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Wordle today: Answer, hints for December 14

Mashable - Fri, 12/13/2024 - 22:00

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 today's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: NYT Connections today: Hints and answers for December 14 Where did Wordle come from?

Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once

Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.

What's the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website's creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.

Is Wordle getting harder?

It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn't any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle's Hard Mode if you're after more of a challenge, though.

SEE ALSO: NYT's The Mini crossword answers for December 14 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

Uncontrollable saliva.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

There is one letter that occurs twice.

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

Today's Wordle starts with the letter D.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. The Wordle answer today is...

Get your last guesses in now, because it's your final chance to solve today's Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to today's Wordle is...

DROOL.

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for December 14

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

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

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

NYT Strands hints, answers for December 14

Mashable - Fri, 12/13/2024 - 22:00

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 December 14 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for December 14 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Nothing can stop me!

These words are how you might describe extreme focus.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

Words describe someone who cannot be stopped when they set their mind to something.

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 GoGetter.

Featured Video For You Strands 101: How to win NYT’s latest word game NYT Strands word list for December 14
  • Fire

  • Drive

  • Purpose

  • Passion

  • Devotion

  • Intensity

  • GoGetter

Looking for other daily online games? Mashable's Games page has more hints, and if you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now!

Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

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

OpenAI Fires Back at Elon Musk’s Lawsuit

NYT Technology - Fri, 12/13/2024 - 21:25
The artificial intelligence start-up argues that Mr. Musk is trying to hamstring its business as he builds a rival company.

The No Good Deed cast reveals why communication is key to any successful relationship

Mashable - Fri, 12/13/2024 - 20:04

Series creator, Liz Feldman is joined by castmates Lisa Kudrow, Ray Romano, Linda Cardellini, Teyonah Paris, Luke Wilson, Abbi Jacobson and O-T Fagbenle to discuss the theme of communication in Netflix's No Good Deed.

No Good Deed is now streaming on Netlfix.

How Nickel Boys uses first-person to tell a crucial story from a different perspective

Mashable - Fri, 12/13/2024 - 18:24

Nickel Boys filmmaker, RaMell Ross, is joined by Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Daveed Diggs, Ethan Herisse and Brandon Wilson to discuss how they used a first-person perspective with the camera to tell the story based off of Colson Whitehead's novel, The Nickel Boys.

Nickel Boys is now in limited theaters.

Apple Intelligence appears to have falsely claimed that Luigi Mangione shot himself

Mashable - Fri, 12/13/2024 - 17:17

Apple Intelligence allegedly misled BBC News readers and BBC News isn't happy about it.

Tweet may have been deleted

In a story reported by BBC News itself, the outlet accused Apple's suite of AI features (which includes the ability to summarize news headlines in push notifications) of writing and sending out a blatantly false push notification to users. In this case, the push notification read that Luigi Mangione, recently arrested in connection with the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson, had shot himself. That headline is false, and no such event has occurred at the time of publication.

SEE ALSO: Apple Intelligence on Mac: 5 AI-powered features you can test right now

"Luigi Mangione shoots himself; Syrian mother hopes Assad pays the price; South Korea police raid Yoon Suk Yeol's office," the notification read in full. Apple Intelligence appears to have rounded up three separate news stories into one summary notification. Interestingly, only the Mangione one is incorrect; the others are accurate representations of the news stories they are referencing.

BBC News has complained to Apple about this, but Apple has yet to comment on it. Apple Intelligence was introduced to iPhones and other Apple devices earlier this year, with the feature set being greatly expanded with the launch of iOS 18.2 earlier this week. If Apple is going to keep trying with AI, it might be prudent to clean up some of these issues before lawyers get involved.

Mashable has reached out to Apple for comment and will update if we hear back.

Microsofts Recall feature appears to capture sensitive information, test shows

Mashable - Fri, 12/13/2024 - 16:09

One of the most unpopular new Windows features is doing a lot to earn that reputation.

Microsoft Recall, which is an AI-driven tool that constantly screenshots your PC activity to build a searchable database of everything you've ever done, apparently can't always filter out sensitive information like credit card and Social Security numbers. This is according to real-life testing done by Tom's Hardware, which found that this information (whether it was dummy text or real) would occasionally still get captured by Recall screenshots, which could theoretically then be viewed by someone else.

SEE ALSO: I just demoed Windows 11 Recall: 3 useful features that may surprise you

The security risks here are numerous and obvious. There is a filter for cutting out sensitive information from Recall screenshots that is on by default (imagine if it wasn't), but per Tom's Hardware, it only works some of the time. On obvious e-commerce websites, credit card numbers generally get filtered out. But in other places, like PDF forms, the filter doesn't catch them.

Recall has easily been the most talked-about and controversial part of Microsoft's recent push into artificial intelligence. It's been called a "disaster" by security experts, and underwent a delay earlier this year, ultimately being released for testing in October.

If you do a lot of shopping online, maybe think about turning Recall off.

Tumblr introduces group spaces with Communities

Mashable - Fri, 12/13/2024 - 15:39

Tumblr is taking a page from Reddit and Facebook with its new "Communities" feature, which are digital spaces like subreddits and Facebook groups.

"Communities are a new and easy way to connect with the people on Tumblr who get it," Tumblr said in a post announcing the feature. "You can invite mutuals who share your obsessions to a private Community or start a public Community for the things you love and watch all the new friends pile in. Like a clown car, Communities can fit (almost) as many people in ‘em as you want."

Communities — which allows users to create a space for anything from a D&D campaign to cat photos — has been available to some users in beta but officially launched across the platform on web, iOS, and Android on Thursday, Dec. 12.

SEE ALSO: The inside story of how Tumblr lost its way

You can get started by browsing though Communities that already exist, like aesthetic, writing, and TV shows, or you can create your own Community.

It's not a huge surprise that Tumblr would copy its more successful social media sisters. The platform has been struggling to maintain relevancy after it banned porn in 2018, and it's kind of the Thing Platforms Do — copy whatever else is successful and see if you can't make it slightly better. Look at Instagram Reels copying TikTok, or Facebook Stories copying Snapchat. So...TikTok Communities when?

You can now talk to Googles AI podcast hosts

Mashable - Fri, 12/13/2024 - 14:56

You can now talk to Google's AI hosts that, in effect, will turn your meeting notes into a podcast.

NotebookLM, Google's AI-powered teaching tool, first debuted the Audio Overview tool in October. In short, it takes source material — e.g., meeting notes, diary entries, legal briefs — and condenses it into a podcast-like product where two AI hosts discuss the pertinent info. The idea is to provide a different mode of taking in the information, perhaps for the person too busy to read or who learns better via audio.

SEE ALSO: Google's crazy AI podcasting tool NotebookLM gets some upgrades

Now, in theory, you could ask the AI hosts questions should confusion arise or you need more info.

Wrote Google in a blog post about the update to NotebookLM:

"Over the last three months, people have generated more than 350 years worth of Audio Overviews. Today, we’re starting to roll out the ability to 'join' the conversation. Using your voice, you can ask the hosts for more details or to explain a concept differently. It’s like having a personal tutor or guide who listens attentively, and then responds directly, drawing from the knowledge in your sources."

Google did warn that it's a new feature and that the AI hosts may "pause awkwardly before responding and may occasionally introduce inaccuracies." That's to be expected, considering AI introducing inaccuracies isn't exactly a new or novel problem.

You can find the new tool by clicking the "Interactive mode (BETA)" button on a new audio interview.

California announces billion dollar electric vehicle charger initiative

Mashable - Fri, 12/13/2024 - 14:30

California continues to build out what is already one of the largest clean vehicle networks in America, made up of more than 150,000 public and shared private electric vehicle (EV) chargers.

On Dec.11, the California Energy Commission (CEC) announced another $1.4 billion investment in its charging and hydrogen refueling network, the largest in the country, serving light, medium, and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles.

"An important part of achieving our clean car future is building chargers in every corner of California, especially in neighborhoods historically left behind. With this investment, and the help of the private sector, we’re building a bigger, better vehicle charging network that ensures Californians can reliably and affordably get where they’re going," said California governor Gavin Newsom.

SEE ALSO: Was your phone targeted by China's Salt Typhoon hack? Your provider might not tell you.

The billion-dollar allocation will see a four-year deployment of 17,000 more chargers, with the goal of reaching 250,000 chargers in the next few years. The announcement comes as part of California's Clean Transportation Program, a funding effort to deploy zero-emission transportation and fuel technologies as part of the state's climate change goals.

The Biden administration has invested heavily in building out the country's electric vehicle infrastructure through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, with a wave of clean energy fund announcements as his term nears it end. On Dec. 12, the Department of Energy (DOE) unveiled a $1.25 billion loan guarantee to EVgo Swift Borrower, operators of the nation's largest EV charging networks. The loan will see 7,500 new fast chargers added nationwide.

"There are currently more than 204,000 publicly available charging ports, with nearly 38,000 new public chargers already having been added this year and nearly 1,000 new public chargers being added every week thanks to a combination of direct federal funding, federal tax incentives, state and local funding, and private investment," the DOE explained.

In October, the administration announced $44 million in funding to reduce EV battery costs and reduce their environmental impact. In November, the Department of Energy released. $70 million in funding for small- and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs), specifically targeting the automative and electric vehicle industry. The agency simultaneously announced $17 million in grant funding for local and territorial governments to "improve energy efficiency, reduce climate pollution, and lower overall energy use."

OpenAI announces a ChatGPT organizing system called Projects

Mashable - Fri, 12/13/2024 - 13:56

On day seven of "12 Days of OpenAI," the company announced Projects in ChatGPT — a way to customize and organize your chats.

Well, they aren't all going to be bangers. But this one has been deemed useful by the OpenAI team for creating and organizing various projects by pulling ChatGPT's various capabilities into one place. That includes Canvas support and connection to the web via ChatGPT Search.

SEE ALSO: Why is ChatGPT's Santa Mode only for ages 13 and up?

Today's announcement wasn't a massive technological breakthrough like Sora or GPT-5 (if that's still happening). Instead, it focused on user experience tweaks to make ChatGPT more of an everything app, that's your go-to for writing, research, programming, web-search, and soon to come executing multi-step tasks. It may have not been a super exciting update, but it hints at OpenAI's plans to further embed ChatGPT into everyday life.

Tweet may have been deleted

In the demo, CPO Kevin Weil, joined by OpenAI's Drew Schuster and Thomas Dimson showed how Projects could be used to create a Secret Santa project. Schuster uploaded the Secret Santa group and their requests, then asked ChatGPT to randomly assign them to each other. He then asked ChatGPT to draft an email to the group. In another example, Schuster uploaded notes about various home appliances and used ChatGPT to ask when he should change the water filter in his fridge. This is useful if you're super organized and already wrote down important notes about home maintenance. Or you could check your notes.

Moving on, Dimson used Projects to create a personal website while leaning on ChatGPT Canvas to modify the website template. ChatGPT recognized the template code and correctly made the modifications.

Projects was shipped (live in the livestream) to ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Teams users, with Enterprise and Edu users receiving the feature early in the new year.

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