Feed aggregator

The two major Japanese automakers are discussing a merger. Here is what to know, from the reasons why they are doing this to how it could impact you.

(Image credit: Tomohiro Ohsumi)

It's looking like 2024 will be the hottest year since record-keeping began, unseating 2023 for the top spot. Climate change is playing a role, and scientists say it was even hotter than expected.

(Image credit: PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

Whether we were paying attention or not, 2024 was filled with good news. In case you weren't, NPR's member stations have been keeping track. Here are some of the stories that made us smile this year.

(Image credit: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority)

Residents of the Sooner State can choose among many ISPs -- AT&T, T-Mobile, Cox -- you name it and there's an option. These are the best internet plans available in Oklahoma.

The gap between the ultra-rich minority and the vast majority has never been greater. But a wave of activist millionaires is asking for higher taxes.

Fabio Ochoa, one of Colombia's legendary drug lords and a key operator of the Medellin cartel, has been deported back to the South American country, where he has walked free.

(Image credit: Fernando Vergara)

• RUVDS expands hosting to Earth’s coldest, remote regions
• Tests promise high-speed data access for extreme remote environments
• Antarctica mission tests data center limits and innovation

Russian hosting firm RUVDS has announced plans to deliver a server to one of Earth’s most isolated locations: the South Pole.

Building on its previous Arctic experiment, the company aims to explore the feasibility of providing high-speed, uninterrupted data access from Antarctica's remote, freezing landscape.

According to the company’s schedule, this ambitious venture will take place next year and it seeks to prove that reliable server infrastructure that can operate even under the harshest conditions.

World’s most challenging climates

This venture follows RUVDS’s earlier success at the Barneo Ice Camp, a temporary station on an ice floe near the North Pole. Earlier in 2024, the company delivered a “data center in a box” to Barneo via an airdrop from an Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft.

The server is equipped with weather-resistant materials and connected to RUVDS’s satellite. It is designed to provide internet access and data hosting capabilities in the Arctic. While the server was intended to operate for a month, an emergency evacuation due to a crack in the ice cut the experiment short after just one week.

Learning from its Arctic experience, RUVDS is now preparing the Antarctic server with advanced insulation and backup power systems.

The equipment will include uninterruptible power supplies to counter power failures and ensure continuous operations. RUVDS’s goal is to create an “Antarctic data center” capable of providing high-speed data access to users, regardless of the extreme temperatures.

The server’s connection will rely on a high-speed communication channel, expected to be delivered alongside the hardware. RUVDS has not yet specified the exact technologies it will employ for this channel, but its Arctic experiment leveraged its own satellite, the StratoSat TK-1, which was launched in June 2023 in collaboration with Russian aerospace firm Statonautica.

This satellite, a Low Earth Orbit pico-satellite, is a key part of RUVDS’s Arctic and Antarctic operations. Despite memory damage during launch, StratoSat TK-1 remains operational, broadcasting a simple HTML page from space.

The company has a couple of options for the delivery of the server. It will engage transport planes and ships that can withstand the challenges of reaching the South Pole.

If successful, the server installation could pave the way for future data centers in remote polar regions, contributing to scientific research and potentially opening new avenues for communications in inaccessible parts of the world.

"We already have a successful experience of test launching a server at the North Pole - this was a kind of first approach to testing. And Antarctica, as a region with much more complex logistics and conditions, allows us to continue research at a new level," said Nikita Tsaplin, CEO of the VDS server hosting provider RUVDS.

"As part of the mission, the possibility of establishing satellite communications, including high-speed channels, will be studied, and I do not rule out that we will carry out a kind of beta test of commercial use of the server," Tsaplin continued.

Via DCD

You might also like

• These are the best datacenter proxies
• Take a look at our guide to the best web hosting services
• Microsoft reveals new zero-water data center cooling design

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Dec. 24.

Here are some hints — and the answers — for Connections No. 562 for Dec. 24.

Here are some hints — and the answers — for the Dec. 24 Strands puzzle, No. 296.

Here are some hints and the answer for Wordle No. 1,284 for Dec. 24.

Here are some hints — and the answers — for Connections: Sports Edition No. 92 for Dec. 24.

• An Arizona charter school will use AI instead of human teachers for two hours a day on academic lessons.
• The AI will customize lessons in real-time to match each student’s needs.
• The company has only tested this idea at private schools before but claims it hugely increases student academic success.

One school in Arizona is trying out a new educational model built around AI and a two-hour school day. When Arizona’s Unbound Academy opens, the only teachers will be artificial intelligence algorithms in a perfect utopia or dystopia, depending on your point of view.

The Unbound Academy's unconventional approach to teaching needed approval from the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools, which it received in a contentious 4-3 vote. Students in fourth through eighth grade will be enrolled in the program, in which academic lessons for two hours a day will be delivered by personalized AI, which will rely on platforms including IXL and Khan Academy. The idea pitched by Unbound is that it will make students happier and smarter, with more time to explore life skills and passions.

During those two hours, the students will be going through adaptive learning programs. While they study science, math, or literature, the AI will track their progress in real time. Depending on their performance, the AI will then adapt the curriculum's style and difficulty to help them succeed. That might mean slowing down and spending more time on some subjects or upping the ante and making some parts of the educational plan more difficult.

While academic lessons are condensed, the rest of the day is filled with hands-on workshops in areas like financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and public speaking. Instead of traditional teachers, students are guided by mentors who lead these sessions and help develop practical skills that aim to go beyond the classroom.

Academic AI

Unbound Academy has tested this concept elsewhere in similar programs at private schools in Texas and Florida under the name Alpha Schools. They claim that students in these programs learn twice as much in half the time. Arizona officials are now betting this success will work in public schools, albeit charter schools instead of standard educational institutes.

This isn't Arizona's first foray into AI education. Arizona State University (ASU) worked with OpenAI to incorporate ChatGPT as a kind of faculty member. The difference is that ASU has AI helping students to write academic papers and aiding professors in running more complex simulations and studies. It's not actually running any classes. What Unbound Academy is doing is closer to a trial run in the UK. London’s David Game College is running an AI-taught class as part of its new Sabrewing program, bringing 20 GCSE students into the program, which employs AI platforms and virtual reality headsets to guide their learning.

The idea that AI allows for hyper-personalized learning and can make for more successful students is, of course, appealing. The extra time freed up for life-skills workshops is another selling point, preparing students for challenges outside the classroom. But it's all too easy to see the shadow cast by what's lost without human teachers. AI can't replace the mentorship, encouragement, and emotional support that define a great teacher, at least not in any of its current forms.

AI may be able to boost a teacher's ability to help students, but it's objectively ridiculous to claim AI as it is now can be better than a human teacher. It may be cheaper for a district to turn to a for-profit company in the short term, but it's a shortsighted way of considering the value of educators. For now, students at Unbound Academy will be the pioneers of this new approach. Everyone will learn something from the result, one way or another.

You might also like...

• Your next professor at this college could be ChatGPT
• AI will teach this class a lesson but won't be hanging in the teacher's lounge
• Google Learn About is the patient teacher with a bag full of tricks we all wanted as kids

The Commerce, Defense and Justice Departments are reportedly investigating the Chinese company over security concerns.

The 78-year-old former president was hospitalized "for testing and observation" after developing a fever, his deputy chief of staff said in a statement.

(Image credit: Paul Sancya)

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

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Who on earth ...?

NYT Strands today (game #296) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• INTERN
• NINE
• HEALER
• CRIME
• RARE
• VINE

NYT Strands today (game #296) - hint #3 - spangram What is a hint for today's spangram?

• Earthy ID

NYT Strands today (game #296) - hint #4 - spangram position What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: top, 3rd 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 #296) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #296, are…

• BROOK
• HOLLY
• RIVER
• CLEMENTINE
• LAUREL
• WILLOW
• SPANGERAM: NATURE NAMES

• My rating: Moderate
• My score: Perfect

Even after completing today’s Strands it took me a while to understand what was meant by NATURE NAMES – then BROOK Shields, HOLLY Hunter, WILLOW Johnson, and RIVER Phoenix popped into my mind.

I was hard-pressed to think of anyone famous called CLEMENTINE or LAUREL, however.

Both are pretty rare names in general. According to the Social Security Administration in 2023 there were 543 babies named Clementine and just 391 called Laurel. For comparison, 15,270 girls in the US were named Olivia in 2023.

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

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Monday, 23 December, game #295)

• COCOA
• GINGERBREAD
• CRANBERRY
• PEPPERMINT
• SPANGRAM: HOLIDAY FLAVOR

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now out of beta so is a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,000 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1065) - hint #1 - Vowels How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

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

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1065) - hint #2 - repeated letters Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

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

Quordle today (game #1065) - hint #3 - uncommon letters Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1065) - hint #4 - starting letters (1) Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1065) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• T

• S

• F

• V

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

Quordle today (game #1065) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1065, are…

• TIPSY
• SCALE
• FLYER
• VALVE

It’s not a bad idea to look over Quordle when you’ve finished, but I always get a sense of regret.

I’ve still not pinned down the perfect second Quordle guess, but I’m pretty stuck on STARE as my starter, which landed me three letters of the second word, narrowing the field down to a possible 35 other possible words. Despite this narrowing of odds I still messed up and wasted a go when I could have got TIPSY a line earlier.

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

Daily Sequence today (game #1065) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1065, are…

• THREE
• CRUMP
• AGING
• TRUTH

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1064, Monday 23 December: SNAKE, SAVVY, ELBOW, TWEED
• Quordle #1063, Sunday 22 December: DOUBT, SLURP, PAPER, CIVIL
• Quordle #1062, Saturday 21 December: STRIP, BUDGE, SAPPY, SHELF
• Quordle #1061, Friday 20 December: PENAL, EAGLE, DILLY, QUITE
• Quordle #1060, Thursday 19 December: JEWEL, GNOME, TRAMP, IDLER
• Quordle #1059, Wednesday 18 December: LITHE, BIRTH, HUMID, ROBOT
• Quordle #1058, Tuesday 17 December: DOING, ENJOY, SNAKY, AMPLE
• Quordle #1057, Monday 16 December: HYDRO, CREAM, CHIDE, SLIME
• Quordle #1056, Sunday 15 December: DROVE, STILT, LINEN, GIANT
• Quordle #1055, Saturday 14 December: SPIEL, ONSET, TIGER, DITTO
• Quordle #1054, Friday 13 December: ERECT, REBAR, MOIST, IDIOM
• Quordle #1053, Thursday 12 December: MILKY, CRIER, STORK, DRIER
• Quordle #1052, Wednesday 11 December: BRIAR, NASAL, SHARD, FLUFF
• Quordle #1051, Tuesday 10 December: BEGAN, TRIAL, IDEAL, GUIDE
• Quordle #1050, Monday 9 December: TITAN, FORTE, SPEED, BRIAR
• Quordle #1049, Sunday 8 December: BUNCH, SHINY, MOULT, INTRO
• Quordle #1048, Saturday 7 December: SHAKY, CROOK, GHOUL, VERSE
• Quordle #1047, Friday 6 December: BRAWL, UNTIL, DOWRY, STING
• Quordle #1046, Thursday 5 December: AGING, BICEP, CLOVE, SPILL
• Quordle #1045, Wednesday 4 December: JUDGE, GIVER, GNASH, CLOAK

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need clues.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #562) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• LIONS
• TIGERS
• BEARS
• OH MY
• DEAR
• JAYS
• BILLS
• USE
• BYE
• BEES
• PLEASE
• CLOSE
• TIGHT
• GIMME
• EASE
• INTIMATE

NYT Connections today (game #562) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• YELLOW: Follow the Yellow Brick Road
• GREEN: Companion 
• BLUE: Letter soundalikes 
• PURPLE: Big, big, big tunes

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 #562) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: "LIONS AND TIGERS AND BEARS, OH MY!" 
• GREEN: BELOVED, AS A FRIEND 
• BLUE: WORDS THAT SOUND LIKE PLURAL LETTERS 
• PURPLE: WHEN TRIPLED, HIT SONG TITLES 

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

NYT Connections today (game #562) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #562, are…

• YELLOW: "LIONS AND TIGERS AND BEARS, OH MY!" BEARS, LIONS, OH MY, TIGERS
• GREEN: BELOVED, AS A FRIEND CLOSE, DEAR, INTIMATE, TIGHT
• BLUE: WORDS THAT SOUND LIKE PLURAL LETTERS BEES, EASE, JAYS, USE
• PURPLE: WHEN TRIPLED, HIT SONG TITLES BILLS, BYE, GIMME, PLEASE

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 2 mistakes

I’m sure I wasn’t alone in thinking that at least one of the groups today was about sports. This hunch was made even stronger by the fact that the LIONS and TIGERS are both Detroit teams.

The Lion we were looking for, though, was the cowardly one that leaps into the path of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz as they fret about the existence of "LIONS AND TIGERS AND BEARS, OH MY!"

NSYNC and boy bands in general are a bit of a musical blindspot for me, so I missed BYE in the song titles, using a mistake on USE (although on reflection “Use Use Use Your Imagination” by Gorgon City would be a little obscure).

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Monday, 23 December, game #561)

• YELLOW: HOMOPHONES EWE, U, YEW, YOU
• GREEN: NECKLINES BOAT, CREW, SCOOP, V
• BLUE: WAYS TO EXPRESS 1,000 GRAND, K, M, THOU
• PURPLE: SUPER 8, BOWL, GLUE, TUESDAY

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.

X CEO Linda Yaccarino is unexpectedly sweeping into CES 2025 for a keynote. The former NBC Universal executive, who joined X (formerly Twitter) as CEO in 2023 and had done little to nothing to dampen owner Elon Musk's incendiary use of the platform, will sit down with CBS News investigative journalist Catherine Herridge on January 7 at 1:30 PM PST.

The chat comes after a tumultuous couple of years at the head of the struggling social media platform. Yaccarino is no stranger to the interview stage, but she's been notoriously obtuse when asked point-blank about the activity on her platform. Her 2023 Vox Media interview is almost legendary, with some describing it "like something of HBO's Silicon Valley."

CES, which invited Yaccarino to speak, pitched her as something of a resilient innovator. "Linda’s career exemplifies the spirit of CES – innovation, resilience, and vision,” said CTA CEO Gary Shapiro in a press release where CTA President Kinsey Fabrizio, President, CTA, described her as a "visionary."

What that vision is, though, is hard to define. Since Yacarrino took the reigns, she's done nothing to move X back to a more inviting center (legions of people – including many celebrities – recently exited X to join BlueSky). In fact, the platform has become more closed off and fertile ground for dangerous misinformation. At a more practical level, the company has reportedly lost 72% of its value.

Larger influence CES 2025

TechRadar will be extensively covering this year's CES, and will bring you all of the big announcements as they happen. Head over to our CES 2025 news page for the latest stories and our hands-on verdicts on everything from 8K TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops, smart home gadgets, and the latest in AI.

And don’t forget to follow us on TikTok and WhatsApp for the latest from the CES show floor!

Still, Yacarrino's chat might be more compelling now than even three months ago. Her boss, Elon Musk, now sits at the right hand of soon-to-be President Donald Trump (this chat will take place just weeks before Trump is reinaugurated into office) and Musk is now using X and his 200 million followers on the platform to shape policy. A recent Tweet barrage helped temporarily sink a funding bill that would've kept the US government functioning for a few more months (a revised bill did pass).

Musk is also about to start co-running with Vivek Ramaswamy DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), which will look to suggest drastic cuts to the US government. Whatever decisions Musk and Ramaswamy make will likely be run through the X echo chamber, probably with live polls.

I don't expect Yacarrino to address any of this directly. She'll likely deflect questions on the health of the business, the worrisome rhetoric flourishing on it, and the possible conflicts that might exist between Musk's various businesses, his control of the increasingly influential platform, and his new unelected governmental role.

Since she's painting X in the release as "the global newsroom in your pocket," it's fairly certain Herridge will press her on how, with many reputable news outlets leaving the platform, X is still a newsroom.

Her answer might not make any sense, but guaranteed Musk will love it, and everyone on X will eat it up.

Enjoy the show at CES 2025.

You might also like

• Jack Dorsey's Bluesky is like Twitter without Musk – and that's good
• Elon Musk's year-long quest to destroy Twitter is the most successful inside job in tech history
• How to use ChatGPT – everything beginners need to know about the AI chatbot

• Toughbook 33mk4 features MIL-STD 810H military standard certification
• Advanced 5G connectivity ensures seamless data transfer in the field
• Extended 15 hours battery life promises long-life usage

Panasonic has announced the TOUGHBOOK 33mk4, a new rugged tablet promising 2-in-1 functionality and enhancements in performance, connectivity, and screen technology.

The device was designed to for the needs of mobile workers across various industries, meeting both the MIL-STD 810H military standard developed by the US Department of Defense as well as the IEC 60529 industry standard for electronic devices.

The TOUGHBOOK 33mk4 integrates Intel's 13th-generation processors, advanced 5G connectivity, and a unique 12-inch Quad High Definition (QHD) display that boosts usability in field environments.

Toughbook 33mk4

The TOUGHBOOK 33mk4 comes with an Intel Core i5 processor from the 13th generation, featuring Intel vPro Technology, also known as "Raptor Lake." This device also has an optional upgrade which uses the Intel Core i7 processor which offers greater computing power and is for users with more demanding tasks.

The 12-inch QHD screen of the TOUGHBOOK 33mk4 is not the largest around, but does come with a resolution of 2160 x 1440 pixels and an aspect ratio of 3:2, offering more vertical space compared to the traditional 16:9 seen in many larger 14-inch models.

This improvement in display design meets a shift in user preference, where larger and more detailed screens are necessary for increased productivity in the field. Panasonic believes that for professionals in industries such as utilities, automotive, and defense, this display means easier navigation and interpretation of complex visual information.

The TOUGHBOOK 33mk4 supports 5G connectivity out of the box, offering mobile workers faster data transfer speeds, ultra-low latency, and improved reliability in various environments. It also supports standalone (SA) 5G networks enabling users to securely transfer large amounts of data while in the field. Moreover, the device’s optional GPS and improved Bluetooth technology further increase its connectivity flexibility.

This notebook is also rated IP65 for dust and water resistance making it suitable for use in harsh conditions, and also boasts 15 hours of battery life, making it suitable for long work shifts where charging may not be immediately available.

With certification for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the TOUGHBOOK 33mk4 is ideal for businesses that require secure, Linux-based solutions, expanding its appeal to more sectors where security and compatibility are paramount.

You might also like

• These are the best Android tablets
• Take a look at our guide to the best rugged laptops
• Microsoft says Russia is hacking Ukrainian military tech by stealing points of entry from third-parties