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Whenever you are talking about a car, everyone wants to know how much horsepower it makes. It is a question as old as the automobile itself. Even though most people don’t understand how it is calculated or what it really means, horsepower is usually the first statistic referenced when describing a car. It is the benchmark by which all cars are measured, especially performance cars.

You might have heard mixed things about the safety of breathing the same air as your 3D printer. While the smell of melted plastic isn’t exactly pleasant, I was curious about what effects the average 3D print had on the air around me, and how it compared to my usual daily routine.

Today's Connections: Sports Edition is for people who love golf.

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. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO: 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: Golf squire

• Green: How to make a baseball

• Blue: Meccas of Southern Football

• Purple: Bears players

Here are today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

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

• Yellow: Golf Equipment

• Green: Materials in a Baseball

• Blue: SEC School Locations

• Purple: First Names of Chicago Bears

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 #523 is...

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

• Golf Equipment - CLUB, GLOVE, RANGEFINDER, TEE

• Materials in a Baseball - CORK, LEATHER, RUBBER, YARN

• SEC School Locations - ATHENS, AUBURN, LEXINGTON, OXFORD

• First Names of Chicago Bears - CAIRO, CALEB, LUTHER, ROME

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 today's Connections.

Wi-Fi 7 is an exciting standard that promises faster, smarter wireless connections. Its hallmark feature, Multi-Link Operation (MLO), lets devices use more than one frequency band at a time to reduce latency and boost throughput.

As reported by 404 Media, online service Tea App Green Flags will scrub negative posts from anonymous gossip app Tea and similar online forums where women post about negative experiences they've had with men they've dated.

According to 404 Media's interview with Tea App Green Flags' founder, simply identified as Jay, the company launched two years ago to tackle posts on the many Are We Dating the Same Guy Facebook groups. His focus has turned to Tea in the past year.

SEE ALSO: Gossip app Tea is back — but not on the App Store

"We just want to take down posts about people who are being defamed," Jay told 404 Media. “And when I say defamed, it means like, 'this guy has a small penis,' or 'this guy smells.' That doesn't fit the mission statement of what the Tea app was for, which is to warn women against people who are harmful, who are abusive, who are cheaters."

Tea App Green Flags' site claims to have removed over 2,500 posts from the Tea App for over 759 clients. Most of the service's clients are men, although Jay noted that occasionally the wives and girlfriends of men posted on the app will reach out.

Prospective Tea App Green Flags clients must provide their name, age, location, and photo to the service, as well links to specific posts targeting them. According to Tea App Green Flags' FAQs, they can only remove posts with direct references to a client. On average, the site says, a Tea App "takedown campaign" will take 21 - 30 days. The lengths of other takedowns depend on the platform.

Price-wise, it costs $1.99 to report one Tea account and up to $79.99 to report 25 of them. The company also offers "24/7 Reputation Monitoring," which costs $19.99 per month and alerts clients when they appear on Tea or Facebook.

Jay would not share the details of the takedown process with 404 Media. Tea does have a free form for takedown requests on its website, and says that it will "only reply to takedown requests submitted via the takedown portal."

Jay emphasized to 404 Media that Tea App Green Flags does not extend its services to people who have been accused of sexual assault multiple times on Tea, or who have been accused by one person using their real name and photo in a Facebook group.

"Sometimes we find along the process that there are pedophiles or people who actually did what they did, and they're very bad," Jay told 404 Media. "So we say, 'we're not doing this.' We can't take a rap for that. We're ethical. We just want to take down people who are being defamed."

Tea markets itself as presenting "dating safety tools that protect women." In July 2025, it was the target of a large-scale cyberattack that exposed thousands of user images including drivers' licenses, leaving users vulnerable to doxxing and harassment. These images were provided as verification for accounts, although the app itself is otherwise anonymous.

Jay claimed to 404 Media that Tea's anonymity "causes a cesspool of defamation," and that he would prefer if women shared their faces, even if they are speaking out against dangerous men who have done them harm.

While Tea is meant to be a women-only app, Tea App Green Flags is proof of men's infiltration of these online dating spaces. (Tea itself was founded by a man: Sean Cook.)

"I have a Tea app account. I'm a dude," Jay told 404 Media. "All my reps have Tea app accounts. They're men."

Mashable has reached out to Tea for further comment.

Excel's LAMBDA helper functions are the future, but knowing which one to pick is the real challenge. This is your go-to whistle-stop guide for matching the function to the task and building spreadsheets that finally think for themselves.

When I say "most important," I don't mean the most popular on GitHub, the most beloved by power users, or the project with the loudest community. I mean software that measurably changed the direction of computing. Tools that altered user behavior at scale, forced billion-dollar companies to respond, shifted technical standards, or redefined what people expected from their devices. Importance, in this context, isn't about vibes or nostalgia. It's about influence you can see in the market.

If your current Kindle is getting long in the tooth and you’re thinking that buying a new one is the best course of action, hold that thought until you read this. Instead of shelling out cash for a new Kindle, you can invest a few bucks in your current one and make it feel new again.

Back in the day, Android phones were a lot more daring. Companies experimented with all kinds of wild designs, features, and even pricing. Among all the phones that tried to stand out over the past decade, one captured the enthusiast fanbase like no other: the coveted OnePlus One.

The promise of open-source software sure sounds good because it tends to be powerful, community-driven tools that are completely free. It feels like a great move from the costly, restrictive subscription model that giants like Adobe force on you. However, even after months of using these tools and getting totally comfortable with them, I still miss some things Adobe offers.

We all have an old smart TV somewhere that's been replaced by a newer model, or is simply starting to show its age. But the great thing about smart TVs, compared to older television sets or other devices like smartphones, is that they tend to have a much longer lifespan.

Whether you’ve got an Android TV or Google TV streaming device, the home screen is something you see a lot. That’s exactly why it’s stuffed with recommendations and ads. I got tired of all the junk and cleaned things up with a free launcher.

Whether you have a fancy all-SSD NAS or you've turned an old PC into a makeshift backup solution, you've probably set it up, in part, to keep your files safe. But many of us, in our effort to protect our backups, forget about a much more important aspect of it all: protecting the NAS itself.

Xiaomi's Ultra line of phones has always been about one thing: Peak camera performance. The new Xiaomi 17 Ultra, launched ahead of MWC 2026 in Barcelona, pushes the boundaries once more, though it suffers from similar setbacks as its predecessors.

Note that there was no Xiaomi 16 Ultra; the company decided to skip that number and go straight from the Xiaomi 15 and 15 Ultra to Xiaomi 17 and 17 Ultra, likely to "catch up" with Apple, whose latest models also bear the number seventeen. Despite the change, the new Xiaomi phones are very much an evolution of last year's flagship models.

SEE ALSO: MWC 2026: What to expect at the world's largest phone show

On the phone side of things, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is an extremely capable Android smartphone, with a 6.9-inch, 120Hz OLED display, a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, 16GB of RAM, 512/1024GB of storage, and a 6,000mAh battery with 90W fast charging and 50W wireless charging. It comes in three colors: Black, White, and the sparkly Starlit Green (Xiaomi sent me a black unit, but the Starlit Green looks way cooler).

The 6.9-inch OLED display is excellent. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

Where the Xiaomi 17 Ultra differs from the regular Xiaomi 17, which also debuted here in Barcelona, is mainly in screen size (6.9 vs. 6.3 inches), and the camera. The Ultra's got a massive, Leica-branded camera array on the back, with a 50-megapixel main camera, a 200-megapixel telephoto camera, and a 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera, coupled with a 50-megapixel selfie camera on the front.

At 8.29mm thickness and 218 grams of weight, it's the thinnest and lightest Xiaomi Ultra phone ever. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

The 200-megapixel, 75-100mm telephoto camera gives this phone otherworldly zoom capabilities, with up to 17.2x of "optical-level zoom." I've tried it out, and was able to take usable photos at 100x zoom or more, far beyond in the distance than what my naked I could see.

Left: This is what the XIaomi 17 Ultra's telephoto camera can do. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable Right: Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

Venture that far out, and AI takes the reins quite heavy handedly, which you'll see in the way the system recreates the letters of a sign you took in the distance. Still, if you like the idea of having a camera that can take sharp photos of a flower that's a hundred yards away, this is the phone to do it with.

Left: Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable Right: The zoom on this phone is so good, it's worth providing another example. It's like having a set of binoculars. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

To add an exclamation point to the phone's camera capabilities, Xiaomi also sells two optional photography kits which consists of two different cases that turn the phone into something that really looks like a compact camera, and add a few buttons, visual details, and battery life to the mix. The smaller Xiaomi 17 Ultra Photography Kit makes more sense to me as the phone still retains somewhat normal dimensions; the two-part Xiaomi 17 Ultra Photography Kit Pro makes it a bit too big for my taste.

The photography kits look cool, but they make the phone a lot bulkier. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

The kits, as cool as they may be, illustrate the most obvious drawback of this phone: it's too much of a camera. It's top heavy, has a smaller battery than the regular Xiaomi 17, and – due to its massive camera bump on the back – doesn't support Xiaomi's wireless, magnetic battery. Don't get me wrong, this is one powerful phone, but it's primarily aimed at photography enthusiasts. Kudos to Xiaomi for making the Ultra lighter than ever, though at 218 grams it's still not exactly lightweight.

If you want your Xiaomi 17 Ultra to be a little more...Leica, there's a special version just for you, shown as a surprise announcement during Xiaomi's big unveiling in Barcelona. Called the Leica Leitzphone, it shares most of the specs with the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, but has a somewhat retro design which calls to mind classic Leica cameras, and a couple of Leica-specific photography modes.

This one is for the Leica fans. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

It also has one extra feature: The ring surrounding its camera bump can be rotated to increase or decrease zoom. I've tried it out, and it appears to be quite precise, though you do have to be careful not to place your fingers in front of the lens while shooting.

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra starts at 1,499 euros in Europe; there's no info on U.S. availability yet. The Leica Leitzphone is starting at a hefty price of 1,999 euros, and it will be available in select markets and locations.

If you’re thinking of spinning up a Plex library, let me save you a few headaches. I’ve been running my own media server for the better part of a decade, and, over the years, I’ve learned a lot of things that you shouldn’t do.

In terms of a private media server, Plex is one of the best options on the market. Many users enjoy using Plex to store their personal media, including movies and television shows, in one spot. In addition to its storage opportunities, Plex offers plenty of free content thanks to its ad-supported streaming television.

For many people, smart light bulbs are their first introduction to the world of smart home tech. They're simple to set up and use, but there's a lot more you can do with smart bulbs than just lighting your home.

This was another busy week in tech news, with Samsung finally revealing the Galaxy S26 series, Android 17's second beta release, big updates for Home Assistant and Excel, and much more. Here are the biggest stories you might have missed.

FREE BOOKS: The latest Stuff Your Kindle Day takes place on Feb. 28. Indulge in the Darkness, hosted by The Book Club Fest, is offering free dark romance books for your e-reader.

Another Stuff Your Kindle Day is dropping, merely days after the Sapphic Shelf Explosion. We're certainly not complaining. It's very much a case of "the more the merrier" with Stuff Your Kindle Day. We're always greedy for more.

Indulge in the Darkness, hosted by The Book Club Fest, is offering participants the chance to download dark romance books without spending anything. Everything that you download is yours to keep forever, so there's no need to hold back. Dive into the world of dark romance with this limited-time event.

SEE ALSO: I tested the best Kindles to help you find the perfect e-reader

Looking to make the most of the latest Stuff Your Kindle Day? We've lined up everything you need to know about this popular event.

When is Stuff Your Kindle Day?

Indulge in the Darkness takes place on Feb. 28. This free giveaway only runs for 24 hours, so you'll need to act quickly to pick up all the titles on your list.

Which ebooks are free?

Indulge in the Darkness offers free dark romance books from a number of sub-genres. Fortunately, The Book Club Fest has created a helpful hub page with links to everything on offer:

• Contemporary

• Poly/Why Choose/Reverse Harem

• Paranormal/Sci-Fi/Fantasy

• MM or FF

Anyone can participate in Stuff Your Kindle Day. Kindle and Kobo readers can download these dark romance books for free.

Is Stuff Your Kindle Day the same as Amazon Kindle Unlimited?

Everything you download on Stuff Your Kindle Day is yours to keep, and there's no limit on the number of books you can download. Stuff Your Kindle Day downloads don't count towards the 20 books that Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscribers can borrow at the same time.

The best Stuff Your Kindle Day deal Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Kindle (16GB) + Kindle Unlimited (3 Months) $109.99 at Amazon
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These popular e-readers let you take your entire library on the go. With weeks of battery life and an anti-glare display, you can read anywhere and anytime with the Kindle. Plus, you can get three months of Kindle Unlimited for free with your purchase.

Are you sick and tired of being used as a pawn in a never-ending data mining race? Instead of putting your data in the cloud where random companies can profit from it, you really need to take control of your own data. There’s only one way to enjoy privacy in the cloud era—own your own data.