Technology

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.

Want more tech and digital culture news delivered to your inbox daily or sent straight to your device? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter or get Mashable push alerts 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

A lack of judgment.

Hurdle Word 1 answer

FOLLY

Hurdle Word 2 hint

A small wind instrument.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for August 30, 2026 Hurdle Word 2 Answer

KAZOO

Hurdle Word 3 hint

A thick chocolate.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for August 30, 2026 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Meanings for each word for Aug. 30, 2026 Hurdle Word 3 answer

FUDGE

Hurdle Word 4 hint

More unique.

Hurdle Word 4 answer

RARER

Final Hurdle hint

A jacket flap.

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

LAPEL

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

TL;DR: Watch Real Madrid vs. Málaga in La Liga for free on CazéTV. Access this free livestream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

La Liga returns today with another selection of top fixtures. The biggest matchup in today's lineup sees the Real Madrid all-star team — which includes Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappé, and Vinícius Júnior — face Málaga.

It's still early days, but Real Madrid are already firmly focused on winning their first league title in three years. And the campaign is off to a good start after an opening-game win against Espanyol and a confident victory over Real Sociedad. Málaga, on the other hand, are looking for their first three points of the season.

If you're interested in watching Real Madrid vs. Málaga in La Liga from anywhere in the world, we've got all the information you need.

When is Real Madrid vs. Málaga?

Real Madrid vs. Málaga in La Liga kicks off at 11 a.m. ET on Aug. 30. This fixture takes place at the Santiago Bernabéu.

How to watch Real Madrid vs. Málaga for free

Real Madrid vs. Málaga in La Liga is available to live stream for free on CazéTV.

CazéTV is geo-restricted to Brazil, but anyone can secure access with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Brazil, meaning you can live stream Real Madrid vs. Málaga for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Real Madrid vs. Málaga for free by following these simple steps:

1. Sign up for a streaming-friendly VPN (we recommend ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in Brazil

4. Visit CazéTV

5. Watch Real Madrid vs. Málaga for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.99 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but they do tend to offer generous money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Real Madrid vs. Málaga without committing your cash. This is obviously not a long-term strategy, but it gives you enough time to stream this fixture (plus Premier League action) before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for La Liga?

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

• Servers in 105 countries, including Brazil

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices, including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 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 usually offers a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99.

Live stream Real Madrid vs. Málaga for free from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

You don't need lots of fancy equipment to get a good look at the Moon. A clear sky can be enough to reveal plenty of detail across its surface. So, what could you see when you look up tonight? Keep reading to find out.

What is today’s Moon phase?

As of Sunday, Aug. 30, NASA's Daily Moon Guide tracker tells us the Moon is in Waning Gibbous phase, with 95% of its surface visible.

Tonight with just your naked eye, you'll be able to see the Mare Serenitatis, the Copernicus Crater, and the Oceanus Procellarum. If you do have viewing equipment, such as binoculars, you'll also see the Mare Frigoris, the Archimedes Crater, and the Apennine Mountains. If you have access to a telescope, you'll also be able to see the Apollo 15 and 16 landing spots, and the Rima Ariadaeus.

When is the next Full Moon?

The next Full Moon will take place on September 26.

What are Moon phases?

The Moon's appearance changes throughout the month as it moves through its different phases. It takes roughly 29.5 days for the Moon to complete one full cycle as it orbits Earth, according to NASA. The phase we see depends on the Moon's position relative to the Sun and Earth, which determines how much of its sunlit side is visible to us. Over the course of the cycle, the Moon changes from a slim crescent to a half Moon and eventually a Full Moon, before beginning the process again.

The eight phases are:

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.

Today's Connections: Sports Edition will be easier if you're a fan of baseball.

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: Moves with grace

• Green: Defensive sets

• Blue: French soccer

• Purple: Spurs

Here are today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

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

• Yellow: Agile

• Green: Football Defensive Terms

• Blue: Ligue 1 Clubs

• Purple: San Antonio Spurs

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 #706 is...

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

• Agile: ATHLETIC, LIMBER, LUTHE, SPRIGHTLY

• Football Defensive Terms: 4-3, COVER 2, NICKEL, PREVENT

• Ligue 1 Clubs: ANGERS, LENS, LILLE, NICE

• San Antonio Spurs: CASTLE, CHAMPAGNIE, VASSELL, WEMBANYAMA

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.

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

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 August 30, 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 August 30, 2026 Easy difficulty hints, answers for August 30 Pips

Equal (1): Everything in this space must be equal to 1. The answer is 1-2, placed vertically; 1-5, placed vertically.

Equal (2): Everything in this space must be equal to 2. The answer is 2-6, placed vertically; 1-2, placed vertically.

Number (9): Everything in this space must add up to 9. The answer is 1-5, placed vertically; 4-3, placed vertically.

Number (12): Everything in this space must add up to 12. The answer is 2-6, placed vertically; 6-6, placed horizontally.

Number (9): Everything in this space must add up to 9. The answer is 6-6, placed horizontally; 4-3, placed vertically.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for August 30 Pips

Greater Than (2): Everything in this space must be greater than 2. The answer is 3-0, placed vertically.

Equal (0): Everything in this space must be equal to 0. The answer is 3-0, placed vertically; 0-2, placed vertically.

Equal (2): Everything in this space must be equal to 2. The answer is 2-1, placed vertically; 0-2, placed vertically.

Equal (4): Everything in this space must be equal to 4. The answer is 4-1, placed vertically; 2-4, placed vertically; 4-5, placed vertically.

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

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

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

Greater Than (9): Everything in this space must be greater than 9. The answer is 4-5, placed vertically; 1-6, placed horizontally.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for August 30 Pips

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

Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 1-0, placed vertically; 5-6, placed horizontally.

Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 5-6, placed horizontally.

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

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

Number (0): Everything in this space must add up to 0. The answer is 0-0, placed horizontally; 1-0, placed vertically; 0-3, placed horizontally.

Equal (3): Everything in this space must be equal to 3. The answer is 0-3, placed horizontally.

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

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

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

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

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

Equal (4): Everything in this space must be equal to 4. The answer is 5-4, placed horizontally; 4-2, placed vertically.

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

Equal (2): Everything in this space must be equal to 2. The answer is 4-2, placed vertically; 2-1, placed vertically.

Less Than (2): Everything in this space must be less than 2. The answer is 2-1, 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.

Looking for spoiler-free NYT Connections hints or just wondering why Connections is trending today? We've got what you need to understand the clues for today's puzzle without spoiling any of the answers.

Of course, Mashable has also provided daily hints and answers for Connections, Wordle, and Strands for years, so we can help you if that's also what you need.

While we are focused more on meanings than hints in this story, sometimes learning that many of the words have completely unrelated meanings is a clue in and of itself. Connections frequently includes clues that involve words within words and other visual clues.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for August 30, 2026 Cadbury meaning

A famous British chocolate.

Energized meaning

Amped up.

Playboy meaning

A popular adult magazine.

Trix meaning

A colorful cereal brand.

Gymnasium meaning

A large indoor sports room.

Play our Big Guessing Game: Make your predictions now for a chance to win a new Apple Watch. Time's running out!

Health club meaning

A membership-based fitness center.

Rec center meaning

An accessible fitness center.

YMCA meaning

A community resource center.

Aerator meaning

A piece that adds air to something.

Corkscrew meaning

A tool used to remove corks from bottles.

Decanter meaning

A glass bottle used to hold alcoholic drinks.

Want more tech and digital culture news delivered to your inbox daily or sent straight to your device? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter or get Mashable push alerts today.

Stopper meaning

A plug to close a bottle opening.

Alias meaning

A fake name.

Outlaw meaning

A criminal.

Reward meaning

An incentive for doing something (well).

Wanted meaning

Desired.

Have you learned the meanings and still want the things? Check out the hints and answers for today's NYT Connections puzzle.

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

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

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.

The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult if you love a vineyard.

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.

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for August 30, 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: Work up a sweat

• Green: Pour a glass

• Blue: "Hop in!"

• Purple: Wild Wild West

Want more tech and digital culture news delivered to your inbox daily or sent straight to your device? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter or get Mashable push alerts today.

Here are today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Exercise facilities

• Green: Wine accessories

• Blue: Brands with bunny rabbit mascots

• Purple: Words on an old west wanted poster

Play our Big Guessing Game: Make your predictions now for a chance to win a new Apple Watch. Time's running out!

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 #1176 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Exercise facilities: ALTERNATOR, BATTERY, ENGINE, RADIATOR

• Wine accessories: CHOPPED, GREEK, HOUSE, WEDGE

• Keyboard keys: CONTROL, ESCAPE, SHIFT, SPACE

• Starting with figures from Greek myth: AT LAST, HERALD, HYDRANT, TRITONE

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

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

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

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 never satisfied.

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 August 30, 2026 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Hardly eager

The words are feelings related to dislike.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe not being a fan of something.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is vertical.

Want more tech and digital culture news delivered to your inbox daily or sent straight to your device? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter or get Mashable push alerts today.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is I'd Rather Not.

NYT Strands word list for August 30

• Loath

• Reluctant

• I'd Rather Not

• Averse

• Unwilling

• Hesitant

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

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 secret agent.

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 August 30, 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 August 30, 2026 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

Secret information.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

There are no recurring letters.

Want more tech and digital culture news delivered to your inbox daily or sent straight to your device? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter or get Mashable push alerts today.

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

Today's Wordle starts with the letter I.

Play our Big Guessing Game: Make your predictions now for a chance to win a new Apple Watch. Time's running out!

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...

INTEL

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.

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

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.

Waze packs a lot of personality and utility into its phone app, but a chunk of that gets left behind once you plug into Android Auto. Here are three features that still don't make the jump.

I love building PCs, but I don't know anybody, myself included, who finds motherboards that exciting (outside of people who work with them for a living, I guess). It's all GPUs and CPUs, and complaining about outrageous prices.

TL;DR: Pay $14.97 through Sept. 1 for a lifetime license to Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2019 on one Windows PC, with no recurring fees.

Opens in a new window Credit: Microsoft Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2019 for Windows $19.97
$229 Save $209.03   Get Deal

A productivity suite shouldn’t necessarily become another permanent line on the monthly budget. Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2019 offers a familiar alternative: pay $14.97 once and install its seven included programs on one Windows PC for use at home or work.

The lineup covers a broad range of everyday and professional tasks. Word handles documents, Excel organizes and analyzes data, and PowerPoint turns ideas into presentations. Outlook manages email and contacts, while OneNote provides a home for notes. Publisher supports page layouts and other publishing projects, and Access helps users create and work with databases.

SEE ALSO: The 6 best battery life laptops we've ever tested

Office 2019 also introduced enhanced inking across its programs, additional Excel analysis capabilities, new PowerPoint presentation tools, and updated Outlook features. Improved cloud connectivity helps the suite fit into modern workflows while keeping its core tools reassuringly recognizable.

You’re getting the tools needed to produce, revise, and organize documents, spreadsheets, slideshows, emails, and databases without paying for features outside that workflow.

Delivery is instant, so the software license keys and download links become available without waiting for anything to arrive in the mail. Customer service is also included if you need assistance.

One longevity detail is worth knowing: Publisher will no longer be supported after October 2026. The other included apps remain part of this lifetime Office 2019 license.

Get Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2019 for just $14.97 (reg. $229) through Sept. 1.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: Skoove is a new AI-powered piano teacher that listens and helps while you play, and it’s only $150 for a lifetime subscription (reg. $299.99).

Opens in a new window Credit: Skoove Skoove Premium Piano Lessons: Lifetime Subscription $149.99
$299.99 Save $150   Get Deal

Learning to play piano is a lot harder than it looks. You might get the basics by watching online tutorials, but if you really want to learn, it helps to have a teacher. However, nobody said that a teacher has to be human. Skoove is an AI-powered piano tutor app that listens as you play, offers live feedback, and connects you to a huge library of lessons. A lifetime subscription is also on sale for $149.99 (reg. $299.99) right now.

All you need to get started with Skoove Premium Piano Lessons is a keyboard or piano and your laptop, smartphone, or tablet. The app does the rest. It can hear you play, recognize your notes, and give you real-time feedback so you get better as you go.

SEE ALSO: Spotify is bringing a Ringer video podcast to Twitch. Here's why.

Whether you’re totally new to the instrument or you have some lessons under your belt, Skoove has lesson options ranging from beginner to advanced. And it’s not like the boring old piano lessons from your past. You’ll get to pick up skills by playing your favorite music, from Adele to Beethoven.

Your lifetime subscription includes permanent access to more than 400 lessons and thousands of instructional videos, and you’ll never run out of content because new ones are added every month. There’s also one-on-one support available from real music instructors when you need it.

Learn to play piano on your own schedule. Get a lifetime subscription to Skoove Premium Piano Lessons on sale for $149.99.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Fake SD cards and SSDs have been a problem for a long time, especially on online storefronts like Amazon, eBay, or AliExpress. The issue has only gotten worse since memory shortages have driven the price of storage sky-high, with little hope of relief any time soon.

Most Excel tutorials hand you a sales spreadsheet from a fictional company and tell you to practice pivot tables on data you don't care about. That method of learning or coming back to Excel doesn't work for everyone. The trick to actually retaining this stuff is working with data that means something to you. If you grew up playing Pokémon, you'll know how structured the games are and how well they'd translate into real excel spreadsheet problems.

Large airports are a potential security nightmare. There are random, unfamiliar Wi-Fi networks everywhere, charging ports that could be compromised, and more people than you could ever hope to count. I'm also basically always in a rush when I'm in an airport.

Running old CD-ROM games on modern Windows isn't too hard if you know how to manage Windows' compatibility software. But what if you have a Linux desktop and don't want to leave your old Windows games behind?

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will downlink about 1.4 terabytes of data — on par with an entire gaming system hard drive — every single day. 

When Kristen McQuinn thinks about that deluge and how to get it in the hands of researchers, she likens it to another technological evolution. 

"Back in the day, we would rent movies from Blockbuster to take home," said McQuinn, who will lead science operations at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. "Later, we had DVDs mailed to us by Netflix, and today we have streaming services that bring the content right into our home."

• Play our Big Guessing Game: Make your predictions now for a chance to win a new Apple Watch. Time's running out! 

Because of Roman's firehose of huge, detailed space images, scientists won't be able to just pull them down to their laptops as they have in the past. Instead, Roman will be the first telescope to push astronomy fully into the cloud. A shared online workspace will allow people to log in from around the world. Mission leaders say this monumental shift in how observations are disseminated could also change who gets a real shot at making discoveries.

SEE ALSO: NASA's Roman telescope is built to find what Hubble and Webb miss

Roman's main camera is what makes this possible. It will see the sky with Hubble-like sharpness but with a field of view more than 100 times larger. The spacecraft will also move, settle, and start exposing pictures very quickly, so it can tile the sky about 1,000 times faster.

That speed turns into staggering numbers. In about a month, Roman could scan the plane of the Milky Way and pick out up to 20 billion stars. A single image from its largest planned survey would be so vast that you would need more than 500,000 4K televisions to show it at full resolution. Laid out on the ground, those screens would cover 45 Manhattan city blocks.

Want more science and tech news delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for Mashable's Light Speed newsletter or get Mashable push alerts today.

Across its main surveys, Roman is expected to record more than 2 billion galaxies. It will repeatedly watch the crowded center of the galaxy every few minutes, looking for tiny changes in brightness that reveal planets around distant stars. And it will capture tens of thousands of stellar explosions called supernovas and track how they brighten and fade, a key way to measure how fast the universe expands.

During test campaigns alone, the Roman team has already handled more data than the Hubble and James Webb telescopes have produced combined, said Julie McEnery, Roman's senior project scientist. Once Roman begins regular operations, it will send down thousands of fresh images daily, building a trove measured in tens of thousands of terabytes.

At that scale, the old approach breaks. A typical research group can't keep up by copying everything to local servers and running its own private software stack. 

So the mission team flipped the script. The Space Telescope Science Institute, which already supports Hubble and Webb, will receive Roman's raw signals and turn them into cleaned-up images and measurements. 

Technicians at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center install the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope's solar array sunshield. Credit: NASA / Sydney Rohde

That data will live on a secure website backed by remote computers — what most people refer to as "the cloud" — called the Roman Research Nexus. Anyone with an account and an internet connection can log in via a browser. Once inside, users can sift through Roman's giant images, zoom from the full field of view to tiny patches, and pull out particular kinds of targets — planets, galaxies, and star clusters — for closer scrutiny.

Roman's panoramic portraits of the sky will work like a cosmic version of a navigation or map app. You can see the whole scene, then scroll and zoom to a neighborhood of interest. Instead of typing "Starbucks near me," a researcher might search for "young stars here" or "galaxies at this distance," then draw a box around that part of the sky to dig in.

The system is built for teams, allowing groups to log in, share folders and notebooks, and run analyses side by side, even if members sit on opposite sides of the world. A graduate student in Chile, a professor in Baltimore, and a collaborator in India could all be able to inspect the same Roman field in real-time and test ideas together.

That design is what will lead a democratization of astronomy research, mission leaders say. Roman's data is simply too big for any one person or institute to fully mine. 

The Roman Space Telescope's torrent of data will force a new way of doing astronomy and distributing images. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

"A high school class in Kentucky can access new Roman data at the same time as a professor in Princeton," McEnery said. 

NASA already hosts citizen science projects where volunteers browse telescope images to flag unusual objects: new exoplanets, merging galaxies, dusty disks around stars. Roman's torrent of sharp, wide images could supercharge that kind of work. 

For researchers in countries without easy access to giant telescopes, Roman's cloud-based system is also a boon. They won't need to build a billion-dollar observatory to participate in cutting-edge astronomy.

Bente Eegholm, an optical engineer, inspects the primary mirror on NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Credit: NASA / Chris Gunn

Roman's scientific goals target two of the biggest unknowns: how the universe evolved and how common other worlds might be. It will track how space has expanded over time and how structures have grown, from stars to galaxies to clusters. Those measurements test a standard theory that no longer quite fits. Astronomers can infer the conditions of the early cosmos from ancient light. But recent measurements of the nearby universe don't fully match those predictions, with gaps too large to dismiss as a mere rounding error.

Roman will also push the search for planets around other stars into new territory. By staring at crowded star fields toward the center of the Milky Way and watching for brief brightenings when one star passes in front of another, it will use a natural magnifying effect called microlensing to reveal planets orbiting the foreground stars, including many types of planets that other methods rarely detect. A second instrument, a high‑contrast camera called a coronagraph, will test technology that could one day enable a future mission to take direct images of Earth‑like planets. 

In earlier eras, advances like these often depended on a small number of people who controlled prized telescope time and the hardware to process the results. Roman, if it performs as its planners hope, will mark a deliberate move away from that pattern.

"It's really about making sure that the data are not only accessible from a technical standpoint," McQuinn said, "but that anyone that wants to can dig into the data and do the analysis right away. There is no hierarchy."

Sometimes you want to laugh, sometimes you want to cry, and sometimes you want a movie so intense that you grip the arm of your couch so hard you nearly rip the upholstery off. If the Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Song Yadong UFC fight on Saturday isn't the kind of thrill you're after, these three thriller movies on Paramount+ might do the trick.

DLSS 5 isn't due for an official release until sometime later this year, but an unfinished version that slipped out with NBA 2K27 has allowed the RenoDX modding community to get it running with dozens of games.