Netflix's lineup of original comedy movies have often failed to make an impact among viewers, but Murder Mystery, the 2019 film starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston, bucked the trend – and its sequel, Murder Mystery 2, which only debuted on Netflix on March 31, has done likewise.
In fact, Murder Mystery 2 has proven so popular on the world's best streaming service that it almost set a new record for a Netflix comedy movie.
Per a Netflix press release, Murder Mystery 2's debut was the second-biggest opening weekend for a comedy film on the platform. The film, which was recently added to our new Netflix movies list, was watched by 42 million households in the first three days post-release. According to Netflix, Murder Mystery 2 accumulated 64.4 million hours streamed over its debut weekend, too – a figure that catapulted it into the Top 10 of the streamer's movies section in 91 countries. It was also the most-watched English-language Netflix movie on the service for the week running March 27 to April 2.
Murder Mystery 2's release gave its predecessor a new lease of life, too. Murder Mystery was the second most-watched Netflix film during the same six-day period, with Netflix users racking up 24.7 million hours viewed. Not bad for a four-year-old movie, eh?
Netflix hasn't revealed which movie stood between Murder Mystery 2 and the title of most-streamed Netflix original comedy film of all-time. It seems likely that You People, the Jonah Hill and Eddie Murphy-starring comedy that arrived on January 27 this year, is the culprit, though – that flick accrued 55.6 million hours viewed in its first week on the platform. We've reached out to Netflix for clarification on this, and we'll report back if we receive a response.
A winning formula for Netflix
Why has Murder Mystery 2 proven to be so popular?(Image credit: Scott Yamano/Netflix)
So, why has Murder Mystery 2 proven so popular among Netflix's user base?
For one, it's got two fan-favorite, powerhouse performers in its lead roles. Aniston and Sandler are well liked among film fans, and the duo's star power is sufficient enough to draw viewers in, even if a film or TV show they star in isn't up to much.
Then there's the fact that Murder Mystery 2 is an easy watch. The film doesn't reinvent the whodunnit or comedy genres, but its combination of wacky and silly humor, plus a mystery that's more intriguing and elaborate than the one at the heart of its predecessor, fit together nicely. It's not overly cerebral, either, so viewers looking for an uncomplicated film to relax with over the weekend couldn't really go wrong.
There's also the movie's 90-minute runtime – that's breezy compared to most flicks released these days, and means you don't need to focus on its albeit simplistic plot for too long. Murder Mystery 2's position as a sequel to one of Netflix's most popular original films is sure to have helped as well. Don't be surprised if you see one or both of these flicks make it onto our best Netflix movies list soon.
Slack has become the latest organization to reveal findings showing hybrid working tools are insufficient for the modern workplace, discovering that many employees are working far less efficiently than they could be.
Its study of 1,650 UK workers and 350 ITDMs found a stark disconnect between employers and employees, signifying a 37% difference in the number of ITDMs that think they’re investing well in the workplace hybrid experience (87%) vs the workers that agree (50%).
This apparent failure to provide the right tools has led to alarmingly low levels of productivity, with Slack seeing the average worker spend just nine hours per week in ‘deep work’ where they are at their most productive.
Investing in the right hybrid work tools
When the world transitioned to remote working en masse, not everything moved at the same speed leading to a significant disconnect. A third (33%) of the workers surveyed believed that their company’s approach to hybrid work had created greater silos, while others are simply concerned about the amount of unnecessary meetings they have to attend.
Despite such draining video conferencing time that reportedly accounts for around 7 hours and 42 minutes (or virtually a full working day) of a worker’s time per week, around a quarter (24%) have experienced fewer ad-hoc conversations that are key to strong collaboration - one of the reasons cited for Amazon’s return to office.
Slack’s Head of UK, Stuart Templeton, said: “Providing a good digital experience is critical to success in today’s digital-first world and it’s clear there’s a disconnect between IT leaders and employees on that front.”
Moving forward, it’s clear that more effective time management is needed, with workers seemingly favoring shorter, more ad-hoc voice calls over block-booked video calls. The report also calls on a degree of automation to help save time on repetitive tasks.
Google appears to have already stepped back from introducing a file limit to its online cloud storage platform.
Earlier this week, reports began to surface from Google Drive users across the globe that they had encountered new notifications about a seemingly newly-introduced account limit of five million files.
However, Google Drive has now officially responded to the reports, revealing that it will not be introducing a limit after all, and reassuring users that their files are safe.
There's no limit
"We recently rolled out a system update to Drive item limits to preserve stability and optimize performance," the company's official Twitter account said. "While this impacted only a small number of people, we are rolling back this change as we explore alternate approaches to ensure a great experience for all."
"If we need to make changes, we will communicate them to users in advance."
The move was met with some alarm by Google Drive customers, who received no warning of the change, suggesting it may have been a mistake on the company's part.
The wording of the warning notification certainly didn't reassure users, who were confronted with a message reading, "Error 403: This account has exceeded the creation limit of 5 million items. To create more items, move items to the trash and delete them forever."
One Reddit user was even given a notification telling them to, "Please delete 2 million files to continue using your Google Drive account."
As we noted in our original story, five million files is a pretty big allowance in real terms. For users on Google Drive’s 2TB offering - the highest personal plan available - the average file size across an account would have to be 400 kilobytes (KB).
That being said, there are certainly some instances where users may have that many files, for instance in the storage of large amounts of record data - but for the vast majority, users shouldn’t hit their limit, whatever Google decides that will be.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is set to invest more than AU$13.2 billion (USD $8.9 billion) in its Australian operations over the next five years as it looks to grow its cloud footprint and harness green energy.
Around 80% of the money is said to be heading to the Sydney region, which has been operating since 2012, while the remaining cash will find its way into the recently opened Melbourne region.
Amazon estimated that around 11,000 ‘full-time equivalent’ roles would be generated as part of its expansion, extending beyond company workers to other contractors relating to construction, maintenance, and more.
AWS expands in Australia
As part of the wider Australia and New Zealand market, AWS provides services to numerous educational establishments like the University of Auckland, healthcare providers such as eHealth NSW, government bodies like the Australian Bureau for Statistics and Transport for NSW, and other research and nonprofit organizations.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese noted the importance of cloud providers’ economic and infrastructure investments in jobs and skills. Technology Council of Australia CEO Kate Pounder also welcomed the investment which is hoped to grow the country’s software sector in an era when digital skills are crucial.
Part of its expansion will see Amazon continue to invest in renewable energy as it works towards a 2025 goal of renewable-only energy provision. Currently, the company operates almost 400,000 MWh-worth annually of solar in New South Wales as of last year, and has drawn up plans to get a wind farm up and running in Victoria to the sum of over 700,000MWh per year.
However, this comes at a time when data storage is under growing scrutiny over energy consumption. While green energy is a step in the right direction, some studies suggest reducing consumption is more appropriate with findings that two-fifths of the data stored in the UK could be unwanted.
It's time for your daily dose of Quordle hints. And you might need them - because this popular online game takes the Wordle format and quadruples the difficulty. So if you already find yourself searching for Wordle hints, you'll probably need some for Quordle too.
I'm a Quordle and Wordle fanatic who's been playing since December 2021, so I can definitely help you solve Quordle today and improve your game for tomorrow. Read on for my Quordle hints to game #435 and bookmark this page so you can easily return.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
Quordle today (game #435) - hint #1 - Vowels
How many different vowels are in Quordle today?
• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.
* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).
Quordle today (game #435) - hint #2 - total vowels
What is the total number of vowels in Quordle today?
• The total number of vowels across today's Quordle answers is 8.
Quordle today (game #435) - hint #3 - repeated letters
Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?
• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 0.
Quordle today (game #435) - hint #4 - total letters
How many different letters are used in Quordle today?
• The total number of different letters used in Quordle today is 14.
Quordle today (game #435) - hint #5 - uncommon letters
Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?
• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.
What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?
• O
• W
• F
• P
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
Quordle today (game #435) - the answers
(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)
The answers to today's Quordle, game #435, are…
OUNCE
WHINE
FROCK
POSIT
Today's Quordle contains a couple of words that might throw you a little, depending on how your game plays out. POSIT is not the most obvious answer we've ever had; sure, it's a proper word and not obscure as such, but it's not one that most people use that often, so it might not have jumped to mind. I also struggled a little with FROCK, simply because CROCK was also a possibility and I hadn't already ruled out the C from being the opening letter.
That said, there are no duplicated letters today and no Xs, Zs or Qs among the answers - so it's still reasonably straightforward as Quordle goes. I managed to solve it with one guess remaining and extended my streak for another day.
Where Wordle challenges you to guess a new five-letter word each day, Quordle presents you with four puzzles to solve. And rather than complete them in turn, you do so simultaneously. You get nine guesses, rather than the six for Wordle, but the rules are otherwise very similar.
As with Wordle, the answers are the same for every player each day, meaning that you're competing against the rest of the world. And also as with Wordle, the puzzle resets at midnight so you have a fresh challenge each day.
The website also includes a practice mode - which I definitely recommend using before attempting the game proper! - and there are daily stats including a streak count. You also get Quordle Achievements - specific badges for winning a game in a certain number of turns, playing lots of times, or guessing particularly hard words.
Oh, and it's difficult. Really difficult.
What are the Quordle rules?
The rules of Quordle are almost identical to those of Wordle.
1. Letters that are in the answer and in the right place turn green.
2. Letters that are in the answer but in the wrong place turn yellow.
3. Letters that are not in the answer turn gray…
4. …BUT the word you guess appears in all quadrants of the puzzle at the same time, so an A could turn green in one square, yellow in another and gray in the final two.
5. Answers are never plural.
6. Letters can appear more than once. So if your guess includes two of one letter, they may both turn yellow, both turn green, or one could be yellow and the other green.
7. Each guess must be a valid word in Quordle's dictionary. You can't guess ABCDE, for instance.
8. You do not have to include correct letters in subsequent guesses and there is no equivalent of Wordle's Hard mode.
9. You have nine guesses to find the Quordle answers.
10. You must complete the daily Quordle before midnight in your timezone.
What is a good Quordle strategy?
Quordle needs to be approached in a different way to Wordle. With four puzzles to solve in nine guesses, you can't blindly throw letters at it and expect to win - you'll stand a far better chance if you think strategically.
That's the case in Wordle too, of course, but it's even more important in Quordle.
There are two key things to remember.
1. Use several starting words
Firstly, you won't want just a single starting word, but almost certainly two or three starting words.
The first of these should probably be one of the best Wordle starting words, because the same things that make them work well will apply here too. But after that, you should select another word or possibly two that use up lots more of the most common consonants and that include any remaining vowels.
For instance, I currently use STARE > DOILY > PUNCH. Between them, these three words use 15 of the 26 letters in the alphabet including all five vowels, Y, and nine of the most common consonants (S, T, R, D, L, P, N, C and H). There are plenty of other options - you might want to get an M, B, F or G in there instead of the H, maybe - but something like that should do the trick.
If all goes well, that will give you a good lead on what one or sometimes two of the answers might be. If not, well good luck!
2. Narrow things down
Secondly, if you're faced with a word where the answer might easily be one of several options - for instance -ATCH, where it could be MATCH, BATCH, LATCH, CATCH, WATCH, HATCH or PATCH - you'll definitely want to guess a word that would narrow down those options.
In Wordle, you can instead try several of those in succession and hope one is right, assuming you have enough guesses left. It's risky, but will sometimes work. Plus, it's the only option in Hard mode. But in Quordle, this will almost certainly result in a failure - you simply don't have enough guesses.
In the scenario above, CLAMP would be a great guess, as it could point the way to four of the seven words in one go.
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New Ericsson research has highlighted the growing desire of many employees for a hybrid working setup alongside companies’ apparent reluctance, or inability, to adapt.
The company's Future of Work Life report covers the responses of 38,000 employees and a further 3,600 decision-makers from 2022 across 30 global markets, making it one of the largest scale current studies of its type.
It found that the majority (58%) of workers say flexibility in terms of hours or locations are key requirements when it comes to looking for a new job, with a quarter (25%) ranking it as their top priority.
The future of hybrid work
Despite the huge trend toward hybrid working patterns, employers have struggled to adapt leaving as many as four in 10 workers struggling with the wrong tools for their tasks.
To make matters worse, Ericsson says that only one-third (33%) of employers consider employee preferences when investing in new technology, despite the growing emphasis on workers’ voices and the huge developments in technologies like artificial intelligence that are fundamentally set to change how we work.
Looking to the future, Ericsson’s head of IndustryLab, Anders Erlandsson, said: “it is quite clear that the future of work is going to be increasingly dependent on ICT solutions such as high-speed, globally available mobile connectivity.”
The report also indicated five employee paths that are expected to shape the future of work, giving diligent companies a headstart as they prepare to attract and retain talent. They are financial stability, flexibility, digitalization, career, and project-based work.
Erlandsson suspects that, while maybe not at the same level as during the pandemic, hybrid and remote work will continue to prove more popular than they were before it, urging companies to invest in their workers’ needs.
The upcoming Nvidia RTX 4070 has seen its pricing leaked, with an apparent MSRP of $599 at launch according to VideoCardz. Although VideoCardz’s sources didn’t specify any pricing details for outside the US, we can assume from previous RTX 4000 GPU prices that it’ll cost somewhere around £599 / AU$999.
The leaks allegedly come from briefings sent out to press and business partners by Nvidia, which aligns believably with the timeframe of the rumored April 13 release date - so while this is a leak and should be taken with a hearty pinch of salt, it’s very probable that the $599 price tag is accurate (although third-party cards from other manufacturers will likely cost a bit more).
That pricing puts it on par with the launch price of the previous-gen RTX 3070 Ti, demonstrating a step up in generational pricing, but I’m not hugely worried about that: the 3070 Ti was a decent GPU that simply didn’t justify its asking price at the time, while the rumored specs of the RTX 4070 indicate that it should comfortably outperform the last-gen card.
(Image credit: Drake, Nvidia)
Opinion: This pricing feels more accessible, and that’s a really good thing
Yes, I know, $599 for a graphics card is still expensive. It’s unlikely that the RTX 4070 will find its way onto our list of the best cheap graphics cards - we’ll probably be waiting until the RTX 4060 or 4050 for that.
But this heralds the return of actual midrange cards for the next generation of GPUs - and it looks like Nvidia is going to take an early lead again, with AMD’s cheapest next-gen GPU still the $899 Radeon RX 7900 XT.
I’ve criticized both Nvidia and AMD in the past for inaccessible pricing on the current generation of graphics cards - nobody should really be paying over a thousand bucks for an RTX 4090, if you ask me. But $599 for a 4K-capable gaming GPU with DLSS 3 and much more sensible power requirements than the flagship cards? Talk dirty to me, Nvidia.
Considering that the upcoming GPU’s big brother, the RTX 4070 Ti, is already available at $799 / £799 / AU$1,469, this newly-leaked asking price looks reasonable. That card is currently sitting at the top of our best graphics card ranking thanks to its solid price-to-performance ratio, and I’m really hoping that the 4070 can deliver comparable value at a lower price; especially since they have the same base AD-104 GPU, after the ‘unlaunching’ of the 12GB RTX 4080 last year.
Of course, the proof will be in the pudding: the RTX 4070 will absolutely need to deliver on its expected performance in order to prove its worth, but I’m feeling optimistic about it - something I’ve actually not felt about graphics cards in a while. It’s a good sensation.
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With more attention being paid to data centers, and the huge amounts of energy required to keep them operational, a new report from NetApp has quantified just how much data we’re storing “for no reason.”
The company's research cites a drive for sustainability and a circular economy as its foundation, finding eight in 10 (83%) of IT professionals doubt their department’s sustainability initiatives.
The study’s headline figure is that two-fifths (41%) of data is being stored for no reason due to poor data management and unnecessary data collection, adding a £3.7 billion drain to the private sector each year.
The problem with cloud storage`
Keeping data off-prem adds an additional step between the client and their information, often blurring the lines and making it hard to keep tabs on storage. NetApp also discovered that many IT professionals fail at basic housekeeping, with around one-quarter (26%) cleaning up their data estates once a year, or less.
The majority (61%) of the 100 data storage and data management decision-makers predicted that their footprint would increase over the next year, however many of those are also subject to cost-cutting pressures to keep them operationally efficient.
NetApp Chief Technology Evangelist, Matt Watts, likens data to oil: incredibly valuable, but hugely damaging when handled wrongly. Watts summarizes:
“What this research shows is that UK organisations are creating a landfill of data, and as volumes continue to increase it businesses will only pay a higher cost, both in monetary terms and to the environment.”
As we look ahead, not only are we faced with reducing our data estates and removing data that is no longer required, but the industry also needs to tackle the huge problem of efficiency and energy usage which may later have knock-on effects to the consumer.
We're expecting Apple to launch a MacBook Air with an OLED display in the next year or two, and the latest unconfirmed leak around the laptop suggests that it's going to arrive with a slightly smaller 13.4-inch display.
That's according to well-respected industry analyst Ross Young (via MacRumors), who has previously said that this OLED MacBook Air is going to show up in 2024. Young adds that OLED-equipped MacBook Pros won't show up until 2024.
Just a couple of days ago we covered a report that also pointed to 2024 as the year when this new product would arrive. Both Samsung and LG are apparently supplying the necessary OLED screens to Apple's manufacturing partners.
Size matters
There is a little bit of confusion here, because that previous report mentioned a 13.3-inch display. The most recent, M2-powered MacBook Air launched in 2022 has thinner bezels and a 13.6-inch screen, though the M1-powered edition from 2020 with a 13.3-inch screen is still sold by Apple.
According to Young, the OLED MacBook Air will go between these two sizes and come in at 13.4 inches. It remains to be seen what changes there will be in terms of bezel size, the aspect ratio of the display, or the dimensions of the laptop as a whole.
One more tidbit from the same source: there is apparently a 15-inch MacBook Air coming this year, though with an LCD screen rather than an OLED one. That matches up with predictions from other reliable tipsters in the industry.
Analysis: the future is OLED
While LCD screens are certainly fine – and can be great, in some cases – it's clear that OLED is the superior technology. The brightness and contrast should be superior on these screens, and they're also more power efficient for better battery life.
That's why high-end flagship phones all have OLED screens. With OLED, each pixel provides its own backlight for an improved picture, whereas LCD panels have larger backlight areas that each cover groups of pixels.
Cost can be an issue, especially as screen size goes up (as you'll see if you compare prices on OLED and LCD TVs). We're hoping that Apple's move to OLED on its MacBook computers won't mean substantially higher prices at the same time.
All things considered though, this should be a good move for consumers. There's talk that the iPad Pros are going to make the switch to OLED too, so it seems clear that Apple is committed to making a full switch to the display tech in the long term.
Microsoft has shared more details about an important security update to OneNote, through which it hopes address the growing issue of its program increasingly being used to push ransomware and other types of malware.
In a new Microsoft 365 support document, the company listed a total of 120 file extensions that will soon be blocked in OneNote. Among the file types .XLL, .ISO, .BAT, and .JS stand out.
These extensions will also be blocked in other Office 365 programs such as Outlook, Word, Excel, or PowerPoint.
Blocking files
While previously, trying to open a OneNote file with a suspicious attachment would bring up a warning notification, the new update will prevent the file from being opened - at all. Instead, the user will be met with a warning dialog saying “Your administrator has blocked your ability to open this file type in OneNote”.
The changes will roll out in Version 2304 in Current Channel (Preview) to OneNote for Microsoft 365, on Windows-powered devices, either in April, or May, this year, it was said. Retail versions of Office 2021, Office 2019, and Office 2016 (Current Channel) will also be updated to reflect these changes, however, volume-licensed versions of Office (Office Standard 2019, or OFfice LTSC Professional Plus 2021) will not get the update.
OneNote on the web, OneNote for Windows 10, OneNote for Mac, or OneNote for Android/iOS will not be updated, as well.
Ever since Microsoft blocked its productivity apps from running macros, hackers have been looking for a viable alternative to deliver malware. Among the different methods one stood out - OneNote files with malicious attachments. The practice has gotten so tremendously popular, so quickly, that it forced Microsoft’s hand and triggered the upcoming update.
Another popular method of malware delivery is phishing emails with .ISO files attached which, by sideloading malicious .DLL files, successfully download stage-two payloads to unsuspecting victims’ endpoints.
It's time for your daily dose of Quordle hints. And you might need them - because this popular online game takes the Wordle format and quadruples the difficulty. So if you already find yourself searching for Wordle hints, you'll probably need some for Quordle too.
I'm a Quordle and Wordle fanatic who's been playing since December 2021, so I can definitely help you solve Quordle today and improve your game for tomorrow. Read on for my Quordle hints to game #433 and bookmark this page so you can easily return.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
Quordle today (game #433) - hint #1 - Vowels
How many different vowels are in Quordle today?
• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.
* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).
Quordle today (game #433) - hint #2 - total vowels
What is the total number of vowels in Quordle today?
• The total number of vowels across today's Quordle answers is 7.
Quordle today (game #433) - hint #3 - repeated letters
Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?
• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 0.
Quordle today (game #433) - hint #4 - total letters
How many different letters are used in Quordle today?
• The total number of different letters used in Quordle today is 13.
Quordle today (game #433) - hint #5 - uncommon letters
Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?
• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.
What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?
• W
• S
• S
• F
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
Quordle today (game #433) - the answers
(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)
The answers to today's Quordle, game #433, are…
WHOSE
SUPER
SHARK
FABLE
Today's Quordle is one of the easier ones we've had recently. Or at least that was how it played out for me - your game may have gone differently, depending on your strategy. Mine involves beginning with three words - STARE, DOILY and PUNCH - and today these words gave me a very good start. SHARK, for instance, was a very simple solve, because I effectively already had SHAR-, and had already ruled out the likes of SHARP and SHARE.
None of the others were any harder for me and I solved today's Quordle with two guesses remaining.
Where Wordle challenges you to guess a new five-letter word each day, Quordle presents you with four puzzles to solve. And rather than complete them in turn, you do so simultaneously. You get nine guesses, rather than the six for Wordle, but the rules are otherwise very similar.
As with Wordle, the answers are the same for every player each day, meaning that you're competing against the rest of the world. And also as with Wordle, the puzzle resets at midnight so you have a fresh challenge each day.
The website also includes a practice mode - which I definitely recommend using before attempting the game proper! - and there are daily stats including a streak count. You also get Quordle Achievements - specific badges for winning a game in a certain number of turns, playing lots of times, or guessing particularly hard words.
Oh, and it's difficult. Really difficult.
What are the Quordle rules?
The rules of Quordle are almost identical to those of Wordle.
1. Letters that are in the answer and in the right place turn green.
2. Letters that are in the answer but in the wrong place turn yellow.
3. Letters that are not in the answer turn gray…
4. …BUT the word you guess appears in all quadrants of the puzzle at the same time, so an A could turn green in one square, yellow in another and gray in the final two.
5. Answers are never plural.
6. Letters can appear more than once. So if your guess includes two of one letter, they may both turn yellow, both turn green, or one could be yellow and the other green.
7. Each guess must be a valid word in Quordle's dictionary. You can't guess ABCDE, for instance.
8. You do not have to include correct letters in subsequent guesses and there is no equivalent of Wordle's Hard mode.
9. You have nine guesses to find the Quordle answers.
10. You must complete the daily Quordle before midnight in your timezone.
What is a good Quordle strategy?
Quordle needs to be approached in a different way to Wordle. With four puzzles to solve in nine guesses, you can't blindly throw letters at it and expect to win - you'll stand a far better chance if you think strategically.
That's the case in Wordle too, of course, but it's even more important in Quordle.
There are two key things to remember.
1. Use several starting words
Firstly, you won't want just a single starting word, but almost certainly two or three starting words.
The first of these should probably be one of the best Wordle starting words, because the same things that make them work well will apply here too. But after that, you should select another word or possibly two that use up lots more of the most common consonants and that include any remaining vowels.
For instance, I currently use STARE > DOILY > PUNCH. Between them, these three words use 15 of the 26 letters in the alphabet including all five vowels, Y, and nine of the most common consonants (S, T, R, D, L, P, N, C and H). There are plenty of other options - you might want to get an M, B, F or G in there instead of the H, maybe - but something like that should do the trick.
If all goes well, that will give you a good lead on what one or sometimes two of the answers might be. If not, well good luck!
2. Narrow things down
Secondly, if you're faced with a word where the answer might easily be one of several options - for instance -ATCH, where it could be MATCH, BATCH, LATCH, CATCH, WATCH, HATCH or PATCH - you'll definitely want to guess a word that would narrow down those options.
In Wordle, you can instead try several of those in succession and hope one is right, assuming you have enough guesses left. It's risky, but will sometimes work. Plus, it's the only option in Hard mode. But in Quordle, this will almost certainly result in a failure - you simply don't have enough guesses.
In the scenario above, CLAMP would be a great guess, as it could point the way to four of the seven words in one go.
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Apple's AirTags might be the world's most famous Bluetooth trackers, but they could soon have some Google rivals that connect to a ...
Apple's AirTags might be the world's most famous Bluetooth trackers, but they could soon have some Google rivals that connect to a huge Android equivalent of Apple's 'Find My' network. If that does materialize, it could be an incredibly powerful new way for Android fans to find lost possessions.
Google's rumored AirTag rival – apparently codenamed Grogu, in a nod to fans of The Mandalorian – has been tipped for an announcement at Google I/O 2023, which kicks off on May 10. While the trackers may not arrive on shelves until later, it means Android users could soon see some rivals to the Tile Pro and Samsung Galaxy SmartTag Plus, along with a global object-finding network.
But does the world really need more location trackers? After all, these little key fob-sized gadgets have courted as much controversy as they have praise. The Apple AirTag continues to hit the headlines despite anti-stalking firmware updates, while Tile also recently rolled out a controversial Anti-Theft Mode of its own.
The Tile Pro (above) is an existing Android-compatible Bluetooth tracker.(Image credit: Tile)
Despite these issues, there is evidence that Google has been laying the groundwork for both its own AirTag rival and an equivalent of Apple's 'Find My' system. The benefit of these systems (and the main source of their controversy) is that they can detect lost objects by using nearby phones, even when your misplaced valuable is offline. If that does come to billions of Android devices, potentially as part of Android 14, it could be a huge feature that takes Bluetooth trackers to a new level.
If this network is opened up to third-party manufacturers, as the rumors suggest, then Android-compatible Bluetooth trackers could become a must-have accessory for the absent-minded. But Google would also have to deal with the understandable privacy concerns that might come along for the ride.
Like the sound of a global object-finding network that could save you from losing prized possessions, wherever you are? Here's everything we know so far about the rumored Google AirTag rivals.
Google AirTags rival release date and price
Google hasn't made any official announcements about its AirTag rivals yet, but some credible rumors from reliable leaker Kuba Wojciechowski on January 16 suggested that the concept could be announced at Google I/O 2023.
The developer conference keynote, which is where Google typically announces new products and software, is on May 10. In a detailed breakdown of the AirTag-style tracker, codenamed 'grogu', Wojciechowski suggested that it could then eventually launch at Google's Pixel event, which we're expecting to be in October.
I don't have any information regarding the release timeframe of the tag, but if I had to guess I'd say Google's gonna announce the technology at Google I/O and then launch it at the annual fall event, alongside new Google Pixel devices.January 16, 2023
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These rumors are currently based on guesswork rather than leaks, so the timeframes could change. But Google has historically made early hardware announcements at its I/O conference – last year, we saw the Google Pixel 6a, Google Pixel Tablet and Google Pixel Watch all make their first public appearances.
The bad news is that, a year on, we're still waiting for the Pixel Tablet to appear in stores, so a Google I/O announcement doesn't guarantee a swift release. But this recent history does show why Google's developer conference is a good bet for an early preview of its answer to both Apple's AirTag trackers and its 'Find My' network.
As for pricing, there have been no leaks to give us a hint of how much a Google Bluetooth tracker might cost yet. But we can get an idea from today's options. An Apple AirTag costs $29 / £35 / AU$49, while a Samsung Galaxy SmartTag goes for $29 / £29 (roughly AU$40).
Tile's most premium option, meanwhile, costs $34.99/ £29.99 / AU$49.95, though it does also sell the cheaper Tile Mate for $24.99 / £19.99 / AU$34.95. A Google rival to these trackers would likely be in this ballpark, though a burgeoning Android 'Finder Network' could boost competition and drive down prices.
How might Google's Airtag rival work?
There are two components to the recent Google AirTag rumors. One is that Google is making its own first-party tracker, but the more interesting evidence is that it could be part of an Android equivalent to Apple's 'Find My' network that's open to third-party manufacturers.
The technology in Google's AirTag-style device (codenamed 'Grogu') is expected to be similar to Apple's. On January 16, the reliable leaker Kuba Wojciechowski unearthed evidence that the tracker is apparently "in development by the Nest team", even if it may not carry that branding.
Like the AirTags, it appears Google's version will pack both UWB (Ultra-wideband) and Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity, along with an onboard speaker for emitting cries of help from lost gadgets.
That UWB connectivity is the key one for location trackers. The short-range wireless protocol allows phones to pinpoint the whereabouts of connected objects with a much higher degree of accuracy than Bluetooth. Apple calls this 'Precision Finding' on AirTags. The same tech also allows your phone to do things like act as a digital car key on vehicles with supported locks.
This mockup from designer Obi Fidler shows how a Google AirTag rival could quickly pair to an Android phone using Fast Pair. We're not sure about the product name, though.(Image credit: Obi Fidler / Yanko Design)
The Google Pixel 6 Pro was the first of Google's phones to support Ultra-wideband, and it's also on the Google Pixel 7 Pro. This means you'll likely need one of the best Pixel phones (or Android phones) to use Google's incoming AirTag equivalent. Because the latter rely on UWB, AirTags are only compatible with phones from the iPhone 11 onwards.
Okay, but we've seen lots of Bluetooth trackers that support Ultra-wideband before, right? Well, Google's system could have two important twists. Firstly, as spotted by Android journalist Mishaal Rahman, Google recently added support for 'locator tags' to its Fast Pair standard. Fast Pair is an existing Android feature that helps you quickly connect to nearby Bluetooth devices using a pop-up menu (like in the mockup above) and is open to third-party devices.
This means the speedy pairing system underpinning Google's tracker network could be open to all compatible trackers, not just Google's AirTag rival. But there's more. Those earlier leaks also revealed that Google is working on its equivalent of Apple's 'Find My' network, potentially called the 'Finder Network'.
Another concept render from designer Obi Fidler (spotted by Yanko Design) showing how an unfortunately-named AirTag equivalent could plug into Google Maps' Live View.(Image credit: Obi Fidler / Yanko Design)
It's this 'Finder Network' that could be Google's key to making something more than just another AirTag clone. Apple's 'Find My' network anonymously uses the Bluetooth connections of fellow Apple users to look for AirTags (or compatible third-party device) if they're offline or out of Bluetooth range. That's a powerful, invisible trick that's fortunately also end-to-end encrypted.
Apple calls this a "crowdsourced network of hundreds of millions of Apple devices". But Google potentially has a bigger army of helpers to track down your lost gadget. At last year's Google I/O 2022 conference, the company revealed that there are now over three billion active Android devices in the world. That's a lot of potential help when it comes to finding your lost suitcase or camera.
Android already has a limited 'Find My Device' feature, but until recently it's based on your device's most recent known location. Back in December 2022, though, an update meant that it "now supports encrypted last-known-location reports for Android devices, using a new privacy centric framework". We haven't seen any more updates to 'Find My Device' since then, but it does look suspiciously like the fingermarks of Google's rumored 'Finder Network'.
Put all of those pieces together and you potentially have the world's most powerful system for finding lost items or possessions, for Android fans at least. Google's own AirTag-style tracker might not be a technological leap over its Apple rival, but the system it's based on could be both more open and bigger than 'Find My'. Who knows, maybe it'll be powerful enough to compel Apple to release that long-rumored AirTag 2.
Early thoughts: why could Google's AirTags be better?
We've previously argued that Google's rumored AirTag rival could be an Android moment for Bluetooth trackers, and the evidence suggests it has the potential to be just that. What's less clear is when the tracker and new 'Finder Network' might be announced – and that rumored Google I/O 2023 debut is currently just guesswork.
Still, Google does have a history of making similar announcements at its developer conference and it feels like an AirTag rival would need to arrive this year. Google's current 'Find My Device' app arrived six years ago at Google I/O 2017 and evidence that it could be making a full-blown equivalent of Apple's 'Find My' network was first spotted by XDA Developers back in June 2021.
(Image credit: Google)
With the arrival of Ultra-wideband connectivity on recent Google Pixel phones, the pieces are coming together for a launch soon. The delays could be as much privacy-related as they are technological – Apple had to issue an update on AirTag and unwanted tracking in February 2022 and AirTags continue to hit the headlines for both good and bad reasons.
What isn't in doubt is the globe-spanning potential of a Google AirTag with a tracking network that anonymously piggybacks on billions of Android devices. Bluetooth trackers are currently in a fragmented state, with Samsung’s SmartThings Find service only compatible with Galaxy phones and Apple's AirTags being iPhone-only.
Both could be dwarfed by an Android-powered 'Finder Network', particularly if it's open to third-party manufacturers and connects to other tracking networks in the same way that Tile does with the Amazon Sidewalk. Whether all of this is indeed the case is something we're potentially looking forward to hearing about at Google I/O 2023.
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Microsoft’s own Defender antivirus program has erroneously labeled a number of safe links as malicious, sowing confusion among dozens of users.
After one of the affected users posted about the problem on Reddit, others quickly chimed in, confirming they had seen the same issue. For some, Zoom links were classified as malicious, while for others, Google’s links, as well.
Soon after being tipped off, Microsoft took to Twitter to acknowledge the problem and to say that its engineers were working on a fix.
Trouble viewing alerts
"We're investigating an issue where legitimate URL links are being incorrectly marked as malicious by the Microsoft Defender service. Additionally, some of the alerts are not showing content as expected," Microsoft said.
"We've confirmed that users are still able to access the legitimate URLs despite the false positive alerts. We're investigating why and what part of the service is incorrectly identifying legitimate URLs as malicious."
A later update on the Microsoft 365 Admin Center portal stated that admins can expect an “increased number” of high-severity email message alerts saying “A potentially malicious URL click was detected”, and that they can also expect trouble viewing the details by pressing the “View alerts” link in the messages.
"We're reviewing service monitoring telemetry to isolate the root cause and develop a remediation plan," Microsoft said. "Impact is specific to any admin served through the affected infrastructure."
A few hours later, Microsoft issued yet another update, saying the false positive issue has been addressed. Apparently, the problem was in the SafeLinks feature, and its engineers fixed it by reverting recent updates.
“We determined that recent additions to the SafeLinks feature resulted in the false alerts and we subsequently reverted these additions to fix the issue,” Microsoft said in a tweet. “More detail can be found in the Microsoft 365 admin center under DZ534539.”
It's time for your daily dose of Quordle hints. And you might need them - because this popular online game takes the Wordle format and quadruples the difficulty. So if you already find yourself searching for Wordle hints, you'll probably need some for Quordle too.
I'm a Quordle and Wordle fanatic who's been playing since December 2021, so I can definitely help you solve Quordle today and improve your game for tomorrow. Read on for my Quordle hints to game #432 and bookmark this page so you can easily return.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
Quordle today (game #432) - hint #1 - Vowels
How many different vowels are in Quordle today?
• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 3*.
* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).
Quordle today (game #432) - hint #2 - total vowels
What is the total number of vowels in Quordle today?
• The total number of vowels across today's Quordle answers is 7.
Quordle today (game #432) - hint #3 - repeated letters
Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?
• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 1.
Quordle today (game #432) - hint #4 - total letters
How many different letters are used in Quordle today?
• The total number of different letters used in Quordle today is 13.
Quordle today (game #432) - hint #5 - uncommon letters
Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?
• Yes. One of Q, Z, X or J appears among today's Quordle answers.
What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?
• G
• M
• E
• H
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
Quordle today (game #432) - the answers
(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)
The answers to today's Quordle, game #432, are…
GODLY
MOTOR
EPOXY
HEART
Today's Quordle is another tricky one, potentially. EPOXY is a fairly uncommon word that contains an X - never a good thing in Quordle! MOTOR also has a repeated O, plus an alternative answer that differs by only one letter (ROTOR, which I guessed first).
It's not the hardest Quordle ever, but it is quite difficult and I only solved it with one guess remaining.
Where Wordle challenges you to guess a new five-letter word each day, Quordle presents you with four puzzles to solve. And rather than complete them in turn, you do so simultaneously. You get nine guesses, rather than the six for Wordle, but the rules are otherwise very similar.
As with Wordle, the answers are the same for every player each day, meaning that you're competing against the rest of the world. And also as with Wordle, the puzzle resets at midnight so you have a fresh challenge each day.
The website also includes a practice mode - which I definitely recommend using before attempting the game proper! - and there are daily stats including a streak count. You also get Quordle Achievements - specific badges for winning a game in a certain number of turns, playing lots of times, or guessing particularly hard words.
Oh, and it's difficult. Really difficult.
What are the Quordle rules?
The rules of Quordle are almost identical to those of Wordle.
1. Letters that are in the answer and in the right place turn green.
2. Letters that are in the answer but in the wrong place turn yellow.
3. Letters that are not in the answer turn gray…
4. …BUT the word you guess appears in all quadrants of the puzzle at the same time, so an A could turn green in one square, yellow in another and gray in the final two.
5. Answers are never plural.
6. Letters can appear more than once. So if your guess includes two of one letter, they may both turn yellow, both turn green, or one could be yellow and the other green.
7. Each guess must be a valid word in Quordle's dictionary. You can't guess ABCDE, for instance.
8. You do not have to include correct letters in subsequent guesses and there is no equivalent of Wordle's Hard mode.
9. You have nine guesses to find the Quordle answers.
10. You must complete the daily Quordle before midnight in your timezone.
What is a good Quordle strategy?
Quordle needs to be approached in a different way to Wordle. With four puzzles to solve in nine guesses, you can't blindly throw letters at it and expect to win - you'll stand a far better chance if you think strategically.
That's the case in Wordle too, of course, but it's even more important in Quordle.
There are two key things to remember.
1. Use several starting words
Firstly, you won't want just a single starting word, but almost certainly two or three starting words.
The first of these should probably be one of the best Wordle starting words, because the same things that make them work well will apply here too. But after that, you should select another word or possibly two that use up lots more of the most common consonants and that include any remaining vowels.
For instance, I currently use STARE > DOILY > PUNCH. Between them, these three words use 15 of the 26 letters in the alphabet including all five vowels, Y, and nine of the most common consonants (S, T, R, D, L, P, N, C and H). There are plenty of other options - you might want to get an M, B, F or G in there instead of the H, maybe - but something like that should do the trick.
If all goes well, that will give you a good lead on what one or sometimes two of the answers might be. If not, well good luck!
2. Narrow things down
Secondly, if you're faced with a word where the answer might easily be one of several options - for instance -ATCH, where it could be MATCH, BATCH, LATCH, CATCH, WATCH, HATCH or PATCH - you'll definitely want to guess a word that would narrow down those options.
In Wordle, you can instead try several of those in succession and hope one is right, assuming you have enough guesses left. It's risky, but will sometimes work. Plus, it's the only option in Hard mode. But in Quordle, this will almost certainly result in a failure - you simply don't have enough guesses.
In the scenario above, CLAMP would be a great guess, as it could point the way to four of the seven words in one go.
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