pretty often online: The rigid over-the-door rack made of metal rods. Simply put, I hate these. First, to make them truly stable, you need to find a way to attach the free-hanging bottom to your door, which could involve screwing it in. Even if you do put holes in your door, which I especially don't advise if you rent your home, that won't keep the shoes in place when you open and close it. I had one of these on my front door for a few years and any time I opened or shut it with even a little vigor, all my shoes popped out onto the floor. These things use plain, horizontal rods to hold the shoes in place; there's nothing else there to help the footwear stay in the rack. Avoid these and use the kind of over-the-door holders that have pockets. But if you must, here's one similar to the one I had ($41.15).

There is an exception to this rule, though. You can mount one of these to the interior side of your closet, filling up space that otherwise goes unused. Since it will remain static there—not ride back and forth on an ever-moving door—the shoes will be safer and you'll get some use out of those few inches of wasted space. Also, add a few motion-activated LED lights to your closet, so when you have to look deep in there (like you will if you mount the shoe rack), you can at least see what you're doing. I have these, which attach to adhesive magnets so they're easy to remove and recharge when necessary (two for $19.96).

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FocusedOS Combines Several Focus-Boosting Apps in One

There are a lot of productivity applications out there, and FocusedOS tries to combine several of them. The application, which is available for all Apple devices, can block distracting apps and websites, dim the entire screen except for the window you're currently looking at, and play ambient sounds. The idea is that you'll be able to turn all of these features on with the press of a button, work, then turn it all off again when you're done.

To get started, simply download the application and decide which features you want to enable. The first tab, "Behavior," lets you dim all windows except the currently active one—this is similar to the application HazeOver ($4.99). You can also limit the number of apps that can show up on the screen and add some custom text to the menu bar. Finally, there's a feature that can hide icons on the menu bar, which is similar to the application Bartender ($22). You can also hide wallpaper or even go so far as to disable the wifi entirely. Note that none of these features are offered on the iPhone or iPad version of the application (mostly because they wouldn't make sense there).

Credit: Justin Pot

On the "Ambience" tab, you can choose between a variety of background sounds—that means you won't need a dedicated background sound application.

Credit: Justin Pot

There are also tools for blocking distracting apps and websites. You can choose which apps to block or only allow specific applications to open. Websites are a little simpler: There are pre-built categories you can add, or you can add URLs yourself.

Credit: Justin Pot

Finally, if this isn't enough, you can trigger any Apple Shortcut when you turn the focus mode on or off. You could use this to turn off notifications, start a timer, or anything else you can imagine.

The free version only allows you to create one "environment," meaning you configure everything the way you like it and that's how the application works. The paid version, which costs $20 per year, allows you to make multiple environments, meaning you could configure things differently for different tasks. The paid version also allows you to sync your current environment between your Mac, iPhone, and iPad, unlocks more ambient sounds, and allows you to run a shortcut when starting an environment.

I don't think this combination of tools is going to be right for everyone. If you're constantly toggling a collection of focus-boosting tools every time you need to focus, though, FocusedOS might be exactly what you need. Give the free version a try to find out.

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Try This Breakfast Mac and Cheese

I have great news, pasta fam: Contrary to what you may have been told, mac and cheese can be breakfast. Not even as a throw-caution-to-the-wind statement of “I do what I want,” but as a hearty start to your day, and a smart way to use up leftover pasta. I should also mention it takes mere minutes to make. Start your day like a responsible adult, with a heaping bowl of breakfast mac and cheese. 

At first glance, the star of this dish seems to be loads of cheese to make a heavy sauce. You're not wrong—cheese is indeed a key player—but soft scrambled eggs are actually the unsung hero, making up a good portion of the sauce and bulking up the consistency. The eggs paired with the right combination of cheeses blend together into small curds that coat the pasta. When you scoop it up, the cheese pulls and melts, and it tastes like a creamy indulgence—just like mac and cheese should—with the added bonus of protein from the eggs. 

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$115.00 at Amazon

How to make breakfast mac and cheese

To start, prepare your combination of cheeses. Just as a grilled cheese sandwich relies on its dairy, so does a good mac. Different cheeses act differently under heat—some are more stretchy, others are ideal for melting, and some don’t melt at all. I like a lot of melt and a little stretch, so I reached for a soft havarti, some cheddar, and a spoonful of cream cheese to create a saucy base. 

Whisk two eggs in a bowl with a pinch of salt. In a frying pan, melt a teaspoon of butter over medium-low heat. Add in the cold leftover pasta and let it develop some crispy spots. If your pasta has congealed into an indestructible brick, add a teaspoon of water and cover the pan with a lid for a few minutes. The humidity will help loosen up the pasta. 

I cut up a chicken sausage and added it to the pan at this stage. Once the eggs go in, the dish finishes up in a snap, so if you want to add any veggies, meats, or seasonings, add it now while the pasta heats up. Stir the mixture with a rubber spatula. When you see some crispy brown sections show up on the noodles, add the cheeses. Stir them in with the other ingredients, and then pour in the eggs. 

Turn off the heat right after you add the eggs and stir to combine. Cover the pan with a lid and leave it on the warm burner for two or three minutes. This will continue to cook the eggs gently and melt the cheeses thoroughly. If you leave the heat on, the eggs will cook (and probably overcook) before the cheese warms through. It’ll still taste good, but you won’t get the same creamy texture. 

Take the lid off and stir the mixture again. I topped it all off with chopped chives (because, vegetables), and heaped the golden mass into a bowl. This is a great breakfast to make if you have a container of leftover pasta, but you can also just boil up some fresh noods real quick if you have a hankering. Feel free to personalize the add-ins beyond sausage chunks. Add frozen peas, chopped peppers, or cooked bacon instead.

Breakfast Mac and Cheese Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs

• 1 teaspoon butter 

• Pinch salt

• 1 cup of leftover, cooked pasta

• 1 sausage patty, chopped (or other add-ins)

• 1 ounce of havarti cheese, roughly chopped

• ¼ cup shredded cheddar

• 1 tablespoon cream cheese

• Garnish with chopped chives

1. Whisk the eggs in a bowl and set aside. Heat a frying pan over medium-low and add the butter. Add the leftover pasta and chopped sausage (or whatever add-ins you’re using) with a pinch of salt, and stir with a rubber spatula. 

2. Once the pasta begins to brown in areas, add in the chopped havarti, shredded cheddar, and cream cheese. Stir briefly before pouring in the whisked eggs. Turn off the heat and stir the mixture for a moment.

3. Cover the pan with a well-fitting lid and let it sit on the warm burner for 2-3 minutes. Uncover and stir the mac and cheese. The cheese should all have melted through and the eggs should be cooked and blending in with the cheese. If the mixture is more wet than you prefer, cover it again and you can even snap on the heat for another minute or so. Garnish with chopped chives and enjoy while warm. 

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The ASUS Vivobook S16 OLED Is Spacious and Easy on the Eyes

Everyday laptops are everywhere, all at once. No, really. If you’re looking for a laptop that can tackle your everyday tasks—whether that’s work or personal business—then you have a lot of options to pick from. But not all of them are good or even really worth it, so it can be hard to find the best one for your needs. Enter the new Asus Vivobook S16 OLED, a 16-inch laptop designed to be your everyday device, whether you’re a student, businessperson, or just looking for a solid all-around machine to browse the web and take care of your daily projects.

Asus Vivobook S16 OLED

While not quite the model reviewed here, the Vivobook S16 also comes in versions with Intel CPUs.

$999.99 at Amazon

$1,099.99 Save $100.00

$999.99 at Amazon

$1,099.99 Save $100.00

I’ve been using the Asus Vivobook S16 OLED as my daily driver for the past two weeks, and like most of Asus’ newer laptops, I’ve been really impressed with what it can do. It’s sleek, weighs in at just over 3 pounds (roughly the same weight as my normal daily driver, a MacBook Air 15-inch), and it offers a ton of performance, not to mention that brilliant 3.2K, 120Hz OLED display, which really just makes things pop.

Specs and performance

Credit: Joshua Hawkins

There are a few different variations of the Asus Vivobook S16 OLED, including Intel models, but the version that Asus sent me included an AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS chip (which includes Radeon 780M Graphics), 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and a 1 TB SSD. It’s a solid configuration that didn’t leave me wanting for more. the Ryzen 9 8945HS is a fantastic processor, especially for everyday tasks, and the integrated graphics are more than enough for basic work and personal usage, plus some light gaming on the side.

Anecdotally, performance as a whole was always snappy, and I never felt like the laptop was being bogged down, even when I had multiple Chrome tabs open, as well as the different Office applications needed to do my daily work. I even tried running a few games (Hades and other lightweight indies) on the system and found that they played fairly well, considering the lack of a discreet graphics card. Of course, if you really want to play games on your laptop, I recommend picking up a gaming laptop — perhaps the Asus Zephyrus G16, which I previously reviewed. I had to make a lot of sacrifices to get Red Dead Redemption 2 to run, and even then it frequently dipped below 30 fps.

I didn’t put the laptop through the normal slew of benchmarks that I’d use for a high-end gaming laptop, but I did try to bog it down with different apps like Photoshop, Premiere, and even After Effects running simultaneously. The Vivobook S16 OLED handled it all like a champ without any major slowdowns, and it was even able to export a 3-minute test video at 4K in just over an hour and twenty minutes. Depending on the video you’re exporting, of course, that rendering and exporting time may differ.

Here’s a look at the different ports the Vivobook S16 OLED offers:

• 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C for display / power delivery

• 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A

• 1x USB 4.0 Gen 3 Type-C for display / power delivery

• 1x HDMI 2.1 TMDS

• 1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack

• Micro SD card reader

The Vivobook S16 OLED is also one of the first Asus laptops to include the Copilot button, which you can mostly ignore if you don’t care about using Microsoft’s entry-level AI features. If you do use it, there aren’t any of the nifty AI additions that Microsoft showed off for its Copilot+ PCs, but the Vivobook S16 OLED doesn’t need AI to make it stand out from other competitors. It’s just a solid laptop through and through, but more importantly, it's sleek.

Looks and feel

It's so light you can easily hold it in one hand. Credit: Joshua Hawkins

Perhaps one of my favorite things about the Vivobook S16 OLED is the fact that Asus hasn’t gone out of its way to make this device stand out. It’s pretty simple as far as laptops go, with a slick all-metal body and a simple logo printed across the lid.

It’s a very understated design compared to the other Asus offerings I’ve checked out this year, and that really called to my love for minimalism and simplicity. That all-metal body also means an extremely lightweight and thin design, which feels great to carry around despite the laptop sporting a large, 16-inch display.

The trackpad and keyboard are solid, too, with the trackpad expanding up a good bit of the actual body of the laptop, giving you plenty of room to work. The keyboard and trackpad are both Ergosense, which means they’re designed to give you optimal ergonomics without sacrificing any of the benefits you’d get from a high-end typing and trackpad experience.

The backlit chiclet keyboard feels good to type on — almost as good as my MacBook Air's — and the addition of the numpad is handy, though it does feel a bit cramped. Using the laptop on your lap, a countertop, or anywhere you might need to take your work from is easy thanks to the lighter weight of the laptop (3.31 pounds), too.

Fitting so many keys onto the laptop without taking up an enormous amount of room is no easy feat, but Asus has put together a decent combination of keys to give you all the necessities.

Display and battery life

The OLED display shines in both bright and dark environments. Credit: Joshua Hawkins

If you’re working on a laptop, then you want to have plenty of room to do everything you need to do on it. The Asus Vivobook S16 OLED doesn’t want for screen space, as its large, 16-inch, 3.2K (3,200 x 2,000) Lumina OLED display provides a striking color balance with a beautifully large canvas that gives you plenty of room for juggling apps. The peak brightness of 600 nits is also enough for multiple types of work environments, and I never found myself worrying too much about glare.

The addition, the side-mounted HDMI connector and display capable USB-C ports mean you can also expand your display if needed, giving you even more room to be productive. I found that this display is easily one of the best I’ve seen on a laptop this year, and it made working and watching movies very enjoyable. The colors in movies like Dune: Part Two popped, from the bright sandy desert vistas to the darker cavern scenes. I also tried playing a few lower-end games on the machine, and it did a surprisingly good job of handling itself, so long as I was willing to go to a much lower resolution than the native 3,200 x 2,000.

With such a beautiful display attached and a powerful chip like the Ryzen 9 8945HS, you might not expect more than a few hours of battery life from the Vivobook S16 OLED. During my testing, I was often able to go the entire workday—and some into the evening—without having to plug in the laptop. That's roughly eight to nine hours, depending on the day. It also comes equipped with various Asus software to help manage the battery and keep it at peak health, so you won’t have to worry about overcharging it if you follow the instructions on the notifications that pop up.

The bottom line

The Asus Vivobook S16 OLED is a great all-around laptop for work, personal projects, and school. It’s lightweight design makes it a great option for people who travel a lot, or if you just have to commute to work every day and want an easy-to-carry laptop.

The powerful AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS and integrated graphics in the model I got were more than enough for anything you might throw at it during your normal day-to-day (but don’t expect it to hold up to high-end gaming). The configuration of the Asus Vivobook S16 OLED I tested is available now on Asus' website for $999.

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This Robot Vacuum Has High-End Features at a Mid-Range Price

Robot vacuums are expected to do a lot more than vacuum these days: They can map rooms, mop floors, respond to voice commands, empty themselves, detect pets and people, and avoid pet waste on the floor. Many of the features above are reserved for the highest priced flagship models, but they are starting to trickle down to mid-tier models, too. The Dreame L10s Plus has settled into a nice mid-range floorbot option by having some of my favorite high-end features, while not allowing the core function—vacuuming—to suffer. If you ignore the mop feature on the Dreame L10s Plus robot vacuum and simply use it as a competent vacuum with all the bells and whistles of many flagship models, you’re likely to be happy with the value at $549.

What to know about the Dreame brand

I was excited to test the L10s Plus because Dreame has an exceptional reputation in the robot vacuum space; the brand offers a large number of models each year, though, which can be confusing and hard to differentiate. For instance, in additional to this model, the L10s Plus, there is an L10 Pro, L10s Ultra, L10s Pro Gen, and the L20, with only marginal differences among them. By spending fractionally more money, you might get some additional vacuum power or battery longevity and perhaps one additional feature improvement, like AI obstacle recognition over traditional LiDAR. This model, the L10s Plus, offers a self-emptying tower for the vacuum (but not the mop), as well as two removable mop pads and a very small water reservoir on the robot itself. 

High-end features

This was my first time using the Dreame app, and I was pleased with how easy it was to pair the robot and get it connected to wifi. An advantage to Dreame products is that this model works with every smart assistant out there, and it integrated into my Google Home setup easily. This means you can create automations involving your robot. Schedule a run after dinner or in response to your dog going through a doggie door. The app is where I was really impressed by the L10s Plus: Mapping options were as extensive as on the most expensive robot vacuums I’ve tested. You can create rooms and zones, manipulating the map to merge and divide areas. The map generated by LiDAR was impressively accurate after just the first run. You can customize the run settings for vacuum suction and mop wetness, as well as the route the robot will take, whether quick or standard deep clean. The app gives you concise information about when to replace parts and a number of customizations for control, including kid locks and do-not-disturb schedules. In particular, I loved seeing the remote control option, as well as a beacon to find the robot. Remote control has proven to be incredibly useful for retrieving robots lost under couches without having to fish it out manually. 

Reliable performance on small to medium debris

As a vacuum, I really liked how the Dreame performed. While not as rugged as the Roborock high end models I’ve tested, I thought the L10s Plus did a good job of picking up small- to medium-sized debris without getting stuck. Dog toy fluff presented a problem, so you’ll need to clear your floor of it beforehand, but in at least one instance, it was clear the L10s Plus had picked up a coin or screw and continued cleaning. I didn’t understand the path the Dreame took across the floor; it wasn’t a back and forth or S shape, but that’s not unusual, as many floorbots have unique algorithms they follow. The L10s got to 95% of the floor, missing a few spots here and there that I couldn’t find a reason for. Placing the robot in that spot, and then manually pressing the clean button allowed the robot to find and add that spot to the map so it was caught on later runs. The L10s Plus was average in how close it was able to get to walls in my home, meaning you’d have to return with with a handheld or broom to get up to the molding, but that’s expected for all but the latest floorbots with extending arms. While this model worked well on tile and low pile rugs, it actually did a great job on high pile carpet and sailed over low thresholds. The L10s Plus has the advantage of self-emptying into the tower, and it did a good job evacuating the entire chamber over the time I tested it. So many robots are talked about in terms of the power the vacuum itself has on the floor, but the power of the tower to empty the debris container is just as important, in my opinion. 

The mop isn't worthwhile

Where things fall apart is the L10s Plus mop. There is a wide variation in how robot mops work: At the high end, towers have tanks for clean and dirty water, and the tower will fill a robot with clean water, then wash the mop and remove the dirty water. In some limited cases, mops work like a Swiffer, where you attach a mop pad and the robot will drag it across the floor. The Dreame L10s Plus exists in a middle ground. There’s a (very) small container for water on the robot itself, so you’ll need to fill it many times over one mopping. The robot has two rotating mop pads, similar to those I’ve seen on higher end models, and the water will saturate the mop pads as the robot moves. As a mop, the performance is really so-so, and I was annoyed by how often I had to stop the robot to refill the reservoir. Spinning brushes aren’t as effective, in my opinion, as mop pads at getting up stains on the floor, and the combination of low agitation and not enough saturation meant that only wet debris was removed during the moping process. It might be worthwhile the keep the mop tank filled in case you need a quick spot clean, but it’s impractical to consider using this mop on a regular basis. 

It's a good value if you think of it as just a vacuum

Some of my favorite floorbot recommendations are models where you should ignore some features because the other benefits outweigh them—like the Switchbot K10+, which is my favorite vacuum but a lousy mop. Overall, if you are looking to spend under $600, I think the L10s Plus is a great value to get a decent vacuum with some of those additional high-tier features, even if you only use the mop once in a while for spot cleaning.

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