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Hints and answers for Connections for Thursday, March 6.

The low-cost mission may be in danger, and it's not NASA's first such failure.

Landing on the moon is hard, but Intuitive Machines will try for a gentle touchdown of its IM-2 Athena lander packed with rovers, a drone and a NASA moon drill.

Trump continues to link his tariffs to fentanyl and overdose deaths — in his speech to Congress and on social media. But many of his statements about the fentanyl crisis aren't factual.

I love diving into learning about new things and falling down research rabbit holes, but sometimes I just need a quick, efficient answer to a question or a concise guide to a task. If I’m trying to figure out how long to roast chicken or whether Pluto has been reinstated as a planet, I want a short list of bullet points and a simple yes or no.

So, while ChatGPT's Deep Research feature has proven to be an amazing researcher that is great when I want to immerse myself in a topic, I haven't made it my default tool with the AI chatbot. The AI model's database, as well as its search tool, resolve pretty much any day-to-day question or issue I might ask it. I don't need a formal report on how to make a meal that takes 10 minutes to compile. But, I do find the comprehensive answers from Deep Research viscerally appealing, so I decided it was worth comparing it to the standard (GPT-4o) ChatGPT model and giving it a few prompts that I could imagine submitting on a whim or with little long-term need.

Beef Wellington

(Image credit: ChatGPT Screenshots)

For the first test, I wanted to see how both models would handle a classic, somewhat intimidating recipe: Beef Wellington. This isn’t the kind of dish you can just throw together on a weeknight. It’s a time-consuming, multi-step process that requires patience and precision. If there was ever a meal where Deep Research might prove useful, this was it. I asked both models: “Can you give me a simple recipe for kosher Beef Wellington?”

Regular ChatGPT responded almost instantly with a straightforward, well-structured recipe. It listed ingredients in clear measurements, broke the process down into manageable steps, and offered a few helpful tips to avoid common pitfalls. It was exactly what I needed in a recipe. Deep Research took a full ten minutes and had a very long, complex mini-cookbook centered on the dish. I had multiple versions of Beef Wellington, which did all adhere to my specific requests, but ranged from a Jamie Geller-inspired method to a 19th-century traditional preparation with some substitutions. That's not counting the extra suggestions about decorations and an analysis of various types of puff pastry and their butter-to-flour ratios. If I'm honest, I loved it as a piece of trivia obsession. But, if I wanted to actually just make the dish, it was a bit too much like those recipe blogs where you have to scroll past someone's entire life story just to get to the ingredients list.

TV time

(Image credit: ChatGPT Screenshots)

For the second test, I wanted to see if Deep Research could help me buy a TV so I kept it simple with: “What should I consider when buying a new TV?”

Regular ChatGPT gave me a quick and clear answer. It broke things down into screen size, resolution, display type, smart features, and ports. It told me that 4K is standard, 8K is overkill, OLED has better contrast, HDMI 2.1 is great for gaming, and budget matters. I felt like I had a decent grasp of what to look for, and I could have easily walked into a store with that information.

Deep Research had its usual extra questions about what's important to me, but it was faster this time, only six minutes before delivering a full report on several TVs. Except rather than a simple pros and cons list, I got a lot of unnecessary detail on things like OLED vs. QLED panels, the reason TV refresh rates affect video games, and the impact of compression algorithms on streaming quality. Again, this was all incredibly informative, but entirely unnecessary for my purposes. And unlike Beef Wellington, I'm not going to keep coming back to the TV buying guide on a semi-regular basis.

Telescope look

(Image credit: ChatGPT Screenshots)

For the final test, I decided to get a little more academic in light of my recent decision to pursue astronomy more seriously as a hobby. Still keeping it brief, I asked, “How does a telescope work?”

Regular ChatGPT responded instantly with a simple, digestible answer. Telescopes gather and magnify light using either lenses (refracting telescopes) or mirrors (reflecting telescopes). It briefly touched on magnification, resolution, and light-gathering power, making it easy to understand without getting too technical.

Deep Research gave me a report of a kind I might have written in high school. After asking how technical I wanted my answer, and me responding that I didn't want it to be technical, I waited about eight minutes for a lengthy discussion of optics, the development of different kinds of telescopes, including radio telescopes, and the mechanisms behind how they all work. The report even included a guide on buying your first telescope and a discussion on atmospheric distortion in ground-based observations. It was answering questions I hadn't asked. Admittedly, I might do so at some point so the anticipation of follow-up queries wasn't a huge negative in this instance. Still, a couple of sentences about mirrors would have been just fine in the moment.

Deep thoughts

After running these tests, my opinion of Deep Research as a powerful AI tool with impressive results remains, but I feel much more aware of its excesses in the context of regular ChatGPT use. The reports it generates are detailed, well-organized, and surprisingly well-written. For a random tour of interesting information, it's pretty great, but I much more often just need an answer, not a thesis. Sometimes a shallow dip is preferable to a deep dive.

If the regular ChatGPT approach is accurate and does in seconds what takes Deep Research several minutes and a lot of unnecessary context to provide, that's going to be my preference 99 times out of a hundred. Sometimes, less is more. That being said, Deep Research's shopping advice would be great for a much bigger purchase than a TV, like a car, or even when looking for a house. But for everyday things, Deep Research is just doing too much. I don't need a jet engine for an electric scooter, but, for a transcontinental flight, that jet engine is good to have on-hand.

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• The latest audacious display launch from Thanko certainly pushes boundaries
• Perfect for working on the move - if you have the space
• New double 24-inch monitor can be extended up to 270 degrees

Doubling up on monitors is a surefire way to help drive productivity, but Japanese brand Thanko now seems to have taken things to the next level.

The firm has released a new double 24-inch monitor, and it’s quite the site to behold, as users can expand the monitor into two screens, connected in one single unit.

For those that are short on desk space, it’s a very handy piece of equipment and can be extended up to 270 degrees. The monitor’s measurements come in at 542 x 17 x 650mm (when unfolded) and 542 x 25 x 323mm (when folded).

Getting flexible

Admittedly, it doesn’t quite meet the mark with port options, featuring just a single HDMI slot and two USB-C ports - and one of these is for power supply.

It also boasts an array of ports and features, including a single HDMI port and two USB-C ports, although admittedly one of these is for power supply. These are complemented by a 3.5mm headphone jack as well as two 2W speakers.

From a performance perspective, it also gives users a maximum refresh rate of 100Hz alongside a response speed of 14ms.

The monitor has been touted as a ‘portable’ monitor. Given it weighs some 5kg, or roughly 11lbs, it could make for a great piece of equipment if you're on the move.

You can get your hands on the dual monitor for around ¥62,800 ($420).

Pushing boundaries

This isn’t the first Thanko product to push boundaries, as in February 2022, the gadget maker unveiled an audacious vertical display which allowed users to keep tabs on social media feeds.

The Thanko TL Portrait Display was designed to complement a laptop or desktop display - boasting a display size of 7.9 inches, the compact monitor fitted neatly alongside a laptop, according to reports at the time from Tom’s Hardware.

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A hundred minutes — that's how long President Trump had the floor — literally — last night.

A hundred minutes he used to lay out his agenda, his grievances and what he argued are the accomplishments of his first six weeks in office.

This all came during his "joint address" to Congress — the State of the Union that's not a State of the Union.

Since Trump returned to office in January, there's been little room left for democrats to make their case to the American people.

Democratic moderates think they have an answer for Trump 2.0. What does their playbook look like?

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

(Image credit: Win McNamee)

President Trump defended his humanitarian aid cuts to countries around the globe, including one nation he joked "nobody has ever heard of." Here are some facts about the African nation of Lesotho.

(Image credit: Themba Hadebe)

Google's also working on a new AI Mode in Search.

The General Services Administration plans to sell hundreds of government buildings, including FBI headquarters. Use our interactive tools to see where they are—and the congressional districts they're in.

These personality-driven phones are launching alongside a sequel to their cheaper flip-style foldable phone.

LeBron James has been so good for so long, there's a famous running joke about when he might slow down. At age 40, where does his 50,000 career points record put him in the GOAT debate?

(Image credit: Sean M. Haffey)

Like the Super Bowl mid-game spectaculars, the 2026 final game slated to take place at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey will include the World Cup's very first halftime show.

(Image credit: Richard Heathcote)

Today we take a break from the serious and often depressing international news beat to bring you the sound's of Soviet Central Asia in the 1970's and 80's. Our Moscow correspondent introduces us to an anthology of songs that came out of a record factory in Tashkent documenting a wide variety of music from the silk road in that time period.

A "federal employees transition workshop" in Philadelphia drew dozens of newly-unemployed people, many still in shock about losing their jobs.

(Image credit: Andrew Stelzer)

The People's Union USA grassroots movement wants consumers to stop spending money at Amazon and its subsidiaries for a week

Lack of sleep affects your appearance well beyond dark circles under your eyes. Here's how to sleep your way to better skin.

This is part of an ongoing move by the federal government to remove and alter National Park Service webpages related to LGBTQ history.

(Image credit: Justin Sutcliffe)

Here are hints and the answer for today's Wordle No. 1,356 for March 6.

• Rocket Enterprise SSD delivers up to 7,000MB/s read speeds with low-latency performance
• Features a 2.5 million-hour MTBF and an ultra-low bit error rate
• Supports both U.2 and U.3 interfaces, making it incompatible with standard desktop motherboards

Sabrent has introduced its first large SSD, the Rocket Enterprise PCIe 4.0 U.2/U.3 NVMe SSD, designed for enterprise — including data centers and large-scale operations by offering up to 30.72TB of storage, just like Micron's 9550 NVMe enterprise SSD, released in 2024.

Sabrent's product listing notes the device is not intended for consumer use, but businesses requiring high-speed, high-endurance storage solutions.

The new SSD delivers speeds of up to 7,000MB/s for sequential reads and 6,800MB/s for sequential writes and also provides up to 1,600K IOPS for 4K random reads, delivering the speed required for AI tools, server applications, and large-scale data management.

Performance tailored for enterprise workloads

The Rocket Enterprise PCIe 4.0 offers enterprise features like namespaces and power loss protection with an endurance rating of one DWPD.

The highest capacity model, at 30.72TB, can handle over 56PB of written data over its lifespan, and it also features a bit error rate (UBER) of less than one sector per 10^18 bits read, ensuring data integrity.

In terms of reliability, the SSD boasts a mean time between failures (MTBF) of 2.5 million hours, reducing the likelihood of unexpected failures. To maintain performance, the SSD offers sustained low-latency 4K random reads and writes.

It operates efficiently, consuming 21W during active use and just 6W while idle.

The SSD supports both U.2 and U.3 interfaces, which can be used simultaneously to ensure compatibility with a wide range of enterprise storage systems. However, this form factor makes it incompatible with standard desktop motherboards, which typically use M.2 or SATA connections.

Even if you could use it in a consumer setup, you might want to give it a second thought — the largest 30.72GB model of the Rocket Enterprise PCIe 4.0 is priced at just under $4,500.

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