Technology

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 preferred pace.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for March 15 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for March 15 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Free for all

The words are often used in marketing.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words are giveaways.

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 SwagBag.

Featured Video For You Strands 101: How to win NYT’s latest word game NYT Strands word list for March 15

• Tote

• Decal

• Pencil

• Shirt

• Notebook

• Lanyard

• Bottle

• SwagBag

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 today's Strands.

CRTs have been out of the mainstream for over two decades, but that doesn't mean there aren't modern games that get something a little special from being displayed by a high-voltage electron gun instead of twisty liquid crystals.

4K monitors are finally becoming more affordable, and so you may be thinking it's time to upgrade that 1440p or even 1080p display to something with way more pixels, and a much sharper image as a result.

A solar eclipse is a beautiful cosmic event in which you get to see the Sun as a ring of fire. But why exactly does a solar eclipse occur, and why is it advised never to view a solar eclipse with the naked eye? Here's everything you need to know.

Apple reportedly held an all-hands meeting with its Siri team to discuss the "embarrassing" and "ugly" delay of AI-enhanced functionality. Details from the meeting show that this AI voice assistant functionality, which has been heavily advertised through the iPhone 16 marketing campaign, may arrive even later than expected.

Star Wars fever has slowed down a bit from its heyday, but it's still a hugely popular franchise with tons of fans. Movies and TV shows are just a small part of it though—if you're a gamer and a Star Wars fan, these classic Star Wars games absolutely cannot be ignored.

T-Mobile has begun another wave of price hikes, this time hitting customers with legacy plans.

A leaked memo obtained by CNET prepared the Internet for the price hikes. (Full disclosure: CNET is owned by Ziff Davis, the same parent company as Mashable.) In the memo, T-Mobile said this week it would begin raising prices for some subscribers. John Freier, president of T-Mobile’s consumer group, noted that the price hikes were due to “rising costs over the past several years.

Subscribers who are getting hit with the price increase started receiving notifications this week that their prices were going up, as stated in the memo. Reddit user anonymousdoe5147 posted an apparent screenshot of the text message. 

“For the first time in nearly a decade, we’re making an update to the price of some of our older monthly service plans,” T-Mobile’s text reportedly read. “Starting on 4/2/2025, your phone plan will increase by $5 per line per month. You’ll keep all the benefits you currently enjoy, and your rate plan type and bill due date will remain the same.”

SEE ALSO: T-Mobile Starlink is offering free (temporary) access even if you're not a T-Mobile customer

The price hikes are the final piece of a series of  “price adjustments” that T-Mobile began last year. At the time, the carrier increased rates by either $2 or $5 per month, depending on the plan. At the time, the increases affected customers on T-Mobile’s Simple Choice Plan (released 2013), T-Mobile One Plan (released 2016), and T-Mobile’s Magenta and Magenta Max plans (released 2019 and 2021, respectively). Some T-Mobile business customers were also affected.

People on T-Mobile’s current Go5G, Go5G Plus, and Go5G Next plans, along with those with T-Mobile’s Price Lock guarantee, are unaffected.

T-Mobile justified the price increase by stating that “even with these small updates, on average, T-Mobile customers pay less.”

Which T-Mobile plans are affected?

T-Mobile hasn’t stated which plans are affected, so the overall impact remains a mystery. Based on complaints on Reddit, it seems Magenta MAX and T-Mobile ONE plans were primarily affected.

Customers were apparently directed through text to an FAQ on T-Mobile’s website. The company doesn’t list which plans are affected there either, but it does note that the carrier’s Un-contract Promise is still in effect. Thus, anyone who’s very unhappy about the rate increases has 60 days to notify T-Mobile that they’re leaving, and T-Mobile says it will pay the final month of recurring charges.

If you're a PC gamer, you're probably used to gaming on Windows 10. Later this year, though, you'll have to switch to Windows 11. Fortunately, Windows 11 includes some cool gaming features that you have to look forward to when upgrading.

Macs used to have no end of gaming options, until about the turn of the century. Since then, gaming on a Mac has been a bit of a joke at Apple's expense. However, in recent years, things have taken a turn for the better, with Apple making many moves that should result in more games coming to its platform,

There’s a special offer right now that combines Disney+ and Hulu with ads for a lower price. You can get access to both streaming services for four months for just $12, which breaks down to $3 a month.

Weekly show releases feel like a partial return to the bad old days of broadcast television, where you had to conform to someone else's schedule, or at least figure out how to program your VCR.

The good news is that the most common issues aren't severe enough to put you off hosting your own server altogether. Here are some common issues you could run into, as well as how to solve them.

The future is now, it seems, and Apple is right in the thick of it. Cupertino is reportedly working on a new feature for AirPods that would allow people to translate conversations live and in person. 

The news comes via Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Per Gurman, Apple intends to release the new feature “as part of an AirPods software upgrade due later this year.” He also notes that the feature will likely coincide with the release of iOS 19. 

It would work mostly through an app on the iPhone. In the example Gurman gave, if an English speaker was talking to a Spanish speaker, the phone would listen to the Spanish speaker, translate, and send the translation to the AirPods. The phone would then listen for the English speaker’s response, translate it, and play it out loud over the iPhone. 

SEE ALSO: iOS 19 could get a drastic new look

This is similar to how other companies do it. Google’s Pixel Buds have used a similar method for several years now, and Samsung’s Galaxy Buds lineup received the feature in 2024. Both competitors also use the method of translating over the phone and playing it over the earbuds. 

Should Apple get the translation feature up and going with the release of iOS 19, it would be the latest in a long line of rumors that iOS 19 is going to be a major release. Cupertino is reportedly working on overhauling iOS, iPadOS, and even macOS with new icons and menus, changing how apps behave, and more. Gurman wrote that iOS 19 would be “one of the most dramatic software overhauls in the company’s history.” 

While the translation feature would be in the software only, Apple is also rumored to be working on a radical new pair of AirPods that house cameras. The camera-laden AirPods would launch in 2027 if the rumors are true. Much like Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses, the camera would be mostly for looking at the user’s environment instead of photography. The AirPods would take in the visual data and use it with Apple Intelligence to process what’s going on around the user and give them better information. 

We’ll likely learn more about iOS 19 and its various features, potentially including the AirPods translation feature, at Apple’s WWDC event this summer. We may have to wait a bit longer to hear more about the camera-equipped AirPods. 

Tesla stocks are tumbling, Tesla sales are falling, and people are protesting Tesla's showroom locations — Elon Musk and his EV car company are not having a great few weeks.

Now, it seems like a production issue with Cybertruck has snuck in just in time to cap this week off.

SEE ALSO: Tesla sales are reportedly falling globally. How bad is it?

According to electric vehicle news outlet Electrek, Tesla delivery agents are reportedly telling customers that their Cybertruck deliveries are on hold due to a production issue where trims are "flying off" the truck.

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Electrek reports that Cybertruck customers awaiting their deliveries are generally kept in the dark regarding what the actual issue is. However, it appears some Tesla representatives have shared that deliveries are delayed due to an issue with the Cybertruck's "cantrail trim."

The "cantrail trim" on the Cybertruck refers to the piece consisting of the body of the vehicle located above the side door windows. This piece extends over the quarter glass, driver, and passenger side windows.

Multiple customers waiting for their Cybertruck to be delivered have shared their experience in Tesla forums. The company's delivery workers have told these customers there's currently a "containment hold" on Cybertruck deliveries. 

A "containment hold" happens when the automobile company discovers a flaw with a new vehicle and decides to pause deliveries to address the issue before it escalates to a recall. 

Cybertruck issues are far from new. Tesla has had to recall the vehicle over and over again for flaws ranging from a stuck accelerator pedal to a flawed windshield wiper to rearview display issues. In fact, one of the previous Tesla recalls had to do with a completely different piece of trim falling off the vehicle.

It's unclear exactly how long the containment hold will be or whether Tesla will have to recall Cybertrucks that have already been delivered for the eighth time. But, what is clear is that with everything else going on, this production issue couldn't have come at a worse time for Tesla and the Cybertruck.

Opus, the new film by Mark Anthony Green, draws attention to our obsession with celebrity and when it can become dangerous. Ayo Edebiri, John Malkovich, Julliette Lewis, and Stephanie Suganami dissect the fandom parasocial relationships prevalent in our society.

Opus is now in theaters.

RCS 3.0 was officially unveiled by the GSMA, an association representing mobile network operators. On the face of it, it’s fairly boring news. However, this one is special because it’ll finally fix RCS messaging between Android and iOS users. 

When Apple added RCS support to iOS 18, the company used an older version of the protocol. This caused chat messages between iPhone and Android users to be unencrypted. Fortunately, Apple has already agreed to update to the latest RCS protocol, thereby permanently fixing the issue. 

“End-to-end encryption is a powerful privacy and security technology that iMessage has supported since the beginning, and now we are pleased to have helped lead a cross industry effort to bring end-to-end encryption to the RCS Universal Profile published by the GSMA,” an Apple spokesperson told The Verge. “We will add support for end-to-end encrypted RCS messages to iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS in future software updates.”

SEE ALSO: iOS 18.3.2 is here. Everything that's new.

Google also confirmed to The Verge that it would support the new standard, making it the first time both Apple and Google did so at the same time. Google said it would work as quickly as possible to include it with Android.

The good news doesn’t stop there. RCS 3.0 also includes a handful of other useful privacy features. It’ll include end-to-end encryption (E2EE) based on the Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol. All these big, fancy words mean that text messages, images, and other file types will be encrypted before sending it over the network and can only be encrypted by the device receiving the message. In short, no one will get to see what you sent except the person receiving the message. 

Of course, you’ll need to use the proper messaging apps. In this case, it would be Apple iMessage and Google Messages. Third party texting apps typically don’t support RCS at all right now, although that may change someday.

RCS 3.0 also includes improvements that make it easier for people to engage with businesses and chatbots, a boon in an era where businesses and scammers alike are using AI chatbots.

As a word of warning, the RCS protocol hasn’t left store shelves yet, metaphorically speaking. Currently, messages between Android and iOS users remain unencrypted until both companies can get it rolled out. There isn’t yet a firm date for that rollout. 

At Snapdragon’s Beats and Bytes event at SXSW, Mashable got a first-hand look at Dell’s XPS 13, powered by the Snapdragon(R) X Elite processor. It’s one of the thinnest, lightest and smartest Dell XPSs yet, with multi-day battery life, a vibrant OLED display, and on-device AI. And with ultimate performance delivered by Snapdragon X Elite, it runs cool even while it’s working hard.

SXSW was born as a music festival, and at Beats and Bytes we also got a front-row seat as some of the best music-production apps showed off what they can do on PCs powered by Snapdragon X Series processors. Cakewalk, a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), gives you a stellar setup for making music whether you’re a professional or a beginner. Moises Live brings AI tools to live performance, adjusting your mix and levels in real time. And if you’re new to music, Melodics turns learning instruments like the piano or drums into a game, helping you improve with interactive lessons and real-time feedback.

Our recap video takes you inside the action at Beats and Bytes, giving you an exclusive look at how Snapdragon X Series processors can power your creativity.

Check out the best Amazon deals of the day as of March 14: OUR TOP PICK Garmin Forerunner 55 $149.99 (save $50) Get Deal BEST SPEAKER DEAL Sonos Era 100 $199 (save $50) Get Deal BEST SOUNDBAR DEAL Bose Smart Ultra soundbar $568.42 (save $330.58) Get Deal BEST EARBUDS DEAL Apple AirPods 4 $148.99 (save $30.01) Get Deal BEST KITCHEN DEAL De'Longhi Magnifica Evo coffee and espresso machine $499.95 (save $150) Get Deal

With another big shopping event brewing at Amazon, there's a ton of deals floating around. Top brands like Sonos, Apple, Garmin, and more have already dropped their prices in anticipation of what we can assume is the second iteration of the mega retailer's Spring Sale. Want to get a jump start on saving? We've rounded up some of our favorite deals below.

Here are our picks for the best Amazon deals of the day on March 14. If none of these are your cup of tea, be sure to check out our picks from March 12 and March 13. A few of those deals are still live, including 36% off the Sonos Ray, our favorite starter soundbar, and 30% off TurboTax Deluxe software.

Our top pick: Garmin Forerunner 55 Opens in a new window Credit: Garmin Garmin Forerunner 55 $149.99 at Amazon
$199.99 Save $50 Get Deal

Just getting into running? The Garmin Forerunner 55 is a great companion for your journey. It's beginner-friendly, but packed with features like top-notch GPS, a heart rate monitor, specialized coaching and training plans, and stats galore. It'll monitor your laps, give you GPS-based pace guidance, let you know how long to rest for based on your efforts, and suggest workouts based on your previous performance. And did we mention it'll last up to two weeks per charge? As of March 14, you can snag it on sale for $149.99 instead of $199.99, saving you 25%. That matches its best price ever.

Sonos Era 100 Opens in a new window Credit: Sonos Sonos Era 100 $199 at Amazon
$249 Save $50 Get Deal

The Sonos Era 100 replaced the Sonos One (which we loved) in 2023 and brought in a few welcome upgrades. It's a bit taller, features a refreshed top control panel with a capacitive volume control and voice assistant button, and most importantly is now able to produce stereo sound on its own (thanks to the addition of two tweeters). If you want a smart speaker that can fill your home with high-quality sound, you could certainly do worse. It's usually $249, but you can save 20% at Amazon as of March 14 and grab it for $199.

Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar Opens in a new window Credit: Bose Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar $568.42 at Amazon
$899 Save $330.58 Get Deal

The wallet-friendly Bose Smart Soundbar is fantastic, but the Smart Ultra Soundbar is even better. Our sister site PCMag (also owned by Ziff Davis) called it "a powerful one-piece soundbar that delivers big sound with plenty of spatial audio detail, and ample audio streaming features." Our only qualm is that it's typically $899. Fortunately, as of March 14, the white option is down to only $568.42 at Amazon. That's its best price ever at 37% off.

Apple AirPods 4 Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple AirPods 4 with ANC $148.99 at Amazon
$179 Save $30.01 Get Deal

With personalized spatial audio, Siri interactions, voice isolation, a surprisingly snug fit, and up to five hours of listening time with ANC (up to 30 with the charging case), the AirPods 4 are a solid daily driver if you're looking for a new set of earbuds. Mashable's Kim Gedeon gave them a glowing 4.6 out of 5 stars and as of March 14, they're on sale for only $148.99, making them a total steal. That's 17% in savings and just $10 away from their best price on record.

Read our full review of the AirPods 4.

De'Longhi Magnifica Evo Opens in a new window Credit: De'Longhi De'Longhi Magnifica Evo coffee and espresso machine $499.95 at Amazon
$649.95 Save $150.00 Get Deal

Fancy espresso machines aren't cheap, but neither is spending the time and money to head to the coffee shop daily. As of March 14, the De'Longhi Magnifica Evo is down to only $499.95 instead of the usual $649.95, making it a much more palatable purchase. This machine serves as a fully automatic espresso and coffee maker with five one-touch recipes (espresso, Americano, iced coffee, coffee, and long). It also features a built-in coffee grinder for freshness and a manual milk frother for lattes, cappuccinos, and iced coffee. It's like bringing the coffee shop home.

None of these deals catching your eye? Check out Amazon's daily deals for even more savings.

Stephen King already has a whole book that basically predicted the rise of Donald Trump (see The Dead Zone), but now he's using one of his other novels to talk about the president's recent actions.

Posting on Threads (where the horror author is now more active than X), King used his 1987 book Misery to analyse the current state of the U.S. economy.

SEE ALSO: Every single Stephen King movie adaptation, ranked

"Think of it this way," he wrote. "Paul Sheldon is the American economy. Donald Trump is his number one fan."

View on Threads

If you haven't read Misery, Paul Sheldon is the protagonist of the story. He's an author who gets rescued from a car crash — and then imprisoned — by a sadistic nurse called Annie Wilkes, who describes herself as his "number one fan".

King's analogy suggests that Trump is not only obsessed with the U.S. economy, but also — possibly through his tariffs — that he's holding it hostage, and subsequently hurting it a great deal.

SAVE $120: As of March 14, you can get the iRobot Roomba (Q0120) for just $129.99, down from $249.99, at Amazon. That's a 48% discount and $120 off the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: iRobot iRobot Roomba Robot Vacuum (Q0120) $129.99 at Amazon
$249.99 Save $120 Get Deal

If you’re a busy person and vacuuming just isn’t at the top of your priority list, investing in a robot vacuum cleaner could be the best thing you do for yourself this year. And right now, you can get a Roomba for under $200 at Amazon.

As of March 14, the iRobot Roomba (Q0120) is only $129.99, down from $249.99. That’s $120 off the list price and a 48% discount.

SEE ALSO: Best vacuum cleaners 2025, from cordless stick vacuums to robot vacuums

This model doesn’t come with a self-empty base, but it’s still a solid choice for keeping your floors clean with minimal effort on your part. With three cleaning stages that pick up dirt, dust, and hair, the Roomba's advanced sensors help it navigate around your home without missing any spots. It’s also super easy to set up — just take it out of the box and let it get to work.

The iRobot Home App lets you schedule cleanings and control your Roomba from your smartphone, so you can keep your floors tidy even when you're not home. Plus, the 120-minute run time gives you plenty of vacuuming power between charges.