Whether you’ve been working from home for years, or you’re new to the game, there are probably several ways in which you can improve your home-office setup for maximum comfort and productivity. We’re talking both hardware and software upgrades here. Things such as a Thunderbolt dock for adding extra ports for external displays and storage, or a monitor arm for total flexibility and improved ergonomics, or a trustworthy VPN and full-featured PDF editing software can all make a world of difference in your overall work satisfaction and success. Here we present our favorite work from home tech of 2024/2025, all of which has been personally tested and approved by PCWorld’s hardware and software experts. Dell Inspiron 14 Plus – Best work-from-home laptop Your home office laptop needs to be reliable; it needs zippy performance and a penchant for productivity; and for optimum flexibility the device should be easy to transport and have exceptional battery life. You get all that with the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus — and you get it for less than $1,000. The Inspiron line is all about business-like practicality, but the Inspiron 14 Plus, while feeling quite durable, features some welcome aesthetic upgrades in the form of its partially aluminum chassis and slender profile. Inside, an Intel Core 7 Ultra 155H, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD make for exceptionally snappy performance. But there’s more to a satisfying work laptop than capable internals. The Inspiron 14 Plus comes correct with an array of suitable accoutrements: a firm and surprisingly quick keyboard with white backlighting, a biometric fingerprint sensor for easy login, and a nice assortment of ports that belie its compact size — headphone jack, microSD card reader, a couple USB-A ports, Thunderbolt 4 port, and full-size HDMI. The screen is also a treat, with a clear 2240×1400 resolution image, comparatively high peak brightness, and an anti-glare coating that can withstand challenging lighting conditions. The icing on the cake is an exceptional battery life lasting just over 17 hours. Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus – Best work-from-home Chromebook Let’s face it, there are many work scenarios in which a full-fledged Windows laptop is overkill. Emails, documents, spreadsheets, and even presentations, are all easily handled using online apps — something a Chromebook can accomplish for a fraction of a Windows laptop’s cost. Of course, some Chromebooks are more capable than others, such as the Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus. Among Chromebooks, the Plus designation signifies more robust performance, in this case an Intel Core i3-1315U CPU, Intel UHD graphics, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of SSD. What really sets the Flex 5i Chromebook Plus apart, however, is its attractive styling and impressive build quality. In the words of our reviewer: “This thing looks and feels fancy, real fancy.” The 2-in-1 design lets you use the device as a standard clamshell, in a tent configuration, or as a tablet. Input options include both a backlit chiclet-style keyboard that’s pleasantly springy to use, or touch input via the 1200p crisp and vibrant display. Performance is speedy and satisfying, and the battery, while not stellar, ran for over nine hours on a single charge — enough to last a full day away from an outlet. Read our full Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus review NexiGo HelloCam – Best work-from-home webcam Best Prices Today: $69.99 at Amazon$69.99 at NexiGo There are a couple reasons why we consider the NexiGo HelloCam to be the best work-from-home webcam. For starters, it does what you want a webcam to do: Its 1080p/30fps fixed-focus lens produces a good picture that will have you making a positive impression in your Zoom meetings. The noise-cancelling mics will ensure that you’re being heard loud and clear. But the NexiGo HelloCam offers another perk for home workers: Windows Hello support, which lets you log in to your Windows computer with facial recognition. This is a feature that’s usually relegated to higher-priced webcams. The HelloCam also offers a requisite privacy shutter, here in the form of a physical barrier that shuts when the webcam is not in use. Alternative option: If you don’t need Windows Hello, you can save a little money and get a slight boost in resolution (to 1440p) with the Anker PowerConf C200. Dell U2724DE – Best work-from-home monitor Best Prices Today: $499.99 at B & H Photo There’s no better all-around home office monitor than Dell’s Ultrasharp U2724DE. Image quality is top-notch thanks to the IPS Black panel. Besides boasting an impressive contrast ratio, it also excels at color performance. A 120Hz refresh rate means that it can be pressed into service for after-hours gaming sessions. The stand is fit for purpose with solid construction and all the expected ergonomic adjustments, including 90-degree rotation into portrait mode. But the real show-stopper is the near-universal connectivity that should meet the needs of almost any scenario. Multiple video inputs, support for “daisy-chaining,” 90 watts of power for charging a device connected via USB-C, downstream ports for peripherals, and even a 2.5G RJ45 jack. There’s also a KVM switch and an ambient light sensor for intelligently adjusting screen brightness. Indeed, the U2724DE is no slacker! Read our full Dell U2724DE review Herman Miller Flo – Best work-from-home monitor arm Best Prices Today: $295 at Herman Miller A monitor arm is one of those pieces of gear that turns a conventional home office into a seriously professional setup. That’s particularly true of the Herman Miller Flo, which ticks all the boxes for a premier product. Aesthetically, it’s about as smooth and stylish as a monitor arm can be, capable of blending in with any environment. Setting it up is simple, thanks to a refined design that requires relatively few screws and a VESA mount that can be pre-mounted to a monitor and then clipped into place. The Flo offers a wide range of adjustment including tilt, swivel, and rotation, but more importantly, its operation is smoother than other products, moving into place with only a nudge. It also comes with a 12-year warranty and 24/7 customer support. It’s pricey, but everything about the Flo is top shelf. Anker 555 PowerExpand 8-in-1 USB-C Hub – Best work-from-home USB-C hub Best Prices Today: $49.99 at Amazon Whether you’re using a laptop or a desktop PC, port accessibility might be lacking. In such cases, the Anker 555 8-in-1 USB-C Hub has the answer. Anker’s hub offers a full complement of connectivity for legacy USB devices like mice and keyboards, for both SD and microSD media, for charging USB-C devices at up to 85W, and for running a monitor over HDMI at 60Hz. An Ethernet port is also part of the mix. The hub is well designed, even elegant, with a premium aluminum and polycarbonate exterior that keeps cools in use. It’s got a nice, sturdy heft at 4.5 ounces, and even comes with a carrying pouch. Plugable TBT3-UDZ – Best work-from-home Thunderbolt dock Best Prices Today: $255.41 at Amazon$369 at Newegg There are times when a USB-C hub falls short of your connectivity needs, such as when you want to connect two high-res monitors — scenarios that call for a Thunderbolt dock. The the best of the bunch is Plugable’s TBT3-UDZ. Okay, yes, it uses Thunderbolt 3 rather than Thunderbolt 4, but the capabilities and performance are mostly equivalent (while saving you a few dollars). What impresses us most about the TBT3-UDZ is its flexibility. Whether your two monitors use DisplayPort cables or HDMI, this dock will accommodate them. Two 4K displays can run at 60Hz in tandem. Of course, the TBT3-UDZ has every other kind of port you could want, as well — USB-C, a plethora of USB-A, standard and micro card reader, headphone jack, Ethernet, the whole gamut. It can charge a smartphone and a laptop. We also appreciate the space-saving vertical orientation of the attractive and solid gun-metal chassis, and the ample 30-inch cable that connects the dock to your PC. Read our full Plugable TBT3-UDZ review Logitech MX Keys S Keyboard – Best work-from-home wireless keyboard Best Prices Today: $109.99 at Amazon For anyone who favors a stylish keyboard that works effortlessly with multiple devices, the Logitech MX Keys S is it. Sporting an almost Apple-like clean aesthetic, the MX Keys S is a low-profile board that comes in Graphite, Gray, or Rose colorways. Besides being visually stunning, the full-sized layout is comfortable to type on, with a smooth and sure feel to the keys. The white backlighting automatically adjusts to the ambient lighting conditions. Using either Bluetooth or the bundled proprietary Logi Bolt dongle, the keyboard can be switched among three devices. If you prefer a mechanical, “clicky” keyboard, we recommend the also-very-good Logitech MX Mechanical variant. Read our full Logitech MX Keys S Keyboard review Creative Pebble X Plus – Best work-from-home computer speakers No home office is complete without a good set of computer speakers. For a compact, capable, but affordable solution, we think the best option is the Creative Pebble X Plus. The system consists of two speakers and a subwoofer. It offers Bluetooth, aux, and USB connection to your audio source of choice. A button on one of the satellites lets you switch between devices. The sound output is clear and can easily fill a room. There’s excellent detail in the treble and midrange. Besides providing a significant boost over your laptop’s audio, the Pebble X Plus features RGB for some added visual flare when it’s time to clock off and unwind. Read our full Creative Pebble X Plus review Lexar SL600 Blaze 20Gbps USB SSD – Best work-from-home external SSD Best Prices Today: $129.99 at B & H Photo There are many very fast external SSDs to choose from. But in our tests, the Lexar SL600 Blaze is not only among the fastest, but also competitively priced, making it an obvious recommendation for portable storage. Available in up to 4TB capacity, this USB 3.2 x 2 (Superspeed 20Gbps) not only has the space for even large, multimedia projects, it will be reading and writing that data at a wonderfully brisk pace. While SSDs are known for their durability, the SL600 Blaze’s 5-year warranty just provides extra assurance. Read our full Lexar SL600 Blaze 20Gbps USB SSD review SanDisk Desk Drive 10Gbps USB SSD – Best work-from-home SSD for backups Best Prices Today: $249.99 at Western Digital There is no worse feeling than laboring over a project — be it work-related or personal — only to lose it all because of a drive crash, power outage, mistaken deletion, or some other tragedy. This is why the importance of a solid backup solution cannot be overstated. Laptop users in particular should consider an external drive for backup. And if time is money, an SSD will get ‘er done far faster than an external hard drive. The SanDisk Desk Drive 10Gbps USB SSD is the external backup SSD to beat. Available in 4TB or 8TB capacities, this rugged desktop companion will not only provide that relatively speedy auxillary storage for data redundancy and/or overflow, as an SSD you needn’t worry about its susceptibility to jostles, shocks, or drops, as you would with a mechanical hard drive. Read our full SanDisk Desk Drive 10Gbps USB SSD review R-Drive Image 7.2 – Best work-from-home Windows backup Best Prices Today: $44.95 at R-tools Technology As noted above, there’s no excuse not to prepare for data disaster. We’ve told you what backup drive to use, but what about backup software? R-Drive Image has a legacy of reliability that makes it unmatched in this space. Indeed, in our experience its record is unblemished! Now at version 7.2, R-Drive Image is more full-featured and capable than ever. It offers the range of backup duties: disk and partitions, files and folders, WinPE and Linux boot media creation, the works. You can save your backups locally, to the network, or to your preferred cloud storage. You can even replicate backups across multiple destinations.  The interface is straightforward, and performance is speedy. There’s really no need to consider other options.  Read our full R-Drive Image review EaseUS PDF Editor – Best work-from-home PDF editor Best Prices Today: $49.95 at EaseUS There is no denying that the pinnacle of PDF editing is Adobe’s Acrobat Pro DC. But it’s probably overkill for the needs of most home office-workers, while being relatively expensive. That’s why our recommendation for the best PDF editor for a home office is EaseUS PDF Editor. For just $49.95 a year, or an incredible $79.95 lifetime subscription, you get a full set of PDF editing tools, including a variety of annotation tools for easy collaboration. The app is straightforward, making it possible to jump right in and get started. Add and remove text; add images; change font type, color, and size; add watermarks, background, headers and footers; enable permissions and password protection. It’s all here. The one caveat is that it’s Windows only. For more suggestions, see our roundup of the best PDF editors. Read our full EaseUS PDF Editor review ExpressVPN – Best work-from-home VPN A virtual private network (VPN) is a key component of online privacy, routing all your internet traffic through an anonymized and encrypted funnel. If you want to protect your work (or personal) online activities protected from prying eyes and/or hackers, a VPN is a must. In addition to that, by allowing you to run your internet browsing through servers all across the globe, a VPN can help you access your streaming services when you’re abroad, or bypass other regional restrictions. ExpressVPN is our favorite VPN overall. It’s feature-rich but easy to use; it provides broad device support; it uses diskless servers, so none of your data is ever permanently stored; it undergoes third-party audits for added reassurance about its privacy practices; and it offers some added benefits such as ad- and tracker-blocking and a password manager. Read our full ExpressVPN review Norton 360 Deluxe – Best work-from-home antivirus software For full-coverage antivirus protection at a reasonable price, Norton 360 Deluxe is the total package. You can relax knowing that Norton’s strong online protection has your back with minimal resource overhead. In addition to real-time monitoring against threats online, you can also perform scans of varying scope or complexity at will or on a schedule. Norton has earned very high marks from the major third-party testing outfits. Norton 360 Deluxe also offers lots of extras, such as cloud backup, a password manager, dark web monitoring, and even PC utilities. All those things might be value adds for you, but the core competency of the product — keeping you, your data, and your devices safe from nefarious actors — is why we consider it the best antivirus software overall. Read our full Norton 360 Deluxe review Read...

TL;DR: Manage your PDFs easily with this SwifDoo lifetime license, now only $34.99 (reg. $129). While PDFs are the universal file type used by countless businesses, they’re not necessarily the easiest to manipulate if you find spelling errors or want to add an annotation for clarity. Fortunately, PDF management is simple when you have SwifDoo PDF Pro. A lifetime license is now available for only $34.99 (reg. $129) while supplies last. Enjoy lifelong access to intuitive, user-friendly PDF tools with SwifDoo PDF Pro. This platform offers editing and annotating features to make contracts, business reports, work proposals, and academic writing more clear by adding text, highlighting passages, and inserting notes. PDF conversion is also seamless with this platform, as you can turn them into Word, Excel, JPG, and CAD (and vice versa) without losing the formatting you selected. In addition, you can add or remove protective PDF watermarks in a single click, secure sensitive PDFs with encryption, and even add digital signatures. Working with PDFs doesn’t have to be a nightmare.  Grab a lifetime license for Swifdoo PDF Pro for just $34.99 while inventory is still available.   SwifDoo PDF Pro: Perpetual Lifetime License for Windows Only $34.99 at PCWorld StackSocial prices subject to change. Read...

Scott Armul will take on the role of Executive Vice President at Vertiv from 1 January 2025, overseeing key business units amid evolving market demands. Read...

Brokers say it`s a sign competition seems to be heating up for mortgage business. Read...

Act Party Leader and Minister responsible for the bill David Seymour denies the Treaty Principles Bill has been brought forward and says it is a normal part of parliamentary business. Read...

A small business owner says identical versions of her products were copied without permission. Read...

Act Party Leader and Minister responsible for the bill David Seymour denies the Treaty Principles Bill has been brought forward and says it is a normal part of parliamentary business. Read...

A Northland woman was getting her business off the ground when she suffered a major setback. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Image quality is quite good AI features feel well thought-out Very good noise cancellation Innovative solution for group settings Cons 4K turns to 1080p when AI is enabled Utility app is buggy Hard to find in stores A bit overpriced Our Verdict The Coolpo AI Huddle Mini Lite is a unique, laptop-mounted webcam that can be used either for individual use or a small group. It largely delivers what it promises, with one significant exception. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Coolpo AI Huddle Mini Lite Retailer Price $219.99 View Deal Coolpo $220 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Coolpo’s AI Huddle Mini Lite does double duty as an individual webcam and one that can show off a number of participants in the same room, in a pinch. It’s a smartly designed “4K” camera, which foregoes frills for a simple, easy-to-use interface. Coolpo is one of those hundreds of little startups in Shenzhen, China, whose products come and go quickly. At press time, Amazon was out of stock, but the manufacturer still had availability. Keep in mind, though, that the MSRP, about $220, is way, way more than many of the webcams in our list of recommended webcams. For the price, it might have been nice if the Coolpo AI Huddle Mini Lite offered Windows Hello capabilities. Alas, it does not. You may have to tap your department’s IT budget to get it approved. Is it worth it? Not quite. One of the features this webcam offers is automatic panning and zooming, a value-add feature that was much more impressive before Microsoft added it to some of its Copilot+ devices armed with an NPU. Coolpo’s webcam intelligently crops and zooms to achieve the same effect. A webcam that can be used for both individual use as well as for small groups adds a lot of value. Unfortunately, it leaves a bit to be desired as a personal webcam. Coolpo AI Huddle Mini Lite: Build quality Coolpo’s AI Huddle Mini Lite is rather impressively chunky for a modern webcam, spanning 4.5 inches across the top of your monitor or display, extending 3.2 inches back, and measuring 2.5 inches from top to bottom. A cord stretching about 6.25 feet plugs into a USB-C slot on the back of the webcam, and to a USB-A port on your laptop or hub. It includes a physical shutter, which slides across. The Coolpo AI Huddle Mini Lite will grip a laptop, but it works better on a monitor.Mark Hachman / IDG Like most webcams, the Mini Lite’s mount includes a “tooth” that extends down from the “jaw” of the webcam’s mount. The tooth hooks over the edge of the display, while the flexible “jaw” opens and closes to support the webcam at a given angle. Some webcams include an additional “tongue” to support the webcam as it leans against your display; this webcam does not. Is it a problem? Not that I can see. The weight of the webcam helps hold it steady, and the webcam itself swivels up and down to line up your face. The AI software takes care of the rest. Coolpo’s camera appears to work right out of the box, as a generic USB camera. But if you want to use the added features, you’ll need to read the manual closer to unearth the download link. You’ll then need to download a small utility file to allow the value-added features to work. (I confirmed that the software will run on Windows on Arm PCs.) Coolpo AI Huddle Mini Lite: Image quality As a webcam, Coolpo’s AI Huddle Mini Lite does a pretty good job. As I explain in my webcam testing methodology, I do not try to take an “ideal” photo or screenshot, as I like to see how the webcam does in average to poor conditions. Downstairs in my cave-like office with artificial lighting, my blue shirt looked a bit grainy but the colors were otherwise on point. The screenshot looks a little soft though, for reasons I’ll explain below. Mark Hachman / IDG Upstairs, my go-to shot is in full, natural light, but with the light coming from one side. I thought the camera did a nice job processing the fall sun, as well as picking out the details of my face and hair. There’s only one problem with the color, and that’s that I’m wearing a green sweater. It looks about the same color as the dark gray couch. This camera doesn’t indicate that it has HDR, and I see no signs of it here. Mark Hachman / IDG Coolpo’s AI features: What do they do? The Coolpo utility software is somewhat hit or miss. For one, it had a persistent bug that caused the utility to disappear when the screen was moved from one display to the other, forcing me to detach and re-insert the webcam. The app also left a dialog box at the bottom of the app that wouldn’t go away, asking whether I wanted to save a custom configuration of various settings. Once you download the software, however, the “Meeting flex AI,” if enabled, goes to work. But, there’s a catch. Though this camera does go up to 4K (2160p) resolution, it only does so with AI off. The camera has an adjustable field of view (60/90/120 degrees) that can be adjusted manually or by letting the AI do the work. The AI software can be set up either in “Frame Master” (in group or individual mode) as well as “Division Master.” Coolpo’s software is simple yet functional.Mark Hachman / IDG In Frame Master mode, the webcam crops and zooms to fit one or a group, up to seven people. In individual mode, however, the webcam can’t crop in at 4K resolution (which is 30Hz, maximum). Instead, it crops down to 1080p resolution. The camera will maintain 4K resolution, but without panning or zooming, in a 120-degree field of view. That’s not ideal. Otherwise, the pan and zoom is very good, responsive without being twitchy — some cameras will refocus or recenter you at the smallest movement, which is distracting to an audience. Division Master is a very interesting mode, and helps justify this webcam as a business expense. When Division Master is on, the screen subdivides itself into four separate vertical video windows that somehow individually focus and lock in on the four faces. It’s a neat trick. (I tested this using the preview mode of the Coolpo app with my family, who asked me not to take a screenshot to preserve their privacy.) If the number of people in the room is between five and seven, the camera simply shows static images of their faces instead. The noise cancelation capabilities of the Coolpo AI Huddle Mini Lite aren’t bad. I typically play back rock music and a separate white noise track on a phone, and move them around while I record my voice using the camera mic. The Mini Lite did a decent job filtering out the music, and I could barely hear the much more neutral sounds of a recorded rainstorm. That’s what I would hope for. Is the Coolpo AI Huddle Mini Lite worth it? Coolpo is pitching this camera as an ideal solution for a “huddle room,” where a small team video chats with a remote audience. I would think that most teams would have a pricier, more complex solution, but maybe not. The Coolpro webcam seems like it could certainly work, especially in a pinch. In fact, given the price, using it for groups seems to offer the best value. Sure, I’d much rather have a “true” 4K camera with a zoomed-in field of view, or at least the option for it. But I give credit to Coolpro’s engineers for addressing a problem with some innovative solutions. As a personal webcam, however, Coolpo’s AI Huddle Mini Lite comes up a bit short for a bit too much. There are just too many superior options for less money to settle for the Coolpo’s compromises. Read...

ABBYY unveils new AI tools to enhance document processes, including Phoenix, a multi-modal learning approach, aimed at revolutionising business operations. Read...