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The Marvel Rivals best controller settings can really make the difference when playing as certain Heroes. Depending on which character you prefer to use, your controller settings might be slightly different, with fast-moving characters like Spider-Man benefiting from high sensitivity and button mapping, while slower, more deliberate Heroes like Magneto will benefit from a tighter controller sensitivity.

Whether you're planning on jumping into Marvel Rivals' Competitive Mode or still experimenting in Quick Play, the tips below will give an overview of the main things to consider when setting up your controllers. I'll cover things like button mapping for those using pro controllers, what to consider when setting sensitivity, and how to apply custom settings for each Hero you use.

I've been playing Marvel Rivals since the beginning of Season 0, and have used my expertise to put together a Marvel Rivals tier list recently. Having toyed around with every Hero in the game, I'm confident that I'm able to give some advice on changes that'll help level the playing field in battle.

Marvel Rivals best controller settings: general tips

(Image credit: NetEase)

The best Marvel Rivals controller settings below cover some general tips for choosing your sensitivity and button mapping, as well as more tailored advice for specific class types and Heroes. Here are some general settings to consider:

• Horizontal Sensitivity: 180
• Vertical Sensitivity: 130
• Aim Sensitivity Curve: Linear
• Button Mapping: Jump on back paddle where possible
• Vibration: Tactical
• Trigger Effect Function: Off
• Wall-crawling: Advance toward crosshairs (Rocket, Venom, Spider-Man)
• Ally Health bars: On
• Aim Assist Window: 30
• Aim Assist Strength: 80

Choosing the best sensitivity for your play style

(Image credit: NetEase)

The sensitivity you choose is extremely important in Marvel Rivals and depends mostly on what character you pick. Generally, you'll want to increase your sensitivity from the default. I tend to apply a Horizontal Value of 180 and a Vertical Value of 130 to all Heroes, then tweak from there. There are some Heroes, like Spider-Man and Wolverine, that benefit from very high sensitivity indeed. On Spider-Man, I run 220 and 170, respectively, to allow for quick movement while web swinging.

If you're playing a slower character like Magneto, who generally fires simple projectiles and faces forwards while shielding enemies, you can crank the sensitivity down. I go as low as 150 and 120 when playing Magneto, though sometimes I'll increase sensitivity if I find myself having to protect my healers more in a given match.

(Image credit: NetEase)

Some of the Heroes in Marvel Rivals function like third-person shooters, like The Punisher. I find that a tighter sensitivity helps me hit my shots here. Experiment with different Heroes, then dial in your sensitivity based on their particular play style. With nearly 40 characters to choose from, there are a lot of different variables to consider. You might even look into Marvel Rivals Crosshairs, which will help dial in your Hero even further.

Marvel Rivals best Aim Sensitivity Curve

(Image credit: NetEase)

I recommend sticking with a Linear Aim Sensitivity curve, as it's likely what you'll be used to in other games. Personally, I've switched over to the Dual Zone S-Curve setting as I've gotten more and more used to Marvel Rivals, and Vanguard class Heroes in particular. Generally, I'm playing characters that need to stay locked onto enemies, only tilting the sticks gently to aim. I still swing the camera around occasionally to pivot my focus to my Strategists, so the S-Curve gives me a more gradual sensitivity increase above the midpoint.

Because of my play style, I like to have two distinct sensitivity portions to my sticks. Dual-Zone covers this, allowing me to use light movement to track enemies far away, and switch to a high sensitivity at a medium push of the sticks. After a while, I've learned to feel these parts of the sensitivity graph and can adjust my aiming accordingly.

Ultimately, you'll find that you'll naturally prefer one setting over another, but when starting out, I'd definitely stick to the default. This is especially suited to your early hours, where you're still experimenting with a wide variety of Heroes. Once you've found a main, you may wish to switch to another mode, like I have.

Dig into the Hero-specific controller settings

(Image credit: NetEase)

While in the Controller settings, and under 'Combat', you'll find the option to set specific settings per Hero. The majority of the Heroes in Marvel Rivals have exclusive settings. In the image above, you'll see that Magneto has options related to his shield, as well as his passive that lets him fall slowly from a height. Generally, I'd recommend turning on the option that lets you see the health bars of your allies. This is on by default when playing as a Strategist, but it's extremely helpful to have on most Heroes. The only exception here is for characters like Hela, where you'll want an unobstructed view for long-range kills.

Heroes like Spider-Man, Rocket, and Venom have climbing abilities, where I'd recommend selecting 'Advance towards crosshairs' for the direction. This is much easier to control than the default option. Speaking of Venom and Spider-Man, disable Auto-Swing, and you'll be able to web zip to the ground. Hold to Swing gives you more control as well. Whenever you're picking up a new character, spend some time in the Practice Range and dig into their Hero-specific settings, as some of them make a huge difference.

Make use of your back paddles

(Image credit: NetEase)

Now onto back paddles, which some of you will be using on certain controllers. I play Marvel Rivals using the DualSense Edge PS5 controller, so I have access to two back paddles. I have two different profiles set up, for different Heroes that I play as. The primary profile binds the 'X' button to the left back paddle, allowing me to jump without taking my hand off the right stick. This is my main recommendation for a button to map to a back paddle.

On the other I map either 'Square' for reload, and certain abilities like Spider-Man's Uppercut, or 'Circle' for Heroes like Mantis and Mr Fantastic, who have regular abilities that need to be triggered there. If you're lucky enough to have four back paddles, like with the Xbox Elite Series 2 controller, I recommend sticking your general Ping onto one of them, and leaving the last one down to another one of your Hero's main abilities. For example, placing 'Triangle' onto a back paddle lets you activate Peni Parker's Symbiotic Team Up with Venom, without having to take your thumb off the right stick.

Setting your Trigger Effect Function and Vibration

(Image credit: NetEase)

Now onto vibration and triggers. It's usually recommended to switch off vibration completely while playing competitive games like Marvel Rivals, but I like having the Tactical setting selected. This gives cues when enemies are setting off ultimates, and generally just adds an extra level of immersion to battles. I find Marvel Rivals can get very visually messy, so audio and vibration can help me pick out what's happening more clearly.

For Trigger Effect Function, switch everything off. While the PS5's adaptive trigger features can be fun at times, they can be quite distracting when playing shooters. Similarly, I set my DualSense Edge to the lowest trigger input setting (smallest dot icon) using the switches on the back. They're closer to being buttons, meaning faster firing and simpler inputs.

Marvel Rivals best controller settings FAQCan you be good at Marvel Rivals on controller?

Yes, you can be very good at Marvel Rivals on controller. While you'll not have the precision of a mouse and keyboard player, Marvel Rivals is a Hero shooter, and is as much about understanding the game as it is about good aim. For this reason, Vanguards tend to be good choices for controller players, especially Doctor Strange and Magneto. The Punisher is also great, as the aim assist on controller really pairs well with his primary fire at range.

Ultimately, unless you're planning on getting into the top three ranks in Marvel Rivals, you'll do just fine on controller. Heroes like Cloak and Dagger and Jeff are good to start with, as they don't require precision aiming, and will help you learn the ins and outs of battle while playing.

What's the best controller to use for Marvel Rivals

The best controller to use in Marvel Rivals is the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro. It features six mappable buttons (two on the bumpers, four on the back), and makes use of proprietary Razer PC gaming mouse tech for satisfying inputs. There's Hall effect thumbtacks too, eliminating the risk of stick drift. You can pick up either an Xbox or PlayStation version of this controller.

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• Researchers found a huge database on the dark web
• The threat actors claim to have scraped it abusing a Facebook API
• Facebook says the database is years old

A hacker claims to have scraped 1.2 billion user records from Facebook, including people’s names, locations, and phone numbers. This is according to cybersecurity researchers Cybernews, who recently spotted a new thread on a dark web forum, promoting the gigantic database.

In the thread, the threat actor claims to have generated an entirely new database (rather than compiling information that was already available in the murky waters of the dark web), and that it contains user IDs, names, email addresses, usernames, phone numbers, locations, birthday data, and gender information.

Cybernews’ researchers analyzed parts of the data and confirmed that it is legitimate (at least the parts they looked at). This means that whoever grabs this database, can use the information found inside to launch highly convincing phishing attacks, engage in identity theft, and possibly even wire fraud.

Abusing extensions

But there are other things to consider. Cybernews, for one, says that the claim of 1.2 billion user records should be taken with a massive grain of salt, for a number of reasons.

First, the threat actor only posted once before, so their reputation is questionable. Secondly, there’s been a similar, but smaller leak, in recent history, prompting the researchers to suggest that maybe this is the same archive, only re-packaged with a little extra information thrown in.

The data was allegedly picked up by abusing a Facebook API. Meta, the social media giant’s parent company, did not deny it, but did suggest that the attackers are simple fraudsters trying to share an old database as something entirely new.

“This is not a new claim. We disclosed this years ago and have taken steps to prevent similar incidents from happening since,” a Meta spokesperson told Cybernews, and shared a link to a company’s blog on how it combats scraping.

The researchers believe this could be one of the biggest data scrapes to have come from Facebook, and a testament to the company’s poor sense of customer security and privacy:

“Repeated incidents show a pattern of reactive rather than proactive security measures, particularly when it comes to protecting data that’s publicly visible but still sensitive. The lack of stronger safeguards and transparency undermines trust and leaves millions potentially exposed to phishing, scam, possibly identity theft, and long-term privacy issues,” the team said.

Via Cybernews

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The relationship between cybersecurity and machine learning (ML) began with an ambitious, yet simple, idea. Harness everything algorithms have to offer and use it to identify patterns in vast datasets.

Prior to this, traditional threat detection relied heavily on signature-based techniques – effectively digital fingerprints of known threats. These methods, while helpful against familiar malware, struggled to meet the demand of the increasingly sophisticated tactics of cybercriminals and zero-day attacks.

In the end, this created a gap, which led to a wave of interest in using ML to identify anomalies, recognize patterns indicative of malicious behavior, and essentially predict attacks before they could fully wreak havoc. Some of the earliest successful applications of ML in the space included anomaly-based intrusion detection systems (IDS) and spam detection.

These early iterations relied heavily on observed learning, where historical data – both malicious and benign – was fed to algorithms to help them differentiate between the two. Over time, ML-powered applications grew to incorporate unsupervised learning and even reinforcement learning to adapt to the changing nature of the present threats.

Falling short of expectations

Recently, conversation has shifted to the introduction of large language models (LLM) like GPT-4. These models excel at summarizing reports, synthesizing large volumes of information, and generating natural language content. In the cybersecurity industy, they’ve been used to generate executive summaries and parse through threat intelligence feeds. Both of which require handling vast amounts of data and presenting it in an easy-to-understand form.

In line with this, we’ve seen the concept of a “copilot for security” surface – a tool intended to assist security analysts like a coding copilot helps a developer. The AI-powered copilot would act as a virtual Security Operations Center (SOC) analyst. Ideally, it would not just handle vast amounts of data and present it in a comprehendible way but also sift through alerts, contextualize incidents, and even propose follow up actions.

However, the ambition has fallen short. Whilst they show promise in specific workflows, LLMs have yet to deliver an indispensable and transformative use case for SOC teams.

Undoubtedly, cybersecurity is intrinsically contextual and complex. Analysts piece together fragmented information, understand the broader implications of a threat, and make decisions that require a nuanced understanding of their organization. All under immense pressure. These copilots can neither replace the expertise of a seasoned analyst nor effectively address the glaring pain points that they face. This is because they lack the situational awareness and deep understanding needed to make critical decisions.

This means that rather than serving as a dependable virtual analyst, these tools have often become a "solution looking for a problem.” Adding yet another layer of technology that analysts need to understand and manage, without delivering equal value.

A problem and solution: AI meet AI

As it stands, current implementations of AI are struggling to get into their groove. But, if businesses are going to properly support their SOC analysts, how do we bridge this gap?

The answer could lie in the development of agentic AI – systems capable of taking proactive independent actions, helping to combine automation and autonomy. Its introduction will help transform AI from a passive handy assistant to a crucial member of the SOC team.

By potentially allowing AI-driven entities to actively defend systems, engage in threat hunting, and adjust to novel threats without the constant need for human direction agentic AI offers a promising step forward for defensive cybersecurity. For example, instead of waiting for an analyst to issue commands, agentic AI could act on its own: isolating a compromised endpoint, rerouting network traffic, or even engaging in deception techniques to mislead attackers.

Have you put your trust in the machine?

Despite this potential, organizations have often been slow in adopting new autonomous security technology that can act on its own. And this uncertainty may be well founded. Nobody wants to stop a senior executive from using their laptop based on a false alert or cause an outage in production. However, with the relationship between ML and cybersecurity set to continue developing, businesses mustn’t be deterred. Attackers don’t have this barrier to overcome. Without a second thought, they will use AI to disrupt, steal and extort their selected targets. This year, it appears organizations will likely face the bleakest threat landscape to date, driven by a malicious use of AI.

Consequently, the only way for businesses to combat this will be to be to join the AI arms race - using agentic AI to backup overwhelmed SOC teams. This can be accomplished through autonomous proactive actions, which can enable organizations to actively defend systems, engage in threat hunting and adapt to unique threats without requiring human intervention.

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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

• Avengers: Doomsday may go head-to-head with another huge movie in late 2026
• The Marvel film's release was recently pushed back from May 2026 to December of that year
• Florence Pugh is expected to star in both movies

It's time to start preparing for the 2026 edition of Barbenheimer, everyone.

With Avengers: Doomsday being delayed until December 18, 2026, the highly-anticipated Marvel movie is set to do battle with another massive film late next year.

The film in question? Dune: Messiah, the third entry in the Denis Villeneuve-directed sci-fi epic franchise. At the time of publication, another of 2026's most exciting new movies is also set to land in theaters next year on December 18, and as long as Avengers 5 and Dune 3 keep their current release dates we could have another Barnerheimer-style movie viewing event on our hands.

For those who might need a reminder, Barbenheimer was the title bestowed on the event that saw the Margo Robbie-starring Barbie film and Christopher Nolan-directed Oppenheimer flick released on the same day in 2023. Their contrasting styles and genres, coupled with the sheer amount of talent involved in both productions, saw many fans flock to their local theater to watch back-to-back screenings of these films.

Timothée Chalamet will reprise his role as Paul Atreides in Dune: Messiah (Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures)

Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Messiah won't be as polarizing stylistically, but two of 2026's hottest commodities occupy different genres. The fifth Avengers film is unquestionably a comic book/superhero movie, while the Dune franchise – both Frank Herbert's books and its movie series namesake – sits squarely in the sci-fi realm.

In my view, that's enough to ensure they meet the criteria first laid out by Barbenheimer. That being, the stark contrast between both films is valid enough to create a similar movie-based phenomenon event around them. Avengers: Dunesday, anyone?

Of course, none of this will matter if Avengers 5 suffers another launch day setback. Alternatively, Warner Bros. Pictures and subsidiary studio Legendary might blink first and decide to delay Dune: Messiah's own release so it isn't forced to compete with the cinematic juggernaut that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

If Dune 3 and the second Marvel Phase 6 film retain their current release dates, though, Christmas 2026 is sure to be a happy (and money-spinning) one for Florence Pugh.

Florence Pugh could end up starring in two of the biggest (and final) film releases of 2026 (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Pugh, who recently starred as Yelena Belova in another MCU movie in Thunderbolts*, was announced as part of the initial 27-strong cast for Avengers: Doomsday in late March. However, Pugh is also expected to reprise her role as Princess Irulan, who she first played in Dune Part Two, in Dune: Messiah.

As long as Irulan is part of the latter's cast, Pugh is set to appear in two of the most anticipated films that'll launch before the end of 2026 – not bad for someone whose breakout role only came in 2019's A24 folk horror indie flick Midsommar, eh?

Realistically, though, I can't see Doomsday and Messiah releasing on the same day.

Filming isn't underway on the latter yet, and won't be for some time. Meanwhile, since the 2023 Hollywood strikes, numerous Marvel films have been delayed at least twice, so Doomsday could suffer a similar fate.

I'm not sure which movie will be shunted back into 2027 but, as much as I want Avengers: Dunesday to be a thing, it's already looking like a pipe dream – and that's before any more release date delays are potentially announced.

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In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, the growing capabilities of hardware and software integration means unprecedented opportunity for innovative design. Yet with great innovation comes great responsibility. The need to act on climate change grows more urgent every day. The data is stark: natural disasters are increasing in frequency, wildlife populations have declined by 69%, and UN scientists are calling for a 43% emissions cut by 2030 to achieve the targets set out in the Paris agreement.

Despite these pressures, many companies are not yet up to standard when it comes to managing their environmental impact. Last year, hundreds of businesses that originally committed to the UN’s campaign were removed for failing to set sufficiently meaningful targets. Limitations around technology, geopolitical tensions and poor economic factors have all been cited as barriers for progress.

As the co-founder and CTO of TG0, I can see that one of the biggest opportunities we have to make a positive impact is in conscientious product design. EU Science Hub estimates that more than 80% of all product-related environmental impacts are determined during the design phase. Almost 70% of Apple’s gross carbon emissions are attributed to purchased goods and services. For BMW, it’s 81%, and for Siemens, it’s 96%.

As business leaders commit to sustainability initiatives and navigate regulations like the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products, it is crucial to recognize that genuine environmental impact begins at the design stage.

Consumer demand is also driving progress – a recent poll by Amazon found two in three UK shoppers prefer to buy products that have a more positive environmental impact.

The simplicity revolution

When Capgemini surveyed over 900 senior product designers and engineering executives, only 22% of companies had made sustainability a key component of their product design processes. Those that did reported remarkable benefits: 67% saw reductions in carbon emissions, 73% achieved higher revenue growth, and 70% experienced increased customer satisfaction.

But where to start? Through my work developing next generation human-machine interfaces, I’ve discovered that simplification at the design stage delivers benefits across almost every stage of the product life cycle. The choice of materials, for example, determines how easily a product can be repaired, recycled, or reused. The functionality dictates how many manufacturing steps are required. And the components and features will affect overall energy efficiency.

Materials reimagined

It starts with the materials that product designers choose. The environmental cost of our current approach is staggering: half of all global greenhouse gas emissions and around 90% of the world’s biodiversity loss is down to the extraction and processing of raw materials. Choosing recycled materials, reducing the complexity of a product’s bill of materials (BOM), and limiting the number of components significantly limits environmental impact without reducing any functionality.

Simplifying or rationalizing materials doesn’t have to mean sacrificing any sophistication of performance, especially in a world of evergreen products that are improved with regular software updates.

The economic case

Beyond environmental benefits, there are substantial economic advantages to simplified design. Fewer physical components means a more streamlined assembly process, reduced potential for errors, and lower production costs. Products become more durable with fewer points of failure, while digitization enables feature expansion without increasing material usage. And minimizing complexity often means the end products are lighter, which saves transport costs and associated emissions. This approach creates a virtuous cycle of sustainability and profitability. Conquering the E-Waste Crisis.

Perhaps most critically, these considerations address the growing issue of electronic waste. In 2022 alone, 62 million tonnes of e-waste were produced worldwide, with only 22% collected and recycled. When hardware consists of multiple materials, recycling becomes a challenge and often leads to products being discarded in landfill.

Reduced complexity means improved recyclability. When recyclers can easily separate different materials, products are less likely to end up in landfills. Smart design principles mean minimizing material types and creating products that are inherently easier to recycle at end-of-life.

More innovation at your fingertips

Beyond the cost savings and associated productivity gains, tackling these challenges can actually lead to more innovative products. This was something that Adidas discovered when it revolutionized its high-performance shoes by replacing twelve different materials with a single smart material. Assembly became easier, recycling more straightforward, and the company pioneered new manufacturing techniques using just heat and pressure rather than adhesives.

Similarly, in automotive, Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 exemplifies this approach with recycled PET bottle seat fabric, bio-based carpets derived from sugarcane and corn, leather interiors dyed with flaxseed oil, and doors finished with eco-friendly paint. These innovations demonstrate how simplification can lead to more sophisticated, sustainable outcomes.

The future of sustainable design

As designers create the next generation of products for the future, we must embrace innovation in our design approach alongside the features we deliver to customers. Simplifying product designs doesn’t mean compromising sophisticated functionality or a luxurious finish. Instead it’s a more streamlined way to deliver advanced capabilities, while minimizing carbon impact.

For technology leaders, sustainability can't be a check-box exercise. Only by embracing simplified design philosophy at every stage can we minimize costs, reduce environmental impact, and drive meaningful innovation. The future of product design isn't about adding more - it's about achieving more with less through intelligent design.

The time for this transformation is now. Our planet can't wait, and neither can our businesses.

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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

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 Friday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Friday, May 23 (game #446).

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

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Flights of fancy

NYT Strands today (game #447) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• STOP
• STOOP
• POOT
• CLOP
• CLAWS
• COOL

NYT Strands today (game #447) - hint #3 - spangram lettersHow many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 10 letters

NYT Strands today (game #447) - hint #4 - spangram positionWhat are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: top, 2nd column

Last side: bottom, 5th column

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

NYT Strands today (game #447) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #447, are…

• CHAMPAGNE
• PILLOW
• LEGROOM
• PRIVACY
• TOWELETTE
• SPANGRAM: FIRST CLASS

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

I flew FIRST CLASS once when the friend I was traveling with managed to get us an upgrade. It was very much like that episode of The Simpsons when Homer discovers that there is a secret world that only beautiful people are allowed entry to.

I spent the entire flight feeling like an imposter. An imposter who was enjoying eating lobster and shrimps with fine CHAMPAGNE, of course.

Another time, the Icelandic tourist board bumped me up to business class, which was thrilling news except I got stuck in security and missed the flight and then got downgraded back down to coach. It was frustrating but I enjoyed the momentary “flight of fancy”, feeling like an important businessperson even though I didn’t get to enjoy the perks of being an important businessperson. I know my place.

Anyway, I digress. A straightforward search today and a reminder of the small things that make a big difference when it comes to comfort.

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

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Friday, May 23, game #446)

• FAVA
• KIDNEY
• BLACK
• GREEN
• NAVY
• CANNELLINI
• SPANGRAM: BEAN SALAD

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.

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 Friday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Friday, May 23 (game #1215).

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 #1216) - hint #1 - VowelsHow 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 #1216) - hint #2 - repeated lettersDo any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

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

Quordle today (game #1216) - hint #3 - uncommon lettersDo 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 #1216) - 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 2.

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 #1216) - hint #5 - starting letters (2)What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• H

• H

• F

• P

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

Quordle today (game #1216) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1216, are…

• HUSKY
• HEIST
• FOGGY
• POLAR

I made hard work of finishing today’s Quordle, but I also had some bad luck guessing boggy instead of FOGGY.

My error was going for a word I wasn’t even sure was a word (LORAL) ahead of a very obvious one (POLAR), which for some reason I completely ignored. A bad case of Quordle blindness.

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

Daily Sequence today (game #1216) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1216, are…

• NOBLE
• OPIUM
• RABID
• GLEAN

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1215, Friday, 23 May: SHIRE, GIANT, AWAIT, CAPER
• Quordle #1214, Thursday, 22 May: LOSE, GLOVE, STINT, EXCEL
• Quordle #1213, Wednesday, 21 May: NOVEL, CHOSE, DIRTY, DONUT
• Quordle #1212, Tuesday, 20 May: DECOY, SHAKE, MAPLE, PURER
• Quordle #1211, Monday, 19 May: LINK, HANDY, DITCH, WAIVE
• Quordle #1210, Sunday, 18 May: QUACK, ROACH, PURGE, DOWNY
• Quordle #1209, Saturday, 17 May: STRIP, RANGE, UNITE, GEESE
• Quordle #1208, Friday, 16 May: SHEEP, SNUCK, DRIFT, BREAK
• Quordle #1207, Thursday, 15 May: PAINT, CROUP, PEDAL, FLUKE
• Quordle #1206, Wednesday, 14 May: FAVOR, METER, PICKY, MAKER
• Quordle #1205, Tuesday, 13 May: SCENT, AGAPE, POLAR, YEARN
• Quordle #1204, Monday, 12 May: ROYAL, ARGUE, BUNCH, READY
• Quordle #1203, Sunday, 11 May: QUASH, MUNCH, ALTER, UNDUE
• Quordle #1202, Saturday, 10 May: RELIC, BADGE, CHAMP, SATIN
• Quordle #1201, Friday, 9 May: MINUS, CRIME, NOSEY, SLAIN
• Quordle #1200, Thursday, 8 May: ELUDE, GREET, POPPY, ELITE
• Quordle #1199, Wednesday, 7 May: QUOTH, TRUNK, BESET, NAIVE
• Quordle #1198, Tuesday, 6 May: UNITE, SOGGY, FILET, PORCH
• Quordle #1197, Monday, 5 May: WREAK, COWER, STEAD, QUEUE
• Quordle #1196, Sunday, 4 May: PINCH, SMOKE, SCARY, CANNY

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 Friday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Friday, May 23 (game #712).

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 #713) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• WALKER
• JET
• STROLLER
• JOGGER
• NET
• HOOKS
• RANGER
• MONITOR
• BUTLER
• MET
• BOTTLE
• SLACK
• GAY
• CAPRI
• JEAN
• BIB

NYT Connections today (game #713) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• YELLOW: Stuff for little ones
• GREEN: Add a letter for popular trousers
• BLUE: Big Apple players
• PURPLE: Famous female writers 

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 #713) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: BABY GEAR 
• GREEN: KINDS OF PANTS MINUS "S"
• BLUE: NEW YORK SPORTS TEAM MEMBERS 
• PURPLE: BLACK WOMEN AUTHORS 

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

NYT Connections today (game #713) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #713, are…

• YELLOW: BABY GEAR BIB, BOTTLE, MONITOR, STROLLER
• GREEN: KINDS OF PANTS MINUS "S" CAPRI, JEAN, JOGGER, SLACK
• BLUE: NEW YORK SPORTS TEAM MEMBERS JET, MET, NET, RANGER
• PURPLE: BLACK WOMEN AUTHORS BUTLER, GAY, HOOKS, WALKER

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

I’m sure I wasn’t alone in toying with JOGGER, STROLLER, and WALKER – which in my mind are all varieties of baby buggy. Fortunately I didn’t find a fourth option so I switched focus.

Even though I’m in the UK and do not follow US sports, the branding of many teams is global and it’s probably easier to get jerseys for the METS, JETS, NETS and RANGERS in London than in some US cities. So the blue group was easy to see – easier than the purple group, which contained several BLACK WOMEN AUTHORS that I was ignorant of.

Fortunately by this point I’d connected KINDS OF PANTS MINUS “S” and BABY GEAR. 

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

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Friday, May 23, game #712)

• YELLOW: QUITE THE PARTY BASH, BLAST, BLOWOUT, RAVE
• GREEN: ONE'S CONSTITUTION CHARACTER, FIBER, MAKEUP, NATURE
• BLUE: BRITISH IMPERIAL UNITS OF WEIGHT DRAM, OUNCE, POUND, STONE
• PURPLE: WHAT "CAT'S EYE" CAN BE USED TO DESCRIBE EYELINER, GLASSES, MARBLE, NEBULA

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.

The final weekend of May is upon us and, without wanting to sound hyperbolic, the fifth month of 2025 is aiming to go out with a bang.

Well, on the 'what to watch at home' front, anyway. The world's best streaming services have released plenty of new movies and shows to enjoy between now and the start of the new working week on Monday (or, for those of you in the US and UK, Tuesday due to the latest holiday weekend's arrival).

So, from the three offerings Netflix has given us this week, to various genre fare on a number of its streaming rivals, here's what you'll want to catch over the next few days. – Tom Power, senior entertainment reporter

Fear Street: Prom Queen (Netflix)

Following on from the success of the first three Fear Street movies, there's a new tale of terror to enjoy. Fear Street: Prom Queen seems to be channeling Stephen King's Carrie and, as such, I'm very excited for this one.

With the other three scoring highly enough to be on our best Netflix movies round-up, it'll be interesting to see if they get lucky a fourth time. This movie does sound promising and early trailers have caught my attention, but its current 44% Rotten Tomatoes critical score doesn't bode well.

Set during 1988, we follow the senior year at Shadyside High as they begin their prom queen election, which is a very cut throat competition. Unfortunately, it's cut throat in the literal sense as a serial killer targets all the candidates. Sounds like it'll be a senior prom to remember, for all the wrong reasons. – Lucy Buglass, senior entertainment writer

• Watch Fear Street: Prom Queen on Netflix

Nine Perfect Strangers season 2 (Hulu/Prime Video)

Nine Perfect Strangers is back for its second season on Hulu (US) and Prime Video (internationally), and it's bringing an all-star cast along with it. That might not save it from receiving a mixed response, though, especially as season 1 holds a 59% Rotten Tomatoes score among critics.

This season, Nicole Kidman is joined by the likes of Mark Strong, Henry Golding, and Annie Murphy, with the plot centering around nine tourists who arrive in the Austrian Alps to embark on a transformative journey at a wellness resort.

Will Nine Perfect Strangers earn some rest and relaxation by making it onto our best Hulu shows and best Prime Video shows lists by way of its second outing? Time will tell. – LB

• Watch Nine Perfect Strangers season 2 on Hulu (US) and Prime Video (internationally)

Mickey 17 (Max)

Bong Joon-ho wowed us with the multi-award-winning Parasite a few years ago, but his latest movie is truly out of this world. While it didn't quite reach the heights of his Oscar-winning masterpiece, Mickey 17 still has a lot to say and should become part of our best Max movies list soon enough.

Led by Robert Pattinson, we follow a man (the titular Mickey_ who joins a space colony as an 'Expendable, i.e. a disposable worker who is cloned every time he dies. And yes, you guessed it, it's happened 17 times, which is pretty rough going.

However, a spanner in the works emerges when the 17th Mickey actually survives his apparent death as his replacement gets printed, meaning there are now two versions of Mickey vying to survive. Here, you get a brilliant dual performance from Pattinson, as well as an all-star supporting cast featuring Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, and Mark Ruffalo, the latter of who plays a very obnoxious politician character in this Max sci-fi flick. – LB

• Watch Mickey 17 on Max

Sirens (Netflix)

This new limited series has been compared to HBO's smash hit Succession but, in my view, the similarities begin and end with the the familial melodrama that's at the heart of Sirens.

A dark comedy-drama, it stars Meghann Fahy as Devon, who becomes increasingly concerned about the wellbeing of her younger sibling Simone (played by former House of the Dragon actor and soon-to-be Supergirl in James Gunn's DCU Milly Alcock).

Indeed, Simone works for enigmatic billionaire Michaela (the ever-excellent Julianne Moore), and the pair's creepy, cult-like relationship is clearly disconcerting enough for Devon, who's hardly the epitome of a well-rounded human, to rock up at Michaela's lavish home to hold an intervention for her sister. Cue an explosive weekend of discourse and revelations alike in this dark comedy program that's been positively received by all – TP

• Watch Sirens on Netflix

Fountain of Youth (Apple TV+)

With a critically-acclaimed back catalog of hits, Apple can seemingly do no wrong on the TV Original front. Things are quite different on the movie development side, though, with the tech giant's film library being more hit-and-miss than it would like.

Fountain of Youth, the next Apple TV+ flick, will hope to be the former rather than the latter. Guy Ritchie's Indiana Jones-inspired movie stars John Krasinski and Natalie Portman as siblings (and intrepid explorers) who, yep, you've guessed it, set out to find the fabled fountain of youth. Eiza Gonzalez, Laz Alonso, and Domnhall Gleeson are among the supporting cast.

Like Apple, Ritchie's movies tend to be great or pretty rubbish, so Fountain of Youth could go either way with fans and critics alike. Will we be adding it to our best Apple TV+ movies list in the next week or so? Or will its potentially old and cliched storytelling formula turn people off? We'll find out soon enough. – TP

• Watch Fountain of Youth on Apple TV+

Clarkson's Farm season 4 (Prime Video)

Everyone's favorite petrolhead-turned-agriculturist returns for another installment of his popular (well, well-liked in the UK, anyway) Prime Video series.

That's right, Clarkson's Farm is back for its fourth season. And, if the three previous installments were any indication, we can expect even more rural-based mayhem from Jeremy Clarkson, Caleb, and the rest of the gang down at Diddly Squat Farm.

As mentioned, this comedy-laced docuseries has been a huge hit for Amazon on British shores, so I suspect season 4 will shoot to the top of Prime Video's Top 10 TV chart in the coming days. Don't be surprised if it makes a return to our best Prime Video shows list, either. – TP

• Watch Clarkson's Farm season 4 on Prime Video

Big Mouth season 8 (Netflix)

Big Mouth is growing up. Indeed, the coming-of-age animation is bowing out with its eighth and final season, which follows the characters as they start a new chapter at high school.

You can expect plenty of cringe, crude adult humor once again, and the plot includes Nick going off to a different high school, becoming enamored with a new best friend while neglecting his old one, and Jay becoming a overprotective parent after being given a melon to look after as a school project.

With an impressive 94% Rotten Tomatoes rating, fans have loved this series and will no doubt be very sad to see it go. But, who knows, maybe the characters will return again down the line? – LB

• Watch Big Mouth season 8 on Netflix

For more streaming recommendations, read our guides on the best Disney+ shows, best Hulu movies, best Paramount+ movies, and best Max shows.

• DomainTools found more than 100 domains promoting fake browser extensions
• These extensions impersonated legitimate products and reputable businesses
• They were stealing sensitive data and executing malicious code remotely

Security researchers recently found more than 100 malicious browser extensions posing as legitimate tools. These extensions, distributed through various channels, but also found on the Google Chrome Web Store, were able to steal sensitive user information, as well as receive further commands to execute.

Google was notified of the findings and managed to remove most malware from its repository. Apparently, some still remain and continue to present a risk to the users.

This is all according to DomainTools, who claim to have spotted more than 100 fake domains promoting the tools, most likely through malvertising campaigns. The malware spoofed all sorts of legitimate products, from VPNs, to AI assistants, and cryptocurrency utilities, and impersonated some of the world’s biggest brands, including Fortinet, YouTube, or Calendly.

"The Chrome Web Store has removed multiple of the actor's malicious extensions after malware identification," DomainTools said. "However, the actor's persistence and the time lag in detection and removal pose a threat to users seeking productivity tools and browser enhancements."

The full list of malicious domains can be found on this link.

Abusing extensions

Add-ons and extensions are a great way to expand the browser’s features and thus enhance user productivity in a business environment.

For example, tools like Asana, Trello, or Grammarly can streamline workflows and improve writing accuracy, while password managers like LastPass can improve credential management.

However, they also handle a lot of sensitive information and are granted high-level permissions, which is why they’re often on the threat actors’ radars. That being said, not only are hackers looking for ways to break into legitimate tools, they often build fake ones, too.

With spoofed add-ons, they can gain high-level privileges without raising alarms, and can access sensitive information stored in the browser, such as passwords, or credit card data.

It is important that users only install the add-ons from reputable sources such as the Chrome Web Store, but even there - they should read the reviews and mind the download count because, as seen in this example, crooks can sometimes smuggle malware even past the greatest of gatekeepers.

Via BleepingComputer

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• Solidigm’s 122.88TB SSD is efficient, dense, and now on sale
• First review confirms strong performance in read-heavy enterprise storage use
• CSAL tech removes QLC flash drawbacks for practical, high-capacity deployment

Solidigm’s 122.88TB D5-P5336 enterprise SSD was announced in November 2024 and has just gone on sale, priced at $12,399, less than the $14,000 analysts were predicting.

Now the first full review of Solidigm’s 122.88TB beast has arrived, and according to Jon Coulter, Senior Hardware Editor at TweakTown, the best SSD more than lives up to the hype, not just in scale, but in performance, efficiency, and practical deployment.

As Coulter writes, “In enterprise scenarios where capacity is king, Solidigm's D5-P5336 122.88TB SSD reigns supreme.”

Game-changing advantages

The drive, based on QLC NAND, is described as the most efficient high-capacity SSD currently in circulation. It offers unprecedented storage density, allowing data centers to store up to 4 petabytes per 1U server footprint. That matters more than ever in an era where AI model datasets are doubling every eight months.

TweakTown notes that Solidigm is at the forefront of QLC flash development and points out that many of the usual drawbacks of QLC, such as endurance and write performance, are addressed by both the sheer size of the drive and by Solidigm’s CSAL (caching SSD acceleration layer) technology.

Coulter explains, “As we see it, with CSAL augmentation, all drawbacks inherent to QLC arrays are completely erased and you are left with only game changing advantages. Amazing.”

The D5-P5336 reached 7,481MB/s in sequential reads and 947,000 IOPS in 4K random reads during testing, both exceeding manufacturer specifications. “Factory spec here is up to 900K IOPS at QD256. We are getting 947K IOPS at QD256 with our configuration,” Coulter reports.

In practice, this level of performance is intended for high-volume, read-heavy storage tiers, not fast-paced transactional systems. As Coulter points out, "workloads of this nature will rarely, if ever, be encountered in the role QLC SSDs play in the storage tier. Results here are to be taken with a grain of salt."

Summing up, he concludes: “Because it delivers as advertised and then some, is readily available, supremely efficient, delivers plenty of performance for its intended roles, and is backed by a 134 PBW 5-year warranty. Solidigm's 122.88TB D5-5336 SSD has earned a Must Have Editor's Choice rating.”

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• Strava has been updated with new features for paying subscribers
• That includes AI-powered Routes and tappable locations
• The app’s leaderboards have also been purged of cheats

If you’re a fitness fanatic you’ve probably heard of Strava. The health tracking app is popular among athletes and enthusiasts alike, and it’s just been updated with a range of new features for subscribers.

According to a blog post on the Strava website, the new features “blend on-the-go flexibility with community-driven reliability,” meaning the app gives subscribers “smarter, community-powered tools to explore and compete with confidence.”

So, what do you actually get with the update? First, there’s a new Routes experience. Strava says this comprises “updated AI-powered Routes” that can offer suggestions based on the app’s Global Heatmap. That means more flexible and reliable options that are based on user contributions, the company claims.

From June, points of interest will be tappable, and this can allow you to find out more information about the place in question (such as an eatery or beauty spot). It also means you can create a route that either goes directly to the point of interest or incorporates it along the path, and this will show data like elevation and estimate arrival time.

Then from July, subscribers will be able to drop a pin onto a map in Strava and create an “efficient, activity-specific route from A to B.”

Leaderboard fairness

(Image credit: Strava)

Beyond these new features, Strava says it's also taking steps to ensure that leaderboard times have been achieved fairly. To that end, the app’s machine learning model has been updated to reprocess the 10 most popular spots on the ride and run leaderboards. This has resulted in the removal of 4.45 million activities that were either filed with the wrong sport type or were recorded in vehicles. Strava says this means the leaderboards will now “reflect true performances.”

Strava is also adding more live segments, with double the number compared to previously. You'll be able to access these segments whether you’re a subscriber or not, but paid members will get a few added features here, including extra screens with comparison metrics.

If you love Strava and use it every time you head out on a run or a ride, these updates might have piqued your interest. Just make sure you take one of the best fitness trackers with you the next time you hit the road.

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• Researchers found a new non-password-protected database
• The database contained hundreds of millions of records
• Among the records were login credentials for Facebook, Apple, and more

Login credentials for Microsoft, Facebook, Snapchat, and many other services, were recently found in a public, non-password-protected database, available for anyone who knew where to look.

The database was discovered by Jeremiah Fowler, a security researcher known for hunting large, open databases.

According to Fowler, the database contained more than 184 million unique logins and passwords: emails, usernames, passwords, and URL login links, for a wide range of services applications and accounts. That includes email providers, Microsoft products, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Roblox, and many more.

Fowler also said he saw credentials for bank and financial accounts, health platforms, and government portals from “numerous countries”. He managed to confirm the authenticity of at least some of the data in the database, by reaching out to email addresses found inside.

Attribution was tricky, though. Fowler says the IP address indicated that the database was connected to two domain names - one parked and unavailable, and the other unregistered and available for purchase.

The Whois registration was set to private, making it impossible to identify the true owner of the database.

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Attribution troubles

But the researcher managed to reach out to the hosting provider, and soon after - public access was restricted. The provider, however, did not disclose the information about the owner.

With that in mind, Fowler says it’s difficult to determine if the database was generated by a malicious actor, or a legitimate one. Still, he leans towards the former, claiming to have seen “multiple signs” the data was harvested with infostealers.

Infostealers are usually distributed via phishing, malicious websites, or tainted updates. They can harvest sensitive information from the compromised device, including passwords stored in browsers, important PDF files, cryptocurrency wallet information, and more.

Once crooks get access to email accounts, they can use them to launch convincing phishing attacks, or steal even more data.

In fact, Fowler argues that many people “treat their email accounts like free storage” and keep years’ worth of sensitive documents inside.

Via Website Planet

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• President Trump has threatened Apple with a 25% tariff as it doesn't make its devices in the US
• This could see a price increase for iPhones, iPads, Macs and more
• Trump proposes a 50% tariff on goods from the European Union, which could have a knock-on effect on product prices too

US President Donald Trump has said he's "recommending" a 50% tariff on the European Union starting June 1. And these tariffs could hit Apple, as it doesn't manufacture its iPhones and other devices in the US.

"I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else," Trump posted on his social media site Truth. "If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S. Thank your for your attention to this matter!"

If such a tariff comes to fruition, the cost of iPhones could increase to compensate for the increased tariffs.

Even if Apple were to shift its manufacturing of iPhones wholesale to the US, that would very likely represent a huge initial cost of setup, as well as a long lead time and ongoing labor expenses. So, that could also see Apple need to increase the price of its products, both existing and likely upcoming.

The next big Apple product launches are likely to be the iPhone 17 and the so-called iPhone 17 Air. If the Trump administration pursues these tariffs, then both phones could have a launch price that'll sting even the most dedicated iPhone fans.

We've approached Apple for comment but have yet to hear back from the company.

Turbulent tariffs

While the Trump administration pulled back from some of its most aggressive proposed tariffs, which were paused for 90 from the start of April, given the huge market upheaval they caused; one notable example was US pre-orders for the Nintendo Switch 2 being parsed as the Japanese gaming giant navigated protential prices changes in the face of importing its upcoming console to the States.

Reciprocal tariffs from nations affected by Trump's tariffs caused huge disruption in markets, and while things simmered down in the weeks after, there are still tariffs on the table that could make doing business with the US difficult for companies based in other nations.

The likes of Samsung have a big presence in the US, but the South Korean company manufactures its devices outside of America and Trump's traffics could make importing the likes of the Galaxy S25 and the likely upcoming Samsung Galaxy S26 more expensive. A likely knock-on effect of that would be for Samsung to increase the prices of its devices, with the cost effectively being passed on to consumers.

With inflation causing the cost of all manner of products to increase, with Trump's tariffs we could see prices on tech rise. So my suggestions is to make use of the Memorial Day deals while you can still get devices for acceptable prices.

Of course, the fallout from this could be too hard to swallow so Trump might end up not seeing such threats through, especially against Apple as it's one of the US' trillion-dollar companies.

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The third installment in Netflix’s landmark documentary series American Manhunt has critics raving and audiences rushing to binge the three-episode series.

Since its release on May 14, American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden has shot to the top of the Netflix charts, holding the top stop not just in the US, but globally, with an estimated 12.6 million views in its first week.

It's hardly surprising, considering critics are hailing it as one of the best Netflix shows around at the moment, earning the doc a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Directed by Daniel Sivan and Mor Loushy, the series details the hunt for, and eventual raid on the compound of, al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden in the decade that followed the events of September 11, 2001.

Bin Laden was eventually “compromised to a permanent end” on May 2, 2011, but, as per Netflix’s synopsis, “less is known about what happened in between, and what operatives, officials, and counterterrorism experts faced in order to capture and bring down one of the most notorious terrorists in modern history.”

This is what the documentary sets out to explore, focusing on the individuals whose 10-year hunt involved tough decisions and swift actions, and transporting the viewer to the secure spaces in which intelligence operatives and Special Forces undertook a global pursuit of the world’s most wanted man.

Over the three episodes, the audiences hear from some of these men and women, with interviews with former CIA, Department of Defense and FBI officials such as Leon Panetta and Henry A. Crumpton, White House staffers of the era including Ben Rhodes and the journalists, like ABC reporter John Miller, who covered the ever evolving events.

The show tells “the story of the people tasked to find the world’s most wanted terrorist and bring him to justice” say Sivan and Loushy, “it [was] a hunt that changed their lives, America, and the world as we know it.”

What are the critics saying about American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden?

As evidenced by the doc’s perfect Rotten Tomatoes score, critics have nothing but praise for the show, which Ready Steady Cut called “absolutely stellar documentary filmmaking.”

Decider’s review shows that Sivan and Loushy have hit their mark attempting to tell the untold story of the operation, saying American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden “gives insight into operations most people in the US knew nothing about,” while San Francisco Chronicle called it a “a useful, riveting documentary docuseries.”

(Image credit: Netflix)What's the subscriber's verdict?

However, the response from viewers has been a little more muted, with the show currently sitting at just a 56% RT Audience Score.

One reviewer on the site criticized the lack of focus on the troops on the ground, saying “There is very little about the Seals [sic] who risked their lives but a great deal of preening and posturing by the politicians,” while others wished the show covered pre-9/11 US involvement with the al-Qaida leader in more depth: “Bin Laden and the US is part of history before the plane crash too. The documentary doesn’t delve into that subject nearly enough.”

Reddit users had a more positive response to the show, however, with one poster calling it “a solid 10/10 series” and another saying simply “must watch” while a third stated “I got goosebumps. I cried. I clapped [...] very powerful.”

Comment from r/netflix

As with the first two installments of the American Manhunt series – The Boston Marathon Bombing and O.J. Simpson – it seems one of the best streaming services have delivered a gripping documentary detailing the untold aspects of a headline-dominating event in recent U.S. history.

All three episodes, along with previous seasons, can be streamed on Netflix right now.

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• ECCO has released its second report on Broadcom, citing no improvement
• Germany's VOICE has brought VMware pricing to the European Commission's attention
• Perpetual licenses got terminated, with many customers forced to pay upfront for three years

Broadcom has allegedly increased VMware licensing costs by eight to 15 times for many customers after eliminating perpetual and pay-as-you-go licenses, replacing them with bundled subscriptions that require a three-year minimum contract.

The European Cloud Competition Observatory (ECCO) has likened the new pricing to paying for full, continuous usage regardless of actual consumption.

It was revealed that many CISPE members have signed new contracts under pressure to keep services connected while lacking viable alternatives, with some old contracts over 10 years abruptly terminated.

CISPE isn't happy about Broadcom's VMware pricing

"ECCO’s role includes highlighting ongoing or new unfair software licensing practices from any software vendors in the cloud sector. As such, it has already published one report critical of Broadcom’s changes to licensing practices following its acquisition of VMware in November 2023," ECCO wrote.

ECCO said that Broadcom continues to enact a "increasingly litigious approach to its partners and customers," accusing the company of partaking in anticompetitive actions. Europe's Observatory stressed that it has only had one meeting with Broadcom since its VMware acquisition, but no progress was made.

"This second report finds that Broadcom’s wide ranging and brutal imposition of unfair contract terms for cloud infrastructure service provides continue unabated," the body added.

In May 2024, CISPE criticized the company for requiring up-front payment for its three-year contracts, stating that "Broadcom must do more."

Since then, Germany's VOICE, an association of IT users, has sought to file a formal complaint against Broadcom with the European Commission.

CISPE Secretary General Francisco Mignorance commented: "Unlike Microsoft, Broadcom shows no interest in finding solutions, or even of working with European cloud infrastructure providers. Broadcom can report that most have signed new contracts, but we know that these are punitive and threaten the viability of service providers locked-in to the VMware ecosystem. Urgent action is needed.”

TechRadar Pro has asked Broadcom to comment on the ongoing matter, but we did not receive an immediate response.

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• Xiaomi’s YU7 is a follow-up to the massively popular SU7 sedan
• Enormous HyperVision Panoramic Display spans the entire windshield
• Huge performance promised by 680bhp electric drivetrain

Hot on the heels of Xiaomi’s SU7, which sold almost 30,000 units in China in a single month when it launched last year, the smartphone and tech giant has announced the eagerly-awaited follow-up.

Sporting sleek crossover looks, not too dissimilar to Porsche’s stunning Taycan Sport Turismo model, the YU7 offers more interior roominess and the added practicality of a larger and more accessible trunk. A generous 1,970 liters of total storage space are on offer.

It is hotly-tipped to be a massive sales success in its domestic market of China, where it is touted to cause headaches for Tesla, further eroding Model Y sales in the country.

This is down to the fact that Xiaomi products have an almost cult-like status in China, but also because its dimensions are larger than the Model Y, it charges faster and boasts a far greater range.

Xiaomi says the YU7 will come in three versions (Standard, Pro and Max), which can offer up to 519 miles of range on a single charge or up to 680bhp in the most potent versions – the 0-62mph sprint takes just 3.2 seconds in Max models.

Plus, charging takes just 12 minutes to achieve a 10-80% state-of-charge thanks to an 800V silicon carbide high-voltage platform architecture.

(Image credit: Xiaomi)

But scratch the surface and Xiaomi has gone guns-blazing with the technology on offer, with the next-generation of Nvidia’s Drive AGX Thor computing platform providing some serious digital fire power.

Alongside advanced levels of autonomous driving and active safety systems, the compute power also allows for a plethora of interior screens and displays.

Xiaomi says it is the first to offer a panoramic display that spans the full-width of the windscreen. Dubbed HyperVision Panoramic Display, it “intelligently adapts” to different user scenarios.

The tech company says it can offer speed and navigational directions in the sightline of the driver, but will also offer infotainment details, including real-time lyrics.

(Image credit: Xiaomi)

If that all sounds a bit distracting, just wait until you hear that the HyperVision Panoramic Display can offer up five modular information categories, from instrument readouts and media controls to navigation and weather updates.

Xiaomi intended the interior of the YU7 to mimic the cockpit of a fighter jet, with myriad information at the driver’s fingertips.

Passengers are also treated to displays, with seat-back screens an optional extra and an additional remote control panel embedded into the back of the center console that allows rear passengers to take over navigation or “entertainment management” duties.

There is no current word on pricing, but like the SU7, the latest Xiaomi will only be on sale in China for now. That's probably a good thing for most rival manufacturers.

Analysis: Tesla's Model Y continues to be a target

(Image credit: Xiaomi)

Although the price is not official, the Xiaomi YU7 is rumored to arrive with a tag that slightly undercuts the Model Y – Tesla's globally best-selling vehicle and one that once dominated that Chinese sales charts.

According to The Verge, Xiaomi founder, chairman, and CEO Lei Jun responded to the news of a refreshed Model Y coming to China late last year with a size comparison between the YU7 and Musk's popular electric SUV. Heck, the new Xiaomi even has a 'Y' in its name.

It is clear that Chinese EVs continue to target Tesla, attempting to knock the brand off the top spot with more affordable, more technologically advanced and more practical electric vehicles.

(Image credit: Xiaomi)

Xiaomi has an even sharper edge, considering it is one of the most recognizable names in technology and one the biggest smartphone manufacturers in the world. The SU7 was often regarded as the Apple Car that never was and huge numbers bought into it.

Considering the YU7 offers even more, particularly the practicality of improved interior space and comfort, it is highly likely it will prove a huge sales success.

Tesla, on the other hand, is continuing to experience sliding sales figures, both in China and further afield. Last month, BYD sold more electric cars than Tesla in Europe for the first time in its history.

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• Mozilla is closing popular read-it-later app Pocket
• There are several alternatives that you can use instead
• The Fakespot online shopping extension is also being shuttered

Mozilla is closing down the popular Pocket app, which lets you save articles from the web so that you can read them later. The company is also shuttering Fakespot, a browser extension used to expose fake product ratings to help you avoid getting misled when shopping online.

Pocket lets you save articles to the app that you can then read at another time. While many of the best browsers like Google Chrome have built-in bookmarking, Pocket is different in that it tweaks the experience to make reading more enjoyable. To that end, it adds its own formatting so that articles appear in a uniform, readable style, and it also allows you to add tags and highlights for better organization.

In a blog post, Mozilla said the move was made to help it focus on its Firefox web browser, adding that “the way people save and consume content on the web has evolved, so we’re channeling our resources into projects that better match browsing habits today.” The company has also posted a more detailed guide to its decision and explained what will come next on its website.

Pocket will shut down on July 8, 2025. As of now, new users can no longer download the app or purchase new Pocket Premium subscriptions, with current subscribers being refunded on a pro rata basis. Existing Pocket users will be able to export their saved articles until October 8, 2025, after which time their data will be permanently deleted. Mozilla has published a guide on exporting your Pocket saves to help with the process.

As for Fakespot, its apps, website and extensions will become unavailable on July 1, 2025. The Review Checker feature that’s built into the Firefox web browser will stop working on June 10, 2025.

Sorely missed

(Image credit: Future)

I’ve used Pocket religiously for many years, and the move to shut it down came as an unwelcome surprise. Since I found out about the move, I’ve been looking for alternative apps that let me save articles and read through them at my leisure.

So far, I’ve seen Instapaper come highly recommended. It’s designed to help you save articles from around the web and display them in a simple, easy-to-read format. It can even speak articles aloud so you can listen on the go.

Another alternative is Readwise Reader. Like Instapaper, it’s great for saving from the web, but it also works with RSS feeds, X threads, PDFs, newsletters, YouTube videos, and more. There’s integration with Readwise’s highlighting capabilities, plus a beautiful design that’s easy on the eye.

There’s also Raindrop, which some of my TechRadar colleagues wholeheartedly recommend. This bills itself as a bookmark manager, so it helps with organizing almost anything you find on the web, not just articles. It’s built for teams and will automatically back up any files and web pages you add, ensuring you can keep reading even if the original source is lost.

Despite coming across these alternatives, I can’t say I’m not disappointed to lose Pocket. One of its best aspects was its suggested articles feature, which has helped me find an incredible array of fascinating stories that I’d otherwise never have discovered. Once it goes, it’ll be sorely missed.

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• Microsoft is bringing new AI features to Notepad, Paint and Snipping Tool
• Many of these are for Copilot+ PCs only, though, as they require an NPU
• Notepad is getting a new AI-powered text creation ability which is coming to all Windows 11 PCs, but it needs a Microsoft 365 subscription

Windows 11’s Notepad app is getting its AI powers expanded to include the ability to generate written content from scratch, and Microsoft is providing new AI-related functionality to two other apps in the OS, although all of this remains in testing for now.

Let’s start with Notepad which, with the release of version 11.2504.46.0 (in preview, for Windows 11 testers) adds a new ‘Write’ option. Just right-click where you want some text to be inserted – or anywhere in an empty document if you’re starting with a blank slate – and tell Notepad the nature of the content you want created, and it’ll write something for you.

Windows Latest has had a play with the feature in testing and observes that the AI tends to keep its generated text on the concise side.

If you’re not happy with the results and feel the AI-created content could be better, you can always elect to use the option to ‘Rewrite’ in Notepad, which allows for instructions to lengthen (or shorten) the text, or change the tone (and more besides).

The catch with Notepad’s new AI-powered writing is that it uses what Microsoft calls AI credits.

If you aren’t a Microsoft 365 or Copilot Pro subscriber, you don’t get those credits, and so won’t be able to use this feature. Those with a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family plan get 60 AI credits per month, to be used across all Microsoft’s apps, so you are limited to the extent that you’ll be able to exercise this new power.

Away from Notepad, Microsoft has also added new features to the Paint app and Snipping Tool, and yes, as noted at the outset, all of this is AI-driven stuff. Further bear in mind that as Microsoft explains in a blog post, the following abilities are mostly for Copilot+ PCs only, too (except where I’ve noted otherwise).

Snipping Tool’s fresh addition is something called ‘perfect screenshot’ which lets you select an area of the screen that you wish to grab, but you only need to highlight it roughly. The AI will then refine the window that you’ve drawn to capture, say, an image on the screen. Essentially, this is doing the heavy lifting in terms of cropping an object exactly, meaning you only have to vaguely outline it, and AI does the rest – pretty nifty.

A further move with Snipping Tool (coming to all Windows 11 users in this case) is a color picker ability. This is for the likes of designers who want to know precisely what any given color is on-screen (so they can match it elsewhere, and it’s possible to use HEX, RGB or HSL color codes).

(Image credit: Microsoft)

As for Paint, Microsoft is providing a new ‘welcome experience’ (introductory panel explaining its latest features) that’s coming to everyone, too, and there are a couple of new AI tricks here (for Copilot+ PCs only).

First off, Paint is getting an object select tool which uses AI to, well, select objects on the canvas. This is (kind of) the equivalent of the Snipping Tool’s crop selection ability, meaning you can just point to an element of the image and AI will select the object precisely, allowing you to then apply edits.

Secondly, there’s a new sticker generator which again does what it says on the (Paint) tin. You tell the AI that you want a sticker of a tortoise in a leather jacket playing a ‘Flying V’ guitar and it’ll produce a selection of such stickers that you can choose from.

Analysis: Creative sparks and timesaving touches

(Image credit: Microsoft)

These are typical uses of AI, of course, encompassing content creation – from paragraphs in Notepad to stickers in Paint – to timesaving little touches in the form of easy selection of objects in Paint, or the swift cropping of an item in a screenshot with Snipping Tool.

All of this should make your life a bit easier, but there are reasons to have a bit of a grumble here. You’ll need a Copilot+ PC in many cases – and okay, that’s because it has the local hardware (an NPU) required to accelerate the task so it works quickly enough – but the subscription requirement for Notepad feels less reasonable.

More broadly, some folks are going to be irked by the changes to Notepad full-stop. Mainly because Notepad is supposed to be a minimalist, streamlined app to fire up to jot quick notes and the like, and it’s slowly becoming a mini version of Word. (Or indeed a new WordPad, which used to be the middle-ground between the two apps, until Microsoft killed it off).

Also, if you were thinking that Notepad already had AI text creation abilities, well, no, it didn’t. While the app has already witnessed the introduction of a Rewrite facility, creating paragraphs from scratch is a new thing (for this app, anyway).

Does Notepad really need it, though? On the face of it, the move can’t hurt – if you don’t want it, don’t use it. But the argument against slowly drafting in more and more features for Notepad is that this bloat will slow it down, making it less responsive (and even more sluggish to load, perhaps).

All of which very much pulls in the wrong direction for those who want a tiny, quickfire jotting pad of an app, which, to be fair, was always the original intent with Notepad. Not so much, these days, that’s for certain.

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• Java is 30 today, but remains one of the most widely used programming languages globally
• Java’s design philosophy prioritizes stability and backwards compatibility over flashy language trends
• The JVM remains Java’s secret weapon, enabling true cross-platform execution for decades

On May 23, 1995, a seemingly modest programming language called Java was released by Sun Microsystems.

At the time, it introduced the catchy promise of "write once, run anywhere" - a proposition that, despite sounding ambitious, resonated deeply with a generation of developers navigating a fragmented and rapidly evolving computing landscape.

Thirty years later, Java remains one of the most widely used programming languages in the world, embedded in everything from enterprise servers to cloud-native applications. But how did a language from the mid-'90s maintain its relevance amid relentless technological shifts?

A runtime built for endurance, not fashion

As Java turns 30, it’s worth re-examining its trajectory not just through celebratory anecdotes but also through the lens of its actual utility, structural longevity, and measured adaptability.

The occasion may call for cake and nostalgia, but the real story lies in the language’s persistent grip on serious computing tasks, and the skepticism it continues to attract from those who see it as either too slow to evolve or overly burdened by its own legacy.

Java's defining characteristic has always been platform independence. It achieved this through the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), which runs compiled bytecode on any operating system equipped with a compatible JVM.

This design helped Java flourish in the heterogeneous IT environments of the late '90s and early 2000s. Unlike many languages that depend on direct compilation for each target system, Java's intermediary form allowed for smoother portability.

Over the decades, Java's APIs and class libraries expanded, but with an unusual level of care: backward compatibility was always a priority. Developers weren’t required to rewrite code with every version upgrade.

This is a crucial advantage in enterprise systems, where uptime and reliability often outweigh syntactic novelty. Today, applications written decades ago can still run with minimal modification on modern JVMs, a level of continuity that few languages offer.

A cautious evolution of language features

Java has seen gradual enhancements, often arriving later than similar features in more agile languages. Lambda expressions, for example, only became part of Java with version 8 in 2014, long after functional programming had become mainstream elsewhere.

In its early years (1995–2000s), Java established itself in enterprise and mobile development with the introduction of Java 2, which included J2SE, J2EE, and J2ME. J2EE became the standard for web and enterprise applications, while J2ME gained popularity on mobile devices.

Java 5, released in 2004, marked a turning point with the addition of generics, enhanced for-loops, and annotations, moving Java closer to modern programming practices.

From Java 9 onward, the language has evolved steadily. The module system (Java 9), local variable type inference with var (Java 10), pattern matching (Java 16), and improvements in memory management reinforced Java’s adaptability.

Java 17, a long-term support release, reaffirmed the platform’s role as a robust and modern choice for software development.

Java in the cloud and beyond

Despite its age, Java has found a second wind in cloud computing. It is particularly well-suited for cloud-native applications, thanks in part to the emergence of GraalVM, a runtime that compiles Java into native machine code.

GraalVM’s native images can dramatically reduce startup times and memory usage, a key consideration for containerized environments and serverless platforms like AWS Lambda.

Java has also extended its reach into machine learning and high-performance computing through projects like Panama, which improves interoperability with native C/C++ libraries.

With tools like Jextract, Java developers can generate bindings to foreign code easily, sidestepping the clunky and error-prone Java Native Interface (JNI).

This technical depth is part of the reason Java continues to power complex systems. It's not flashy, but it's functional, and in enterprise environments, functionality beats fashion every time.

Projects shaping Java’s future and the evolution of syntax

The OpenJDK community has multiple projects aiming to refine Java’s performance and usability.

Project Leyden focuses on optimizing startup times and reducing memory footprints. Project Lilliput is exploring ways to shrink the object header to as little as 32 bits. Several other projects are underway, though not all have yielded immediate results.

Some, like Project Amber, show incremental but slow progress, while others, like Babylon, seem to outpace current implementations.

Nevertheless, one of the more welcome modernizations has been the addition of record types, which reduce boilerplate in data-holding classes. This improvement, introduced via JEP 359, aligns with the goals of the Valhalla project.

Pattern matching and enhanced switch statements are also nudging Java closer to functional programming languages in expressiveness.

However, these changes are often incremental and restricted to preview status for multiple releases before becoming permanent.

James Gosling, the creator of Java

Java’s 30th anniversary also brings renewed attention to 70-year-old James Gosling, the language’s creator.

His reflections are both proud and critical. Gosling has expressed satisfaction in hearing from developers whose careers were built on Java.

Looking back on Java’s evolution, he noted that features like lambdas, introduced in JDK 8, were ones he wished had been part of the language from the start.

Still, he emphasized the importance of thoughtful language design, explaining, “I never wanted to put in something that was not right.”

On AI, he’s blunt: “It’s mostly a scam,” he said, adding, “The number of grifters and hypesters in the tech industry is mind-rotting.”

His views on AI-assisted coding tools are similarly sharp. While he finds them amusing for basic tasks, he notes that “as soon as your project gets even slightly complicated, they pretty much always blow their brains out.”

Conclusion: Longevity through caution and clarity

Java’s 30th birthday is more than a symbolic milestone, it highlights a rare achievement in software engineering: staying relevant without constant reinvention.

While newer languages come with sleek syntax and flashy tooling, Java remains a trusted workhorse in sectors where stability, security, and predictability matter most.

Whether it's running a logistics backend, a financial system, or a cloud-native microservice, Java’s design ethos - pragmatism over novelty - continues to prove itself.

Its legacy isn’t built on hype, but on solving real problems at scale. And in that regard, it may very well be just getting started.

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