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Here are some hints -- and the answers -- for the Dec. 14 Strands puzzle, No. 286.

Here are some hints -- and the answers -- for Connections No. 552 for Dec. 14.

Here are some hints, and the answer, for Wordle No. 1,274 for Dec. 14.

Here are some hints -- and the answers -- for Connections: Sports Edition No. 82 for Dec. 14.

Beaumont residents have several solid internet options. CNET’s experts have narrowed them down to help you find the best provider for your broadband needs.

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 #552) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• GOING
• SOLE
• REAL
• BUTTER
• FLUKE
• SOLD
• DIVA
• SOL
• ONCE
• SOLO
• TANG
• YUAN
• POUND
• TWICE
• WORLD
• MULLET

NYT Connections today (game #552) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• YELLOW: Things with fins
• GREEN: The bids are in 
• BLUE: Spending power
• PURPLE: No mugs

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 #552) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: FISH 
• GREEN: WORDS IN AN AUCTION-ENDING PHRASE 
• BLUE: GLOBAL CURRENCIES 
• PURPLE: WORDS BEFORE "CUP"

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

NYT Connections today (game #552) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #552, are…

• YELLOW: FISH FLUKE, MULLET, SOLE, TANG
• GREEN: WORDS IN AN AUCTION-ENDING PHRASE GOING, ONCE, SOLD, TWICE
• BLUE: GLOBAL CURRENCIES POUND, REAL, SOL, YUAN
• PURPLE: WORDS BEFORE "CUP" BUTTER, DIVA, SOLO, WORLD

• My rating: Moderate
• My score: Perfect

There was one head-scratcher in every group today – making it one of those strangely satisfying games.

WORDS BEFORE “CUP” definitely warranted its Purple status, but even the Yellow group had a FISH that could just as easily have been one of the GLOBAL CURRENCIES.

How much is the fish?

25 Tang to you.

You could say it was a FLUKE, but I made it home without a hitch.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Friday, 13 December, game #551)

• YELLOW: FANTASY CREATURES DRAGON, GIANT, PIXIE, TROLL
• GREEN: EMAIL FOLDERS DRAFTS, SENT, SPAM, TRASH
• BLUE: CITRUS SODAS CRUSH, SPRITE, SQUIRT, STARRY
• PURPLE: ANIMAL HOMOPHONES BORE, LINKS, PHISH, TOWED

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

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Nothing can stop me!

NYT Strands today (game #286) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• STONE
• DEAR 
• SENT
• TESTED
• PART
• NOTE

NYT Strands today (game #286) - hint #3 - spangram What is a hint for today's spangram?

• Seize the day types

NYT Strands today (game #286) - 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 #286) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #286, are…

• FIRE 
• PASSION
• DRIVE 
• DEVOTION
• INTENSITY
• PURPOSE
• SPANGRAM: GO GETTER

• My rating: Easy
• My score: 1 hint

Being the CEO of my organization (employees: one, me), I like to think that I bring passion, drive, and a sense of purpose to the production of the daily Strands hints and answers page. I am passionate about completing these puzzles one day at a time with methodical professionalism and focused intensity.

It is with a great source of pride that I completed today’s Strands in record time (well, less than 20 minutes) to achieve the stretch goal of returning to bed for a snooze. Being a GO GETTER is sooo exhausting.

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

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Friday, 13 December, game #285)

• LOVER
• EVERMORE
• FEARLESS
• FOLKLORE
• MIDNIGHTS
• SPANGRAM: ALBUMTITLE

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.

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 #1055) - hint #1 - Vowels How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 3*.

* 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 #1055) - 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 #1055) - 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 #1055) - 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 #1055) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• S

• O

• T

• D

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

Quordle today (game #1055) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1055, are…

• SPIEL
• ONSET
• TIGER
• DITTO

I love you Quordle… I’ve always loved you…

DITTO

I was at it from the ONSET today determined to tame the four-word beast. But no.

I’m beginning to think that the only way to complete Quordle is to take it to the edge and hope you get lucky on the final go.

Fortunately, that final scene in Ghost sprang to mind, and with a tear rolling down my cheek I was able to bring this particular baby (wrong movie alert) home.

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

Daily Sequence today (game #1055) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1055, are…

• TALON
• SNOWY
• CONIC
• CLACK

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1054, Friday 13 December: ERECT, REBAR, MOIST, IDIOM
• Quordle #1053, Thursday 12 December: MILKY, CRIER, STORK, DRIER
• Quordle #1052, Wednesday 11 December: BRIAR, NASAL, SHARD, FLUFF
• Quordle #1051, Tuesday 10 December: BEGAN, TRIAL, IDEAL, GUIDE
• Quordle #1050, Monday 9 December: TITAN, FORTE, SPEED, BRIAR
• Quordle #1049, Sunday 8 December: BUNCH, SHINY, MOULT, INTRO
• Quordle #1048, Saturday 7 December: SHAKY, CROOK, GHOUL, VERSE
• Quordle #1047, Friday 6 December: BRAWL, UNTIL, DOWRY, STING
• Quordle #1046, Thursday 5 December: AGING, BICEP, CLOVE, SPILL
• Quordle #1045, Wednesday 4 December: JUDGE, GIVER, GNASH, CLOAK
• Quordle #1044, Tuesday 3 December: FUDGE, THICK, CRANK, STASH
• Quordle #1043, Monday 2 December: TROPE, HOVER, SAUNA, SHAPE
• Quordle #1042, Sunday 1 December: NAIVE, CIRCA, STEAD, MICRO
• 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

Character.AI has a new set of features aimed at making interactions with the virtual personalities it hosts safer, especially for teenagers. The company just debuted a new version of its AI model specifically designed for its younger users, as well as a set of parental controls to manage their time on the website. The updates follow earlier safety changes to the platform in the wake of accusations that the AI chatbots were negatively impacting the mental health of children.

These safety changes have been accompanied by other efforts to tighten the reins on Character.AI's content. The company recently began a purge, albeit an incomplete one, of any AI imitations of copyrighted and trademarked characters.

For teen users, the most noticeable change will likely be the division between the adult and teen versions of the AI model. You have to be 13 to sign up for Character.AI, but users under 18 will be directed to a model with narrower guardrails specifically built to prevent romantic or suggestive interactions.

The model also has better filters for what the user writes and is better at noting when a user attempts to bypass those limits. That includes a new restriction on editing responses from the chatbot to sneak around the suggestive content restriction. The company is keen on keeping any conversations between teenagers and its AI personalities PG. In addition, if a conversation touches on topics like self-harm or suicide, the platform will pop up a link to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to help guide teens to professional resources.

Character.AI is also working to keep parents in the loop about what their teenagers are doing on the website, with controls set to come out early next year. The new parental controls will give parents insight into how much time their kids spend on the platform and which bots they’re chatting with the most. To make sure these changes hit the right notes, Character.AI is working with several teen online safety experts.

Disclaimer AI

It's not just teenagers that Character.AI is looking to help maintain a sense of reality. They’re also tackling concerns about screen time addiction, with all users getting a reminder after they've been talking to a chatbot for an hour. The reminder nudges them to take a break.

The existing disclaimers about the AI origins of the characters are also getting a boost. Instead of just a small note, you'll see a longer explanation about them being AI. That's especially true if any of the chatbots are described as doctors, therapists, or other experts. A new extra warning makes it crystal clear that the AI isn’t a licensed professional and shouldn’t replace real advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Imagine a big yellow sign saying, “Hey, this is fun and all, but maybe don’t ask me for life-changing advice.”

"At Character.AI, we are committed to fostering a safe environment for all our users. To meet that commitment we recognize that our approach to safety must evolve alongside the technology that drives our product – creating a platform where creativity and exploration can thrive without compromising safety," Character.AI explained in a post about the changes. "To get this right, safety must be infused in all we do here at Character.AI. This suite of changes is part of our long-term commitment to continuously improve our policies and our product."

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• Marvell partnership extension builds on long-term deal for AWS
• Marvell plans to accelerate silicon design and manufacturing
• AWS continues data center compute upgrades

AWS has announced an expansion to its partnership with Marvell Technology in a bid to boost collaboration on silicon design.

The five-year agreement will see the two firms collaborate on development of several AWS products alongside work designing data center infrastructure hardware.

Through its existing partnership with Marvell, AWS said it has rapidly advanced data center compute, networking, and storage capabilities, delivering efficiency improvements and cost savings both internally and for customers.

Marvell eyes silicon efficiency gains

In a statement, Marvell Technology said the deal will include distribution of custom AI products, optical digital signal processors (DSPs), PCIe retimers, Ethernet switching silicon solutions, and more.

“Building a cost and power efficient cloud at the scale that only AWS can deliver begins with leading-edge semiconductors designed to meet the demanding infrastructure needs of our customers,” said AWS chief executive Matt Garman.

“Our expanded collaboration with Marvell enables us to deploy our comprehensive semiconductor portfolio and specialized networking hardware to advance our mission to provide the industry’s most robust and scalable cloud and AI services to our customers.”

Looking ahead, Marvell said the relationship will enable it to accelerate silicon design, with AWS compute infrastructure supporting future design activities and helping to ramp up time-to-market for product lines.

The company has already embraced a ‘cloud-first’ approach, harnessing AWS’ event-driven architecture (EDA) to improve performance and reduce costs.

“Strengthening our partnership with AWS marks a significant milestone for Marvell, deepening our long-standing relationship in cloud computing and data center semiconductors,” said Matt Murphy, Chairman and CEO at Marvell.

“AWS’s EDA solutions will help Marvell rapidly and securely scale our silicon design process and capabilities to deliver industry-leading accelerated infrastructure with best-in-class time to market.”

AWS isn’t the only major tech company Marvell has partnered with on silicon design lately.

At the OCP Global Summit in early 2024, the firm revealed its collaboration with Meta had developed a new network chip, dubbed FBNIC, aimed at enhancing the tech giant’s internal networking capabilities.

This partnership saw the creation of a Network Interface Controller (NIC) built using a 5nm process that combined custom firmware, software, and hardware.

All told, Meta said the chip had delivered significant network performance improvements.

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• The Intel Arc B580 graphics card has finally released
• It's gotten positive attention due to its price and performance
• This could bring back the budget PC market

The Intel Arc B580 graphics card has finally been released after months of rumors, leaks, and reports about its prospective specs, and so far the reviews of this $250 budget card have been extremely positive.

According to reviews, the Intel card boasts higher performance than both the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 and the AMD Radeon RX 7600 while also coming in at a lower price. While the aforementioned reports had already stated this was the case, official benchmarks from these reviews have all but confirmed it as fact.

Not only is this promising news in its own right, as Intel is offering excellent graphics cards for an even better price point which allows budget-minded gamers an affordable option for their PC without sacrificing performance. But it also heralds an even bigger change in the tech market — the rejuvenation of the budget PC.

How budget PCs can make their return

Building the best budget PC, especially a budget gaming rig, is not only the realm of those who cannot afford a premium desktop, but also a long-honored tradition among hobbyists. Finding PC components under a certain price that still offers a cost-effective value is a challenge with tangible results. We prove this with our own guides on building a budget machine, including one for less than $800.

However, in recent years the two major manufacturers of graphics cards — AMD and Nvidia — have been investing less and less in budget cards, which in turn has negatively impacted the cheap PC build. But with Intel’s Arc B580, there’s finally more competition in the market as the tech giant proves that impressive performance can come with a reasonable price tag.

The best-case scenario is that Intel’s continued presence in the budget graphics card market will encourage (and even force) Team Green and Team Red to keep competing with it by releasing their own cheaper cards. This would in turn help to bolster the cheap PC market, which is a boon for many buyers and hobbyists.

In the end, it turns out that Intel's decision not to give up on desktop graphics cards after the Battlemage line was its best decision, as the tech giant clearly has a hit niche on its hands. Especially considering the current and possible future market for tech.

• I've never taken Intel's GPU competition seriously, but the Arc B580 has left me no choice
• Intel Battlemage GPU spotted in benchmark – chill out, PC gamers, there’s no need to panic over that leaked B580 core count
• Intel’s next-gen Arc B580 spotted, backing up rumors of a December launch for Battlemage GPUs

Disney Plus has been known for its fair share of revivals, but something feels oh so right at home with this one. Malcolm in the Middle – a beloved sitcom that ran for seven seasons, is coming back as a four-episode arc that will stream on Disney Plus, as confirmed by Variety.

And here’s some even better news, especially if you’re keen to see the return of your favorite dysfunctional family. Frankie Muniz, Bryan Cranston, and Jane Kaczmarek are all set to return to their respective roles, and Linwood Boomer, the original series creator, is back on board for the revival.

You wouldn’t want a revival without the iconic cast, right? The cast is stoked as well in a teaser video that Frankie Muniz posted on Instagram and Threads, opening with iconic "Malcolm, Malcolm, Malcom!" and Muniz noting he's been waiting for 18 years to find out "where Malcolm and his family are now."

Post by @frankiemuniz4 View on Threads

In a statement, Disney Branded Television President Ayo Davis said, “Malcolm in the Middle is a landmark sitcom that captured the essence of family life with humor, heart, and relatability. Its hilarious and heartfelt portrayal of a lovably chaotic family resonated with audiences of all ages, and we’re so excited to welcome the original cast back to bring that magic to life again. With Linwood Boomer and the creative team at the helm, these new episodes will have all the laughs, pranks, and mayhem fans loved – along with a few surprises that remind us why this show is so timeless.”

Clearly, the team behind the revival – or reboot – is quite excited to welcome the iconic show back, and its teased family reunion. Variety reports the official logline as: “Malcolm (Muniz) and his daughter are drawn into the family’s chaos when Hal (Cranston) and Lois (Kaczmarek) demand his presence for their 40th wedding anniversary party.”

Indeed, it is a time jump, but like other revivals, this should hit the right tone and deliver a fun, meaningful reunion to reunite all the characters. Additionally, this seems more in line with what the creator is going after and not being pressured by the studio for a full-length season to be produced. It’s the story that Boomer and co. are hoping to tell.

No release date is set yet, but when the Malcolm in the Middle revival is ready, it’ll stream on Disney Plus. Of course, if you’re keen to stream some other titles, check out our favorite of the new arrivals to Disney Plus here.

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6000A portable quick charge station.

5-in-1 multifunction thermal styling.

While it's a good budget-friendly home office option, and its extra screen space is welcomed, the low-resolution panel makes it much less attractive.

If you missed our second live, subscriber-only Q&A with WIRED’s AI columnist Reece Rogers, you can watch the replay here.

5-stage filtration for large rooms.

The Elden Ring Nightreign network test is a way to try the game before it comes out.

Get a quick glimpse at an upcoming episode in the Prime Video series.

Shows the workings of an internal combustion engine.