IT General

If you're reading this, you're looking for a little help playing Strands, the New York Times' elevated word-search game.

Strands 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 preferrined pace.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 10 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for April 10 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: What's the buzz?

The words are part of an insect.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words are make up a bug that buzzes.

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 Bumblebee.

Featured Video For You Strands 101: How to win NYT’s latest word game NYT Strands word list for April 10

• Antennae

• Thorax

• Wings

• Abdomen

• Tongue

• Stinger

• Bumblebee

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.

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's The Mini crossword answers for April 10 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: Cheery, bright hues

• Green: Stockpile

• Blue: Scrooge

• Purple: You might hear these south of the border

Featured Video For You Connections: How to play and how to win Here are today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Shades of yellow

• Green: Supply

• Blue: Anti-spirit of Christmas

• Purple: Spanish words

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 #669 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Shades of yellow: CANARY, GOLD, LEMON, MUSTARD

• Supply: MINE, RESERVE, STORE, WELL

• Anti-spirit of Christmas: BAH, COAL, GRINCH, NAUGHTY

• Spanish words: ELLA, GUSTO, MAYO, SOY

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 April 10

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

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.

Oh hey there! If you're here, it must be time for Wordle. As always, we're serving up our daily hints and tips to help you figure out today's answer.

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 today: Hints and answers for April 10 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's The Mini crossword answers for April 10, 2025 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

High-speed.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

There are no recurring letters.

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

Today's Wordle starts with the letter T.

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...

TURBO.

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.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for April 10

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.

If you’re a proud owner of a OnePlus 13, there’s some good news and bad news for you. You're getting a sneak peek at Android 16 before almost everyone else, but there are some pretty major red flags you need to know.

Last year, when Google announced the Pixel Watch 3, not all of its features were immediately available. The company was still waiting for the FDA approval for Loss of Pulse Detection. Last month, that was taken care of, and the feature is being enabled through an update now.

President Donald Trump has announced a 90-day pause on his reciprocal tariffs, and the stock market is already bouncing back — from the damage caused last week when Trump announced his reciprocal tariffs.

Tech stocks, like Apple, Sony, and Microsoft, shot up quickly following Trump's announcement, with Tesla rising particularly fast. As of this writing, Tesla stock was up 22.69 percent for the day. Meanwhile, Intel gained more than 17 percent; Nvidia was up by over 15 percent; and Meta, Amazon, Alphabet, and more stocks were spiking as well.

Trump made the announcement in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.

"I have authorized a 90 day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately," Trump announced.

SEE ALSO: Trump tariff news: iPhones getting snapped up, laptop sales disrupted – what we know

However, according to the president, the pause only affects countries who are engaged in negotiations with the White House. Tariffs put on goods from countries like China, who responded with their own new reciprocal tariffs, have not been paused. In fact, Trump announced a new 125 percent tariff with China. A global 10 percent tariff, announced over the weekend, will also remain in effect.

The slapdash tariff rollout has led to an extremely volatile market. Still, the news of a pause on levies for countries like South Korea and Vietnam was enough to send Apple stock flying upward. Trump's tariffs resulted in the worst 4-day stretch on the stock market for Apple since 2000.

Crypto market also rebounds with tariff news

The crypto markets also reacted positively to Trump's tariff suspension announcement. Bitcoin was back up over $82,000 as of publication after spending days floundering in the mid-to-upper $70k range. Ethereum also spiked 8 percent after Trump's tariff announcement.

The tariffs that Trump implemented last week wreaked havoc on the global economy. The market looked so bleak over the weekend that some analysts expected a "Black Monday" scenario. On Monday, April 7, rumors spread on Elon Musk's X that Trump was considering a pause on the tariffs, which helped avoid that worse case scenario. According to the White House, those posts were untrue.

Despite a temporary reprieve on most reciprocal tariffs, the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China rages on. So, while Trump's tariff pause was welcome news on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley for the moment, the fallout remains impossible to predict.

How will President Trump’s tariffs affect you? Keep checking Mashable for our latest tariff news and explainers, from delayed Nintendo Switch 2 preorders to reports of iPhone 16 panic buying.

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Opens in a new window Credit: AdGuard Software AdGuard Family Plan: Lifetime Subscription AU$26
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AdGuard has over 1,400 positive ratings, and reviewers report that the tool does block YouTube ads when you’re using a browser. Finally, no more sitting through unskippable nonsense before videos or rude interruptions during your binges.

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Within the app settings, you’ll also find that you can enact custom parental controls. You could restrict access to types of content or outright block specific websites to know your kids are protected online.

Use code FAMPLAN at checkout to get this mobile and desktop ad blocker for A$26 for a limited time (reg. A$65).

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A desktop overloaded with shortcuts and a taskbar filled with pinned apps can make your desktop look messy and harder to navigate. Fortunately, Windows offers plenty of customization options to make your setup more minimalist. Here’s how I keep my desktop clean—and how you can do the same.

Remember that man who was rescued from the ocean after calling for help on his Apple Watch last year? Apple has released audio from that call in a new ad highlighting the Watch's safety features.

Rick Shearman was swimming off an Australian beach last July when he was caught in a current and dragged approximately one mile from the shore. Fortunately, he was able to call for help using his Apple Watch Ultra's Emergency SOS feature, which put him in touch with local emergency services (000 in Australia). The Watch also kept them updated on Shearman's coordinates, so the rescue helicopter didn't have to spend too much time searching for him in an endless expanse of blue.

The call is an interesting listen, with Shearman sounding much less panicked than most others would be in his situation (which no doubt contributed to his survival). Though he was clearly tired at that point, freaking out would have been a phenomenally poor use of his depleting energy.

It's also clear enough to be comprehensible even without Apple's helpful subtitles, which is quite the feat considering that Shearman was treading water and holding his wrist to his mouth or ear in turns. It's possible that Apple cleaned the audio up a bit for the ad, but even so, it was still apparently clear enough for Australia's emergency services to understand.

Amazon is running a big sale on Blink’s newest home security camera, the Blink Outdoor 4. The camera is already affordable, but this 50% discount becomes an even better deal for people looking for a reliable and low-cost way to keep their home safe.

Google has now confirmed that Reddit uses Gemini to power Reddit Answers, an internal AI search tool for Reddit users. Contrary to some early reports, a Google PR representative told Mashable that Reddit Answers was already integrated with Gemini prior to the announcement.

A beta version of Reddit Answers launched last December. And at the Google Cloud Next event on Wednesday, Google shared new details about how Reddit Answers works with Gemini. The tool uses Gemini "to help people more effectively find information, recommendations, discussions, and insights directly from the conversations and communities across Reddit," according to a press release.

The Reddit Answers beta launched in late 2024. Credit: Screenshot courtesy of Reddit

Thanks to an existing partnership between Google and Reddit, which allows the latter to access Google Cloud's Vertex AI platform, Reddit Answers is powered by Google's Gemini AI model, among other tools. This means Reddit Answers has a similar AI search experience as Google tools using Gemini, like the standalone chatbot, Google Search's AI Overviews and AI Mode — except with answers sourced directly from the Reddit community.

"The integration of Vertex AI Search into Reddit Answers means users can find the information they need more quickly and accurately, and easily navigate to the conversations that matter to them," said Michael Clark, president of North America GTM at Google Cloud, in the press release.

The introduction of ChatGPT brought upheaval to the search world, and left Google scrambling to catch up in the AI arms race. A recent survey from media company Future found that up to 27 percent of U.S. searchers already use AI tools like ChatGPT instead of Google (though, the low-quality of recent Google Search results may also be a factor).

Google has made significant changes to its search engine in an effort to re-engage users. This includes features like AI Overviews and AI Mode, but also a licensing deal to train its models on Reddit content. After the Reddit-Google partnership was announced, Reddit's forum pages also became far more visible in Google Search.

With Gemini powering Reddit Answers, the companies are growing ever more entwined.

Adding to growing fears of digital surveillance under the Trump administration, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it will begin screening immigrants' social media accounts in an effort to uncover "antisemitic activity," the department explained.

The department will be on the hunt for content that appears to be "endorsing, espousing, promoting, or supporting antisemitic terrorism, antisemitic terrorist organizations, or other antisemitic activity," the order says. Under the new directive, evidence of such online activity, as well as physical harassment of Jewish citizens, determined by the USCIS and Department of Homeland Security (DHS), can be used as grounds for denying immigrant benefit requests.

SEE ALSO: Phone inspections when crossing the U.S. border: What you need to know about your rights and security

In line with President Donald Trump's executive orders to tighten immigration enforcement and combat antisemitism, the DHS argues such surveillance will "protect the homeland from extremists and terrorist aliens, including those who support antisemitic terrorism, violent antisemitic ideologies and antisemitic terrorist organizations such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, or Ansar Allah aka: 'the Houthis.'”

While reports of antisemitism have increased across the U.S., activists argue the policy is less of a protective measure and more of an opportunity to root out criticism of Israel's occupation and siege of Palestinian territories, as well as America's allegiance to the foreign power. Over the last month, several international students who have vocally supported Palestine were clandestinely arrested by immigration agents, including graduate students Rumeysa Öztürk, Ranjani Srinivasan, and Mahmoud Khalil. The latter is currently fighting his deportation in court and has become a symbol of the administration's crack down on Palestinian organizers. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has revoked hundreds of visas on such grounds, saying: "We gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campus."

The latest policy applies to "lawful permanent resident status, foreign students, and aliens affiliated with educational institutions," providing legal protection to scour the profiles of international students and faculty despite a widespread outcry from free speech advocates across the political spectrum.

"The spirit of Joseph McCarthy is alive and well in the Trump administration, which has spent months dishonestly mischaracterizing legitimate criticism of the Israeli government's war crimes in Gaza as antisemitic, pursuing witch hunts into American colleges, and threatening the free speech rights of immigrants," said Edward Ahmed Mitchell, the national deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in a statement to NPR.

In March, the administration announced it would begin reviewing social media profiles as part of the immigrant benefits request process, including applications for visas, naturalization, and relatives of people who have been granted asylum or refugee status. The decision was estimated to impact more than 3 million people.

Meanwhile, individuals entering the U.S. — citizen or otherwise — are increasingly on alert about securing their digital devices and online privacy in the face of increased electronic checks by federal immigration services on the border and at customs checkpoints.

VLC Media Player is an excellent free and open-source media player app. In addition to letting you play your audio and video files, the app offers other useful features that you should be using. I’ll show you what those lesser-known features are.

The launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 is accompanied by a bunch of new console-enhancing accessories. However, while new games like Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza are almost guaranteed to be a hit, one accessory in particular might be a letdown—the Hori Piranha Plant Camera.

AI companies have been working on voice models for a while now, but it seems things really ramped up after OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT Voice Mode.

Now, Amazon has just introduced its new "foundation" AI voice model called Nova Sonic. And it really makes Alexa sound like she's living way in the past.

According to Amazon, Nova Sonic "unifies speech understanding and speech generation into a single model, to enable more human-like voice conversations in AI applications." With the samples provided, it certainly does seem more human-like than the company's previous iterations of AI voice models. 

SEE ALSO: I compared Sesame to ChatGPT voice mode and I'm unnerved

For example, there are proper pauses, tone, and inflections on words depending on where they are and what they mean in a sentence. Amazon provided some samples you can listen to here and here.

Again, "more human-like" is the key description here. There are still plenty of signs that it's an AI voice, but it also does sound like a big step over previous AI voice assistants like Alexa.

Amazon says that it achieved this by combining multiple models that would traditionally be used, like speech recognition, large language models, and text-to-speech, into one single unified model. According to Amazon, it not only understands the nuances in speech to produce it, but it also understands it when a human inputs their own speech with these nuances as well.

According to TechCrunch, Nova Sonic is already powering Amazon's next-generation AI voice assistant, Alexa+.

Based on recent developments, it does seem like the big AI companies are currently focusing on voice models. So, prepare for competition in that space to heat up. Amazon is already pointing to claims that Nova Sonic is roughly 80 percent cheaper than OpenAI's GPT-4o model and promoting it as “the most cost-efficient."

Nova Sonic is currently available to developers through Amazon's enterprise AI developer platform, Bedrock.

Getting too many unwanted text messages has always been annoying for smartphone users. However, Google is now working on a straightforward fix to this ongoing problem with a special "Unsubscribe" button.

There are several Chrome extensions that simplify the process of capturing content on websites. Once you install them, you can save online resources to an easily accessible location with a few clicks. Let's look at some of the best options.

Whisky is no longer actively maintained. The popular Wine frontend, which served as a free alternative to CrossOver, made it easier to run Windows games and applications on macOS.

Hulu has many hundreds of shows to choose from, it's hard to know where to start—you don't want to waste your evening watching a dud. That's why I've rounded up this list of the best shows on the streaming service, from drama to comedy and everything in between.

SAVE UP TO 50%: As of April 9, save up to 50% on select Yankee Candle scents at Amazon.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Up to 50% Off Select Yankee Candle Scents Get Deal

One of the best ways to make your home smell great is a good candle. Whether you like the scent of freshly-baked cookies or crave a crisp lemon tang wafting through the kitchen, there's a fragrant candle out there for you that can make your home feel even cozier than it already does. And if you're looking to snag one right now, Amazon has an excellent deal you'll want to take part in.

As of April 9, you can save up to 50% on select 22-ounce Yankee Candle scents at Amazon. Choose from scents like Sage & Citrus ($16.88 from $30.99, a 46% discount), Lemon Lavender ($16.89 from $30.99, a 45% discount), and more. There's a variety of options you can purchase at up to a 50% discount, all of which come in glass jars with brightly-colored wax and their signature Yankee Candle scent front and center.

SEE ALSO: Amazon deal of the day: Upgrade to the M4 MacBook Air while it's at its cheapest price to date

These single-wick candles boast a 110- to 150-hour burn time and typically avoid tunneling. Crafted from premium paraffin wax, and you can feel good about using them: they're 100% recyclable. There are some food-centric fragrances to choose from, like Tangerine & Vanilla, as well as classics like Sage & Citrus, so you've got options if you want to give your home some extra oomph in the vibes department.

If you just can't resist adding another candle to your collection, or you just want a cheap, reliable way to make your home smell great, take advantage of this deal before they sell out.