Technology

A good homelab setup doesn't need to consist of all flashy, exciting applications. The longer I've used my homelab, the more I've come to view the apps that sit idle in the background as the most important services I host.

Narwal’s latest Flow 2 robot vacuum packs a lot of new features compared to its predecessor. With better suction performance, a higher-temperature mopping system with real-time self cleaning, and better navigation, the Flow 2 is a great upgrade to an already fantastic robot vacuum/mop.

Best Lego Star Wars Day deals at a glance: C-3PO $111.99 (save $28) Get Deal Brick-Built Star Wars Logo $47.99 (save $12) Get Deal The Mandalorian Helmet $55.99 (save $13.91) Get Deal

Lego Star Wars Day (aka May 4th) is finally here, and Lego is dropping incredible new releases (including the Lego Star Wars The Mandalorian’s N-1 Starfighter), exclusive rewards for members, free gifts, and much more to celebrate.

If you want the quick rundown before you start scrolling through pages of bricks, here's a summary of the best offers running between now and May 6:

• Free gifts with purchase: It's pretty un-Lego-like to drop discounts across its entire catalog. Usually, the best way to get a deal is to buy whatever product comes with the best free gift. The good news for this year is that the company is stacking those free gifts on top of one another. If you buy the new Lego Star Wars The Mandalorian’s N-1 Starfighter, you automatically get a free The Mandalorian and Grogu Display set. If your cart hits $160 in Star Wars merchandise, it will throw in a free The Darksaber build. You can also grab a free The Razor Crest Mini-Build if you spend $40 on select smaller sets.

• Direct discounts: That said, some items are on sale, including the C-3PO, Brick-Built Star Wars Logo, and The Mandalorian Helmet.

• New product drops: As of May 1, Lego Insiders get early access to the brand-new Lego Star Wars The Mandalorian’s N-1 Starfighter. If you aren't an Insider, you'll have to wait for general access on May 4.

• Quadruple the points: You can rack up 4x Insiders points on big-ticket items like the AT-ST Walker, Jabba's Sail Barge, and the TIE Interceptor. The brand is also offering 2x points on dozens of other sets.

• Rewards: If you already have points saved up, you can redeem 1,800 of them for an exclusive The Mandalorian's N-1 Starfighter poster by Joe Hogan. You can also enter sweepstakes to win special items, like a signed N-1 Starfighter set or a Lego Star Wars Bundle and Lego e-Gift Card.

TL;DR: FastestVPN is $29.99 for lifetime access (reg. $360), covering up to 10 devices with strong encryption, fast speeds, and no ongoing fees.

Opens in a new window Credit: FastestVPN FastestVPN: Lifetime Subscription (10 Devices) $29.99
$360 Save $330.01   Get Deal

Between public Wi-Fi, streaming restrictions, and constant tracking, the internet isn’t exactly low-key anymore. A FastestVPN lifetime subscription is currently $29.99 (reg. $360), and it covers up to 10 devices at once.

That’s your laptop, phone, tablet — maybe even your TV or router — protected under one account.

Mashable Deals Be the first to know! Get editor selected deals texted right to your phone! Get editor selected deals texted right to your phone! Loading... Sign Me Up By signing up, you agree to receive recurring automated SMS marketing messages from Mashable Deals at the number provided. Msg and data rates may apply. Up to 2 messages/day. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help. Consent is not a condition of purchase. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Thanks for signing up!

The basics are what you’d expect: 256-bit encryption, a built-in NAT firewall, and protection against ads and malware. There are also 600+ servers globally, so you can connect from different regions for streaming or just to keep your browsing private.

Speed is a big factor here, too. With optimized servers and modern protocols like WireGuard and OpenVPN, it’s built to handle streaming and downloads without turning everything into a buffering mess.

Now, the main concern: privacy. Many VPNs claim “no logs,” and it’s fair to be skeptical. In this case, FastestVPN has had its no-logs policy independently audited and is fairly transparent about how data is handled, which helps build some trust.

For a one-time $29.99 (reg. $360), this FastestVPN offer is a practical option if you want long-term coverage without ongoing costs.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

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

TL;DR: Voibe turns your voice into text instantly on your Mac for a one-time $49.99 (reg. $199).

Opens in a new window Credit: Essence AI Voibe Lifetime Subscription $49.99
$199 Save $149.01   Get Deal

There’s a good chance typing is slowing you down more than you realize. If it seems like your brain moves faster than your fingers, you’re not wrong. Typing is often the bottleneck. That’s the problem Voibe is trying to fix.

Voibe is a voice dictation tool built specifically for Mac that lets you speak naturally and see your words appear instantly — no lag, no waiting, no weird formatting cleanup after. You hold a key, talk, release, and move on.

Mashable Deals Be the first to know! Get editor selected deals texted right to your phone! Get editor selected deals texted right to your phone! Loading... Sign Me Up By signing up, you agree to receive recurring automated SMS marketing messages from Mashable Deals at the number provided. Msg and data rates may apply. Up to 2 messages/day. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help. Consent is not a condition of purchase. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Thanks for signing up!

The biggest difference here is that everything runs locally on your Mac. It uses OpenAI’s Whisper model but processes your voice directly on your Mac, so your audio never leaves your machine. That’s a privacy win and why it feels so fast. No internet dependency translates to no delays.

It also handles real-world speech surprisingly well. Accents, technical terms, natural phrasing — it’s designed to keep up without forcing you to talk like a robot. And since it works in basically any app where you can type, it fits right into your existing workflow without issue.

Is it for everyone? Not really. If you don’t like speaking your thoughts out loud, it might not click. But if your days involve writing emails, notes, or content, the time savings can be real.

Get lifetime access to Voibe for a one-time $49.99 (reg. $199).

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Love them or hate them, the Kardashians are cultural drivers, and a new book releasing tomorrow dissects why.

Dekonstructing the Kardashians: A New Media Manifesto is written by psychotherapist MJ Corey, who runs the Instagram account, Kardashian Kolloquium. When she discovered the Kardashians while in grad school, Corey was so struck by their content and found it uncanny. Her sister told her to read postmodern theory, and Corey deep-dived into self-study and started documenting it online. Now, she has nearly 50,000 followers, helps run the Kardashian Data Koalition, and has become a premier Kardashian intellectual. 

SEE ALSO: What is OnlyFans?

"Kardashian intellectual" may sound like an oxymoron, but as Dekonstructing the Kardashians demonstrates, it's important for us to examine pop culture. There must be reasons why something is popular, after all. "I don't psychoanalyze the Kardashians, but if anything, they might hold a mirror to the rest of us," Corey said in an interview with Mashable. 

The Kardashians trace culture with their narratives, she said, and it actually began with sex work. 

The infamous sex tape

Cast your memory all the way back to 2007, when Kim Kardashian's sex tape with singer Ray J was leaked. Kim rose to fame, and Keeping Up With the Kardashians (KUWTK) premiered months later. 

There's a current legal battle between Kardashian and Ray J, which may shed new light on why the tape was made and how it was released. But regardless, whereas some may have been embarrassed and shied away from the public eye after such an invasion of privacy, Kim did the opposite. She refused to be ashamed. 

"Why did you make a sex tape?" Kim's sister, Kourtney, asked in the very first episode of KUWTK ahead of an upcoming talk show appearance. 

"Because I was horny and I felt like it," Kim said.

A reason why people are angry at the Kardashians is that they made money from the tape instead of living in shame or disassociating from it, Corey said. 

"People have a different feeling towards female icons that are tragic or humiliated than the ones that are like, 'No, I'm good, I'm gonna make money from it,'" Corey said. "It's another nuance that people have been forced to sit with when it comes to the Kardashians and their relationship to sex — that the tape didn't break them."

And the sex tape was far from the only time the Kardashians associated themselves with sex — and sex work — especially in the early years of their fame. In the first season of KUWTK alone, members of the family: played on a stripper pole, hired a porn performer to babysit the Jenner sisters, participated in a Girls Gone Wild photoshoot, and also shot photos for Playboy. 

When we break down the story of the Kardashians intellectually, Corey said, we look at cultural appropriation of race and ethnicity. But in the beginning, they appropriated sex work, as well. Corey spoke with a sex worker who wanted to remain anonymous, who believed Kim is a sex worker, though Kim would never call it that. In Kim's time in the spotlight, she's stigmatized the profession while fully idealizing, glamorizing, and profiting from sex workers' aesthetics, Corey said.

When researching for this book, "it was impossible to ignore this middle-class woman's fascination with sex work," she said of Kim in the early days of KUWTK.

Kim Kardashian and OnlyFans

Kim K isn't on OnlyFans, but there is a connection between the two. As Corey writes in Dekonstructing the Kardashians: 

"Sexual accessibility is, apparently, most alluring when there's a sense that no woman is profiting from it, which is probably at least one reason why the Kardashians…became more reviled the richer they got, and also why people would one day rag on the sex industry social media website OnlyFans, which came out in 2016 in the thick of Kardashian-driven influencer culture and offered a space for many sex workers to own the means of their production."

There's a larger discourse beyond the Kardashians around OnlyFans, its place in culture, and its influence on women and how they view and potentially commodify their bodies. "I've just noticed in the larger discourse, [shaming] of women who are entrepreneurial on their OnlyFans accounts. There's a similar shaming that people throw at the Kardashians sometimes for making money on their sexuality." 

"And I think that it's threatening to see that women can be independent from men," Corey added.

The difference between Kim Kardashian and the typical OnlyFans model, however, is fame, money, and access. Kim K seemingly gets a pass to post whatever she wants; this is a complaint sex workers and other sex-adjacent Instagram users have told Mashable in recent years. While Kim is boosted in our algorithms, non-famous people are shadowbanned — deprioritized — if not banned entirely. 

How the Kardashians won culture

The influence of the Kar-Jenners is undeniable, and in her book, Corey follows the lineage between a variety of American icons — like the Disney brand and Marilyn Monroe — and what they have in common with the family.

Every icon she references in the book typically evokes anxiety about race, death, or sex. This is even true of Mickey Mouse, who has, for example, sparked conversations about how the Disney mascot is racially coded.

"The Kardashians, in a really high-scale way, and in a way that will ensure their legacy, evoke all of these anxieties that all the other icons that came before also have," Corey said. "It just tells us that there's something about us that craves, that is drawn to it, is agitated by it, and that's why they also are so popular, because they play these things out for us at such scale, so relentlessly."

Because there are so many Kar-Jenners, the machine never stops, Corey continued. The family has become figures of catharsis, or release. There are touchpoints, like the SKIMS pubic hair underwear release last fall, that allow us to ask: How do we feel about that?

We're really trying to figure out what kind of society we want to live in, Corey said, and the Kardashians offer us opportunities to chew on and try to sort it out. Everything they do, at this point, conjures up some discourse — so much so that Corey already wants to write another book.

When The Audacity star Sarah Goldberg first met with series creator Jonathan Glatzer, he summed up the show in an unexpected fashion: The real-life tech titans whom The Audacity skewers are so focused on creating immortality that they can't face the fact that everyone — including them — has, at some point in their lives, pooped their pants.

SEE ALSO: 'The Audacity' tears Silicon Valley a new one: Review

That juxtaposition — a "denial of our base humanity," as Goldberg described it in a Zoom call with Mashable — attracted her to The Audacity's warped take on Silicon Valley.

In The Audacity's ensemble of tech founders, Goldberg's Dr. JoAnne Felder is the odd person out. She's a therapist to the Valley's "billionaire man-children," a renter in a sea of obscenely wealthy homeowners who don't care if their Napa house burns down, because they have several other homes to run back to.

Due to her outsider status, you might think JoAnne would serve as The Audacity's voice of reason. But by the end of the show's first episode, it's clear she's willing to bend the rules for personal gain just as much as her clients. One of them, Hypergnosis CEO Duncan Park (Billy Magnussen), learns she uses confidential client information to conduct insider trading.

"In this completely morally bankrupt world that JoAnne finds herself in, she feels like her tiny little transgressions are harmless, or even justified," Goldberg said.

Sarah Goldberg and Billy Magnussen in "The Audacity." Credit: Ed Araquel / AMC

Coming into The Audacity, Goldberg wanted a "big departure" from her Emmy–nominated role as Barry's struggling actor Sally Reed. When she first read for Sally, she felt she knew that character right away. For JoAnne, Goldberg was more drawn to her rhythm, an element that usually pulls her towards roles.

In her professional life, JoAnne's rhythm is slow and intentional. Goldberg describes her using silence "as a tool," wielding it to create space so her clients can open up... and give her valuable information information in the process.

"I didn't feel huge pressure to do major research and become this really qualified therapist, because that ship has sailed for JoAnne," Goldberg laughed. "It's sunk!"

Rhythm-wise, JoAnne's personal life is another story. As she weathers blackmail from Duncan, the possibility of losing her home, and her thorny relationship with son Orson (Everett Blunck), she grows more erratic. She drives off the road, snaps at every inconvenience (many self-inflicted), and browses the web for guns during session with clients. She's a picture of volatility, her blunt bob swaying with each panicked snap.

SEE ALSO: 'The Audacity' throws shade at Apple without ever saying its name

"It's a real cheat, but honestly, the hair really helped me. I found myself gesticulating a lot, and there's this staccato quality to her that was born out of the hair," Goldberg said. "[Key Hair Stylist] Sanna [Seppanen] told me, 'I'm gonna give you hair so great, you don't have to act.' She was not wrong."

While JoAnne differs wildly from Sally Reed, Barry fans may catch glimpses of her in JoAnne's increasingly nervous, occasionally explosive interactions with others. Like with Sally's decline, JoAnne is also a woman fraying at the edges.

"I love a frayer. I'm attracted to fraying people," Goldberg said.

She's also attracted to the dichotomy between The Audacity's characters' external and internal lives.

"So many people in this world are similar to Barry in some ways," she said. "They're living two lives, one with a very thick veneer to perform who they need to be in their business or job."

Goldberg continued: "I'm always interested in that duality. I'm interested in how we do it day to day. Why, when someone calls you, does your voice go high? Why do you speak one way when you're ordering your coffee, and then when you're in the doctor's office, it's different? I'm always fascinated by our external behaviors and what's going on underneath."

Sarah Goldberg in "The Audacity." Credit: David Moir / AMC

Goldberg is a self-described "technophobe." She has no apps and no social media, and she wasn't incredibly familiar with Silicon Valley prior to filming The Audacity. However, even before working on the show, she had been reading up on the rise of AI, especially how it pertains to the entertainment industry.

"I'm hoping that this doomsday feeling that was setting in is overblown. I don't know that it is," she said. "My hope I always hold on to is that television and film didn't kill theater, and I think that we're always going to crave a kind of connection and nuance that's not going to be available through AI."

The Audacity tackles AI through a storyline that JoAnne hasn't figured into much yet, one where Martin Phister (Simon Helberg) is essentially raising and nurturing an AI child. As the show goes on, he sees potential for it as a therapeutic tool that can do good, like when it listens to Deputy Under Secretary of Veterans' Affairs Tom Ruffage (Rob Corddry) about his wartime experiences.

"The AI aspect of the show is being developed with such purity and passion and focus. Seeing what happens if it falls into the wrong hands is where it all gets so frustrating," said Goldberg.

That frustration carries over to real life for Goldberg as well.

"I feel very resistant to it," she said. "My instincts as an animal are like, 'Where are we heading?' and it makes me quite uncomfortable. At the same time, I'm trying to keep a little bit of realism. We can't avoid the march of change, right? These things are happening, so how do we move forward productively?"

That's the question Glatzer, Goldberg, and The Audacity keep coming back to. What is the road map forward for humankind as it keeps dehumanizing itself? JoAnne, with her proximity to the reality-warping world of Silicon Valley, proves a perfect, if troubling case study.

Goldberg believes that JoAnne was once an idealist hoping to help her clients, but upon moving to Silicon Valley, she grew more "jaded and corrupted." Still, even in her early days as a therapist, she wasn't totally incorruptible.

"There was something in her that drew her to this world," Goldberg noted.

JoAnne's descent into corruption highlights Glatzer and The Audacity's central thesis about the future of humanity.

"What does it take to lose your humanity, and can you get it back?" asked Goldberg.

"There was an easier version of this show where [Glatzer] steps back, points the finger, and goes, 'Here's this small group of sociopaths who are making so much money doing terrible things,'" Goldberg said. "Actually, he chose the harder task of asking bigger questions about our moral compass as a species. What's innate in all of us? What creates this bad decision-making, and once you develop the tech that commodifies it, where does it go? He really gets down to the fact that these people didn't invent human behavior. They're exploiting and commodifying it, but the seeds are in all of us to, say, invade each other's privacy. He holds a mirror up to that in a way that I think is really brave."

New episodes of The Audacity are available to stream Sundays on AMC+, and air at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.

Everyone knows children are capable of savagery at the best of times, but Jack Thorne's Lord of the Flies — adapted from William Golding's famous 1954 novel — really ups the stakes.

The four-episode BBC miniseries, now streaming on Netflix, follows a group of British schoolchildren stranded on an island after a plane crash. Although they're semi-organised at first, the relationship between elected chief Ralph (Winston Sawyers) and lead hunter Jack (Lox Pratt) eventually breaks down, with things quickly escalating into violence.

But what happens at the end of the miniseries, what does it all mean, and how does it compare to the end of the novel? Let's unpack.

SEE ALSO: The 20 best Netflix TV shows of 2025 How does the Lord of the Flies show end? Lox Pratt as Jack in "Lord of the Flies." Credit: BBC / Eleven / J Redza

In the final episode of Lord of the Flies, Ralph is outnumbered and in danger. Following the deaths of his allies Simon (Ike Talbut) and Piggy (David McKenna), the former chief spends the last part of episode 4 on the run from Jack and his tribe, who appear determined to hunt him to the death.

When Ralph hides out in the forest, the boys set a fire to try and smoke him out. Just as he's ready to give up, he encounters two actual adults who have landed on the beach in their small boat. They've seen the smoke and come to help.

One of the adults (Tom Goodman-Hill), not realising that Ralph was on the verge of being murdered, chastises him for not knowing how many boys there are on the island.

"I would have thought you could put on a better show than that," he barks, in peak cold British fashion.

"It was like that at first," Ralph responds. "Before things... we were together then."

"Let's get you boys out to the boat," says the man, leading Ralph away. In the background, the other kids put down their spears and slowly follow.

How does William Golding's book end? Winston Sawyers as Ralph in "Lord of the Flies." Credit: BBC / Eleven / J Redza

The show is fairly faithful to the book. The novel also ends with the boys being rescued as Ralph is hunted, and there's a similar scene in which a naval officer chastises Ralph because he expects more from a group of British boys.

The book, like the TV show, ends with us knowing that the surviving boys are safe. What we don't know is what the consequences of their actions on the island will be, or what will happen to them when they get back home.

What does the ending of Lord of the Flies mean? Lox Pratt as Jack in "Lord of the Flies." Credit: BBC / Eleven / J Redza

The reason we don't see what's next for the boys after they leave the island is, presumably, because it's not the main point of the story. Like the novel, Thorne's miniseries is really about how quickly society can break down when you remove its basic structures.

As Ralph says to the naval office at the end, "It was like that at first." But if Ralph and Piggy are representative of order, Jack's allure of chaos and savagery quickly proves too strong for the others to resist.

The naval office's reference to "British boys" and what he expects of them shows that he thinks Western society, in particular, is in some way too enlightened to devolve into violence. Lord of the Flies is a clear rejection of that idea.

Lord of the Flies is streaming now on Netflix and BBC iPlayer.

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 4, 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 4, 2026 Easy difficulty hints, answers for May 4 Pips

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

Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 2-1, placed horizontally; 1-1, placed vertically; 1-5, placed horizontally.

Number (17): Everything in this space must add up to 17. The answer is 6-4, placed horizontally; 3-6, placed vertically; 1-5, placed horizontally.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for May 4 Pips

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

Greater Than (10): Everything in this space must be greater than 10. The answer is 0-6, placed vertically; 6-3, placed horizontally.

Equal (2): Everything in this space must be equal to 2. The answer is 2-2, placed vertically; 2-1, placed horizontally.

Greater Than (3): Everything in this space must be greater than 3. The answer is 4-3, placed horizontally.

Equal (1): Everything in this space must be equal to 1. The answer is 2-1, placed horizontally; 1-1, placed vertically.

Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 4-3, placed horizontally; 3-0, placed vertically.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for May 4 Pips

Less Than (4): Everything in this space must be less than 4. The answer is 3-1, placed vertically.

Greater Than (4): Everything in this space must be greater than 4. The answer is 5-1, placed vertically.

Equal (1): Everything in this space must be equal to 1. The answer is 3-1, placed vertically; 1-4, placed vertically; 5-1, placed vertically.

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

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

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

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

Less Than (4): Everything in this space must be less than 4. The answer is 2-4, placed horizontally.

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

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

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

Greater Than (5): Everything in this space must be greater than 5. The answer is 3-3, placed vertically.

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

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

Equal (0): Everything in this space must be equal to 0. The answer is 5-0, placed horizontally; 0-4, placed vertically.

Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 4-3, placed vertically; 1-1, placed horizontally.

Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 0-4, placed vertically.

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

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

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

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

Today's Connections: Sports Edition will require some knowledge of popular U.S. sports and pop culture.

As we've shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.

Like the original Connections, 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 the latest 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: Sports Edition?

The NYT's latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication's sports coverage. The sports Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Each puzzle features 16 words, and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise 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 before the game ends.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

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: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. Here's a hint for today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

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

• Yellow: Playing surface

• Green: In Toronto

• Blue: Playing pool

• Purple: Associated with Calipari

Here are today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

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

• Yellow: Fields of Play, Familiarly

• Green: Toronto Pro Teams

• Blue: Terms Used in Billiards

• Purple: Coached by John Calipari

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: Sports Edition #588 is...

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

• Fields of Play, Familiarly: DIAMOND, GRIDIRON, HARDWOOD, RINK

• Toronto Pro Teams: BLUE JAYS, MAPLE LEAFS, RAPTORS, TEMPO

• Terms Used in Billiards: BREAK, ENGLISH, RACK, SCRATCH

• Coached by John Calipari: MINUTEMEN, NETS, RAZORBACKS, WILDCATS

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections 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.

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.

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 expel.

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

SPEND

Hurdle Word 2 hint

Grabbed.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for May 4, 2026 Hurdle Word 2 Answer

TAKEN

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

Hurdle Word 3 hint

A short period.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for May 4 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for May 4, 2026 Hurdle Word 3 answer

STINT

Hurdle Word 4 hint

Seen in elementary schools.

Hurdle Word 4 answer

CUBBY

Final Hurdle hint

A photo.

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

IMAGE

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

As we move through the lunar cycle, you'll notice small changes in the Moon's shape each night. Right now, we're in the waning phase. This means it will be losing light on the right side until we reach the New Moon.

What is today’s Moon phase?

As of Monday, May 4, the Moon phase is Waning Gibbous. Tonight, 94% of the moon will be be lit up, according to NASA's Daily Moon Guide.

Without any visual aids, tonight you should be able to see the Mares Serenitatus, Tranquillitatis, and Imbrim. With binoculars, you'll see the Posidonus Crater, Endymion Crater, and the Mare Humorum. And, finally, with a telescope you'll see all this plus the Apollo 14 landing spot, the Rima Hyginus, and the Descartes Highlands.

When is the next Full Moon?

There are two Full Moons in May, with the next due to take place on May 31.

What are Moon phases?

According to NASA, the Moon takes roughly 29.5 days to circle Earth once, going through eight distinct phases in the process. Even though we always see the same side of the Moon, the amount of sunlight hitting it changes as it moves in its orbit. The shifting light creates the changing shapes we know as full, half, and crescent Moons. Altogether, there are eight main lunar phases.

New Moon - The Moon is between Earth and the sun, so the side we see is dark (in other words, it's invisible to the eye).

Waxing Crescent - A small sliver of light appears on the right side (Northern Hemisphere).

First Quarter - Half of the Moon is lit on the right side. It looks like a half-Moon.

Waxing Gibbous - More than half is lit up, but it’s not quite full yet.

Full Moon - The whole face of the Moon is illuminated and fully visible.

Waning Gibbous - The Moon starts losing light on the right side. (Northern Hemisphere)

Third Quarter (or Last Quarter) - Another half-Moon, but now the left side is lit.

Waning Crescent - A thin sliver of light remains on the left side before going dark again.

The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult if you're kind-hearted.

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.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

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.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

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.

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for May 4, 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: Sweetie pie

• Green: Squishy

• Blue: They have dials

• Purple: Canines

Here are today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Tender-hearted person

• Green: Pellet-filled things

• Blue: Things with knobs

• Purple: Starting with familiar names for kinds of dogs

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 #1058 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Tender-hearted person: MARSHMALLOW, SOFTIE, SWEETHEART, TEDDY BEARS

• Pellet-filled things: BEANIE BABY, DESSICANT PACKET, EYE PILLOW, HACKY SACK

• Things with knobs: CONTROL PANEL, ETCH A SKETCH, RADIO, STOVE

• Starting with familiar names for kinds of dogs: CHOWDER, DOODLEBUG, LABUBU, PITTER-PATTER

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 4, 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're a tree hugger.

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 4, 2026 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: May the forest be with you

The words are related to forestation.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe trees.

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 Branch Out.

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

NYT Strands word list for May 4

• Aspen

• Dogwood

• Birch

• Branch Out

• Cedar

• Cypress

• Eucalyptus

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're a talker.

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 4, 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 4, 2026 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

Podium.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

The letter R appears twice.

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

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

Today's Wordle starts with the letter R.

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...

RISER

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.

There was a time when a luxury car was defined by the logo. Those lines have blurred today, as many mainstream manufacturers offer vehicles in their lineups with advanced powertrains, upscale interior layouts, and connectivity technologies that hold their own against luxury namesakes at a lower price.

When Android phones first took off over a decade ago, custom launchers were all the rage. The idea of completely transforming your phone’s look and feel was a huge draw for enthusiasts—and even non-techies. Today, however, launchers are almost unheard of. They’ve largely fallen out of favor in favor of whatever your phone came with, and frankly, I think that’s for the better.

When you buy a new smart TV, you expect a quality viewing experience as soon as you turn it on. Still, you may be accidentally accepting lower picture quality, unreliable connections, and privacy issues by keeping the default settings. The best performance gains are already inside the device you own. By following these steps, you can fix these distortions, stabilize streaming, stop the data tracking, and speed up your TV to what is now standard in the industry.

Your smart home hub won't last forever. It might be due to the hardware dying or becoming outdated, or because your smart home provider pulls the plug. Whatever the reason, you need to be prepared.

I consider myself part of many fandoms. Some are from my childhood, others from college, and now, as a young adult, but they all mean something to me on some level. One of those just happens to be Star Wars.