How to order free rapid COVID tests from the US government

With the rise of the Omicron variant, we’ve been urged to use COVID-19 rapid antigen tests to make sure that we don’t spread the virus to friends and family. However, it’s been very difficult to follow that suggestion, what with long lines at COVID testing stations and high prices for home kits — when you can find them. To try to alleviate this situation,...

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How to pick a new monitor for working from home

Illustration by Samar Haddad / Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales You now interact with coworkers through a flat rectangle — let’s get you a larger, better one The shift to remote work has sent millions scrambling to improve their home office. There are many ways to do this, but the most important upgrade is the most obvious: the monitor....

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Why you might want a secure file-sharing service now that you’re working from home

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge When we were all at the office, many of us were connected to the office network. We didn’t need to give sharing files much thought. But now that we’re scattered across the landscape, securely sharing important files can take careful planning. Here’s why you might want to use powerful file-sharing services...

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How to send private messages and make calls in Slack

Illustration by Samar Haddad / Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales While Slack began as a workplace instant-messaging tool, over the last few years it has become popular as a way for anyone to keep in contact with a group of friends, colleagues, or family. It now even offers a way for groups to create in-the-moment “huddles,” in which two or...

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How to keep your Zoom meetings safe and secure

Illustration by Samar Haddad / Photo by Becca Farsace Back in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, people who wanted to get together while staying safe from infection discovered that they could meet with friends, families, and co-workers via videoconferencing software. Maybe because many of them were already using Zoom at work for videoconferencing,...

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How to mute a word or phrase on Twitter

In February 2020, I found that that it was possible not only to mute conversations or other accounts on Twitter, but (courtesy of a tweet by @nonprofWHIT ) that you could also mute a specific word. And you could do it straight from a tweet. Now, Twitter has announced it is expanding this feature so that when you mute a word or phrase, it will not...

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The Verge guide to working from home

Working from home is normal now. For some of us, it has become a permanent change. Thankfully, in these days of videoconferencing, texting, and file-sharing, it has been possible for many of us to move to home desks and offices and thrive that way. It helps that remote working was already a part of many people’s lives before COVID-19 appeared. But...

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How to make your home office a more pleasant place to work

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge This pandemic has more people working from home than ever before, but it’s not all lollipops and daffodils. While there may have been some early excitement about not commuting or being breathed on by Chet the Xerox Tech, an actual home office can be downright depressing and / or uncomfortable. I should...

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Our favorite apps, games, and entertainment from 2021 for all of your new tech

Photo Illustration by Grayson Blackmon / The Verge Our staff lists their choices for the best of the year It’s been a difficult year, and with the appearance of the COVID-19 omicron variant, it looks like 2022 may have a rocky start. But whether you’re spending the holidays sheltering at home or hanging with friends or family, you can make...

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How to get the most out of your Pixel’s Now Playing feature

The other day, I was watching the documentary The Beatles: Get Back, which flashes on the screen the names of the songs being played and happened to miss the identification of a song I didn’t recognize. “What was that?” I asked my partner. He didn’t know either. But my Pixel 6 didn’t miss it. Looking down at my lock screen, it said “Dig a Pony The...

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