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Making custom keychains, engraved coasters, and decorative items sounds fun until reality hits you—complicated software, sketchy open-frame machines, and a price tag that makes the whole hobby feel like a small business investment. xTool now wants to change that with its newest product for everyday users and casual creators. The company has unveiled the xTool M2, and it stands out instantly with the built-in color printing.

AI tools can help you produce performance reviews faster and make feedback sound more polished and consistent. But smoother language can also mask weak evidence, subjective judgments, and incomplete observations.   The bigger opportunity is to use AI to help you identify what your employee actually did—the decisions they made, the problems they solved, and the influence they had […]

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If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.

There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it'll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.

An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

If you find yourself stuck at any step of today's Hurdle, don't worry! We have you covered.

SEE ALSO: Hurdle: Everything you need to know to find the answers Hurdle Word 1 hint

To growl.

SEE ALSO: Apple’s new M3 MacBook Air is $300 off at Amazon. And yes, I’m tempted. Hurdle Word 1 answer

GNARL

Hurdle Word 2 hint

Poison.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for May 27, 2026 Hurdle Word 2 Answer

TOXIN

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

Hurdle Word 3 hint

Nearby.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for May 27 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for May 27, 2026 Hurdle Word 3 answer

CLOSE

Hurdle Word 4 hint

TV character Ted ___.

Hurdle Word 4 answer

LASSO

Final Hurdle hint

Aim.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Games available on Mashable Hurdle Word 5 answer

SHOOT

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

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 27, 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: A collective

• Green: Game night picks

• Blue: To glare

• Purple: Classic literary characters

Here are today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Small community

• Green: Classic board games

• Blue: Homophones of ways of looking

• Purple: Ending in the "Little Women" March sisters

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 #1081 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Small community: COMMUNE, HAMLET, TOWNSHIP, VILLAGE

• Classic board games: BATTLESHIP, OPERATION, OTHELLO, TROUBLE

• Homophones of ways of looking: AYE, LEAR, PIER, STAIR

• Ending in the "Little Women" March sisters: BANJO, MACBETH, MONOGAMY, NUTMEG

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 27, 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 NYT Strands hints are easy if you love a good dog.

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 27, 2026 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Ketchup or mustard?

The words are related to food.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe a sausage.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is vertical.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is Hot Diggity Dog.

NYT Strands word list for May 27

• Brat

• Banger

• Weenie

• Hot Diggity Dog

• Footlong

• Frankfurter

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.

Today's Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you tend to overpack.

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 27, 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 27, 2026 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

To cram.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

The letter F appears twice.

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

Today's Wordle starts with the letter S.

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...

STUFF

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.

Welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the New York Times catalogue.

Released in August 2025, Pips puts a unique spin on dominoes, creating a fun single-player experience that could become your next daily gaming habit.

Currently, if you're stuck, the game only offers to reveal the entire puzzle, forcing you to move on to the next difficulty level and start over. However, we have you covered! Below are piecemeal answers that will serve as hints so that you can find your way through each difficulty level.

How to play Pips

If you've ever played dominoes, you'll have a passing familiarity with how Pips is played. As we've shared in our previous hints stories for Pips, the tiles, like dominoes, are placed vertically or horizontally and connect with each other. The main difference between a traditional game of dominoes and Pips is the color-coded conditions you have to address. The touching tiles don't necessarily have to match.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for May 27, 2026

The conditions you have to meet are specific to the color-coded spaces. For example, if it provides a single number, every side of a tile in that space must add up to the number provided. It is possible — and common — for only half a tile to be within a color-coded space.

Here are common examples you'll run into across the difficulty levels:

• Number: All the pips in this space must add up to the number.

• Equal: Every domino half in this space must be the same number of pips.

• Not Equal: Every domino half in this space must have a completely different number of pips.

• Less than: Every domino half in this space must add up to less than the number.

• Greater than: Every domino half in this space must add up to more than the number.

If an area does not have any color coding, it means there are no conditions on the portions of dominoes within those spaces.

SEE ALSO: NYT Strands hints, answers for May 27, 2026 Easy difficulty hints, answers for May 27 Pips

Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 0-3, placed vertically.

Less Than (3): Everything in this space must be less than 3. The answer is 0-3, placed vertically; 2-5, placed horizontally.

Greater Than (15): Everything in this space must be greater than 15. The answer is 2-5, placed horizontally; 6-4, placed vertically; 5-3, placed vertically.

Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 5-3, placed vertically.

Equal (4): Everything in this space must be equal to 4. The answer is 6-4, placed vertically; 4-0, placed horizontally.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for May 27 Pips

Number (10): Everything in this space must add up to 10. The answer is 4-6, placed horizontally; 2-6, placed horizontally.

Number (7): Everything in this space must add up to 7. The answer is 4-6, placed horizontally; 1-4, placed horizontally.

Number (8): Everything in this space must add up to 8. The answer is 4-5, placed horizontally; 1-4, placed horizontally.

Number (8): Everything in this space must add up to 8. The answer is 4-5, placed horizontally; 3-0, placed horizontally.

Greater Than (0): Everything in this space must be greater than 0. The answer is 1-2, placed horizontally.

Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 1-2, placed horizontally; 4-0, placed horizontally.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for May 27 Pips

Number (4): Everything in this light blue space must add up to 4. The answer is 4-4, placed horizontally.

Number (4): Everything in this light blue space must add up to 4. The answer is 4-4, placed horizontally.

Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 3-4, placed horizontally.

Number (4): Everything in this light blue space must add up to 4. The answer is 3-4, placed horizontally.

Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 3-3, placed horizontally.

Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 3-3, placed horizontally.

Number (1): Everything in this space must add up to 1. The answer is 1-2, placed vertically.

Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 5-0, placed horizontally.

Number (0): Everything in this space must add up to 0. The answer is 5-0, placed horizontally.

Number (2): Everything in this space must add up to 2. The answer is 2-4, placed vertically.

Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 6-4, placed vertically.

Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 3-1, placed vertically.

Number (2): Everything in this space must add up to 2. The answer is 1-2, placed vertically.

Number (2): Everything in this space must add up to 2. The answer is 2-3, placed horizontally.

Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 2-3, placed horizontally.

Number (4): Everything in this light blue space must add up to 4. The answer is 2-4, placed vertically.

Number (4): Everything in this light blue space must add up to 4. The answer is 6-4, placed vertically.

Number (1): Everything in this space must add up to 1. The answer is 3-1, placed vertically.

Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 5-4, placed vertically.

Number (2): Everything in this space must add up to 2. The answer is 2-0, placed vertically.

Number (1): Everything in this space must add up to 1. The answer is 1-4, placed horizontally.

Number (4): Everything in this light blue space must add up to 4. The answer is 1-4, placed horizontally.

Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 6-2, placed horizontally.

Number (0): Everything in this space must add up to 0. The answer is 2-0, placed vertically.

Number (1): Everything in this space must add up to 1. The answer is 1-0, placed horizontally.

Number (0): Everything in this space must add up to 0. The answer is 1-0, placed horizontally.

Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 3-5, placed horizontally.

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

I wasn't prepared for Pressure. Walking into the World War II drama, which stars Andrew Scott and Brendan Fraser, I knew it was about the lead up to D-Day. As such, I braced myself for a serious, stiff-upper-lip drama about soldiers and the cruelty of war. And it's not that Pressure isn't about those things. Rather, adapted from David Haig's 2014 stage play of the same name, Pressure comes from an unexpected angle in exploring war strategy.

Andrew Scott stars as Group Captain James Stagg, a Scottish meteorologist for the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force, who was assigned to aid American ally General Dwight D. Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser) by figuring out the forecast for the beaches of Normandy for D-Day.

Now, you might be thinking that weather and war don't sound like rich terrain for laughs. But Pressure's humor comes from the crackling cultural conflict between this no-nonsense Scot and the American general in desperate need of a sunny day.

Pressure is as much about social pressure as it is weather and war. Brendan Fraser and Andrew Scott in "Pressure." Credit: Alex Bailey / Focus Features / STUDIOCANAL

Pressure begins with bloodshed in 1944. Before the Allies carried out the biggest seaborne invasion in history (aka D-Day), there was a test run known as Operation Tiger, which failed miserably. Pressure begins in the immediate aftermath of this disastrous exercise, where a boyish young man in uniform stares blankly into the sky, blood washing around his prone body as the tide comes in.

Up and down the beach, there's a scramble among the survivors to aid whatever soldiers may be saved. Eisenhower looks on, stricken, cursing under his breath. With one brief yet brutal scene, director Anthony Maras, who adapted the screenplay with playwright David Haig, has succinctly established the life-or-death stakes of planning an invasion.

Six weeks later, Eisenhower is in a remote country estate filled with U.S. and UK military, all planning to launch D-Day in 72 hours. The fatal failure of Operation Tiger hangs over him, whether he's being barked at by a brash British field marshal (Damian Lewis), cajoled by his Irish aide, Kay Summersby (Kerry Condon), or placated by the American's lead meteorologist, Irving Krick (Chris Messina).

While the energy of these allies ranges from stern to abrasive, patient to bombastic, they're all pushing for D-Day to launch on Monday morning. Then, on a Friday arrives Stagg, who warns major storms could sink D-Day out the gate.

Introduced in his home in the midst of a cozy morning ritual, Stagg prepares breakfast for his very pregnant wife (Tamsin Topolski), gently assuring her he has time for this bit of intimacy. He is a man of few words, and this will come to frustrate his colleagues as the pressure builds. No sooner does he reach the estate than he's making curt commands. He points out errors in his men's work, dismisses the directives of another meteorologist, and is visibly vexed to discover Summersby in his office.

To borrow from reality TV, Stagg is not here to make friends; he's on mission. Like in Conclave, another excellent Focus Features release, there's a brilliant humor that erupts when this very serious setting collides with cutting replies to arrogance.

Krick is Stagg's foil, a suave American who literally performs a lively song and dance ("Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy") to amuse his troops. Stagg, by contrast, demands the piano be taken away, and literally hits a bad note when slamming its cover closed.

Where others swoon over Krick's easy-going attitude, name-dropping stories, and retellings of professional glory, Stagg simply stares, seeming to resent the wasting of time. Later, when arguing against Krick's proposed forecast of beautiful sunny weather, Stagg flatly calls the man "moronic." And when Krick complains that Stagg is insulting him to his face, Stagg responds sharply, "I'm not insulting you. I'm describing you."

In this ruthless honesty, there's an exciting — and yes, funny — rejection of social norms. And maybe even the thrill of vicariously being so good at your job that you don't need a charm offensive to be heard.

Pressure is competency porn. Andrew Scott and Chris Messina in "Pressure." Credit: Alex Bailey / Focus Features / STUDIOCANAL

Fun fact: I'm the person who introduced this bit of slang to Pressure's leading men. In an interview with Scott and Fraser, I explained how Pressure reminded me of HBO Max's hit series The Pitt, because both feature people who are so dedicated to their work, and so skilled at it, that it's deeply — almost orgasmically — satisfying to watch.

While it's tempting to flatten Eisenhower, Krick, Summersby, and Stagg into symbols to make them broader critiques of American attitudes versus British ones, Pressure bristles against such simplicity. For one thing, Stagg is Scottish, Summersby is Irish, and Eisenhower and Krick are two very different representations of American masculinity. The former is a tall, stern man, haunted by his failures. The other is a dynamic hero, held up by his wins and charm.

Looking at the two of them, it's tempting to think Krick gives Eisenhower the sunny forecast to please him. But in Messina's intensity opposite Stagg, it's easier to believe that a soldier with so many victories may be blind to his own potential defeat. None of these people are stupid or lazy or incompetent. But, as Stagg declares almost as soon as he arrives, it's incredibly difficult to determine the weather in Northern Europe for sure, more than 24 hours in advance. No matter how much these military leaders want the answer to be something else, Stagg won't bend on being certain.

Here's where the tension becomes satisfying and humane. This is not one man's battle to be heard in a realm where he's surrounded by fools. Pressure presents people who are the best at what they do. Their forces combined, we might think it's easy to see how D-Day was a success, marking a major turning point in World War II. But Stagg, staunch and soft-spoken, is like a mountain, unmovable as he reminds them that nature, that science, cannot be bellowed at or bullied into submission.

There's a glint in Eisenhower's eyes that reminds us of the dying boy on the beach without the need of a flashback. The stakes are clear. It's electrifying to witness humans who are determined to do the hard, right thing, while having to face that we're not as in control of the world as we wish to be. So, who will make the tough call, stay or go?

Andrew Scott is remarkable in Pressure. Andrew Scott and Kerry Condon in "Pressure." Credit: Alex Bailey / Focus Features / STUDIOCANAL

There's an incredible restraint in Scott's performance that allows the humor to reverberate without feeling forced. It's not that Stagg is trying to be funny or cutting. Scott gives no wink or smile to suggest Stagg enjoys dressing down Krick (though who could blame him?).

Whether caressing his wife or arguing his position against the towering wrath of Eisenhower, Stagg is a man who values time and truth above all else, and so will waste none of the former with a denial of the latter. Because Messina's boogie woogie American is scripted as the dashing dynamo, Scott suppresses the sultriness and mischievousness that made fans of Fleabag and Sherlock go wild. He holds in the throbbing heartache that made All of Us Strangers radiant in its grief, and the anchoring empathy of Blue Moon. He plays none of the biting barbs as punchlines or reads. Resolute and restrained, he is nonetheless riveting, perhaps especially as Stagg's anti-social tendencies irk those around him.

Maras smartly sets Stagg apart from his peers with a hint of color. Cheers to Maras and his cinematographer Jamie D. Ramsay for rejecting the contemporary obsession for desaturated palettes. In Pressure, a rich saturation brings depth to ornate rooms filled with soldiers in brown, khaki, and more brown. Flesh is allowed to flush red in frustration. But most notably, Stagg, in a crisp blue dress shirt, is visually in opposition to the troop of brown around him. Even in a group shot, even with his back turned, this simple choice of embracing color and a simple choice from costumer Liza Bracey, makes him stand out. Perhaps to remind us of how he feels alone in this fight. Or perhaps, stripped down from his dress jacket in moments of high stress, this blue shirt is meant remind us that these icons of history are also just men, as flawed and fearful as they may be revered and brave.

Created with care and great humanity, Pressure explores the hard work, intense co-operation, and tricky social dance of warfare, in a way that is enlightening and entertaining. Maras is respectful without ever falling prey to a stony reverence that would make his characters statues instead of people. Fraser is committed and suitably stern as Eisenhower. Condon balances warmth and clarity as the middleman between Eisenhower and Stagg. Messina is delightfully smarmy. Along with Scott, they create portraits that don't feel stiff, but are pulsating, precious, and alive.

Pressure is outstanding cinema, propelled by passion, intellect, and spirit. Don't overlook it.

Pressure opens in theaters May 29.

Nicolas Cage, one of the most eccentric movie stars in Hollywood, heads to television to play a different version of Spider-Man in Spider-Noir. All eight episodes of the superhero show premiere on Prime Video on Wednesday, May 27, at 12 a.m. PT/3 a.m. ET in the U.S.

HBO Max gets most of its prestige reputation from the tentpoles it continuously delivers—House of the Dragon, Euphoria, The White Lotus among them—that dominate the charts and social media for weeks and then disappear for a year. But between those behemoths, though, HBO Max's catalog is full of unique shows that do a ton of heavy lifting, like award-winning documentaries, oddball superhero spinoffs, and cult-hit animated series.

TL;DR: The Bitcoin Ticket Miner gives you a chance to passively win block rewards, and it’s only $40.

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Day to day, it barely makes its presence known. Power consumption sits at around 18 watts, less than a standard light bulb, and the silent cooling fan keeps temperatures in check without adding any noise. The 2.8-inch display shows hashrate, mining status, temperature, and power usage at a glance, so there’s nothing to log into or monitor remotely. Pool mining, solo mining, and lottery mining modes are all supported, giving you options depending on how you want to approach it. Lifetime firmware updates keep the software improving after purchase, and universal voltage support means it works anywhere.

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Adobe Acrobat costs around $15 a month. If you’re using it to convert the occasional PDF or merge a few documents, that math stops making sense pretty quickly. AcePDF Converter and Editor handles converting, editing, merging, splitting, and protecting PDF files on both Windows and Mac, and a lifetime license is on sale now for $23.99 (reg. $99.99).

AcePDF makes working with PDFs quick and painless. If you need to switch between file formats, you can convert a PDF to Word, turn a spreadsheet or presentation into a PDF for sharing, or pull text out of a scanned document using the built-in OCR, which preserves the original formatting rather than spitting out a garbled mess. Conversions work both ways between PDF and Word, Excel, PowerPoint, HTML, and image formats, and everything processes fast enough that you’re not sitting around waiting.

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NASA has started locking in the first missions it says will turn the moon's south pole into a place where astronauts can actually stay and work.

The U.S. space agency announced Tuesday that three initial moon base-building missions this year will send cargo and vehicles for moving crews across the surface to the lunar south pole. The work builds on the recent Artemis II crewed flight around the moon and sets up a busier end to this decade, when astronauts start spending more time on the lunar surface.

The accelerated plan unfolds amid a broader rivalry with China, which has mounted a series of lunar missions and sketched out a long‑term research station for its own astronauts, known as taikonauts. Both countries now see the moon as the next stage for human exploration and a race for leadership in deep space.

China has its first human landing in its crosshairs and could beat NASA back to the surface of the moon. The United States' last crewed landing occurred in 1972, and no other nation has ever put boots on the lunar ground. Right now, NASA is targeting a landing of its Artemis IV mission in late 2028. 

"What we are embarking upon is extremely challenging, and we know so little from what is a combined 80 hours of lunar astronaut EVA time across the Apollo missions, and that was more than a half-century ago. So we are not jumping right into the glass-dome moon base," said NASA administrator Jared Isaacman in Washington during a news briefing. "We are leveraging the NASA playbook from the 1960s, figuring out what works and what doesn't, in this epic science of survival."

SEE ALSO: NASA may use a one-legged robot to explore a Saturn moon. Watch it hop.

The moon base's construction at the south pole is split into three phases. First, it focuses on making landings reliable, trying out ways to survive the brutal polar environment, and delivering an initial trickle of cargo. Next, NASA and its partners add bigger power systems, more cargo runs, and, eventually, places where astronauts can live and work for longer stretches.

In the final phase, heavy cargo versions of commercial landers haul larger hardware — habitats, bigger power plants, more capable rovers, and science instruments — so astronauts can assemble the base over dozens of flights.

The moon base push comes as a clear pivot from NASA's earlier plan. Until recently, the agency's roadmap leaned heavily on Gateway, a small space station proposal that would have orbited the moon rather than established an outpost on the ground. Leaders now say they will shift their funding and workforce toward the base effort and look for ways to reuse some Gateway components.

The south pole sits at the center of the new strategy. Craters there stay in permanent shadow and likely hold frozen water. Nearby ridges can get sunlight for most of the lunar day. Water could supply drinking water, oxygen, and even rocket fuel. Steady light makes solar power easier. NASA wants to learn how to run a base in this region before it sends people on months‑long trips to Mars.

"The moon base is as beautiful as it is hostile," Isaacman said. "We go for the technology we will pioneer to get there, the science, and all that we will learn that will make life better here on Earth."

"The moon base is as beautiful as it is hostile."

The first big step is Moon Base I, which will fly Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 Endurance lander to a spot NASA calls Shackleton Connecting Ridge near the rim of Shackleton crater. The mission, targeted for launch no earlier than fall 2026, will carry NASA instruments, including stereo cameras to watch how rocket exhaust throws lunar dust and rocks and a laser reflector that helps orbiting spacecraft pinpoint their exact location using bounced laser light. NASA says this flight will cut risk for crewed Artemis landings.

Two more missions follow. Moon Base II, planned for launch later this year, will ride on Astrobotic's Griffin lander and deliver more than 1,100 pounds of cargo, including Astrolab's FLIP rover, to shake out early mobility systems. Moon Base III, also targeted for this year, will fly on Intuitive Machines' Nova‑C Trinity lander and carry the Lunar Vertex science package to study strange bright "swirl" markings on the surface, along with instruments from the European Space Agency and South Korea's astronomy institute.

NASA has begun to stage missions intended to deliver hardware and vehicles to the lunar south pole for the construction of a moon base. Credit: NASA illustration

To help crews and robots get around, NASA picked two companies to build lunar terrain vehicles — essentially moon‑ready utility trucks. The agency awarded about $219 million to Astrolab and $220 million to Lunar Outpost for the first phase of these rovers, which it wants operating by 2028. Astrolab's CLV‑1 rover weighs about 2,000 pounds in its stowed form, carries two astronauts plus cargo, and can top 6 mph on flat ground. Lunar Outpost's Pegasus rover can drive for up to a year, run under manual, remote, or autonomous control, and reach more than 9 mph.

NASA also plans a hopping‑drone mission, called Moonfall. In 2028, a Moonfall flight will send four small drones that make short hops across the south pole, then settle in and keep working for several months through the harsh lunar night. They will scout rough terrain, search for signs of buried ice, and beam back sharp images that help later landers avoid hazards. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California leads the drone design, and Firefly Aerospace will build the spacecraft that ferries them from Earth orbit to the Moon.

All of this plugs into the broader Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the surface and then push on to Mars. Artemis III, targeted for mid‑2027, will test more of the pieces the moon base needs, including docking with commercial landers. 

NASA officials say they do not know yet exactly where a long‑term base will sit or what it will look like. For now, they want many landers, rovers, and drones to explore different ridges and craters, then gradually build up something more like a small lunar neighborhood spread across a wide area, said Carlos García-Galán, the program executive for the moon base.

"With crews coming to the surface twice a year, we can expand the time that they can expend there before they come back home," said García-Galán. "Eventually, when we've matched the assets, habitation modules, with the logistics and all the things to move the logistics around, then we'll be able to say, 'Hey, we're permanently here, and we're not giving it up.'"

Luxury cars used to feel attainable if you were willing to stretch your budget a little. These days, even entry-level premium models are creeping into price territory that would’ve bought you something seriously high-end a decade ago.

Be careful, Grand Theft Auto fans. Cybercriminals are already weaponizing your excitement for GTA 6 to hack your devices and scam you out of money.

According to a new report from NordVPN’s Threat Intelligence research unit, multiple malware and scam campaigns have rolled out recently, looking to capitalize on the impending release of perhaps the most anticipated video game of all time, Grand Theft Auto IV.

Developer Rockstar Games finally announced a release date of Nov. 19, 2026 for GTA 6, which means it'll be 13 years between its release and its predecessor, GTA 5. Bad actors know GTA 6 fans can hardly wait a few more months and are itching to purchase a pre-order or download a beta release. And those cybercriminals are looking to take advantage of that.

SEE ALSO: 'Grand Theft Auto VI' gets a surprise second trailer after being delayed

"GTA VI is one of the most anticipated releases in gaming history, and that level of public excitement is exactly what criminals look for," says NordVPN CTO Marijus Briedis. "When people are desperate to get early access to something, their guard comes down. That's the window attackers exploit."

Fake GTA 6 beta websites

According to NordVPN, its researchers have uncovered fake GTA 6 beta websites. These fake GTA sites claim to offer beta keys for PS5 and Xbox Series consoles. Users are asked to fill out a form, go through a verification process, and then asked to pay for a subscription service or download an unknown application.

Fake GTA 6 beta site Credit: NordVPN

Rockstar Games have yet to announce any sort of public GTA 6 beta. These fake websites don't actually have beta keys to offer. Instead, they're looking to charge a user for a service they don't want or, even worse, steal their information or install malware on their device.

Fake piracy websites

Malicious actors are even faking "legitimate" piracy websites in order to scam GTA 6 fans. 

NordVPN has uncovered fake clones of gaming piracy websites that are being used to spread malware to Grand Theft Auto fans. While downloading pirated or cracked games inherently has their own risks, gamers have come to trust certain well-known sites like FitGirl, DODI, and ElAmigos.

According to NordVPN, in one instance detected earlier this month, a "malicious package" on one of these clones "presented itself as a legitimate game installer." However, once downloaded, a trojanized malicious file hides under the disguise of a NVIDIA graphics driver component.

Operating undetected, this malware modifies a computer's memory, downloads other malware, and connects to external servers where cybercriminals can send instructions to the malicious file.

Fake GTA 6 Android apps

NordVPN has already uncovered at least one Android app masquerading as a GTA 6 beta application.

The fake GTA 6 app has branding and an intro video that makes it look officially connected to Rockstar Games. However, there's no actual game in this app. Instead, the app tricks users into believing that they just need to download additional data to run the app.

Fake GTA 6 beta Android app Credit: NordVPN

A prompt sends users to full-screen ads and external page redirects that pressures the user to subscribe to a paid service or to download malware. The report says that the bad actors even disguised the actions they want users to take as steps in a fake human verification process.

According to NordVPN, researchers discovered that the app was connected to a domain with a "documented history of distributing infostealers, banking trojans, adware, and ransomware on both Android and Windows."

Rockstar Social Club phishing campaigns

GTA fans who have an account on the Rockstar Social Club platform are specifically being targeted as well, according to NordVPN.

Researchers have already tracked "hundreds of amateur phishing pages targeting Rockstar Social Club credentials through fake login forms." 

NordVPN says that scammers often weaponize trusted platforms like GitHub and Vercel as hosts for these fake pages in order to perpetuate their phishing schemes. 

Once a bad actor compromises a user's Rockstar Social Club account, they often try to sell the account on the dark web or utilize the account for in-game fraud.

GTA 6 fans should be extra careful in the coming months as hackers are likely to ramp up their campaigns as the game's release date gets closer. The notorious hacking collective ShinyHunters breached Rockstar Games just last month, so it appears no one is safe from GTA inspired schemes.

Customer satisfaction says a lot about how well an automaker is really serving its buyers. According to Consumer Reports’ latest owner satisfaction study, these are the brands that owners are most likely to buy from again in 2026, based on how happy they are with their vehicles overall.

The New York Knicks are going to the NBA Finals, thanks to some help from a pro wrestling ghoul.

That's not a bit. That's just what happened. The Knicks are heading to their first Finals since the Clinton administration, and a meaningful portion of the internet is crediting Danhausen — a vampire-gremlin-ghoul character from the world of professional wrestling who makes a habit of cursing people who irritate him — with nearly derailing the whole thing.

SEE ALSO: The Knicks have taken over New York City — and the internet

We say 'derail' because Danhausen initially cursed the Knicks ahead of their first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks. During his appearance on ESPN's First Take, Stephen A. Smith, who has never been accused of being easy to deal with, apparently rubbed Danhausen the wrong way. Danhausen then cursed the Knicks, and the New York team went down 2-1 to a Hawks team they were heavily favored to beat.

He then uncursed the New York Knicks after a pro wrestling podcaster paid him on Cameo to do so. "Alright, I guess I've been paid, so the New York Knicks, I guess you can be uncursed."

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The uncursing happened the morning of Game 6. The Knicks won by 51 points, the sixth-largest margin of victory in NBA playoff history. They then won their next eight games without losing, finishing the postseason on a 10-0 run — the fifth-longest playoff winning streak in NBA history, one game shy of the 11-game runs by the 1989 and 2003 Lakers.

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The collision between the NBA and pro wrestling is not rare. Dennis Rodman famously appeared on an episode of WCW Nitro in the middle of the 1998 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz. Shaquille O'Neal has made multiple WWE appearances and got speared through a table in the early days of All Elite Wrestling. That iconic meme of a young LeBron James taking a picture with his flip phone is from a 2003 episode of Monday Night Raw. More recently, in 2024, Knicks star Jalen Brunson got in the ring with Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton on a June episode of Smackdown — just weeks after Haliburton knocked New York out of the Eastern Conference Finals.

So a vampiric wrestling gremlin getting paid on Cameo to uncurse the Knicks is, to anyone who has watched pro wrestling, probably the least surprising thing on this list. For everyone else, it's admittedly pretty weird.

Danhausen, for his part, is having a blast with it. He's already selling t-shirts commemorating the uncursing. He debuted for WWE this past February and got off to a rocky start, but has since become the company's second-highest merchandise seller despite having wrestled exactly two matches since his debut.

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So, did a wrestling ghoul's Cameo alter the trajectory of a professional basketball team? Probably not. Jalen Brunson is very good at basketball. Karl-Anthony Towns is a seven-footer who can shoot threes and run the offense. These things matter more than curses. However, they did win a playoff game by 51 points, the same morning Danhausen got paid to nonchalantly uncurse them. They're going to the NBA Finals for the first time in 27 years.

Probably a coincidence. Almost certainly a coincidence. The kind of coincidence, though, that Knicks fans are going to be telling their kids about.

American Air inked a deal with Starlink to equip 500 of the airline’s planes with the satellite internet provider’s WiFi.

In an announcement made today, American described Starlink "as the world’s most advanced satellite constellation" and touted its ability to deliver powerful broadband internet via its thousands of satellites flying in low Earth orbit.

Starlink will connect to American’s narrow body planes — smaller aircraft that typically fly shorter routes — starting in the early months of 2027. Starlink, part of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, will connect to the planes via its Aero Terminal, which can support up to 1 Gbps of data per antenna.

American promises that Starlink WiFi will enable fliers to not just smoothly access their email, but stream entertainment, conduct on-camera work meetings, and play online games.

Are you an Apple superfan? Enter Mashable’s Big Guessing Game to win prizes.

SEE ALSO: An exploded Starlink satellite is orbiting Earth right now

"American is committed to elevating every aspect of our customers’ travel journeys, which in the air means keeping them connected and comfortable with the assurance they won’t have to download documents ahead of a flight or worry about lag time," American Airlines Chief Customer Officer Heather Garboden said in a statement. "Starlink’s high speed and low latency make the Wi-Fi more reliable, which matters when customers are trying to load pages, join real-time collaboration tools or stay connected consistently throughout a flight."

American, the largest airline in the world, uses Viasat or Intelsat for WiFi on its larger, wide-body planes. It was just in January that the company announced it would start offering free AT&T WiFi for nearly all of its AAdvantage rewards members.

Starlink is already working with a number of other major airlines, including United and Lufthansa. However, Starlink is also facing competition for control of the internet at 30,000 feet. Amazon Leo, the satellite internet service from Amazon, will support WiFi on Delta planes starting in 2028.

Paramount+ has well-stocked shelves of movies spanning every conceivable genre and going back decades. Between the steady drip of Taylor Sheridan dramas, the latest Star Trek installments, and a deep back catalog of MTV and CBS classics, there's already plenty pulling at your attention this spring. Throw in a fresh wave of films landing over the last few weeks, and the "what should we watch tonight?" debate just got more chaotic.

TL;DR: Live stream Crystal Palace vs. Rayo Vallecano in the Conference League final for free on SRF or TRT1. Access these free streaming platforms from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

Aston Villa secured an impressive victory in the Europa League final last week, and now the attention turns to the Conference League final. OK, most neutrals are probably looking further ahead to the resolution of the Champions League, but try telling that to fans of Crystal Palace and Rayo Vallecano. For this dedicated bunch, this is the one that matters.

It's really difficult to pick a winner from this contest. Crystal Palace haven't enjoyed the most fruitful domestic campaign, but they've saved their best for this competition. Ray Vallecano finished in the top half of La Liga, and beat a strong Starsbourg team to make it to this showpiece event. It's going to be a real battle at the Red Bull Arena.

If you want to watch Crystal Palace vs. Rayo Vallecano in the Conference League final from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Crystal Palace vs. Rayo Vallecano?

Crystal Palace vs. Rayo Vallecano in the Conference League final kicks off at 3 p.m. ET on May 27. This fixture takes place at the Red Bull Arena.

How to watch Crystal Palace vs. Rayo Vallecano for free

Crystal Palace vs. Rayo Vallecano in the Conference League final is available to live stream for free on SRF or TRT1.

SRF and TRT1 are geo-restricted to Switzerland and Turkey respectively, but anyone can access these free streaming platforms with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Switzerland or Turkey, meaning you can unblock SRF and TRT1 to stream the Conference League for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Crystal Palace vs. Rayo Vallecano for free by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in Switzerland or Turkey

4. Visit SRF or TRT1

5. Watch Crystal Palace vs. Rayo Vallecano for free from anywhere in the world

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The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can access free live streams of the Conference League final without actually spending anything. This obviously isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream Crystal Palace vs. Rayo Vallecano before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for sport?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on SRF and TRT1, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including Switzerland and Turkey

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• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

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• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Live stream Crystal Palace vs. Rayo Vallecano in the Conference League final for free with ExpressVPN.