Technology

A function that was once buried deep within IT departments, cyber security is now firmly making its way up the boardroom agenda. 72% of UK businesses now classify cyber security as a high priority, with that extending to 96% of large businesses.

As recent high-profile breaches at M&S, Co-op and Harrods have shown, cyber resilience is now central not only to operational integrity but also to brand value, regulatory compliance and investor confidence.

Greater awareness has emerged as businesses shift from short-term solutions adopted during the pandemic to long-term, strategic partnerships with specialist cyber security providers. Increasingly, organizations recognize that cyber security requires an integrated approach involving continuous monitoring and proactive risk management.

The growing complexity and specificity of cyber threats mean that a bespoke, tailored approach is necessary, driving demand for advisory-led solutions delivered by experienced, security-cleared professionals.

That shift in perception is now being reflected in dealmaking. In the second quarter of 2025, the UK cyber market saw a flurry of M&A activity, much of it led by private equity platforms executing bolt-on acquisitions. These transactions may not always grab headlines, but they are sending a clear signal - cyber security is a strategic growth priority.

A new kind of risk

The cyber threat landscape has evolved. Today’s attacks are more frequent, more sophisticated and more damaging. The recent incidents involving the “Scattered Spider” group are just the latest reminder of the long-term impact these attacks can have, beyond the legal and financial consequences, but to customer trust and brand reputation. That’s why boardrooms are starting to reassess their cyber readiness.

In sectors such as public services, infrastructure and education - where the risks of failure are especially high - strong cyber defenses are no longer optional.

In addition, the rapid advancement of AI will accelerate cybersecurity risks, as it lowers the barrier for executing sophisticated attacks and enables threat actors to automate, scale, and personalize their tactics with unprecedented precision.

Regulation is raising the stakes

At the same time, government regulation is putting company directors firmly on the hook. The UK’s proposed Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will make senior executives directly accountable for managing cyber risks and ensuring operational resilience, bringing the UK closer to European frameworks like the NIS2 Directive and DORA.

This is changing how cyber security is viewed at the top. It’s not just about ticking boxes or passing audits. It is now a central part of good governance. For investors, strong cyber capabilities are becoming a mark of well-run companies. For acquirers, it’s becoming a critical filter for M&A, particularly when dealing with businesses that hold sensitive data or operate critical systems.

This regulatory push is part of a broader global shift towards greater accountability. In response, businesses are increasingly adopting governance models that embed cyber risk management into their strategic decision-making processes. Boards that fail to adapt not only risk regulatory penalties but also stand to lose investor confidence and market competitiveness.

Private Equity steps in

While overall deal values are still below long-term trends, deal volumes are rising. In Q2 alone, there were 114 cyber-related deals across Europe and North America, well above average. In the UK, activity is particularly strong in the small to mid-sized market, with private equity firms at the forefront.

Cyber security is a highly fragmented mission critical sector with strong recurring revenues, sticky customer relationships and a compelling margin profile. In an environment where investors are increasingly focused on resilience over growth, these are attractive attributes.

From product to partnership

The post-Covid shakeout is also playing a role. Many companies quickly adopted off-the-shelf solutions during the pandemic to meet urgent needs. Today, with greater familiarity and a clearer understanding of risk, boards are opting for more tailored, enterprise-grade services.

This is not just about technology, there is a growing premium on advisory-led solutions. Highly qualified, security-cleared professionals providing bespoke assessments and continuous monitoring. In other words, clients want expertise and service, not just software.

From a valuation perspective, this matters. While public market multiples continue to fluctuate, exposed to macro shifts such as US tariff announcements earlier this year, premium valuations continue to cluster around providers with diversified offerings and deep client integration. As PE buyers weigh bolt-ons and platforms, these traits are driving acquisition rationale.

Players need to stay ahead

The forces pushing cyber up the corporate agenda aren’t going away. Threat actors are growing bolder, regulators are getting tougher and the risks remain high.

The result is a market in transition. What began as a compliance arms race is evolving into a sophisticated, services-led ecosystem. For dealmakers, this creates opportunity but also demands discernment. Not every cyber asset will command a premium.

The winners will be those with deep expertise, defensible margins and client relationships that extend beyond the server room.

We list the best client management software.

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

Hyper-personalized AI is transforming the workplace. Unlike standard automation, it works by learning from individual user behaviors, allowing businesses to tailor interactions on a much more human level. Not only does it help businesses to streamline their operations, it also drives efficiency while enhancing the user experience.

For employees, AI can suggest ways to improve productivity, automate repetitive tasks and provide real-time insights based on their work habits. In contact centers, for example, it can escalate intuitively from an AI Agent to a call with a human if it's a nuanced or complex problem.

While in retail, AI-powered assistants make personalized recommendations and offer timely discounts based on past interactions, purchasing history and market trends, which can result in impromptu purchases. It allows customers to feel like they are being listened to – and that their previous purchases are appreciated.

And it is this increasingly natural and ‘human’ experience that is helping to redefine what a digital brand interaction looks and feels like. The impact cannot be ignored.

According to Gartner, businesses investing in hyper-personalization are experiencing an uptick of 16% in commercial outcomes. The ability of AI to refine and improve interactions in real-time makes it a valuable tool for business growth. But as AI becomes more embedded – as it becomes smarter and more human – there are concerns over the impact this might have on privacy and security.

Ensuring privacy and security

After all, the very nature of hyper-personalized AI presents a paradox. The more an AI system knows about an individual, the better its recommendations. But this has led to some people raising concerns over issues such as surveillance, consent and the potential misuse of data.

It’s one of the biggest question marks still hovering over the issue of continuous learning. And without proper governance, AI may retain sensitive information, increasing the risk of unauthorized access, data breaches and regulatory non-compliance.

Thankfully, high-profile regulations such as GDPR and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) frameworks already impose strict rules on data handling, and businesses failing to comply face not just legal repercussions but also reputational damage. But, that hasn’t stopped some people from pursuing AI-specific legislation – such as the AI Act in the EU – to provide specific protection.

There’s also an ethical dimension. Poorly designed AI can inadvertently reinforce biases or expose personal details that should remain confidential. If employees and customers lose trust in AI systems, companies will struggle to gain the full benefits of hyper-personalization. To thrive, organizations need to harness the power of AI while ensuring that privacy isn’t compromised.

How businesses can balance AI innovation with privacy

The good news is that businesses don’t have to choose between AI-driven efficiency and data privacy – they can have both. The solution lies in embedding privacy-first, responsible AI principles into frameworks and strategies from the outset. Here’s how:

Anchor core, long-lasting principles: Build ethical, trustworthy AI systems by prioritizing transparency, inclusiveness, and ongoing monitoring to foster trust and drive lasting value.

Establish robust governance: Define clear policies, conduct risk assessments, and assign dedicated roles to ensure compliance and ethical AI practices.

Ensure data integrity: Use high-quality, unbiased data to deliver fair and accurate AI outcomes across all user groups.

Adhere to compliance needs: Proactively address tightening regulations with strong governance and data protection to mitigate legal risks.

Test and monitor consistently: Conduct regular testing and continuous monitoring to align AI with ethical standards and performance goals.

Optimize tools effectively: Leverage advanced platform features like retrieval mechanisms and feedback loops to enhance transparency and ethical behavior.

Human oversight and participation is also part of the puzzle in optimizing and building trust in AI. At key points in AI workflows, humans help ensure accuracy and reliability. For example, in Agentic Workflows, AI breaks tasks into smaller steps and handles repetitive work, while humans review important decisions before final actions are taken.

AI then continuously learns from human input, improving over time. This approach combines the speed and efficiency of AI with the judgment and experience of human workers to create a system that is not only faster but also more reliable and adaptable.

In other words, with the right safeguards – and the right leadership and employee engagement strategy to ensure these protocols are followed – businesses can unlock the full potential of hyper-personalized AI without compromising security or trust.

The future of AI and privacy: staying ahead of the curve

What’s more, businesses that integrate privacy-first thinking into their AI strategies are likely to be the ones that thrive in the long run. The key is to build a governance framework that not only meets regulatory standards but also fosters trust among employees and customers.

One of the first steps is ensuring AI tools are rigorously assessed before deployment. That means evaluating how data is being processed, stored and used. It would also help to run pilot programs to help iron out privacy concerns and identify risks before full-scale implementation.

From the beginning, you need to work with a trusted provider to define and configure algorithms to prevent unintended biases and ensure fairness across different user groups at every level, whether it's an LLM, agent or App. AI should also be designed to evolve responsibly, integrating smoothly into workflows while maintaining strong privacy protections.

Clear visibility

Observability and traceability are crucial. Not only should people have clear visibility into how AI makes decisions, they should also be able to challenge or verify AI-generated outputs with real-time tracing, explainable AI decision paths and thought streaming.

Organizations should also be actively monitoring and optimizing AI agent performance with comprehensive analytics that track the likes of latency, workflow success, and operational efficiency. Adopting such an approach would help to build confidence while reducing the risk of AI being perceived as a black box.

Finally, we must never forget who has the final word. AI should be an enabler, not a replacement for human expertise. Organizations that combine AI’s analytical capabilities with human judgment will be better positioned to innovate while maintaining ethical and privacy standards.

There’s a lot to take in. But one thing is clear. Hyper-personalized AI presents enormous opportunities for businesses. But it comes with responsibilities. Work with vendors with a responsible AI framework and platform that ensure robust tools and embedded ethical considerations for meticulous data curation, rigorous model testing, ongoing transparency, and continuous monitoring and adaptation of AI systems.

The result then becomes not just compliance but also enhanced user trust and exceptional experiences, setting the stage for pioneering a future where AI is a trusted ally.

We feature the best employee management software.

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Aug. 25, No. 336

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

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Aug. 25, No. 540.

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Aug. 25, #806.

Here are hints and the answer for today's Wordle for Aug. 25, No. 1,528.

• State-backed rivals have made open source 3D printing nearly impossible
• Chinese subsidies shift global competition in desktop 3D printer production
• Cheap Chinese patents create obstacles far beyond Europe’s market borders

The open source movement in 3D printing once thrived on shared designs, community projects, and collaboration across borders.

However, Josef Prusa, head of Prusa Research, has announced, “open hardware desktop 3D printing is dead.”

The remark stands out because his company long championed open designs, sharing files and innovations with the wider community.

Economic support and patent challenges

Prusa built his early business in a small basement in Prague, packing frames into pizza boxes while relying on contributions from others who shared his philosophy.

What has changed, he now argues, is not consumer demand but the imbalance created when the Chinese government labeled 3D printing a “strategic industry” in 2020.

In his blog post, Prusa cites a study from the Rhodium Group which describes how China backs its firms with grants, subsidies, and easier credit.

This makes it much cheaper to manufacture machines there than in Europe or North America.

The issue grows more complicated when looking at patents. In China, registering a claim costs as little as $125, while challenging one ranges from $12,000 to $75,000.

This gap has encouraged a surge of local filings, often on designs that trace back to open source projects.

Prusa’s earlier machines, such as the Original i3, proudly displayed components from partners like E3D and Noctua, embodying a spirit of community, but were also easy to copy, with entire guides appearing online just months after release.

The newest Prusa printers, including the MK4 and Core ONE, now restrict access to key electronic designs, even while offering STL files for printed parts.

The Nextruder system is fully proprietary, marking a clear retreat from total openness.

Prusa argues Chinese firms are effectively locking down technology the community meant to share - as while a patent in China does not block his company from selling in Europe, it prevents access to the Chinese market.

A bigger risk emerges when agencies like the US Patent Office treat such patents as “prior art,” creating hurdles that are expensive and time-consuming to clear.

Prusa cited the case of the Chinese company, Anycubic, securing a US patent on a multicolor hub that appears similar to the MMU system his company first released in 2016.

Years earlier, Bambu Lab introduced its A1 series, also drawing inspiration from the same concept.

Anycubic now sells the Kobra 3 Combo with this feature, raising questions about how agencies award patents and who holds legitimate claims.

Meanwhile, Bambu Lab faces separate legal battles with Stratasys, the American pioneer whose patents once kept 3D printing confined to costly industrial use.

Declaring the end of open hardware may be dramatic, but the pressures are real.

Between state subsidies, permissive patent rules, and rising disputes, the foundation of open collaboration is eroding.

Via Toms Hardware

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• Stream on ESPN (US) or Premier Sports (UK)
• Use NordVPN to watch from anywhere
• Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid – Sunday, August 24 at 3.30pm ET / 8.30pm BST

Today's Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid live stream sees La Liga football finally return to the Estadio Carlos Tartiere in Oviedo, as the Spanish league's minnows take on its biggest fish.

Los Blancos' start to the domestic season was steady rather than spectacular. A Kylian Mbappé penalty was enough to secure a 1-0 home win over Osasuna in a game that was more notable for league debuts for the incoming Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dean Huijsen and Álvaro Carreras.

Making their first appearance in the top flight for 24 years, Oviedo couldn't have been handed a much tougher start. They lost an away trip to Villareal first up, having debutant Alberto Reina getting sent off in the process. And now they face 36-time winners Real Madrid.

Read on for our guide on where to watch Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid live streams online in La Liga wherever you are today.

Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid team news

Real Oviedo XI: Escandell, Alhassane, Calvo, Costas, Luengo, Sibo, Chaira, Dendoncker, Ilić, Vidal, Rondón

Subs: Bailly, Brekalo, Cazorla, Colombatto, Ejaria, Esteban, Falah, Forés, Gueye, Hassan, Moldovan, Viñas

Real Madrid XI: Courtois, Carreras, Huijsen, Rüdiger, Carvajal, Rodrygo, Tchouaméni, Valverde, Mastantuono, Mbappé, Güler

Subs: Díaz, Alexander-Arnold, Asencio, Ceballos, Gonzalo García, Fran, García, Lunin, Mestre, Militão, Alaba, Vinícius Júnior, Pitarch

How to watch Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid live streams in the US

The Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid live stream is on the newly rebranded ESPN streaming platform in the US. Monthly subscriptions cost from $11.99 a month with the ESPN Select tier or you can upgrade to an Unlimited Plan for $29.99 a month or $299 a year, which also bundles in standard ESPN channels.

Alternatively, if you have access to ESPN Deportes via cable or an OTT streaming service, this La Liga game will also be shown there.

On holiday outside of the US? A VPN will allow you to access your usual US subscription from abroad. We recommend NordVPN as the best overall streaming VPN.

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• TV tips email: Never be stuck for anything to watch again

How to watch Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid live streams in the UK

Premier Sports is broadcasting the Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid La Liga match live in the UK.

Premier Sports costs £16.99 on a rolling monthly basis. To save money, you can commit to a year for £11.99 per month or one upfront payment of £120.

Not in the UK right now? To access your usual streaming service from outside the UK, you'll need to download a good VPN, as detailed above.

How to watch Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid in Canada

La Liga fans in Canada can live stream Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid thanks to the TSN Plus streaming service. It costs $8 a month or $80 for a whole year. The service carries all TSN live sports on the likes of web browsers, smartphones, tablets, select Smart TVs, Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku and Xbox.

This match is not listed as showing on TSN on TV.

Outside Canada while the soccer is on? Simply use a VPN to watch from abroad.

How to watch Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid in Australia

Soccer fans in Australia can watch Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid on beIN Sports, with kick-off at 5.30am AEST on Monday morning.

beIN Sports costs $15.99 a month or you can save big by going for the annual plan that's currently discounted to $129.99. And if you're new to the specialist sports streamer, you can take advantage of its free one-week trial.

How to watch Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid in New Zealand?

In New Zealand the Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid live stream will be on beIN Sports, which offers new users a 7-day FREE trial. The match starts at 7.30am NZT on Monday morning.

You can add beIN Sports to most pre-existing TV packages, or you can sign up as a separate subscription. It costs $14.99 month or $129.99 if you pay for a year up front, once that week-long trial ends.

In New Zealand on vacation right now? You can simply use NordVPN to catch all the action you need.

When does Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid start?

Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid kicks off at 9.30pm CEST in Spain on Sunday, August 24, which is 3.30pm am ET / 12.30 PT in the US and 8.30pm BST in the UK.

That's 5.30am AEST / 7.30am NZST on Monday, August 25 for fans based in Australia and New Zealand.

Can I watch Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid on my mobile?

Of course, most broadcasters have streaming services that you can access through mobile apps or via your phone's browser letting you live stream Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid on the go.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

• Data centers in England use far less water than many expected
• TechUK survey shows nearly two-thirds of facilities consume modest water amounts
• Closed-loop cooling systems reduce dependence on traditional water-intensive methods

The world's expanding network of data centers has often been linked with heavy environmental costs, especially when it comes to water.

These facilities form the base for cloud services, LLM training, and the many AI tools now embedded across industries.

However a new survey by techUK, conducted with the UK Environment Agency, has claimed data centers are “not intensive water users” as many people think.

Very few sites with industry-level water usage

The report found nearly two-thirds (64%) of commercial sites in England consume less than 10,000 cubic meters of water per year.

This level of demand is described as lower than that of a “typical leisure center” and similar to the water requirements of a Premier League football club.

Only 4% of facilities reported usage over 100,000 cubic meters annually, a figure associated more with industrial production.

Cooling has long been considered the driver of data center water consumption, although the industry is now moving toward alternatives such as waterless and closed-loop systems.

More than half of the facilities surveyed already rely on waterless cooling, while many others use direct-to-chip techniques that recycle water within sealed systems.

In fact, 89% of operators said they no longer track consumption because their systems use “no water beyond the regular functioning of any building.”

While the report stresses operators are “actively innovating” to cut demand, skepticism remains.

Questions also remain over whether reported figures capture the full lifecycle of water use, including indirect impacts from energy generation.

TechUK argues that data centers are vital for the UK economy, contributing billions in annual value and enabling ambitions in AI and digital innovation.

The trade body is calling for stronger planning frameworks, including a proposed “water exploitation index” to track local stress levels.

“I am encouraged by the work techUK has undertaken to better understand water usage, and the findings suggest UK data centers are using a range of cooling technologies and becoming more water conscious,” said Richard Thompson, Deputy Director for Water Resources at the Environment Agency.

“It is vital the sector puts sustainability at its heart, and minimizes water use in line with evolving standards."

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• A dual Intel GPU graphics card with 48GB of VRAM has gone on sale for $1200

• Kioxia develops 5TB flash memory prototype with 64GB/s bandwidth for edge computing
• Prototype memory module demonstrates daisy chain design maintaining bandwidth at higher capacities
• New module uses PAM4 signalling and controller prefetch to improve flash performance

Kioxia has developed a new type of prototype flash memory module which offers both large capacity and high bandwidth.

The module was created under Japan’s Post-5G Information and Communication Systems Infrastructure Enhancement R&D Project led by NEDO, the national research agency.

The module offers 5TB of storage and a transfer rate of 64GB/s, positioning it as a potential alternative or supplement to conventional DRAM in data processing. Kioxia said the design addresses the long-standing trade-off between bandwidth and capacity found in DRAM modules by arranging flash memory chips in a daisy-chain rather than a bus connection.

Beads of flash

Each flash unit, described as a bead, is connected in sequence with its own controller. The daisy-chain design allows capacity to expand without degrading bandwidth, something which has been a limitation in earlier architectures.

The company also developed high-speed transceivers capable of 128Gbps throughput. These use PAM4 modulation, which encodes two bits of information per signal, doubling the effective bandwidth compared to traditional binary signalling.

Alongside this, new controller features such as prefetching help reduce read latency, while low amplitude signalling and distortion correction increase the memory interface’s speed to 4.0Gbps.

Kioxia reported the prototype consumes less than 40W when operating at full bandwidth over a PCIe Gen 6 eight-lane connection.

The combination of power efficiency and throughput is being presented as a step toward making flash more practical in memory-intensive roles usually filled by DRAM.

The work is targeted at servers in mobile edge computing environments, where 5G and 6G networks create the need to process information closer to end devices.

Real-time IoT and AI workloads are driving interest in memory systems that balance cost, capacity, and performance.

Kioxia said it plans to continue developing this technology toward commercialization, with potential uses in IoT, big data analytics, and advanced AI models including generative AI.

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Los Blancos look to make it back-to-back wins as they visit the Carbayones.

Catch up with the latest group of Islanders.

Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Sunday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Sunday, August 24 (game #1308).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,100 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 #1309) - hint #1 - VowelsHow 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 #1309) - hint #2 - repeated lettersDo any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 2.

Quordle today (game #1309) - hint #3 - uncommon lettersDo the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• Yes. One of Q, Z, X or J appears among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1309) - 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 #1309) - hint #5 - starting letters (2)What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• G

• S

• C

• J

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

Quordle today (game #1309) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1309, are…

• GEEKY
• SHALT
• CHIEF
• JIFFY

A game of two Hail Mary guesses for me today that somehow both came off.

GEEKY felt the most unlikely. I guessed it with just a G and a single E both in the wrong positions but with no other vowel possible I convinced myself there had to be two Es and that was the first playable word that came to mind.

Sometimes I love this game.

Daily Sequence today (game #1309) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1309, are…

• PRIDE
• DRYER
• STORM
• MOTIF

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1308, Sunday, 24 August: ROVER, GONER, ANTIC, OUTDO
• Quordle #1307, Saturday, 23 August: DEMON, GRATE, FLYER, SHEEP
• Quordle #1306, Friday, 22 August: TROOP, SCOPE, TORSO, BRINY
• Quordle #1305, Thursday, 21 August: QUEST, SPARK, WHITE, ACUTE
• Quordle #1304, Wednesday, 20 August: DOLLY, MERRY, BUGLE, WORST
• Quordle #1303, Tuesday, 19 August: KNAVE, SMART, CARRY, MAMMA
• Quordle #1302, Monday, 18 August: FIBER, TRADE, RAYON, TEASE
• Quordle #1301, Sunday, 17 August: FUNGI, AMITY, DRIER, CHECK
• Quordle #1300, Saturday, 16 August: OWING, QUAKE, SLIDE, ELITE
• Quordle #1299, Friday, 15 August: WHALE, PRISM, DRAKE, TEPEE
• Quordle #1298, Thursday, 14 August: LAPEL, IDIOM, RENEW, LIVER
• Quordle #1297, Wednesday, 13 August: CACTI, HOMER, EMAIL, ALBUM
• Quordle #1296, Tuesday, 12 August: SPOOL, TITLE, JAUNT, OVINE
• Quordle #1295, Monday, 11 August: ADULT, BROOM, PURER, CRUEL
• Quordle #1294, Sunday, 10 August: SCRUM, PIPER, TROLL, SPORE
• Quordle #1293, Saturday, 9 August: NOOSE, INLET, ELEGY, VIRUS
• Quordle #1292, Friday, 8 August: KNEEL, KINKY, RALPH, BOOZY
• Quordle #1291, Thursday, 7 August: PLUNK, PROXY, CURVY, PEARL
• Quordle #1290, Wednesday, 6 August: RISKY, APART, FAUNA, HANDY
• Quordle #1289, Tuesday, 5 August: ROAST, SLICK, AUDIT, BILLY

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Sunday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Sunday, August 24 (game #805).

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 Connections hints.

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 #806) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• PEARL
• JAM
• POM-POM
• FILTER
• PIPE CLEANER
• FEATHERS
• FIX
• TAMPER
• PEA
• WILLING
• GUZZLE
• MESS
• LIGHTER
• PICKLE
• SAD
• MOTHBALL

NYT Connections today (game #806) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• YELLOW: Sticky situation
• GREEN: Round items 
• BLUE: Tobacco accoutrements
• PURPLE: Connected by the opposite of “up”

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 #806) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: PREDICAMENT 
• GREEN: SMALL SPHERICAL THINGS 
• BLUE: PIPE-SMOKING ACCESSORIES
• PURPLE: WHAT "DOWN" MIGHT MEAN

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

NYT Connections today (game #806) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #806, are…

• YELLOW: PREDICAMENT FIX, JAM, MESS, PICKLE
• GREEN: SMALL SPHERICAL THINGS MOTHBALL, PEA, PEARL, POM-POM
• BLUE: PIPE-SMOKING ACCESSORIES FILTER, LIGHTER, PIPE CLEANER, TAMPER
• PURPLE: WHAT "DOWN" MIGHT MEAN FEATHERS, GUZZLE, SAD, WILLING

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 2 mistakes

I really enjoy the little jokes in Connections when I see them, which isn’t always, and today the PEARL and JAM tiles jumped out right away. I often feel as if these bits of wordplay are the starting point for the creators.

Anyway, this was a particularly tricky start to the puzzling week that took me a long while to put together.

At first I thought that PIPE CLEANER and POM-POM belong together as they were made out of wool or fake wool, but this thought process led me up a blind alley that cost me a mistake.

Then, I thought we were looking for elements of fairytales so I had PEA for Princess and the Pea, FEATHERS for The Three Feathers, and PEARL for The Last Pearl. That cost me another mistake before I started to get things right.

I got PIPE-SMOKING ACCESSORIES thanks to LIGHTER and PIPE CLEANER and then PREDICAMENT and SMALL SPHERICAL THINGS fell into place. Challenging, but I’m glad it’s all over. 

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Sunday, August 24, game #805)

• YELLOW: WINE VESSELS BOTTLE, CARAFE, DECANTER, GLASS
• GREEN: RIPPED CLEFT, RENT, SPLIT, TORN
• BLUE: KINDS OF SNAKES CORAL, GARTER, KING, RATTLE
• PURPLE: ____ CALL BOOTY, CLOSE, COLD, CURTAIN

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.

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Sunday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Sunday, August 24 (game #539).

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 #540) - hint #1 - today's themeWhat is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Back to school

NYT Strands today (game #540) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• BACK
• SOLO
• STOKE
• TALL
• LAST
• CORK

NYT Strands today (game #540) - hint #3 - spangram lettersHow many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 8 letters

NYT Strands today (game #540) - hint #4 - spangram positionWhat are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: right, 5th row

Last side: left, 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 #540) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #540, are…

• LAPTOP
• NOTEBOOKS
• FOLDERS
• BACKPACK
• CALCULATOR
• SPANGRAM: SUPPLIES

• My rating: Hard
• My score: Perfect

I had a bit of a back-to-front day today tapping out “top” and “lap”  before I saw we were searching for LAPTOP and tapping out “book” and “note” before seeing NOTEBOOKS.

I just about got through without using a hint although I was sorely tempted after a slow start. 

You will never need as many SUPPLIES for the rest of your life as you do at school. Well for your first day of school anyway. After the first week you wise up and realize you don’t have to fill your gigantic BACKPACK with every single piece of stationery item you may possibly need for the next decade.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Sunday, August 24, game #539)

• BLASTING
• LOUD
• BOOMING
• NOISY
• STRIDENT
• BOISTEROUS
• SPANGRAM: HUBBUB

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which 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.

I think I finally understand why my mind so often wanders back to that picture-perfect day in Redmond, Washington, and the Windows 95 launch event on August 24, 1995.

Put simply, it's a combination of the sensory overload of attending my first carnival-atmosphere-level tech launch event and the fact that I was 31 years old, and realizing that I'd found the career and lifestyle that would sustain me possibly for the rest of my life.

Bill Gates at the Windows 95 launch in Redmond, Washington. (Image credit: Getty Images)

In a way, Microsoft and I had this in common: 1995 (and that August 24 launch) marked a turning point for Windows, which had, even with Windows 3.1, been a pale imitation of the Macintosh OS graphical user interface (GUI). Windows 95 put Microsoft's Start button approach to desktop computing in the hands of millions, cementing its position as the PC platform leader just as Apple was sliding into temporary obscurity. In my life, I was a rising tech editor at the number one tech publication in the world, and at home, just months earlier welcomed my first child in our still relatively new home.

In a way, I think I'm nostalgic for that moment. Microsoft felt a little scrappy and a lot nerdy. I was a curly-headed, over-enthusiastic nerdy tech writer who was never quite sure how to climb the media ladder.

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My ticket and press pass for the event. (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff)Image 2 of 2

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff)

Microsoft's Windows 95 launch event was the culmination of a year-long marketing effort, but it also felt as if Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, and company were reaching, without much success, for a little bit of the Apple cool. When Apple launched the iconic Macintosh more than a decade earlier, it did it with an extraordinary TV commercial, one that almost said, 'We don't need you, you need us."

Microsoft hired Jay Leno, an amiable Tonight Show host who has never and will never be "cool," as the master of ceremonies and paid The Rolling Stones a still unknown sum for the opening bars of its salacious Start Me Up (go read the lyrics, I'll wait). Even that didn't make Microsoft cool.

None of that mattered, though, because, at the time, Windows 95's relevance quotient was through the roof.

While I was wandering around the Redmond campus carnival, pausing briefly to watch Jay Leno deliver a standup routine to a dozen or so people seated on the perfectly manicured green lawn and to share a couple of words with Bill Gates who stood behind all of them, watching, thousands of people around the world were lined up at retail stores to buy the first copies of the $99 Windows 95 operating systems (it went on sale at midnight that evening).

That's right. They lined up. Long before Apple inspired consumers to queue up at Apple stores for the first iPhone, Bill Gates had marketed the heck out of Windows 95 and turned everyone into either Windows fans or at least software collectors.

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This Special Edition Windows 95 package was handed to us at the launch event. (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff)Image 2 of 7

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(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff)

I remember lots of little bits about the day. It felt important, and I, by extension of my invite and ability to cover it, also felt like I mattered a little more.

In the ensuing decades, I'd visit Microsoft's campus again (most recently the same spot for the company's 50th anniversary), travel to Cupertino for Apple, South Korea for Samsung, Austin, TX, for Dell, and Las Vegas for almost two dozen CES events. But Microsoft's Windows 95 launch was the first. It was the original tech spectacle and rewrote the script for where technology would live in consumers' lives and how they would learn about it.

Within a few years, the Internet would be ubiquitous and Microsoft, which launched Windows 95 without a web browser, would race to catch up, belatedly delivering Internet Explorer.

The original Windows 95 upgrade software (left) and on the right the Plus package that later added, among other things, Internet Explorer. (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff)

The web splits our attention across an untold number of niche interests. Getting millions to focus on one singular event was becoming virtually impossible.

These days, we craft our own information channels.

Just this past week in Brooklyn, NY, Google launched its new Pixel line with Jimmy Fallon, the SNL comedian who took over for Leno, as host. It was a slightly strange and mildly amusing event that I attended and wrote about. But this isn't 1995, and it wasn't a circus, just another big tech company trying to garner attention. Instead of Ferris wheels, games, and songs about sex, we got the milqutoast Jonas Brothers and a legion of influencers who were either on stage or in the audience, all there to spread the word.

Most of them were either born years after the Windows 95 launch or are too young to remember it.

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• iOS 26 will unlock extra charging speeds on the iPhone 16 models
• 25W is going to be possible using third-party chargers
• We should see the final version of the software roll out in September

Since iOS 26 was announced in June, it's been through several cycles of beta testing ahead of its expected full release next month, and we now know it's going to bring an extra bonus to existing iPhone 16 handsets: faster wireless charging.

As spotted by MacRumors, iOS 26 unlocks the full capabilities of the Qi2 wireless charging standard on the iPhone 16, which means wireless charging speeds of up to 25W on third-party Qi chargers. Previously, the limit was 15W.

To get the best charging speeds, you need several different elements to line up: the phone hardware, the charging standard, and the software support. The Qi2 standard was built-into the iPhone 16 handsets when they launched last September, and then updated to support 25W back in July.

Right now though, that 25W upgrade hasn't been unlocked on the 16 iPhone series – you can only get 25W wireless charging from official Apple MagSafe chargers. When iOS 26 rolls out in full, that will change.

Wireless boosts all round

Official MagSafe accessories can already get up to 25W on the iPhone 16 (Image credit: Apple / Future)

Thanks to the improved charging capabilities, you'll be able to get an iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro up to 50% battery from zero in as little as 30 minutes, according to Apple's own figures for its MagSafe range of products.

Belkin has moved fast, and is releasing three new chargers to take advantage of the incoming update. It's not something Apple has specifically referred to yet, though that may change when the iOS 26 beta period ends.

This is also confirmation that the iPhone 17 handsets are going to support the latest Qi2.2 standard, with wireless charging up to 25W, as has been widely expected – although as third-party charger support gets a bump up to 25W, we might see MagSafe capabilities go all the way up to 50W, according to one leak.

It's almost certain that Apple is going to unveil the iPhone 17 series sometime in September, and the indications are that something could happen around September 9. As always, we'll be bringing you all the news and announcements as they happen.

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The Red Devils look to pick up their first win of the season as they travel to west London to face the Cottagers.

In the latest episode of What the Future, we run down the best highlights and fails from the first World Humanoid Robot Games held last week in China.