Mashable

The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.

With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.

So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player's flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections — we have you covered.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections today: See hints and answers for January 28 SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Here's the answer and hints for January 28

Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024:

AcrossStunt bike sport, for short

• The answer is BMX.

Title with an apostrophe directly in the middle

• The answer is Ma'am.

"___ Karenina" (Tolstoy novel)

• The answer is Anna.

Fluffy Indian bread

• The answer is Naan.

Stay right there!

• The answer is Inn.

Battery for a TV remote

• The answer is AAA.

DownFruit depicted by the circled letters

• The answer is Banana.

Spanish for "tomorrow"

• The answer is Manana.

Marvel Comics mutant

• The answer is X-Man.

Craze

• The answer is Mania.

When I set out to review Corsair’s Xeneon Flex, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’ve used curved monitors before, but the ability to transition from flat to flex and back? That had me intrigued, but — as someone who is relatively new to the world of external monitors — I wasn’t convinced that the novelty of having a monitor that could flex to an 800r radius would make the $1,999 price tag worth it. 

First impressions of the Corsair Xeneon Flex 

Straight away, this monitor blew me away. I expected to hook it up, play with the curve a bit, run a couple of videos through it, and try pushing the frame rate. But when I plugged it into my gaming PC for the first time and saw the panel light up, I was completely floored.

Look at that curve. Credit: RJ Andersen / Mashable

For context, I’ve seen a lot of good-looking 4K OLED displays in the past, but the Xeneon Flex boasts an unreal 1.5M to 1 contrast ratio. I’ve never seen anything like it in person, and the colors are so incredibly vibrant that pairing it with the ultra-wide 4K resolution almost plays tricks on your brain. When the image is still, the Xeneon Flex stops reading “monitor” to me and instead reads “high-quality print” due to the cleanliness of the lines, the vibrancy of the colors, and the high pixel density. When the video begins again, my brain almost takes a second to recalibrate, making the entire thing a phenomenal experience. 

What I love about the Corsair Xeneon Flex monitor

There’s so much to love about Corsair’s Xeneon Flex. In person, these colors are unlike any monitor I’ve seen before. They are vibrant, they are accurate, and they have an extremely deep contrast ratio. I could definitely see folks doing design work or editing videos professionally on a monitor like this, but I’d almost be worried that reality would pale in comparison. 

Games look incredible wether the monitor is curved or flat. Credit: RJ Andersen / Mashable

The 240 Hz refresh rate creates a buttery smooth experience, so much so that I even had trouble pushing my gaming rig this hard — even on my Nvidia RTX 3090. For games that require fast reaction times, this monitor should never be a bottleneck.

Plus, the 45-inch wraparound curve puts you inside your favorite games, but snapping it back to its flat orientation gives you an attractive, minimal monitor that’s great for viewing movies in 4K. I loved locking the monitor into its 800r curved orientation to play through a few video games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Hitman 3, both beautiful games, but this monitor took those visuals to a new level. 

This monitor looks sleek and the 45-inch screen is insanely impressive. Credit: RJ Andersen / Mashable What I don’t love about this monitor

Honestly, there’s not much I can criticize here. Curving this monitor for the first time was stressful, and every instinct in my body screamed, “No, don’t break the expensive monitor!” However, once I figured out the right amount of force needed — and that adding a hand to the base to stabilize helps make flexing the monitor easier — that became a non-issue. 

I will say that the default color profile on the Flex is odd. It’s too cool and everything has a bluish hue to it. However, when I pulled up the image settings and just reset the RGB values to 100 (the raw, full panel power) the image was great. It surprised me but the panel itself was perfectly tuned out of the box, and I’m unsure why Corsair felt the need to change this.

Is it worth the price?

It’s impossible for me to recommend a monitor this expensive for the average consumer, so if you’re just watching movies, casually gaming, or checking emails, you’ll probably want to skip this one and opt for something with a lower price tag and a less intense refresh rate.

That being said, if you’re a hardcore monitor enthusiast — or a gamer who really values a perfect, vibrant, and insanely gorgeous display — Corsair’s Xeneon Flex is the full package, so much so that I’m currently trying to figure out how to save up for one myself.

TL;DR: As of Jan. 28, this kitchen sink bottle and glass washer is on sale for only $19.99 instead of $24.99. That's a savings of 20%.

Most of us have been to a bar and spotted the handy little way they quickly wash glasses by the sink. If you've ever been jealous of how easy and convenient it was for a bartender or service industry pro to clean a glass, you are in luck. This Kitchen Sink Bottle and Glass Washer is on sale for just $19.99 (reg. $24.99).

Made from ABS and copper, you simply place the glass, bottle, or cup you want to wash face-down, apply light pressure, and the water flows. Because the water sprays from multiple angles, you should get a quick, thorough rinse every time. It's a good option for kitchen sinks, home bars, coffee bars, and more. 

The Kitchen Sink Bottle and Glass Washer can accommodate cups 3.53 inches or less. Set it up and have it ready to help for your next big gathering. It could be a super valuable way to speed up clean-up time after a big holiday feast with the extended family.

This sink-side washer has a compact and space-saving design. It can neatly fit on the corner of your sink, utilizing the typically unused space and keeping your countertop clutter-free. The thoughtful design ensures that even kitchens with limited space can benefit from the efficiency of this cup washer.

And the installation is made to be easy. If you want to cut down on the time it takes to wash and rinse your cups and glassware, this is a user-friendly way to do so. 

Grab this Kitchen Sink Bottle and Glass Washer while it's on sale for just $19.99 (reg. $24.99).

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Opens in a new window Credit: UGR Tech Kitchen Sink Bottle and Glass Washer $19.99 at the Mashable Shop Get Deal

TL;DR: Optimize your workspace with this laptop stand that doubles as a USB hub, on sale for just $101.99 instead of $129 as of Jan. 28. That's a savings of 20%.

This year, you may want to be nicer to your neck, shoulders, and back. Hunching over your computer for extended periods isn't doing them any favors. A laptop stand is a simple solution for optimizing your workspace, so you can have your screen at eye level and work more comfortably, even on days you have to pull long hours.

The 6-in-1 CASA HUB Stand Pro, however, raises the stakes when it comes to laptop stands. It's not merely a stand; it also functions as a hub with multiple ports for connecting many of your accessories and peripherals. You can grab it on sale for over $25 off for a limited time.

CASA is designed not only to minimize your desk clutter but also to help make working more comfortable. It features a 360-degree rotatable base and an adjustable angle, allowing you to tweak the laptop's height as needed. It caters to all MacBook and iPad models, and with its anti-slip grip, your device can enjoy stability and safety while mounted.

Behind the stand is a detachable USB hub, which packs a range of ports, including a USB-C host, a USB-C PD port, an HDMI port that supports 4K video, two USB-A ports, and an RJ45 port for LAN connections. You have the option to retain its place behind the stand, or you can detach it and use it independently.

The CASA also boasts generous heat dissipation and a robust load-bearing mechanism for improved device protection. Thanks to its all-aluminum design and silicone rubber pads, it also offers enhanced durability.

Formerly retailing for $129, you can grab this versatile laptop stand on sale for only $101.99 — a savings of $27.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Opens in a new window Credit: Adam Elements 6-in-1 Casa Hub Stand Pro $101.99 at the Mashable Shop Get Deal

TL;DR: As of Jan. 28, you can get the portable Blackout Buddy Carbon Monoxide Alarm with an emergency flashlight for just $44.99 instead of $64.99 — that's a savings of 30%.

Whether you live in a huge estate, a studio apartment, or are even renting an Airbnb or vacation home, safety should be a priority in any home. This includes keeping essentials like fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, and carbon monoxide alarms on hand. The Blackout Buddy is a carbon monoxide alarm with a built-in emergency flashlight, and it's on sale for just $44.99 (reg. $64) for a limited time.

The Blackout Buddy is designed so that you'll be quickly notified if there is carbon monoxide in the air. Certain things in a home could make you more susceptible to a carbon monoxide leak, such as a wood-burning fireplace or gas appliances. Another way a home may have carbon monoxide build-up is through small motors like those on generators that many people run during power outages.

Luckily, the detection technology is out there to help keep you and your loved ones safe. The Blackout Buddy features a large display that shows you the current levels of CO in the air so you can act swiftly in case of a leak. It also has a built-in emergency flashlight that you can use in a blackout or other emergency situation.

Made to be used two different ways, you can plug it into a wall outlet (on the lower part of the wall) and use two AA batteries as backup in case of a power outage. It also creates an audible and flashing light alarm to help ensure users are alerted quickly and efficiently. And since it's on the smaller side, it can easily be packed up into your bag to take with you to a hotel or rental home.

Don't miss this chance to save 30% on this valuable tool.

Get the portable Blackout Buddy Carbon Monoxide Alarm with an emergency flashlight for just $44.99 (reg. $64).

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Opens in a new window Credit: Eton Blackout Buddy Carbon Monoxide Alarm with Emergency Flashlight $44.99 at the Mashable Shop Get Deal

TL;DR: As of Jan. 28, score a refurbished MacBook Pro (Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) for only $439.99 instead of the original $1,099 — that's 59% in savings.

If you're keen on buying a new MacBook, remember that the Apple Store isn't your only option. While Apple has a slate of MacBooks to cater to every need and budget, there are other ways to score their laptops at a deep bargain. If you don't mind making do with an older model, buying a refurbished unit can help you save big.

And by big, we mean over $600 in savings 'big'. This refurbished 13-inch MacBook Pro from 2015 is on sale for only a little over $400, and while it's not the latest and the greatest, it still offers the classic Apple experience, but at a fraction of the cost.

It boasts a 13.3-inch Retina display with a 2560x1600 resolution, allowing you to game, browse, and stream in stunning quality — even in direct sunlight. It's powered by an Intel Core i5 processor bolstered by Intel Turbo Boost technology, meaning you can execute heavy multitasking and enjoy extra power when you need it. Its 8GB RAM works to ensure that you have enough memory to run the apps you need to be productive, while its 256GB storage provides the necessary digital real estate for housing all your essential files and media. Feel free to run power-intensive programs like video editing software and graphic-heavy games, and expect the machine to run without a hitch.

With the computer's 74.9Whr Li-po battery, you can potentially enjoy up to 12 hours of surfing and video playback on a single charge. You can also connect to the internet virtually anywhere with the Wi-Fi feature, and pair various accessories and peripherals with Bluetooth 4.0.

Get your hands on this new-to-you MacBook Pro at a deep discount for a limited time. It usually retails for $1099, but you can grab it on sale for $439.99 — no coupon necessary.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Refurbished MacBook Pro (Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) $439.99 at the Mashable Shop Get Deal

TL;DR: As of January 28, get The 2024 Intro to Coding & Development Bundle for only $39 — a 92% discount.

Are you looking to make a career move into IT? Is building apps and games something that interests you? If either of those is a yes, this online learning bundle could be a great starting point to get you there. It also doesn't hurt that this Intro to Coding and Development bundle is on sale for just $39 (reg. $499).

This bundle is designed for beginners, giving those new to the coding and development game a quality education on some of the world's most in-demand, popular languages. With 20 courses led by the professionals at Zenva Academy, you'll learn the ins and outs from the beginning. You'll dig into C++, Swift, Java, Python, Kotlin, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript while getting educated on the fundamentals.

Build apps, games, and websites that can be included in your portfolio. Comprehensive hands-on applications will help test your skills and knowledge and give you confidence. Enjoy experiences like creating your first HTML file, setting up ChatGPT projects, managing databases, structuring an app, and creating a simple app using Java and XML.

Mastering this beginner-friendly bundle will allow you to add in-demand tech skills to your resume to land that new job or make a career switch. 

You can use the course material on desktop or mobile devices and have lifetime access. Closed captions are available. It's also good to know that updates are included.

This small investment is a key to a lifetime of learning and a pathway into the world of IT.

Pick up this Intro to Coding and Development bundle while it's on sale for just $39 (reg. $499).

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Opens in a new window Credit: ZENVA The 2024 Intro to Coding & Development Bundle $39 at the Mashable Shop Get Deal

A total solar eclipse will be on display over a swath of North America on April 8, allowing an estimated 31 million people a chance to step outside and see the sun's corona in space.

Experts have put together maps that show the so-called "path of totality," where the moon's shadow will cross the continent. For people watching from their backyards in that corridor, they'll have the unusual opportunity to remove protective eclipse glasses for up to 4.5 minutes during totality, when the sun is 100 percent concealed behind the moon.

But we're not all cartographers. If reading a map isn't your bag, bookmark this guide. Eclipse calculators, like the ones provided below, can help determine whether your location will be in the moon's shadow. If it's not, you'll at least know how much of the sun the moon will block from your vantage point. Everywhere else in the U.S. mainland, from coast to coast, will get a partial eclipse, meaning some portion of the sun will be exposed, said Michael Zeiler, a geographer and co-founder of Great American Eclipse, a resource for solar eclipses around the world.

"For the people who are in the partial eclipse that can't get to the total solar eclipse, they can still see some interesting things," he told Mashable. "One of the most interesting things they can see is the shadow projections from tree leaves because the gaps between leaves in a tree can form these shadows on the ground that are very striking."

SEE ALSO: How the 2024 solar eclipse will be different from the last Tweet may have been deleted

Eclipse calculators can search for past or future eclipses from any specific location. They can also sometimes offer details about how the solar eclipse will display from that particular place, according to the American Astronomical Society. These results come in the form of a table or map.

U.S. Naval Observatory eclipse calculator for April 8

Like many eclipse calculators available on the internet, the U.S. Naval Observatory's tool asks for a location's latitude and longitude to compute the eclipse's local circumstances. But if that's not information you happen to have off the top of your head, a button to the right, "Need USA Location?," enters the coordinates automatically when a city and state are selected.

After clicking the "Get Data" button below the form, the calculator provides a table of information, including the time the eclipse starts, peaks, and ends (in UTC, or universal coordinated time). It also gives the duration of the eclipse and the maximum percentage of the sun that will be blocked as the moon passes in front of it.

Time and Date eclipse calculator for April 8

The Time and Date calculator is perhaps more user-friendly, providing this same information for specific locations. By selecting the "local timings and animations" link, the site offers a diagram of the peak view from your city, as well as an animation of what the eclipse will look like, with stages outlined in a table below it. All times are presented in the location's own time zone.

Remember that unless you are viewing the eclipse from the path of totality, where the moon entirely blocks the sun, you must not remove protective eclipse eyewear. Looking directly at the sun, even if it's just a sliver, could result in permanent vision impairment.

When the sun is completely concealed, people have the unusual chance to observe the sun's corona glowing around the edges of the moon. The corona, the outer layer of the sun's atmosphere, is normally washed out by the much brighter solar surface.

"For the people who are in the partial eclipse that can't get to the total solar eclipse, they can still see some interesting things."

Generally speaking, the moon is expected to first cast its shadow on Mexico's Pacific coast. The corridor of the moon's shadow will arc from Texas to Maine, entering Canada through Ontario and exiting the Atlantic coast from Newfoundland. Major U.S. cities that will get to experience the event as a total solar eclipse include Dallas, Indianapolis, and Cleveland.

A colander projects eclipse shapes onto a sidewalk. Credit: Joy Ng / NASA

For everyone in the partial eclipse's range, Zeiler recommends bringing a colander or cheese grater outside to project eclipse shapes onto a sidewalk or a piece of white paper. NASA has other ideas for how to make eclipse projectors from household supplies.

But Kelly Korreck, a heliophysicist and the U.S. space agency's 2024 eclipse program manager, thinks if you're not in the path of totality, you're missing out on the best part: the corona. And overall, the event is a whole-body experience, she told Mashable.

"I would definitely encourage, if at all possible, to get to totality to see it," she said. "Even when you blot out 97, 99 percent of the sun, it looks eerie, but it's still like an overcast day. It's not quite the same as the darkness that you get when the sun is completely gone."

Connections is the latest New York Times word game 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 January 28's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

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.

Tweet may have been deleted

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.

Tweet may have been deleted

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.

Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

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

• Blue - Trophies for a robot, a cat, a mannequin and a young girl

• Green - Babysit

• Yellow - Ow

• Purple - Dubya not talking

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

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

• Blue - NOT BIG

• Green - IMPORTANT FOR TEXTING

• Yellow - GOING UP

• Purple - EVERYTHING YOU NEED EXCEPT A DICTIONARY

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 Connections #231 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Blue - MODIFIERS MEANING "SMALL" - BABY, MINI, POCKET, TOY

• Green - "CAN I GET YOUR ____" (PHONE INFO REQUEST) - CELL, CONTACT, DIGITS, NUMBER

• Yellow - HIGHEST POINT - CREST, PEAK, SUMMIT, VERTEX

• Purple - INSIDE A SCRABBLE BOX - BAG, BOARD, RACKS, TILES

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.

Is this not the Connections game you were looking for? Here are the hints and answers to yesterday's Connections.

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

If you just want to be told today's word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for Jan. 28's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

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.

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

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 used to be available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it. Unfortunately, it has since been taken down, with the website's creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times.

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.

Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

Burning.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

The letter E appears twice.

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

Today's Wordle starts with the letter E.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. What's the answer to Wordle today?

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 Wordle #953 is...

EMBER.

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.

Reporting by Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

TL;DR: A lifetime subscription to Rosetta Stone (All Languages) is on sale for £148.84, saving you 52% on list price.

The ability to communicate in multiple languages is more than just a skill; it's a valuable asset with far-reaching benefits. And this deal on all-language access to Rosetta Stone for life gives you access to all 25 languages for just £148.84.

Learning a new language comes with benefits like allowing you to communicate with others while travelling and much more. According to Cambridge University Press and Assessment, learning a new language later in life is "a powerful way to exercise your brain," partly because you are "forming new connections in the brain and strengthening nervous system links." 

SEE ALSO: This well-rounded skills learning bundle is on sale for under £100

Rosetta Stone has been a leader in language learning for nearly 30 years and has been used by names like NASA and Calvin Klein. Rosetta helps you develop your understanding of each language through reading, writing, and speaking. It does this through interactive software and TruAccent, its speech-recognition technology, that analyses the words you say to perfect your pronunciation.

You'll start out matching words with images and basic conversational skills about things like shopping, ordering at a restaurant, and more. You can then level up to more complex topics like sharing opinions and discussing pop culture, which could come in handy while travelling abroad.

This software works on various types of devices, including PCs, Macs, tablets, and mobile devices. However, customers can only access one language at a time, but can switch between them at any time. 

This beloved language-learning software can help you build fluency and confidence in your choice of 25 languages. If you've been wanting to learn a new language, this could be a great time to start.

Get a lifetime subscription to Rosetta Stone's 25 languages for £148.84.

Opens in a new window Credit: Rosetta Stone Rosetta Stone: All Languages (Lifetime Subscription) £148.84 at the Mashable Shop Get Deal

Pornographic deepfakes of Taylor Swift went viral on X (formerly Twitter) this week, highlighting the dangers of AI-generated imagery online.

Synthetic or manipulated media that may deceive people isn't allowed on X, according to its policy, and the platform's safety team posted on Friday that it's "actively removing all identified images and taking appropriate actions against the accounts responsible for posting them."

SEE ALSO: The era of the AI-generated internet is already here

By Saturday, users noticed that X attempted to curb the problem by blocking "Taylor Swift" from being searched — but not certain related terms, The Verge reported.

X blocks Taylor Swift's name from Search. Credit: Screenshot: X

Mashable was also able to produce the error page for the terms "Taylor Swift AI" and "Taylor AI." The terms "Swift AI," "Taylor AI Swift," and "Taylor Swift deepfake" are searchable on the platform, though, with manipulated images still displayed on the "Media" tab.

As Mashable culture reporter Meera Navlakha pointed out in an article about the deepfakes of Swift, major social media platforms are struggling to contain AI-generated content. This is due to the speed and access of creating these images, causing social platforms like X to be inundated with them in recent months. Making Swift's name unsearchable suggests that X doesn't know how to handle the array of deepfake imagery and video on its platform.

On Friday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the situation "alarming." She also commented that there should be legislation about it, hinting that the issue of AI image moderation may soon be seen in Congress.

With mainstream artificial intelligence tools on the rise at the cusp of the 2024 U.S. presidential election, AI-generated disinformation isn't just a fear — it's already a reality. On January 22, the New Hampshire Department of Justice released a statement that people received a recorded audio deepfake of Joe Biden, telling them not to vote in the state primary election. The call encouraged voters to "save" their vote, noting falsely that, "your vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday."

Days later, AI startup ElevenLabs suspended the creator of the fake Biden audio, Bloomberg reported.

SEE ALSO: Deepfakes of Taylor Swift have gone viral. How does this keep happening?

ElevenLabs is an AI voice generator that is run by a model that, according to its website, can add human-like inflection to a voice based on context. The generator has thousands of pre-made AI voices to choose from, or you can create a custom one. Bloomberg reported that voice-fraud detection company Pindrop Security Inc. found that the AI Biden robocall was made using ElevenLabs.

"We are dedicated to preventing the misuse of audio AI tools and take any incidents of misuse extremely seriously," ElevenLabs told Bloomberg. ElevenLabs' website states that deepfakes of politicians can be used only in certain cases, including caricature, parody, or satire. Once the company was made aware of the Biden deepfake, it investigated and suspended the account responsible, a source told Bloomberg.

In an interview with The Hill, computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University Kathleen Carley said the Biden robocall is "the tip of the iceberg" in terms of attempts to suppress voters. Carley added that it's a harbinger of what could come.

ChatGPT developer OpenAI is already trying to quell misinformation itself, releasing plans to protect the integrity of the election. Soon after, the company suspended a developer who made a bot for a long-shot democratic candidate.

As such, we must be vigilant in what we see — and hear — this election season. As Mashable tech reporter Cecily Mauran warned, "The idea of an internet dominated by AI-generated content is already happening and it doesn't look good."

There is an ongoing national nightmare and not enough people are talking about it. Big Bird is now small. Tiny, even. I repeat: Big Bird is small. The horror.

How did this begin? We do not fully know. But Big Bird, seemingly out of nowhere, posted on X (formerly Twitter) that he was small — as if he woke up that way one day. Suddenly, his 8'2" frame shrunk to insect size. And we're just supposed to go on living our lives? In this changed world?

This was the initial post, from Wednesday.

Tweet may have been deleted

From there, the account for Big Bird has posted repeatedly about being small. And being stuck in his new, tiny size.

Big Bird seemed to grapple with his very identity. Frankly, the posts feel like cosmic horror.

Tweet may have been deleted

Has his new size rendered him invisible to his loved ones? Has our beloved giant bird been condemned to a life haunting what once was?

Tweet may have been deleted

Your screams will fall on deaf ears, bird. There will be no playing any longer.

Tweet may have been deleted

OK, so clearly, this is some sort of marketing stunt. To what end is unclear. But it has worked. The internet has been joking about Big Bird's shrunkenness.

This article, for instance, has negated some folks' worries.

Tweet may have been deleted

Others joked about how stressed they were.

Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted

I don't know if this makes me a bad person but this joke made me laugh very hard.

Tweet may have been deleted

This one, too.

Tweet may have been deleted

And all of these.

Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted

As of this writing this dire situation has not been remedied. Big Bird remains small, as far as we know. The horror continues unabated. But perhaps soon he will return to his full size and all will be right with the world.

SAVE $10: The digital version of Wingspan, a beautiful strategy game centered around birds, is on sale for just $9.99 on the Nintendo Store. That's a 50% discount.

Opens in a new window Credit: Wingspan 'Wingspan' $9.99 at Nintendo (save $10) Get Deal

If you love the outdoors and spotting wild animals, but don't love the temperatures outside, we give you full permission to stay inside. And there's a great gaming deal today that lets you get cozy and the couch and learn more about our avian friends.

As of Jan. 27, the digital version of the gorgeous strategy game Wingspan is on sale for just $9.99 on the Nintendo Store, down from $19.99. That's a 50% discount for an engine-building game that will delight the whole family.

SEE ALSO: Get the lastest 'Lego Star Wars' game for cheap, plus more of the best gaming deals this week

Wingspan was originally a board game that won the prestigious Kennerspiel des Jahres board game award back in 2019. Now it's available as a video game that explores the traits of 170 wild birds as you compete as a bird watcher, ornithologist, or collector to attract the best birds to your nature preserves.

Don't worry, you don't have to know a lot about birds to play — their traits are written on cards with lovely illustrations, and as you gather birds you'll gain skills to lay eggs, draw cards, or gather food, just like the real birds you're "collecting." You also get to hear recordings of the birds' songs and calls as you play. Up to five players can enjoy this relaxing game perfect for birdwatchers and nature lovers, or you can play solo.

Elon Musk's X, formerly known as Twitter, is going to begin integrating sports gambling. That doesn't mean you'll be placing bets on the app, though.

X is set to display gambling stats via a partnership with BetMGM, Fortune reported. Details on the deal were scarce, but according to Fortune, X will display betting info via MGM's sports betting division and then provide a link to the gambling platform.

As the sports blog Awful Announcing pointed out, MGM is the third-most-popular sports gambling app — behind DraftKings and FanDuel — and already has big partnerships with platforms like Yahoo and the baseball YouTube show Foul Territory. This potential partnership between X and MGM comes at a time when pretty much every sports media platform is saturated with gambling content amid its widespread legalization. In some ways, it does make sense that X would partner with a gambling platform because fans still use the app to chat about sports.

However, it is curious to see MGM tie itself to X when most brands are decoupling with Musk's site like it's going out of style. Giant corporations like Apple and Disney have ditched X after the new owner shared antisemitic conspiracy theories.

So, while we don't really know how it's going to look or when it's coming, one major brand might soon be a lot more prominent on the site.

It's that time of year again — tax season. File your taxes like a pro with 2024 tax software from Turbotax and H&R Block for up to half off.

Overview Best for self-employed people TurboTax Home & Business 2023 Tax Software, Federal & State $75.99 (save $44) Get Deal Best for homeowners TurboTax Deluxe 2023 Tax Software, Federal & State $44.99 (save $25) Get Deal Best for investors TurboTax Premier 2023 Tax Software, Federal & State $64.99 (save $39.99) Get Deal

We're just 10 weeks away from Tax Day on April 15 — but who's counting? This year is going to be your year to file stress-free and get your maximum refund because you'll have the advantage of tax software on your side. Make those dreams of filing early finally happen and buy a deal on 2023 tax software today, before prices go up as the months tick on.

We've gathered the best deals on tax software from Turbotax and H&R Block that are meant to shepherd homeowners, investors, the self-employed, and even those who just want something basic to give them a hand. Check out the best deals on tax software as of Jan. 27 below.

Best tax software deal for self-employed people Opens in a new window Credit: Turbotax Our pick: TurboTax Home & Business 2023 Tax Software, Federal & State $75.99 at Amazon (save $44) Get Deal Why we like it

When you're self-employed you wear dozens of hats to keep your business running. Outsource your taxes to this software meant to help out contractors, freelancers, small business owners, and others who are doing it for themselves. The software will help you find write-offs and reductions that are specific to your industry as well as create and e-file W-2s and 1099s for employees & contractors. This deal includes five federal e-files and one state file.

Best tax software deal for homeowners Opens in a new window Credit: Turbotax TurboTax Deluxe 2023 Tax Software, Federal & State $44.99 at Amazon (save $25) Get Deal Why we like it

Taxes can get more complicated when you own a home or have high medical expenses. This software can help you navigate both of those financial situations, as well as reporting charitable donations. It helps you identify more than 350 deductions and credits so you can rest assured you're getting your max refund. This deal includes five federal e-files and one state file.

Best tax software deal for investors Opens in a new window Credit: Turbotax TurboTax Premier 2023 Tax Software, Federal & State $64.99 at Amazon (save $39.99) Get Deal Why we like it

Whether you trade stocks, buy bonds, or even own a rental property, there's a whole lot of tax minutiae that comes along with investments. This tax software will digitally hold your hand as you wade through reporting your stocks, bonds, ESPPs, and any money you may have inherited through a trust (lucky you!). The goal is to keep more of your hard-earned money, and this deal will help you do so. It includes five federal e-files and one state file.

More tax software deals

• H&R Block Tax Software Deluxe + State 2023 with Refund Bonus Offer — $24.99 $49.99 (save $24.99)

The Ingenuity helicopter is too damaged to ever fly again. Yet before its final flight, NASA's historic Mars craft captured a sprawling view of the Martian desert.

In the aftermath of a "rough" landing during its 72nd flight, the small experimental chopper was left with at least one severely broken rotor, a tip potentially snapped off after crashing into the rocky ground. Yet on one of Ingenuity's final flights, flight 70, the NASA craft took in the scene you see below.

It's a vista of sprawling sand dunes. In the distance are rock-strewn ridges and mountains. And in the upper left corner you can spot the end of a helicopter leg.

SEE ALSO: NASA spacecraft keeps on going faster and faster and faster NASA's Ingenuity helicopter flying over smooth terrain in December 2023. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / ASU / MSSS

Ingenuity snapped this image from some 39 feet (12 meters) above the ground on Dec. 22, 2023. Its final flight would be less than a month later.

It turns out those picturesque, flowing Martian dunes were likely the cause of Ingenuity's demise. The helicopter navigated by using software to track the movement of objects, like rocks, below. But the sandy terrain was largely "featureless," the space agency explained.

"The more featureless the terrain is, the harder it is for Ingenuity to successfully navigate across it," NASA said in a statement. "The team believes that the relatively featureless terrain in this region was likely the root cause of the anomalous landing."

"That remarkable helicopter flew higher and farther than we ever imagined"

Still, the Ingenuity mission vastly overachieved over nearly three years of extraterrestrial flight. It became the first craft to ever make a powered, controlled flight on another planet. NASA engineers initially hoped the demonstration craft, with four-foot-long rotors, might prove flight was possible on Mars, perhaps flying five times. But it flew 72 times.

It was a scout. And a planetary explorer. The future exploration of Mars — and search for past Martian life — will almost certainly involve future aerial craft, and have Ingenuity to thank. After all, this persevering craft proved that flight on Mars, a world with a profoundly thin atmosphere, was possible.

"That remarkable helicopter flew higher and farther than we ever imagined and helped NASA do what we do best — make the impossible, possible," NASA administrator Bill Nelson said when announcing that Ingenuity had taken its final flight.

NASA is headed to Jupiter's fascinating moon Europa this year. Scientists suspect a deep ocean sloshes beneath the icy world's crust.

The looming mission, called Europa Clipper, will launch in October, sending a spacecraft the length of a basketball court to make around 50 flybys by the distant Jovian moon, assessing whether it could harbor conditions suitable for life. It won't, however, land on the ice crust.

Yet the space agency is already preparing an ambitious follow-up mission, aptly named Europa Lander, that will touch down on the moon's surface and dig or drill into the ice. "In this mission concept, a spacecraft would land on Europa and collect and study samples from about 4 inches (10 centimeters) beneath the surface, looking for signs of life," NASA explains.

SEE ALSO: NASA will land daring spacecraft on a world 800 million miles away

The agency recently released images of the mission's unique landing gear, whose legs can absorb a heavy spacecraft's landing. Taken together, the lander's metal appendages make the craft look spider-like. Engineers are preparing to test these legs on a platform that will mimic a landing on Europa.

Below, you can see NASA staff working on this critical landing gear at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory — the same lab that designed and built missions like the Jupiter-orbiting Juno probe, the legendary Voyager spacecraft, and the Mars Perseverance rover.

An engineer testing the Europa Lander's landing gear. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech The Europa Lander testbed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech NASA engineers working on the craft's landing system. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech

The craft will need a robust landing system. It will carry instruments that will dig some four inches into Europa's ice. "This is a depth at which the complex chemistry of materials from the ocean below would be protected from the damaging radiation that exists in space around Jupiter," NASA explained. It will also have a "miniature laboratory" aboard, which will look for signs of life, among other instruments.

For now, the Europa Lander technically remains just a "proposal." But engineers are preparing for its reality. First, though, the Europa Clipper will scour the intriguing Europan surface. After traveling hundreds of millions of miles away, the orbiting probe will arrive at the icy destination in 2030.

This isn't a conspiracy theory or future prophecy. The idea of an internet dominated by AI-generated content is already happening and it doesn't look good.

Ever since ChatGPT hit the market, AI-generated content has been steadily seeping into the internet. Artificial intelligence has been around for decades. But the consumer-facing ChatGPT has pushed AI into the mainstream, creating unprecedented accessibility to advanced AI models and demand that businesses are eager to capitalize on.

As a result, companies and users alike are leveraging generative AI to crank out high volumes of content. While the initial concern is the abundance of content containing inaccuracies, gibberish, and misinformation, the long-term effect is complete degradation of web content into useless garbage. 

SEE ALSO: OpenAI's new election rules are already being put to the test Garbage in, garbage out

If you're thinking, the internet already contains a bunch of useless garbage, that's true, but this is different. "There's a lot of garbage out there… but it has an insane amount of variety and diversity," said Nader Henein, a VP analyst for management consulting firm Gartner. As LLMs feed off each other's content, the quality gets worse and more vague, like a photocopy of a photocopy of an image. 

Think about it this way: the first version of ChatGPT was the last model to be trained on entirely human-generated content. Every model since then contains training data that has AI-generated content which is difficult to verify, or even track. This becomes unreliable, or to put it bluntly, garbage, data. When this happens, "​​we lose quality and precision of the content, and we lose diversity," said Henein who researches data protection and artificial intelligence. "Everything starts looking like the same thing."

"Incestuous learning" is what Henein calls it. "LLMs are just one big family, they're just consuming each other's content and cross pollinating, and with every generation you have… increasingly more garbage to the point where the garbage overtakes the good content and things start to deteriorate from there." 

As more AI-generated content is pushed out to the web, and that content is generated by LLMs trained on AI-generated content, we're looking at a future web that is entirely homogenous and totally unreliable. Also, just really boring.

Model collapse, internet collapse 

Most people already sense something is off.

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In some of the more high-profile examples, art is being duplicated by robots. Books are being swallowed whole and replicated by LLMs without the authors' permission. Images and videos that use celebrities' voices and likenesses are made without their consent and compensation. 

But existing copyright and IP laws are already in place to protect such violations. Plus, some are embracing AI collaboration like Grimes who offers revenue-sharing deals with AI music creators and record companies that are exploring licensing deals with AI tech companies. On the policy side, lawmakers have introduced a No Fakes Act to protect public figures from AI replicas. The regulations to fix all these problems aren't in place, but fixing them is at least imaginable. 

The plunge in overall quality of everything online, however, is a more insidious phenomenon, and researchers have demonstrated why it's about to get worse. 

In a study from Johannes Gutenberg University in Germany, researchers found that "this self-consuming training loop initially improves both quality and diversity," which lines up with what's likely to happen next. "However, after a few generations the output inevitably degenerates in diversity. We find that the rate of degeneration depends on the proportion of real and generated data."

Two other academic papers published in 2023 came to the same conclusion about the degradation of AI models when trained on synthetic, aka AI-generated data. According to a study from researchers at Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London, University of Toronto, and University of Edinburgh, "use of model-generated content in training causes irreversible defects in the resulting models, where tails of the original content distribution disappear," referring to this as "model collapse." 

Similarly, Stanford and Rice University researchers said, "without enough fresh real data in each generation of an autophagous [self-consuming] loop, future generative models are doomed to have their quality (precision) or diversity (recall) progressively decrease."

Lack of diversity, explains Henein, is the fundamental problem, because if AI models are trying to replace human creativity, it's getting farther and farther away from that. 

The AI-generated internet at a glance

As model collapse looms, the AI-generated internet has already arrived.

Amazon has a new feature that provides AI-generated summaries of product reviews. Tools from Google and Microsoft use AI to help draft emails and documents and Indeed launched a tool in September that lets recruiters create AI-generated job descriptions. Platforms like DALL-E 3 and Midjourney let users create AI-generated images and share them on the web. 

Whether they directly output AI-generated content like Amazon or provide a service for users to put out AI-generated content themselves like Google, Microsoft, Indeed, OpenAI and Midjourney, it's already out there. 

And those are just the tools and features from Big Tech companies that purport to have some kind of oversight. The real perpetrators are click-bait sites that pump out low-quality, high-volume, regurgitated content for high SEO ranking and revenue. 

A recent report from 404 Media, found numerous sites "that rip-off other outlets by using AI to rapidly churn out content." For a sample of this kind of content, which avoids plagiarism at the expense of coherence, look at questionable news site Worldtimetodays.com, where the first line of a 2023 story touching on Gina Carano's firing from Star Wars reads, "It’s been a while since Gina Carano began a tirade against Lucasfilm after he was fired war of starsso for better or worse we were due."

Clearly, this sentence was AI-generated. Credit: Worldtimetodays.com

On Google Scholar, users discovered a cache of academic papers containing the phrase "as an AI language model," meaning portions of papers — or entire papers for all anyone knows — were written by chatbots like ChatGPT. AI-generated research papers — which are supposed to have some kind of academic credibility — can make their way onto news sites and blogs as authoritative references.

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Even Google searches now sometimes surface AI-generated likenesses of celebrities instead of things like press photos or movie stills. When you Google Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, the deceased musician known for his ukulele cover of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," the top result is an AI-generated prediction of how Kamakawiwo'ole would have looked if he were alive today.

Google Image searches of Keira Knightley result in warped renderings uploaded by users on OpenArt, Playground AI, and Dopamine Girl alongside real photos of the actress

Keira doesn't deserve this. Credit: Mashable

That's not to mention the recent pornographic deepfakes of Taylor Swift, an Instagram ad using Tom Hanks's likeness to sell a dental plan, a photo editing app using Scarlett Johansson's face and voice without her consent, and that fire song by Drake and The Weeknd that was actually an unauthorized audio deepfake that sounded exactly like them.

If our search engine results already can't be trusted, and the models are almost certainly feasting on this junk, we have stepped over the threshold into the web's AI garbage era. For the moment, the web as we once knew it is still somewhat recognizable, but the warnings are no longer abstract.

The internet isn't completely doomed

Assuming products like ChatGPT don't pull off a hail-Mary and start reliably generating vibrant, exciting content that humans actually find pleasurable or useful to consume, what happens next? 

Expect communities and organizations to fight back by protecting their content from the AI models trying to hoover it up. The open, ad-supported, search-based web might be going away, but the internet will evolve. Expect more reputable media sites to put their content behind paywalls, and trusted information coming from subscriber newsletters. 

Expect to see more copyright and licensing battles, like The New York Times' lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI. Expect to see more tools like Nightshade, an invisible tool that protects copyrighted images by attempting to corrupt models trained on them. Expect the development of sophisticated new watermarking and verification tools that prevent AI-scraping. 

On the flipside, you can also expect other news publications like Associated Press — and possibly CNN, Fox, and Time — to embrace generative AI and work out licensing agreements with companies like OpenAI. 

As tools like ChatGPT and Google's SGE become substitutes for traditional search, expect revenue models built on SEO to change. 

The silver lining of model collapse, however, is the loss of demand. The proliferation of generative AI is currently dictated by hype, and if models trained on low-quality content are no longer useful, the demand dries up. What (hopefully) remains are us feeble-minded humans with the unquenchable urge to rant, overshare, inform, and otherwise express ourselves online.