Blogroll

Obsidian has long been the gold standard for markdown editors. However, recently, it lost its throne to a newcomer on the scene (at least for me). Tolaria is a fully open source markdown editor that has more functionality than Obsidian, and you should definitely consider using it.

Here's one for the digital scrapbook: I found an ancient computer mouse (with a trackball!) while cleaning out my garage. Covered in a thick layer of 20th-Century dust but still in relatively good condition, the mouse immediately conjured one thought: I wonder if it still works?

When you delete a file, is it really gone? On a traditional hard drive, often not. But on a solid-state drive, the answer is far more complicated — and for most people, far more final.

At a glance

• Experimental validation: Using high-throughput screening with MatterSim-v1, we previously identified tetragonal tantalum phosphorus (TaP) as a potential high-performance thermal conductor. Now we have experimentally synthesized it and measured its thermal conductivity (152 W/m/K) to be close to the thermal conductivity of silicon.
• Faster simulation: We have accelerated MatterSim-v1 model inference by 3-5x and integrated it with the LAMMPS software package, enabling large-scale simulations across multiple GPUs.
• New model release: We are introducing MatterSim-MT, a multi-task foundation model for in silico materials characterization that enables the simulation of complex, multi-property phenomena beyond what potential energy surfaces alone can capture.

Materials design underpins a wide range of technological advances, from nanoelectronics to semiconductor design and energy storage. Yet development cycles for novel materials remain slow and costly. Universal machine learning interatomic potentials aim to accelerate the materials design process by providing accurate stability and property predictions for a wide range of materials. These models are orders of magnitude faster than traditional first-principles simulations, turning previously impractical problems into routine computations that can be completed in a few hours. Since we launched our MatterSim-v1 model, it has gained popularity in the materials science community for its ability to accurately simulate materials under realistic conditions, including finite temperature and pressure.

Today, we have several exciting MatterSim updates to share. These include experimental validation of MatterSim predictions for thermal conductors, performance improvements for faster simulation, and the introduction of a new multi-task foundation model for materials characterization.

Experimental validation Figure 1: Based on MatterSim’s computational predictions, we have synthesized a potential high thermal conductor. Left: MatterSim predictions of thermal conductivity compared to ground-truth simulation and experiment (with ±50% error band shown for reference). Right: Different views of the experimentally synthesized tetragonal tantalum phosphorus (TaP) sample with measured thermal conductivity of 152 W/m/K.

Materials with high thermal conductivity play a critical role in heat management, preventing overheating and improving energy efficiency. For example, established high thermal conductors like diamond, copper and silicon are widely used across a broad range of cooling applications. Designing next-generation thermal conductors may enable advances in computing, power electronics, and aerospace technologies. However, doing so requires accurate predictions of thermal conductivity values for candidate materials.

In solids, heat is carried in two main ways: by vibrating atoms (phonons) and by moving electrons. The phonon contribution can be estimated using machine-learning interatomic potentials to enable screening of thousands of candidates, narrowing the search space to the most promising materials before expensive experimental validation.

“MatterSim has generated by far the largest database of computational thermal conductivities. This opens the door to exploring a far broader materials space than before […].”

– Prof. Bing Lv, University of Texas Dallas

In collaboration with the University of Texas Dallas (UT Dallas), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and University of California Davis (UC Davis), we have used MatterSim-v1 to screen over 240,000 candidate materials for high thermal conductors. As shown in Fig. 1 (left), MatterSim’s predictions have good agreement with first-principles simulations. Prof. Davide Donadio from UC Davis: “I was amazed by how the MatterSim model combined accuracy and computational efficiency to predict such a sensitive property as thermal conductivity. That was the key that unlocked screening at this scale, hundreds of thousands of crystals, that would have been completely out of reach with conventional methods.” Prof. Bing Lv from UT Dallas adds: “MatterSim has generated by far the largest database of computational thermal conductivities. This opens the door to exploring a far broader materials space than before, enabling the community to uncover a broader set of viable materials even after imposing practical requirements.”

“For the first time, we can test conventional understanding of what controls thermal conductivity at scale […]”

– Prof. David Cahill, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Based on these predictions, we have identified tetragonal tantalum phosphorus (TaP) as a potential high thermal conductor. We have experimentally synthesized tetragonal tantalum phosphorus (TaP) at UT Dallas and measured its thermal conductivity at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (152 W/m/K for our best samples), close to the thermal conductivity of silicon. While we are not the first to synthesize tetragonal TaP, the material has not been considered as a thermal conductor before. These results demonstrate how MatterSim can enable the identification of functional materials: “For the first time, we can test conventional understanding of what controls thermal conductivity at scale, while enabling the discovery of new functional materials that balance it with other important constraints such as mass density, elemental abundance, and environmental stability”, says Prof. David Cahill from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

video series

On Second Thought

A video series with Sinead Bovell built around the questions everyone’s asking about AI. With expert voices from across Microsoft, we break down the tension and promise of this rapidly changing technology, exploring what’s evolving and what’s possible.

Explore the series Opens in a new tab Performance improvements

We are making MatterSim-v1 significantly faster by releasing several open-source performance and usability improvements. First, we speed up model inference through a combination of faster graph construction, ahead-of-time compilation and reduced conversion between atomic representations, resulting in a 3x speed-up of MatterSim-v1.0.0-5M and a 5x speed-up of MatterSim-v1.0.0-1M (see Fig. 2). To make MatterSim-v1 easier to use, we have integrated it into the widely used LAMMPS simulation software, allowing users to easily scale model inference across multiple GPUs in their existing workflows.

Figure 2: 3x inference speed-up of MatterSim-v1.0.0-5M and 5x inference speedup of MatterSim-v1.0.0-1M (python). New model release

Building on the success of MatterSim-v1, today we extend the MatterSim model family by announcing MatterSim-MT: a multi-task (MT) foundation model for in silico materials simulation and property characterization. The model natively predicts energies, forces, stress and several important materials properties.

MatterSim-MT is pretrained on over 35 million first-principles-labelled structures covering 89 elements, temperatures up to 5000 K and pressures up to 1000 GPa. It is further fine-tuned on various properties including Bader charges, magnetic moments, Born effective charges, and dielectric matrices. Out of the box, MatterSim-MT serves as a foundation model for predicting material structure, dynamics and thermodynamics. Its multi-task architecture also enables a wide range of complex simulations that cannot be captured by potential energy surfaces alone. The ability to accurately simulate these phenomena is crucial for applications such as catalysis and energy storage.

Here, we illustrate these multi-task capabilities through three case studies: vibrational spectroscopy, ferroelectric switching, and electrochemical redox. Each example requires a distinct combination of property predictions. In the full manuscript, we also show that MatterSim-MT scales well with more data and parameters, can be efficiently fine-tuned to higher levels of theory, and can be systematically extended to new systems via active learning.

Figure 3: MatterSim‑MT’s multi-task prediction ability enables simulating complex material phenomena. (a) Illustration of the multi-task inference capabilities of MatterSim-MT, including predictions of energy (E), forces (F), stress (S), magnetic moments (μ), Born effective charges (Z∗), and dielectric matrices (ε∞) from atomic structures. (b) Pressure-dependent phonon spectrum of silicon carbide (SiC) up to 100 GPa, with inset comparing MatterSim’s predicted longitudinal optical (LO) and transverse optical (TO) splitting against experimental measurements. (c) Predicted hysteresis curve of polarization density as a function of the electrical field along the z direction in the ferroelectric tetragonal BaTiO3 material. (d) Evolution of oxygen Bader charge distributions in Li1.2 – xMn0.8O2 during delithiation, with arrows indicating the formation of an O2 molecule.

First, we focus on vibrational spectroscopy, a technique that identifies substances by measuring how their atomic bonds naturally vibrate. We demonstrate how predictions of Born effective charges and dielectric properties enable the computation of phonon spectra in polar crystals. In these materials, oppositely charged ions vibrate against each other. Depending on the direction of vibration, this can lead to a buildup of charge that creates a macroscopic electric field, splitting the optical phonon modes into higher-frequency longitudinal (LO) and lower-frequency transverse (TO) branches. As a case study, we simulated this behavior in 3c-silicon carbide (3c-SiC), a material used in high-power electronics, under extreme pressures. As shown in Fig. 3(b), MatterSim-MT predicts a Born effective charge in close agreement with both theoretical and experimental values. The resulting LO-TO splitting of 5.26 THz deviates by only 0.06 THz from ab initio calculations and 0.03 THz from experimental measurements.

The predicted Born effective charges also allow us to simulate how systems respond to an external electric field. In ferroelectric materials, ions adopt an asymmetric arrangement that gives the crystal a net electric polarization that can be flipped by an applied field. In Fig. 3(c), we demonstrate this by simulating barium titanate (BaTiO3) under an applied electric field, reproducing the switching of its polarization. The resulting hysteresis curve correctly shows that finite-temperature effects at 300 K make it easier to flip the polarization, even though the predicted spontaneous polarization (38 μC/cm2) is slightly higher than the experimental value (26 μC/cm2). This discrepancy is likely due to the well-known underbinding of the underlying first-principles calculations.

Finally, we predict atomic charges to study the electronic degrees of freedom in chemical bonding and redox processes. We examine the behavior of the cathode material Li1.2 – xMn0.8O2 during a simulated battery charging process. These lithium-rich transition-metal oxides are promising next-generation batteries due to their high energy density but suffer from irreversible capacity loss associated with the anionic oxygen redox mechanism. We reproduced this phenomenon by running molecular dynamics simulations at 1000 K and progressively extracting Lithium to mimic battery charging. We observe a clear shift over time: at first, the manganese (Mn) atoms supply the electrons needed for charging, but as more lithium is removed, oxygen atoms are forced to give up electrons instead (cationic to anionic redox), as shown by the shift to less negative Bader charges over time (Fig. 3(d)). This destabilises the structure with oxygen atoms pairing up to form O2 dimers (Fig. 3(d), inset). Notably, this comprehensive picture of the cationic-to-anionic redox transition and lattice degradation naturally emerges from the multi-task predictions, without any task-specific training on battery materials.

Next steps

With experimental validation, substantial performance improvements, and new multi-task capabilities, MatterSim is advancing toward more practical, decision-relevant use in materials design. Together, these developments are helping materials scientists move more quickly from large-scale computational screening to targeted experimental follow-up and decision-relevant scientific workflows. We are excited to see how the materials science community applies these advances in their own domains.

We look forward to continued collaboration as MatterSim is tested, extended, and integrated into real-world materials discovery pipelines.

MatterSim updated MatterSim-MT Pre-Print Acknowledgements

This work is the product of a highly collaborative and interdisciplinary effort led by Microsoft Research AI for Science in partnership with Microsoft Research Accelerator and collaborators at the University of Texas Dallas (supported by MSR Accelerator), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and University of California Davis. Contributors to this work include Han Yang, Xixian Liu, Chenxi Hu, Yichi Zhou, Yu Shi, Chang Liu, Junfu Tan, Jielan Li, Guanzhi Li, Qian Wang, Yu Zhu, Zekun Chen, Shuizhou Chen, Fabian Thiemann, Claudio Zeni, Matthew Horton, Robert Pinsler, Andrew Fowler, Daniel Zügner, Tian Xie, Lixin Sun, Yicheng Chen, Lingyu Kong, Yeqi Bai, Deniz Gunceler, Frank Noé, Hongxia Hao, Ziheng Lu, Zixin Zhai, Mengfan Wu, Haoke Qiu, Mingfa Tang, Tie-Yan Liu, Haiguang Liu, Tao Qin, David G. Cahill, Bing Lv, Davide Donadio, Shoko Ueda, and Kenji Takeda.

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The post Advancing AI for materials with MatterSim: experimental synthesis, faster simulation, and multi-task models appeared first on Microsoft Research.

ESPHome is a free and open-source framework for getting firmware to run on cheap microcontrollers like the ESP32, ESP8266, and RP2040. If that sentence sounds complicated to you, don’t worry. ESPHome is one of the most user-friendly examples of its kind, and you can get started without knowing a line of code.

Windows laptops aren't the only computers getting more expensive amid the global RAM shortage. Two PC makers just quietly raised the prices of their premium Chromebooks as well.

As of mid-May, two configurations of the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 and one variant of the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 were up to $250 pricier than they were at launch last year:

• Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 (MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910, 16GB RAM, 256GB UFS) — was $749.99, now $999

• Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 (MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910, 12GB RAM, 128GB UFS) — was $649.99, now $829.99 (but sold out)

• Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 (MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910, 12GB RAM, 256GB UFS) — was $699.99, now $749

A second configuration of the Acer model has remained steady at $799.99 since its release in September 2025, though it was out of stock at the time of writing.

Lenovo and Acer haven't formally announced these price changes, which were first reported by the tech site Chrome Unboxed. Mashable reached out to both companies and will update this story if we hear back.

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Both Chromebooks are best-in-class machines (we've tested them), but they were already costly at their original MSRPs. The now-$999 Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14, in particular, is impossible for me to recommend at full price despite its beautiful OLED display and peppy processor. An on-sale M5 MacBook Air is a vastly smarter buy.

If nothing else, these Chromebooks make Apple's new budget laptop, the Mashable Choice Award-winning MacBook Neo, look like even more of a bargain at $599 (or $499 for education buyers). But it might not be available at that price for much longer.

The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 is a really nice Chromebook — but for $999, just get an on-sale MacBook Air. Credit: Sarah Chaney / Mashable

A surge in RAM and SSD demand for AI data center construction has led to a shortage of those components, driving up prices for the chips themselves and, by effect, the consumer electronics that require them. The RAM crisis has gotten so dire lately that scammers have started selling fake RAM modules, and it's expected to get worse next year.

In April, Microsoft announced price hikes of up to $500 for its Surface Laptops and Surface Pro convertibles, blaming "recent increases in memory and component costs" in a statement to Windows Central. Meanwhile, the modular PC maker Framework has adjusted its RAM and SSD prices every month since December. Most recently, it told customers that it's seen some stability this spring, but cautioned that it's likely just "a temporary reprieve."

For its part, Apple has been largely immune to "RAMageddon" so far, though it discontinued the cheapest configuration of its Mac mini desktop computer earlier this month. The base MacBook Neo might soon suffer the same fate, according to tech analyst Tim Culpan.

One of the most helpful aspects of using AI for coding is debugging. Before the AI era, I had to read the code line by line, use debuggers, and put print statements to find bugs. If all failed, there was Stack Overflow and other beginner websites, where people used to tear your code apart. But now? You just share the code snippet with an AI, give some context, and ask it to fix the code, and you're done.

A decent portable monitor costs anywhere from $100 to $200—more if you want touchscreen support. So if you already have an old tablet lying around, why not turn it into a portable monitor instead? A free app called Spacedesk can turn almost any iPad or Android tablet into a true second display for your Windows PC—not just a mirrored screen, but a fully extended monitor you can drag windows onto. Here’s a detailed guide on how it works.

In 2025, Plex announced that it was putting remote streaming behind a subscription, and the rollout is still ongoing. While it feels like a betrayal for many users who had previously been using the feature for free, the change isn't as unreasonable as it seems.

SAVE OVER $800: As of May 12, the LG 39-inch Ultragear WQHD OLED curved gaming monitor is on sale for $749.99 at Amazon, marking a new low price at the retailer.

Opens in a new window Credit: LG LG 39-inch Ultragear WQHD OLED Curved Gaming Monitor $749.99 at Amazon
$1,599.99 Save $850   Get Deal

Have you been thinking about upgrading to a new gaming monitor for your PC setup? Amazon is the place to look. The retailer has quite a few excellent deals available at the moment, including one standout offer on the sleek LG 39-inch Ultragear WQHD OLED curved gaming monitor.

As of May 12, Amazon has dropped the price of this LG Ultragear gaming monitor from $1,599.99 to $749.99. This is a massive 53% discount, and also marks a brand new low price for this monitor at the retailer. What better time to grab it?

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And what an upgrade this 39-inch LG Ultragear gaming monitor is. It boasts a WQHD OLED display, which offers vibrant colors and contrast that makes your favorite games pop with astonishing picture quality, alongside an 800R curve to help you feel truly immersed in what you play. Plus, the screen has an anti-glare surface, so outside light and reflections won't get in the way of the action.

On top of that, it's also incredibly responsive, offering a 240Hz refresh rate and 0.03ms response time. It's also compatible with AMD FreeSync Premium and NVIDIA G-SYNC, so you won't have to worry about screen tearing while you play.

Amazon currently has it marked as a limited time deal, so this offer won't be live for long. Act fast to save big on the LG 39-inch Ultragear WQHD OLED curved gaming monitor.

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TL;DR: Amazon has the Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Perfect Order Elite Trainer Box listed for $69.69, down from $84.99. That’s an 18% discount and puts the sold-by-Amazon listing back under $70.

Opens in a new window Credit: The Pokémon Company Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Perfect Order Elite Trainer Box $69.69 at Amazon
$84.99 Save $15.30   Get Deal

The Perfect Order ETB has been going up and down in price over the last few weeks, but ahead of Chaos Rising and Pitch Black dropping, more Pokémon sellers are listing product for under $70. 

As of May 12, Amazon has the Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Perfect Order Elite Trainer Box on sale for $69.69, down from its $84.99 list price. It’s sold and shipped by Amazon directly, with free delivery and Prime delivery depending on your location. That puts Amazon back in the sub-$70 bracket after briefly creeping higher.

Walmart is currently listing the same Perfect Order ETB for $68.95, which is technically a little cheaper. Over on TCGplayer, the main unopened shipped listing is $74, with a $74.77 market price and a $79.45 listed median. There are cheaper listings around, but some come with caveats, including one without booster packs.

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Inside the ETB, you’re getting nine Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Perfect Order booster packs, one full-art foil Tyrunt promo card, 65 card sleeves, 40 Energy cards, a player’s guide, damage-counter dice, a coin-flip die, a plastic coin, a collector’s box with dividers, and a code card for Pokémon TCG Live.

Perfect Order is still the most affordable expansion compared to Ascended Heroes and Chaos Rising. If you want a 120+ card set well below $100, this is the best go-to available. 

If you are dead set on stocking up on all the latest Pokémon expansions, the Chaos Rising Elite Trainer Box is still available to preorder for under $120. Meanwhile, individual Perfect Order Booster Packs are also on sale at 13% off on Amazon. 

Although currently not available on Amazon, the Pokémon TCG’s newly announced Pitch Black expansion Booster Packs, ETBs, Display Boxes, and Booster Bundles are available to pre-order at TCGplayer.

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Your VPN is probably leaking information without you knowing. From the domain names you visit to your real identity, if you use a VPN for privacy, you're going to want to read this one.

Bambu Lab is very particular about its slicer, to the point where cloud connectivity must be disabled if you want to use something other than Bambu Studio. Despite the obvious concerns this limitation raises, Bambu Studio isn’t a bad choice.

The best wireless earbuds range anywhere from $10 to $1,000, especially if you're going for professional-grade studio earphones. And if you care about active noise cancellation, you can easily spend $300 — that's the price of peace and quiet. You can also get hyperspecialized models like sleep earbuds, bone-conduction earbuds for working out, and open earbuds for transparency.

SEE ALSO: I replaced my $249 AirPods Pro with $19 wired EarPods

In 2026, our top picks for earbuds are the Sony WF-1000XM6, Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd gen), and Panasonic Technics AZ100s, which provide outstanding sound quality and ANC. But keep in mind that these models will run you $299 to $329. While we stand by the value of everything on this list, we know that spending over $300 on a pair of earbuds is a lot to stomach. That's why we've also included more budget-friendly wireless earbuds under $100 that still deliver excellent performance.

Ready to start shopping now? Here are our favorite wireless and noise-cancelling earbuds as of May 2026.

Types of earbuds

There are two types of earbuds: wireless and wired. While those descriptors are self-explanatory, let's get into the specifics of both.

Wireless

Wireless earbuds connect to devices via Bluetooth for cordless usage. These earbuds range from $20 budget models to high-end models with active noise cancellation. While they don't require a wire to connect to a device, some wireless earbuds still have a wire that might go around the back of the neck to connect the buds.

While earbuds traditionally don't provide the passive noise cancellation of over-the-ear headphones, wireless models often feature ANC, which electronically blocks out background noise. With wireless headphones, you need to consider the battery life. Most models should have an eight-hour or more battery life before they need to be recharged.

Wired

Wired earbuds are the original model: two buds connected by a wire to your audio source. While they once felt high tech, they're pretty basic now. Wired earbuds with active noise cancellation are basically non-existent, and you won't find any on our list.

The biggest positive to wired headphones is that they don't need to be charged. They're a great backup option to keep in your bag in case your usual wireless headphones or earbuds run out of charge.

New additions to this guide

After extensive testing, Mashable Lead Shopping Reporter Bethany Allard rounded up the best sleep earbuds. You can read her full guide, but as of February 2026, we've added the Anker Soundcore Sleep A30 Special to this guide, which Allard says are the best sleep earbuds for most people. Also in February 2026, we added the Sony WF-1000XM6 earbuds as our top pick for the best overall earbud, and removed the previous generation, the WF-1000XM5, as the best Sony earbud.

As of August 2025, we also updated the best earbuds for working out to the Powerbeats Pro 2 and added the Shokz OpenDots One as the best open earbuds.

What are the best wireless Bluetooth earbuds?

If you're just looking for a pair of everyday wireless earbuds, all but one of the models in this guide will check that box. (We formerly included the Marshall Mode earbuds for folks who preferred a wired option, but have since removed them from our guide as the version we tested is difficult to find in stock these days.)

If you're looking for the highest quality wireless earbuds, you can't go wrong with the Sony WF-1000XM6, Bose QuietComfort Ultra, Apple AirPods Pro 3, and Panasonic Technics EAH-AZ100 earbuds, our most recent recommendation in 2026. Both of these wireless earbuds feature elite noise-cancellation, stellar sound, long battery life, and a comfortable fit for extended wear.

Still, this guide includes several other earbuds we stand behind. Apple users may prefer the AirPods Pro, while shoppers on a budget may prefer buds from Marshall or Anker Soundcore. If you need help picking the perfect pair, read on.

Today's NYT Strands hints are easy if you're stylish.

Strands, the New York Times' elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There's always a theme linking every solution, along with the "spangram," a special, word or phrase that sums up that day's theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable

By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.

If you're feeling stuck or just don't have 10 or more minutes to figure out today's puzzle, we've got all the NYT Strands hints for today's puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for May 12, 2026 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Quite the pair

The words are related to fashion.

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Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe an article of clothing.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is horizontal.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is Fancy Pants.

NYT Strands word list for May 12

• Gaucho

• Harem

• Palazzo

• Fancy Pants

• Toreador

• Sailor

• Tuxedo

Looking for other daily online games? Mashable's Games page has more hints, and if you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now!

Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Strands.

The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult if you're an avid reader.

Connections is the one of the most popular New York Times word games that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for today's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections?

The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for May 12, 2026 Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Large text

• Green: Religious sites

• Blue: Lengthy

• Purple: Money

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Vote for your favorite creators today

Here are today's Connections categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Substantial book

• Green: "Saint" cities

• Blue: "Long" things

• Purple: Currencies plus a letter

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections #1066 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Substantial book: OPUS, TOME, VOLUME, WORK

• "Saint" cities: MONICA, PAULO, PETERSBURG, SALVADOR

• "Long" things: DISTANCE, DIVISION, JOHNS, WEEKEND

• Currencies plus a letter: FRANCI, RANDO, REALM, WONK

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for May 12, 2026

Are you also playing NYT Strands? Get all the Strands hints you need for today's puzzle.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Connections.

Today's Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you're never late.

If you just want to be told today's word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for May 12, 2026 Where did Wordle come from?

Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. 

Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.

What's the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website's creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.

Is Wordle getting harder?

It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn't any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle's Hard Mode if you're after more of a challenge, though.

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for May 12, 2026 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

Tells time.

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Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

The letter C appears twice.

Today's Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with...

Today's Wordle starts with the letter C.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. The Wordle answer today is...

Get your last guesses in now, because it's your final chance to solve today's Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to today's Wordle is...

CLOCK

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints. Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Wordle.

TL;DR: Amazon has the Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Chaos Rising Elite Trainer Box up for preorder at $119.45, putting it under $120 and about $15 over TCGplayer's current market price of $103.78. Walmart is also cheaper right now at $113.97.

Opens in a new window Credit: The Pokémon Company Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Chaos Rising Elite Trainer Box $119.45 at Amazon
  Pre-order Here

The Pokémon TCG Chaos Rising expansion has seen price fluctuations matching the likes of Ascended Heroes, but you can thankfully still secure the Elite Trainer Box at leading retailers for under $120. 

As of May 12, Amazon has the Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Chaos Rising Elite Trainer Box listed from $119.45, with free delivery shown for May 27-28. That lowest preorder is sold and shipped by Kings Games. BetterShopping4You has a $119.45 listing with free delivery shown for Saturday, May 30. 

Amazon comes with a premium compared to the two other key retailers in the space, but it is still a worthwhile price if you prefer sticking with Amazon for your trading card needs.  Walmart has the Chaos Rising Elite Trainer Box listed for $113.97 with free shipping, while TCGplayer's unopened presale listings start at $103.75

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No matter where you buy from, the Pokémon TCG Chaos Rising Elite Trainer Box includes the following:

• Nine Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Chaos Rising booster packs

• One full-art foil promo card featuring Fennekin

• 65 card sleeves

• 40 Pokémon TCG Energy cards

• A player's guide

• Six damage-counter dice

• One competition-legal coin-flip die

• One plastic coin

• A collector's box with six dividers

• One Pokémon TCG Live code card

Launching May 22, Chaos Rising heads back to Lumiose City, where Mega Floette ex is turning the city into a disaster zone. Mega Greninja ex, Mega Pyroar ex, and Mega Dragalge ex are among the Mega Evolution Pokémon ex featured, giving collectors another Legends: Z-A-flavored expansion to chase. 

To make sure you’re stocked up after release, you can still preorder individual Pokémon TCG Chaos Rising Booster Packs for $12.99. As for currently available ETBs in the Pokémon TCG, the Perfect Order Elite Trainer Box is still on sale for under $70. 

Although currently not available on Amazon, the Pokémon TCG’s newly announced Pitch Black expansion Booster Packs, ETBs, Display Boxes, and Booster Bundles are available to preorder at TCGplayer.

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Two years ago, I replaced my laptop with an Android-based desktop, and for most of the time since, I've used Samsung DeX whenever I needed to do something the internal screen on my Galaxy Z Fold 6 couldn't handle. That worked out surprisingly well for me, but I've since decided to fall back into the familiar arms of Linux regardless, and Samsung isn't entirely to blame.

Donald Trump's newly released UFO files not only glow with distracting X-Files energy but also the power of Céline Dion, according to Stephen Colbert.

The Late Show host unpacked the U.S. government's recent drop of "new, never-before-seen files" on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs), a term Colbert described as "also my pre-show warm-up."

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"So, what's in these mysterious, top secret, super cool files?" asked the host. "For example, one of the astronauts [Alan Bean] from Apollo 12 reported 'flashes of light.' And we actually have footage of the astronaut describing what they saw."

Cut to the music video for Dion's eternal power ballad "It's All Coming Back to Me Now." "Thank you, Commander Dion," says Colbert.

And the Céline reaction videos do not stop there.

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