Technology

Plus: A hacker finds an issue with Cloudflare’s systems that could reveal app users’ rough locations, and the Trump administration puts a wrench in a key cybersecurity investigation.

• Mega HR claims Megan is the most sophisticated AI recruiter to date
• It can apparently manage up to 78% of frontline hiring tasks to cut costs
• It doesn't take lunches, go on holiday, take toilet breaks, go to sleep or gossip

Recruiters play an important role in the hiring process, matching qualified candidates with job opportunities at organizations, arranging interviews, and so on - so it probably won’t come as too much of a surprise to learn this is a task to which AI is perfectly suited.

Mega HR has unveiled Megan, an advanced AI agent designed to transform recruiting and hiring processes.

Megan (who hopefully is more stable than her movie AI namesake) can apparently automate up to 78% of frontline recruitment tasks and address common issues like applicant “ghosting,” where candidates fail to show up for interviews, don’t respond to job offers, or don’t arrive on their first day of work after accepting the position.

Self-training ability

Mega HR says its platform was designed from the ground up with an agentic mindset, allowing multiple AI agents to collaborate seamlessly, solving complex recruitment challenges step by step.

“Megan isn’t just another AI agent; she’s a paradigm shift in SaaS,” said Darren Bounds, Founder & CEO at Mega HR. “Customers are already spending much less time on our product and more time in Slack, conversing with Megan to get updates and finalize hiring decisions.”

One of Megan’s key features is continuous self-learning. By self-training on all architectural, behavioral, and informational changes, and incorporating them into her capabilities, Megan can “move between thoughts, problems, and concepts fluidly - like a human - yet with instant access to all relevant data,” Mega HR claims.

Megan can reduce workloads by managing a majority of hiring tasks, from creating job postings to finalizing offers. For applicants, she can provide timely updates and clear communication.

The platform uses neural-symbolic reasoning, combining the contextual strengths of neural networks with the logical capabilities of symbolic AI, to interpret resumes, job descriptions, and other hiring data with a large degree of nuance. In addition, the AI’s composable design allows various workflows to connect and evolve dynamically, making it possible to adjust processes without sacrificing reliability.

Active learning mechanisms allow Megan to seek out and process new data that align with user goals, and Mega HR says any decisions that Megan makes are easy to trace, understand and, presumably, challenge.

You can find out more about Megan at Mega HR and request a demo. The video below shows the AI in action.

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• Shiny discs were supposed to kill boring magnetic tape once and for all
• But cheap storage all but killed the media for data hoarders
• Tape remains the only true viable long-term solution but drives are far too expensive

It's 2025 and after almost 20 years, Sony has announced that it is ending Blu-ray media production as well as MiniDiscs, MiniDiscs data and miniDV tape, a few months after it got rid of its 5.5TB Optical Disc Archive cartridge.

I'd be quick to say that this is almost certainly is for blank media as opposed to pressed media (as in 4K Bluray movies and console games) since streaming, for all its convenience, doesn't quite match physical media when it comes to quality and convenience.

There are still plenty of Blu-ray media vendors around; a quick look on Amazon brings up familiar names such as Verbatim, Smartbuy, Ridata but I think that the writing is on the wall for Blu-ray with dwindling demand and the allure of alternative storage (external hard drives, portable hard drives, portable SSDs). Shiny disks are done and dusted, with no apparent heir to the throne (despite what we have written in the past).

In addition, optical disc will deteriorate over time; the Canadian Conservation Institute estimates that BD-R have an average longevity between 5 and 10 years old which can't be good news for those that have used write-only Blu-ray disks. In reality, it will very much depend on a lot of other factors like humidity, heat, storing conditions, dye quality etc.

As for the future of on-premise data storage, of the remaining candidates, tape is the one most likely to survive and thrive. Hard drives are great for low hundreds Terabytes and the use of helium means that at some point in the future, helium-based HDDs will become unusable. Western Digital says that the helium "remains contained within the drive throughout its operational lifespan", which is usually between 5 and 10 years, about the same as Blu-ray.

A single 18TB LTO-9 cartridge, retailing for $88, can replace 720 25GB Blu-ray disks, a bundle that costs $288 on Amazon

Désiré Athow

Solid-state storage is another one but it is still far too expensive for anything above double-digits TB backups. Put aside exotic storage media like glass, silica, ceramic, DNA and holographic, there's only one tried and trusted media remaining on the market, the grand-daddy of them all, the OG: the old, venerable but still very much alive tape, more specifically LTO (Linear Tape Open). Yes, that very technology that optical drives were supposed to eliminate.

The current generation, LTO-9, delivers 18TB per tape with LTO-10 expected to offer between 24TB and 36TB. Its roadmap, released in 2022, goes up to Gen 14 with a tape capacity of up to 576TB (yes, that's more than half a Petabyte). Ridiculous? Well, IBM and Fujifilm already demoed such a tape back in … 2020, that’s over four years ago.

Used extensively for long-term cold storage in data centers and enterprises, LTO has the backing of some of the biggest tech companies in the world and is therefore not going away anytime soon. Tape comes with its intrinsic issues: drives are expensive and data stored on a tape can only be accessed linearly. But, on the other hand, LTO media is very cheap, less than $5 per TB, can be stored easily and is durable with a lifespan of up to 30 years.

What I think could cement LTO’s status as the go-to media for data hoarders is an affordable LTO drive. Right now, the cheapest LTO-9 internal drive costs more than $4,300 and is not compatible with the majority of workstations because it uses SAS (Serial-attached SCSI) as physical interface. Adding an external enclosure bumps the price to just over $5,000. We reviewed an LTO-9 drive from OWC back in 2022.

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The hope for a $999 LTO-10 tape drive

Could a sub $1,000 drive change the market dynamics? No, I don’t think so. Large data hoarders, those requiring hundreds of TB worth of storage, are a tiny minority that will almost certainly have the financial clout (or/and incentive/contacts) to purchase an LTO-8 or 9 drive (or an autoloader) should they wish to. So yes, while I would love to have a $999 HPE external LTO-10 drive to use, that has absolutely no chance of happening.

Affordable cloud storage in the low terabyte orbit is the main reason why the total addressable market for low-price on-premise backup has shrunk so much. Blame the likes of BackBlaze (unlimited, $72/year for one computer), iDrive (10TB, $99.50/year), Internxt (5TB, $380 for life). There’s even Geyser Data, a cloud storage service powered by tape (aka TAPAS) at the low, low price of $1.55 per TB per month (100TB would cost $1,860 per year).

Cloud storage though should complement rather than replace on-premise storage as part of a comprehensive backup strategy; just remember that upload/download performance will never match an on-prem solution and for anything bigger than 10TB, prices will rise quickly if you’re planning for the next decade.

This week, Samsung not only debuted its new Galaxy S25 series smartphones (including a surprise Galaxy S25 Edge reveal), but we saw a slew of major tech news stories that you might have missed.

OpenAI teased its Operator agent, Netflix raised its prices (again), and TikTok was banned and unbanned – but its fate still hangs in the balance as its rivals move in. You can catch up on all this and more by scrolling down.

Once you've wrapped up this week's ICYMI, check out our picks for the 7 new movies and TV shows to stream this weekend (January 24).

7. Samsung Galaxy Unpacked showcased the S25 series...

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Another year, another Samsung Galaxy Unpacked to unpack (sorry!). This latest edition saw the Korean giant launch the Samsung Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus, and Galaxy S25 Ultra. At the same time, a fourth device – the Galaxy S25 Edge – was teased at the end of the presentation as ‘coming soon.’

So, what’s new? All three new smartphones boast the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, 12GB RAM, and a host of new Galaxy AI features, including Now Brief and Audio Eraser. The Ultra has enjoyed an iPhone-like redesign, and Samsung has added Galaxy Z Fold 6-style camera rings to every model in the lineup. The Galaxy S25 Edge, meanwhile, will be a super slim version of (we think) the 6.2-inch Galaxy S25, but Samsung hasn’t shared any official details about that phone just yet (apart from its name).

We were on the ground at Galaxy Unpacked and have already handled all three new S25 devices, so check out our hands-on Samsung Galaxy S25 review, hands-on Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus review, and hands-on Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review for our first impressions.

• Read more: Samsung Galaxy S25 launch as it happened

6. ... and game us new Galaxy AI goodies

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

The launch of the S25 range was really all about Galaxy AI, Samsung’s overarching name for all the AI features packed into these new, slim, futuristic phones. By detailing all the AI capabilities before the phones, Samsung seems to think that the AI features are more important than the actual phone specs, so what is the Korean company getting so excited about?

Now Brief and Now Bar are the two standout features of Galaxy AI, and they’re essentially like super-powered notifications. Because they link into all the other apps on your phone, not to mention all your other Samsung devices, you’ll find they can start suggesting things you should be doing before they need to be done or things you might need to be aware of, like heavy traffic on the way home.

Security is obviously a big issue with AI and Samsung is keen to emphasize the new Personal Data Engine. This keeps all your personal data on your device when AI is working its magic with it, so you don’t need to worry about it leaking out on the cloud.

• Read more: Samsung Galaxy S25’s new AI briefing feature makes me want to give Android a try

5. Fitbit issued a warning about its batteries

(Image credit: Future)

A tough 2024 for Fitbit has paved the way for an even more beleaguered start to 2025. While you'd have hoped your best Fitbit could help power you through your New Year's resolutions to kickstart January, the company is actually firefighting a serious battery overheating issue.

The company warned users that the Fitbit Sense and Versa 3 are both at risk and could pose a potential risk to users. The update is already rolling out, but it's not all good news. Customers are being encouraged to check their device eligibility and will receive a notification telling them to update their firmware.

The update will reduce the risk of affected batteries overheating but comes at the cost of reduced capacity, meaning your device will need to be charged more often.

It's not ideal, and Fitbit is offering $50 to affected customers as compensation. With Google sunsetting Fitbit in favor of the Pixel Watch line, maybe they should spend that money on a new smartwatch.

• Read more: Fitbit issues battery overheating warning over two of its most popular watches

4. TikTok and other apps went dark, and returned

(Image credit: Shutterstock / Daniel Constante)

TikTok went offline for a day before being allowed to return to the US thanks to an executive order signed by Donald Trump, though questions remain on how long it’ll be sticking around. Plus, it wasn’t the only service to go dark.

Marvel Snap and CapCut went dark – alongside other ByteDance-owned ventures – despite some (like Marvel Snap’s own developers) believing their software would be exempt from the ban. This prompted a wave of reactions from the apps and their rivals – Marvel Snap is searching for a new publisher, and Instagram announced Edits (its own CapCut rival).

There’s still a question about what TikTok’s fate will be, but it seems plenty are preparing for it to get banned in the US again if a sale doesn’t go through, so you might want to get ready for that too.

• Read more: Instagram has just revealed a new video-editing app

3. Netflix got a price hike – again

(Image credit: Shutterstock / MAXSHOT.PL )

Here we go again: Netflix is getting a price hike in the US effective immediately – yippee…

The standard plan with ads is going up $1 from $6.99 to $7.99 a month, the standard (no ads) plan is jumping to $17.99 from $15.49, and the premium plan will set you back $24.99 a month instead of $22.99.

Netflix said it “will occasionally ask our members to pay a little more so that we can re-invest to further improve Netflix” as a way to wave away criticism. While the increase isn’t massive (and hasn’t yet made its way to the UK or Australia), these slow and steady increases have made the service considerably more pricey over time, and it’s leading us to ask if we should just ditch the streaming service once and for all.

• Read more: Netflix just got more expensive

2. OpenAI's first AI Agent arrived

(Image credit: OpenAI)

AI Agents are going to be a big trend in 2025, and OpenAI is officially shipping its first one, dubbed 'Operator' as of January 23, 2025, as a research preview for ChatGPT Pro Subscribes. The gist here is that it is Computer Using Agent, basically an AI that can complete web tasks for you as it lives within a browser. It uses GPT-4o’s visual with advanced reasoning to let it browse the web and understand various elements.

Essentially, as seen in a shared demo, it can fill out forms for you, find a restaurant, and then book it for you on OpenTable. OpenAI even says that it can self-correct, though we’ll need to see what that looks like in practice. It’s early days, but Operator is exciting and OpenAI is also working on other AI Agents.

• Read more: Operator can make a dinner reservation and complete other tasks for you

1. Oscar nominations received AI backlash

(Image credit: A24)

The Brutalist – up for 10 Oscars – and Netflix’s Emilia Pérez – up for a record-breaking 13 Oscars, the most for a foreign film ever – came under fire this week over their use of Respeecher, an AI voice-changing tool.

It was used to make The Brutalist actors such as Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones sound more genuinely Hungarian and to increase the singing range of the Emilia Pérez lead’s Karla Sofìa Gascón by combining her voice with French pop star Camille.

The films’ creative teams have argued that AI simply augments the incredible performances of these actors in the same way that traditional editing does and that while the AI was used to help speed up the editing process, it still required the care and attention of human editors. However, it’s left a sour taste in many people’s mouths, especially after the major 2023 Hollywood strike, which rebelled against AI’s use in films – with some calling for these films to be disqualified because they used AI.

• Read more: Netflix caught up in AI Oscars controversy alongside The Brutalist

• Billions of passwords are breached each year, SpecOps report claims
• Millions of users are guilty of poor password hygiene
• Strong passwords are the first line of defense against data breaches

Passwords are being breached at an alarming rate, and threat actors are gaining access to victims accounts through weak and easily compromised credentials, experts have warned.

New research from SpecOps has revealed over a billion passwords were stolen in malware attacks in a 12 month period, highlighting just how widespread the issue is.

Most of us are guilty of using lazy passwords, or reusing credentials at some point, but new research from shows just how much harm that's doing to users.

Strength in numbers

Stolen credentials are involved in nearly half of all data breaches (44%), and with breaches often costing companies millions for each incident, the cost of lazy passwords could be seriously detrimental to your business.

The most commonly compromised password was "123456", being found in over 1.4 million breached credentials. Worryingly, of the 1.8 million breached administrator credentials, 40,000 admin portal accounts had the password ‘admin’, which means even IT workers aren’t taking the threat seriously.

However, an equally concerning discovery is that 230 million of the breached passwords actually met the standard complexity requirements - so were over eight letters, had at least one capital letter, one number, and one special character.

Length doesn’t necessarily protect a password, as over 31 million of the breached passwords were over 16 characters in length. Long passwords hashed with bcrypt can take ‘millions of years to crack’, but no matter how long your password is, if you reuse a breached password, it’s compromised immediately.

This just illustrates that when it comes to passwords, more is more, and you can’t be too careful with how you choose to protect your accounts. Hackers can exploit weak passwords through brute force attacks, mask attacks, and dictionary attacks - so common words and phrases aren’t recommended.

“The amount of passwords being stolen by malware should be a concern for organizations,” said Darren James, Specops Software Senior Product Manager.

“Even if your organization’s password policy is strong and meets compliance standards, this won’t protect passwords from being stolen by malware.”

Staying safe

Secure passwords are a vital protection against a number of different threats, including identity theft, and social engineering attacks, which can leave victims in real financial or legal difficulty.

To avoid being a victim of stolen credentials, there are some tips to bolster your passwords to make you as secure as possible.

Your password should ideally be at least 14 characters, with a mix of lowercase, capitals, symbols, and numbers.

The worst, most easily cracked passwords are any variation of 'Password123', '123456', or 'admin', so steer clear of anything generic.

Don't use the names or birthdays of family or friends, or well known characters, and try to make it as obscure as possible.

Frustratingly, best practice is to choose a new password for each site, since reused passwords make even the ultra-secure credentials useless if one site is compromised.

Make sure to never share your password with anyone, including friends and family - and never send yourself (or anyone else) your password via email, message, or any other form of comprisable communication. If you need help remembering your passwords, we suggest physically writing them down somewhere secure, where no one else has access to.

Don't give away your password to anyone calling or emailing you claiming to be your bank, a friend, or any unfamiliar source. Always call your bank back through their official number (which you can find online) before giving away any details.

If you want to use a third-party to make sure your credentials are as secure as possible, we've put together a list of the best password managers around. These can be used to keep all of your passwords in one place, and remove the hassle of having to remember each one.

Alongside this, you could use the best password generators on the market. These simply generate passwords that are secure and pretty much impossible to guess, since they're typically generated randomly using a set of criteria which make them a super secure option.

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Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Jan. 25.

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• Roli has a new Piano AI Assistant to go with its latest instruments.
• The Piano AI Assistant offers personalized, real-time help and lessons.
• The AI is there to make learning and creating music more intuitive.

Piano teachers of both the strict and whimsical variety are a staple of movies and television, but music technology company Roli now offers a piano tutor built right into the instrument. The new Roli Piano features personalized AI guidance underneath the 49-key, $800 keyboard.

Roli's Piano AI Assistant does exactly what it sounds like: It makes learning music more straightforward and fun than practicing alone. It can guide players through scales, explain ways of varying a tune, and even explain some music history in the context of specific compositions. It’s like having a music teacher who never gets tired and has an encyclopedic knowledge of the subject.

“In a few years time, it will seem antiquated that a piano or keyboard can’t help guide you, can’t see your hands and respond to them in many ways, and can’t have a conversation to help you," Roli CEO Roland Lamb explained in a statement. "Today, we’re unveiling the new Roli Piano System that will help usher in this big shift.”

Music dreams

That Piano System is more than just the AI tutor and includes several features built into the keyboard. The Brightkey feature identifies the song you are playing and then lights the keys to guide you through notes and chords. Roli's instruments also come with the Roli Airwave tool, which uses computer vision and AI to track hand movements over the keyboard, thus enabling the AI assistant to make specific corrections as you learn to play a new piece. Plus, the keys are sensitive enough to how they are played that they can mimic mechanical pianos in terms of bending pitches and other complex musical shifts.

These AI tools might serve to make music more accessible to a lot of people keen to learn piano. Instead of giving up after their first clumsy rendition of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” the AI assistant could encourage you to keep going. And for experienced players, the expressive features and personalized prompts can spark new creative ideas.

The $800 price tag is steep, but as these kinds of tools become more common, it's not hard to imagine a future where music education leverages AI to give more people a chance to learn.

AI may not be music to every piano player's ears, but it might be worth humming along with, at least.

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Here are some hints — and the answers — for Connections: Sports Edition No. 124 for Saturday, Jan. 25.

• Google’s Gemini app now controls smart homes through a Google Home extension
• Gemini can understand natural language to complete tasks
• The aim is to make smart homes more intuitive and easier to manage

Google wants Gemini to control your smart home devices and has upgraded the Gemini app with a new Google Home extension to manage all of your connected devices the same way you'd ask the AI assistant to answer any other query. So if you have the Gemini app and devices controlled by Google Home, you can link Gemini to your Google Home account.

The extension links Gemini with your lights, thermostats, and any other smart home devices, but with the benefit of Gemini's more flexible conversational ability. That means you could say, “It’s too bright in here,” and have Gemini dim the lights instead of needing to command setting the lights to 50% specifically. You can also manage multiple devices with more casual language. Rather than individually tweaking device settings, you can say, “Dim the living room lights, turn on the bedroom lamp, and lower the blinds.” Gemini can grasp the three commands for three sets of devices and act accordingly.

The same goes for media controls. Gemini can adjust volume, playback, and other aspects of your music and video players with the same flexibility. And if you’re trying to secure your home, Gemini can automatically open the Google Home app when dealing with cameras and locks, so your sensitive data stays secure.

One standout feature is its ability to answer burning questions like, “Did I leave the porch light on?” Gemini will check and let you know, saving you from awkwardly walking outside in your pajamas to check for yourself. Thanks to Gemini Live, you can even control some devices directly from your phone’s lock screen.

A Gemini home

Google has battled Amazon Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and other smart home assistants for years, but Gemini and its natural language controls might give the company an edge as people await Amazon's planned Alexa upgrade or experiment with similar assistants from smaller brands.

Smart homes have always been about convenience, but Google seems to be banking on people wanting a home that pays closer attention to residents and their needs. For now, that attention is limited to practical tasks like dimming lights or playing music. But as AI continues to evolve, who knows? Maybe one day you’ll tell your house, “I’m stressed,” and it’ll brew you a cup of tea, dim the lights, and cue up a soothing playlist.

Even with imperfections, Gemini’s new feature is a promising step toward the company's dream of incorporating Gemini in every aspect of your life. Gemini is becoming an everyday assistant that knows the difference between you asking to make things cooler by turning off the thermostat and making things cooler by turning on mood lighting and Barry White.

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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 NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

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

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Seeing double

NYT Strands today (game #328) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• BALL
• SOME
• SELL
• WOOL
• WITH
• TELL

NYT Strands today (game #328) - hint #3 - spangram What is a hint for today's spangram?

• Pairs

NYT Strands today (game #328) - hint #4 - spangram position What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: left, 5th row

Last side: right, 5th row

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

NYT Strands today (game #328) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #328, are…

• BALLOON
• COFFEE
• SUCCEED
• COMMITTEE
• WHIPPOORWILL
• SPANGRAM: LETTERS

• My rating: Moderate
• My score: 2 hints

A lovely spelling test for us today, as we searched for double-double-letter words – or, in the case of COMMITTEE and WHIPPOORWILL, triple-double-letter words.

I had never heard of the latter before, so it took me quite a while to get right. I’ve since learned that it’s a bird and it’s named after its distinctive WHIP-POOR-WILL call.

Meanwhile, there is only one English word with four sets of double letters – SUBBOOKKEEPER. I’m surprised Strands didn’t include that one.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Friday, 24 January, game #327)

• QUICK
• BRILLIANT
• BRIGHT
• CLEVER
• INTELLIGENT
• SPANGRAM: THATS GENIUS

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.

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 Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

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 #594) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• GINKGO
• SLOPE
• EMOJI
• ANGLE
• DENT
• TYCOON
• RECESS
• MOGUL
• LODGE
• LUNCH
• POD
• KARAOKE
• CLASS
• CYCLE
• LIFT
• HOMEROOM

NYT Connections today (game #594) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• YELLOW: Timetable 
• GREEN: As seen at Powder Mountain 
• BLUE: Heard in Tokyo
• PURPLE: Must try harder

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 #594) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: SCHOOL PERIODS 
• GREEN: FEATURES OF A SKI RESORT 
• BLUE: WORDS DERIVED FROM JAPANESE 
• PURPLE: WORDS AFTER THE PREFIX "TRI-" 

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

NYT Connections today (game #594) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #594, are…

• YELLOW: SCHOOL PERIODS CLASS, HOMEROOM, LUNCH, RECESS
• GREEN: FEATURES OF A SKI RESORT LIFT, LODGE, MOGUL, SLOPE
• BLUE: WORDS DERIVED FROM JAPANESE EMOJI, GINKGO, KARAOKE, TYCOON
• PURPLE: WORDS AFTER THE PREFIX "TRI-" ANGLE, CYCLE, DENT, POD

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 2 mistakes

Seeing GINKGO I immediately thought one group had to be about Japan. In my first guess I left out KARAOKE and included MOGUL instead – my thinking is that it was a trick, as there was a recent news story about a town in England called Stockport which is claiming to be the birthplace of karaoke, rather than Japan. But I was wrong. Obviously

The legend goes that a shopkeeper called Roy Brooke invented karaoke – basically singing along to hits of the day – in the early 1990s, but it was stolen by some visitors from Japan, who went on to market it around the world.

Karaoke is still massive in Stockport, where 12 pub teams compete against each other every Monday to be crowned the Karaoke Champions of Stockport. And that bit, at least, is a true story!

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Friday, 24 January, game #593)

• YELLOW: CONTEMPLATE BROOD, MUSE, PONDER, REFLECT
• GREEN: RUDE THINGS TO DO INTERRUPT, LITTER, POINT, STARE
• BLUE: VOCATION CRAFT, LINE, TRADE, WORK
• PURPLE: -_PATCH CABBAGE, NICOTINE, ROUGH, SOUL

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.

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 NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

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 #1097) - hint #1 - Vowels How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 5*.

* 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 #1097) - 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 #1097) - 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 #1097) - 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 3.

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 #1097) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• G

• G

• G

• M

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

Quordle today (game #1097) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1097, are…

• GIVER
• GROOM
• GUSTO
• MAKER

I attacked today’s Quordle with GUSTO, putting down the first words that popped into my head – and it worked a treat, as I checked out on my eighth go.

It’s odd when you get spidey senses about words, but the truth is I got lucky today by guessing a word that began with the letter G (GAMER), thus unlocking three part-completed words.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Daily Sequence today (game #1097) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1097, are…

• POSIT
• PERCH
• PAPER
• LEVER

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1096, Friday 24 January: GRIND, STOCK, SERVE, TOUCH
• Quordle #1095, Thursday 23 January: RUGBY, SASSY, WORRY, BANAL
• Quordle #1094, Wednesday 22 January: SLANT, TRUNK, WOOZY, EATEN
• Quordle #1093, Tuesday 21 January: CHART, VIGOR, PRINT, SPAWN
• Quordle #1092, Monday 20 January: SIXTY, THONG, TATTY, ROBIN
• Quordle #1091, Sunday 19 January: WREST, RINSE, SCOUR, CANNY
• Quordle #1090, Saturday 18 January: BLARE, ITCHY, BICEP, PIPER
• Quordle #1089, Friday 17 January: CATCH, WEARY, SWOON, LATHE
• Quordle #1088, Thursday 16 January: PARTY, BLUNT, TWEED, PLANT
• Quordle #1087, Wednesday 15 January: RISEN, PLATE, RURAL, ENVOY
• Quordle #1086, Tuesday 14 January: SWARM, SCRAP, ONION, BELCH
• Quordle #1085, Monday 13 January: EYING, GIDDY, CHEAP, PETAL
• Quordle #1084, Sunday 12 January: BRIEF, PETAL, WOMAN, FELON
• Quordle #1083, Saturday 11 January: ASCOT, FIBER, ROGUE, SMELL
• Quordle #1082, Friday 10 January: BIGOT, INLET, LEECH, TUNIC
• Quordle #1081, Thursday 9 January: RESET, HUMOR, TENOR, IMAGE
• Quordle #1080, Wednesday 8 January: MINCE, SADLY, RISEN, VOUCH
• Quordle #1079, Tuesday 7 January: CREED, FILET, ROUTE, TAPER
• Quordle #1078, Monday 6 January: PIVOT, WOOLY, GRUNT, GROOM
• Quordle #1077, Sunday 5 January: BORAX, JUDGE, CADET, SALON

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