Technology

As someone who spent over $1,000 on my last pair of specs, I'd say this Black Friday sale is a sight for sore eyes.

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,000 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my Wordle today, NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1042) - hint #1 - Vowels How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1042) - hint #2 - repeated letters Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 1.

Quordle today (game #1042) - hint #3 - uncommon letters Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1042) - hint #4 - starting letters (1) Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1042) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• N

• C

• S

• M

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1042) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1042, are…

• NAIVE
• CIRCA
• STEAD
• MICRO

This was a relatively standard Quordle without any particularly awkward words, but for some reason I struggled to solve it all the same. I completed it, sure – and with two guesses to go. But that had more to do with luck, after my set start words gave me all five letters for one answer and four for the other three.

Despite that, it took me an inordinately long time to work out what MICRO was, and NAIVE was similarly confusing to my tired brain.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Daily Sequence today (game #1042) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1042, are…

• INBOX
• STEIN
• CLASH
• KOALA

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1041, Saturday 30 November: MAMMA, SNUCK, CRYPT, TAROT
• Quordle #1040, Friday 29 November: JOIST, DROOL, DUSKY, GLIDE
• Quordle #1039, Thursday 28 November: GRADE, WORRY, NOISE, DAISY
• Quordle #1038, Wednesday 27 November: HEART, ROGUE, INEPT, UTILE
• Quordle #1037, Tuesday 26 November: PRIED, FAINT, HURRY, WOOER
• Quordle #1036, Monday 25 November: NUDGE, SNOOP, SHACK, DRYLY
• Quordle #1035, Sunday 24 November: CLOTH, CLAMP, PETTY, CHEST
• Quordle #1034, Saturday 23 November: AVOID, PLANT, FILET, TWIRL
• Quordle #1033, Friday 22 November: CUTIE, ALOOF, ETUDE, SILLY
• Quordle #1032, Thursday 21 November: RABBI, EAGER, COUGH, BRASH
• Quordle #1031, Wednesday 20 November: MINTY, TOPAZ, BRUSH, LAPEL
• Quordle #1030, Tuesday 19 November: NINJA, PENCE, PAINT, FOIST
• Quordle #1029, Monday 18 November: ASCOT, BRINK, WEIRD, HOMER
• Quordle #1028, Sunday 17 November: STATE, BRAWN, SWORE, URBAN
• Quordle #1027, Saturday 16 November: NOTCH, BENCH, BUSED, FOUND
• Quordle #1026, Friday 15 November: PURER, TRUSS, TORCH, FORUM
• Quordle #1025, Thursday 14 November: EXALT, TASTE, CRONY, CLOUT
• Quordle #1024, Wednesday 13 November: YEARN, ELBOW, SURGE, PINEY
• Quordle #1023, Tuesday 12 November: CHORD, ATTIC, OLIVE, EIGHT
• Quordle #1022, Monday 11 November: COPSE, REGAL, GRUNT, GOODY

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need clues.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Wordle hints and answers, Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #539) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• SOLO
• JERSEY
• WILLY
• WONKA
• YORK
• HAVEN
• KINDER
• BIRD
• PADS
• CHARMS
• PORT
• HELMET
• RETREAT
• FALLIN'
• CLEATS
• SHELTER

NYT Connections today (game #539) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• Yellow: Somewhere safe
• Green: Locker room kit
• Blue: Sweet treats
• Purple: [not costing anything] blank

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #539) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: SANCTUARY
• GREEN FOOTBALL GEAR
• BLUE: CANDY NAMES
• PURPLE: “FREE ___”

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #539) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #539, are…

• YELLOW: SANCTUARY HAVEN, PORT, RETREAT, SHELTER
• GREEN FOOTBALL GEAR CLEATS, HELMET, JERSEY, PADS
• BLUE: CANDY NAMES CHARMS, KINDER, WONKA, YORK
• PURPLE: “FREE ___” BIRD, FALLIN’, SOLO, WILLY

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 2 mistakes

It's now a part of my Connections routine that I look for anything related to one of three sports: football of the American variety, baseball, or occasionally basketball. Playing to the crowd there, NYT, well done. Anyway, predictable though it is, it did give me a way into this game once I'd already solved the very easy yellow group, SANCTUARY.

The football group was simply FOOTBALL GEAR, with CLEATS, HELMET, JERSEY, PADS, which left me with eight more to choose from and place in two collections. But what were they? Well, I only needed one of course, which was just as well given that I would never have got one of them.

The one I didn't get was blue – CANDY NAMES, because I've not heard of any of them other than KINDER (which is available outside of the US). WONKA was familiar, obviously, but I thought it was only fictional. The other two… not a clue.

The one I did get was “FREE ___”, mainly because FREE WILLY was one of the few connections I could make with that word, and I then realized that FREE BIRD and FREE FALLIN' also worked. I wasn't sure about SOLO, but it sounded familiar and it turns out it was a 2018 film that I haven't watched but that I have heard of. Tough going today, but I got there eventually.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Saturday, 30 November, game #538)

• YELLOW: DANCE STYLES JAZZ, MODERN, SWING, TAP
• GREEN: STEAL LIFT, PALM, POCKET, SWIPE
• BLUE: PERFORM WELL ON ACE, CRUSH, NAIL, ROCK
• PURPLE: ___BALL PITCHES CURVE, FAST, KNUCKLE, SCREW

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my Wordle today, NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #273) - hint #1 - today's theme What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Old hang-ups

NYT Strands today (game #273) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• SEVERE
• CHIT
• CHOIR
• GREED
• LION
• CARD

NYT Strands today (game #273) - hint #3 - spangram What is a hint for today's spangram?

• Pick up if you're there

NYT Strands today (game #273) - hint #4 - spangram position What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First: right, 4th row

Last: left, 3rd row

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #273) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #273, are…

• RECEIVER
• SWITCH
• DIAL
• CRADLE
• HANDSET
• RINGER
• SPANGRAM: ROTARYPHONE

• My rating: Moderate
• My score: Perfect

This was another nice Strands puzzle, with a straightforward theme in some ways, but more interesting than some due to both the nostalgia factor and the fact that its era made it harder.

We're talking here about the ROTARYPHONE, a device that those under about 30 will probably only know from TV shows such as Stranger Things. It really does seem incredible that as recently as the 1990s – or certainly the '80s – these were ubiquitous but now they're hardly seen at all. Then again, it seems equally unlikely that people wouldn't be able to contact you on the go, or that only one member of a household could have a telephone conversation at once.

The theme clue here was fairly cryptic, but I spotted RECEIVER by accident and that gave me the concept right away. After that it was a question of raiding my childhood memories of life in a world where you actually had to remember people's phone number…

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Saturday, 30 November, game #272)

• WIND
• LIFE
• COME
• EASY
• REAL
• BLOWS
• FANTASY
• SPANGRAM: BOHEMIANRHAPSODY

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now out of beta so is a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

Winter doesn't mean you can't keep working out outside. With the right gear, you'll be warm and protected throughout your outdoor activities.

• Micron brings new DDR5 memory to the market
• New memory integrates clock driver directly into the memory modules
• Offers superior performance for heavy computational loads

Micron Technology has announced a new lineup of clock driver DDR5 memory under the Crucial brand, promising improved speed, stability, and performance.

This new generation of memory includes two form factors: CUDIMM (clocked unbuffered dual inline memory modules) for desktops and CSODIMM (clocked small outline dual inline memory modules) for laptops.

The clock driver is integrated directly into the memory modules, setting a new benchmark for high-performance computing.

Speed and stability with DDR5 clock driver integration

With this launch, Micron becomes the first company to release JEDEC-standard DDR5 CUDIMM and CSODIMM modules.

Regular DDR5 memory relies on the CPU's clock driver to maintain performance. However, Micron’s new design places the clock driver on the memory module itself, with the company claiming that the result is a more reliable memory operation and smoother performance, especially under heavy computational loads.

Both modules offer speeds of up to 6,400 MT/s (megatransfers per second), putting them 15% faster than non-clock-driver-based DDR5 and more than twice the speed of DDR4.

The new DDR5 memory modules have been validated for use with Intel Core Ultra processors (Series 2), with Intel certifying these modules for capacities up to 64GB, with plans to support even higher configurations - up to 256GB- on future AI-powered PCs and workstations.

The Crucial DDR5 CUDIMM and CSODIMM modules are available for immediate purchase in 16GB capacities through Crucial’s website, backed by a limited lifetime warranty.

Higher-capacity options, including 64GB modules, are expected to hit the market through distribution channels during the first half of 2025. These larger-capacity modules will allow users to build systems with total memory capacities of up to 256GB, providing more flexibility for intensive tasks.

“As AI takes flight, a memory paradigm shift is needed to keep pace with unprecedented system performance requirements,” said Dinesh Bahal, corporate vice president and general manager of Micron’s Commercial Products Group.

“Micron is shipping the industry’s first JEDEC-standard, commercially available DDR5 CUDIMM and CSODIMM solutions to power fast, out-of-the-box speeds for AI PCs and high-end workstations. With this new category, we are arming the ecosystem with next-generation memory solutions to future-proof today’s devices for tomorrow’s AI workloads."

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• Supply chain threats highlight security gaps in LLMs and AI

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• Western Digital unveils new HDD storage options for businesses
• 32TB UltraSMR and 26TB ePMR CMR are the world's highest capacity ePMR HDDs
• Built for scalability, efficiency, and long lasting with 5 year warranty

Western Digital has unveiled new advancements in hard drive technology which it says align with the burgeoning needs of AI and data-intensive applications.

The company has recently launched the new 32TB UltraSMR HDD and 26TB ePMR CMR HDD.

These new hard drives, equipped with innovative features like OptiNAND and ArmorCache offer scalable, efficient, and cost-effective solutions for hyperscalers, cloud service providers (CSPs), and enterprises.

Cutting-edge 11-disk design for maximum efficiency

The 32TB Ultrastar DC HC690 SMR HDD is the industry’s highest-capacity HDD to date, using cutting-edge UltraSMR technology to support deep content storage at scale. On the other hand, the 26TB Ultrastar DC HC590 CMR HDD offers a drop-in replacement for enterprises looking to grow their data capacity without compromising on performance or reliability.

The 32TB UltraSMR HDD offers up to 257 MiB/s sequential performance and using just 5.5W of power while idle making it ideal for "warm" and "cold" data storage tiers, helping businesses optimize their energy consumption while scaling their storage needs. Meanwhile, the 26TB CMR HDD features a sustained transfer rate of up to 288 MiB/s and consumes just 5.6W in idle mode, making it a reliable option for mission-critical environments.

Their 11-disk design is the first of its kind to be commercially available and increases the storage capacity without increasing the physical size of the drives, making them highly efficient for modern data centers.

Western Digital integrates the new HDDs into the Ultrastar Data60 and Data102 hybrid storage platforms which can accommodate up to 102 drives, offering up to 3.26 petabytes of raw capacity. The company also uses IsoVibe and ArcticFlow to reduce vibration and optimize cooling.

The 26TB WD Gold SATA HDDs offer a decent balance for system integrators and resellers. Drawing from the Ultrastar HDD platform, these drives are tailored for small and medium businesses who require reliable, high-performance storage, and feature up to 2.5 million hours mean time between failure (MTBF) and a five-year warranty.

“Our CMR and UltraSMR technology isn't just breaking records—it’s giving customers the efficiency and TCO benefits they’ve been asking for, and we’re not done yet,” said Ravi Pendekanti, SVP of Product Management, HDD Business Unit, Western Digital.

“By delivering the industry’s highest ePMR capacities available today, we are ensuring that our customers have the storage efficiency, scalability, reliability and unmatched value they need to stay ahead."

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• Game of Thrones' "The Mountain" lifted 282.624PB of data weighing 996 pounds
• Phison's 122.88TB drives powered the load, requiring 2,316 units
• VDURA and Phison donated $2,000 to support Atlanta families

HPC storage supplier VDURA (previously known as Panasas) and SSD manufacturer Phison recently partnered up at SC24 in Atlanta to answer that age of old question – how much data can "The Mountain" from Game of Thrones lift? (Don’t pretend for one second that you haven’t wondered that yourself).

Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, who played Ser Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane in GoT (and is probably best known for gouging out the eyes of Pedro Pascal’s character in a memorable, and gory, fight scene), lifted a record-setting 282.624PB of data, weighing 996 pounds (425kg).

Phison’s recently launched PCIe Gen5 122.88TB Pascari D205V drives formed the core of the massive data load (to save you firing up your calculator, that equates to around 2,316 drives). Rogue Fitness Equipment provided the lifting bar and additional equipment, while customized Silver Dollar Boxes, designed by 2017 America’s Strongest Man Jerry Pritchett, housed the drives.

Largest amount of data ever lifted

“With our latest product update, VDURA can offer our pioneering, legacy industry expertise with a new agility to meet the evolving needs of AI and HPC infrastructures,” said VDURA CEO Ken Claffey.

“We are excited to make our mark in a big way as a leader in the industry known for our strength and durability. Today, we set a new record for the largest amount of data ever lifted. Going forward, we are setting the industry standard for reliability and scalability, with the strength to support our customers and their evolving workloads.”

Michael Wu, General Manager and President of Phison US, added, “We’re proud to partner with VDURA to support this record-setting lift with our ultra-capacity Pascari drives. Phison recently unveiled the first PCIe Gen5 122.88TB class drives, and now alongside VDURA we are again pioneers in a new milestone to showcase the true impact of mixing optimal strength, durability and capacity.”

The event also highlighted community engagement, with VDURA and Phison donating $1,000 each to the Atlanta Community Food Bank, helping provide over 6,000 meals for local families in need. You can watch the data lift in the video below.

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VPN usage in Pakistan has never been so high, the government is set to introduce a new policy that could potentially ban the use of "unregistered" services starting today, November 30, 2024.

People in Pakistan have been turning en masse to VPN services throughout 2024 as they look for a way to bypass growing censorship online. WhatsApp is just the latest social media platform currently blocked in the country. The block came two days after authorities restricted Bluesky amid a surge in popularity worldwide. X, Facebook, and Instagram also can't be accessed without a VPN.

I've spoken with some experts to understand what's at stake and discover everything you might need to know to retain internet freedoms in the country.

How to avoid disruption in Pakistan

• Set up a manual VPN
• Contact VPN support teams
• Rotate VPN providers

If you experience some issues downloading or using your VPN app in the next days or weeks, Gytis Malinauskas, Head of Legal at Surfshark suggests setting up a manual VPN connection. You'll likely find the details on how to do this on specific devices on your provider's website such as this step-by-step guide from Surfshark. Remember, you'll still need a VPN account to do this.

If this doesn't work, contact your provider's support team for assistance. "Our team is continuously working to provide our users with privacy and security solutions even in regions with challenging internet landscapes," Malinauskas explains.

Proton VPN has been recording spike in VPN sign-ups from Pakistan since the beginning of the year, with the most recent increase reaching +2860% over baseline on November 26, 2024. (Image credit: Proton)

Both Malinauskas and Simon Migliano, Head of Research at Top10VPN, also recommend rotating through multiple VPN providers.

Are free VPNs a solution?

Potentially. I suggest checking out our best free VPN page to get all the most secure freebies – PrivadoVPN and Proton VPN are today's top picks.

"It's likely to be a bit of a lottery, at least at first," Migliano told TechRadar. "Based on the recent test runs of Pakistan's new firewall, I'm expecting VPN blocks to be much more widespread from November 30. But as we've seen in countries with a much more mature internet censorship regime, such as China and Iran, it's near-impossible to block all the VPNs, all the time."

It's worth keeping in mind that the legal grounds for using a VPN to bypass restrictions in Pakistan after November 30 aren't yet clear. Commenting on this point, Migliano said: "Using an unregistered VPN in Pakistan after the deadline will be a risky proposition, depending on how strictly the authorities enforce the new rules."

Alternatives to using a VPN in Pakistan

• Tor Browser
• Proxy Services
• SmartDNS service

VPNs may be the most widespread and easy-to-use circumventing tools out there, but certainly aren't the only way to bypass internet blocks, bans, and other geo-restrictions.

Tor Browser is probably the best VPN alternative you could use. Completely free to use, Tor is even considered a more secure option as it reroutes your internet connections (and data in transit) through at least three encrypted layers. This boosted encryption, however, can considerably slow down your connection speed.

It's near-impossible to block all the VPNs, all the time

Simon Migliano, Top10VPN

Proxy services are another effective method of spoofing your IP address to trick your ISP (internet service provider) into thinking you're browsing from a completely different country within a couple of clicks.

The downside here is that, unlike VPNs, proxies don't encrypt your internet connections, making them less secure overall. As Pakistan's firewall is expected to boost online surveillance, too, I recommend keeping this method as a last resort – especially now as it's not clear the risk of bypassing the government's imposed online restrictions.

You can also use a SmartDNS service to bypass geo-restriction online with ease. Again, these services do not offer the same level of protection as VPNs, meaning they don't encrypt your data. Worse still, a SmartDNS doesn't even change your IP but simply reroutes information about your location instead.

Why is Pakistan restricting VPN usage?

The government first shared plans to regulate the use of VPNs back in August to curb VPN misuse. Authorities later deemed unregistered VPNs a "security risk" for Pakistan as they can be used to access "sensitive data."

Under the new policy, using a VPN is still permitted for legitimate purposes such as banking, foreign missions, corporate enterprises, universities, IT companies, call centers, and freelance professionals.

This is why the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has been urging businesses and freelance workers to register their VPN services by the November 30 deadline to avoid disruption.

The debate is still ongoing, however, on whether or not commercial VPN usage should also be blocked. That said, VPNs have often been a target during the year, with residents facing temporary connectivity issues starting in February (when the ex-Twitter was first restricted).

Do you know?

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

The best VPN apps are security software that encrypts your internet connections to prevent snooping. They also spoof your real IP address location to boost anonymity and grant access to otherwise geo-restricted content.

Not only a new stringent policy, VPN censorship is also expected to worsen as the government beefs up its filter technology.

As Al Jazeera reported, Pakistan's government has implemented a China-like firewall, which was first tested in mid-July. This system not only can allow authorities to better monitor online traffic but also control the use of popular apps more efficiently.

Most notably, the new Pakistan firewall "has the ability to block VPNs" – a Ministry of Defence official, familiar with the new deployments, told Al Jazeera.

At the time of writing, it's still early to determine the full impact all this has on people using VPNs to keep accessing the free web. Experts, however, are worried by this surge in internet censorship.

"Attempts to tighten online surveillance always raise concerns about digital privacy and freedom of expression," Gytis Malinauskas, Head of Legal at Surfshark, told TechRadar. "This could also worsen the digital divide and inequalities between those who can access unfiltered information and those who cannot."

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• Garmin users have been seeing crashes for months
• A faulty firmware update is thought to be to blame
• Garmin says a fix is coming, but we don't know when

Pick up one of the best Garmin watches on the market, and you could reasonably expect to have many years of trouble-free, wrist-based computing ahead of you – but it seems many Garmin users are currently experiencing issues with crashing watch faces.

As per Tech-Issues Today and Android Police, these problems have been plaguing users for months, but have recently spread to more Garmin models. The random crashes apparently throw up an "IQ" logo on the screen with an orange exclamation mark, and then the watch stops working.

The Garmin Venu 3 and Garmin Forerunner 965 models are specifically mentioned, but it doesn't seem as though any watch is safe. Based on the multiple posts that can be found on Reddit and the official Garmin forums, it looks as though this is now affecting a significant number of users.

According to the user reports, the general consensus is that some kind of buggy firmware update is to blame. It sounds like it breaks the method used by the Connect IQ platform to save data, which then crashes the smartwatch.

A fix is coming

The Garmin Forerunner 965 is one of the watches mentioned (Image credit: Future)

For the time being, all you can do if you've been affected by this is to restart your watch. This won't permanently resolve the issue, and you may see continuing crashes after that, but there's no other option right now.

One bit of good news is that Garmin is aware of what's going on and is trying to do something about it, as per a reply to one of the complaints on Reddit. For now, we don't have any sort of timeline about when an updated firmware version might roll out – which leaves users in a rather frustrating limbo.

It's also a case of better late than never: one developer has apparently logged hundreds of thousands of crashes in their app since August. That's a lot of annoying people using Garmin watches, and trying to save their fitness data to the watch only to have it fail and require a restart.

We've been consistently impressed with Garmin watches down the years, and they regularly feature on our list of the best smartwatches around – but these are the kind of problems that shouldn't be happening.

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