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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...

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 #441 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 #441) - 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 #441) - 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 5.

Quordle today (game #441) - 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 #441) - 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 #441) - 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.

Quordle today (game #441) - hint #6 - starting letters (1)

Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #441) - hint #7 - starting letters (2)

What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• T

• C

• S

• H

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #441) - the answers

Quordle 441 answers on a yellow background

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #441, are…

  • THUMB
  • CHESS
  • SYRUP
  • HOTEL

Welcome to another week of Quordle answers. Today's puzzle is a fairly well balanced one, with one quite tricky answer, one that's mildly difficult and two that are pretty standard for the game.

The hard one, for most people, will be CHESS, simply because it ends in two Ss. Not many words in Quordle (or Wordle) do that. SYRUP is potentially hard too; it has an uncommon word structure. Then again, if you guessed a Y (as most people do) and saw that it wasn't at the end of the answer, you'll have been pointed in the right direction at least.

Me? Well, I solved today's Quordle with two guesses remaining and with a minimum of fuss after my three starting words gave me a really good opening.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.


Quordle answers: The past 20

  • Quordle #440, Sunday 9 April: VERGE, CAMEL, PUTTY, GRASS
  • Quordle #439, Saturday 8 April: CRUEL, LIVID, SPIED, BLEND
  • Quordle #438, Friday 7 April: RIVET, VISOR, CEASE, AFOOT
  • Quordle #437, Thursday 6 April: COVEY, BREAK, AWASH, STALK
  • Quordle #436, Wednesday 5 April: SKULL, POLAR, SPREE, THOSE
  • Quordle #435, Tuesday 4 April: OUNCE, WHINE, FROCK, POSIT
  • Quordle #434, Monday 3 April: TURBO, WHOLE, LIGHT, SPRIG
  • Quordle #433, Sunday 2 April: WHOSE, SUPER, SHARK, FABLE
  • Quordle #432, Saturday 1 April: GODLY, MOTOR, EPOXY, HEART
  • Quordle #431, Friday 31 March: CHOIR, TUBAL, SCOUR, PARRY
  • Quordle #430, Thursday 30 March: ALIBI, REACH, ACRID, QUARK
  • Quordle #429, Wednesday 29 March: MOIST, BRAND, FAITH, ADMIN
  • Quordle #428, Tuesday 28 March: SUGAR, FIBRE, DITTY, TRIAD
  • Quordle #427, Monday 27 March: READY, REVUE, BELOW, HASTE
  • Quordle #426, Sunday 26 March: AWAIT, DROVE, MORAL, REEDY
  • Quordle #425, Saturday 25 March: AWOKE, THESE, LEASE, DITTO
  • Quordle #424, Friday 24 March: COUCH, APRON, BROTH, TITHE
  • Quordle #423, Thursday 23 March: CROSS, SAUCE, DOING, USUAL
  • Quordle #422, Wednesday 22 March: FAULT, ADAGE, SOOTH, HABIT
  • Quordle #421, Tuesday 21 March: WRING, SCRAP, THIRD, NOBLE

Quordle FAQs: Everything you need to know

What is Quordle?

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. 

It's played online via the Quordle website and you can also get to it via the Merriam-Webster site, after the dictionary purchased Quordle last year

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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Making the most of virtual backgrounds in Microsoft Teams might actually get easier and more intuitive thanks to a new release from the co...

Making the most of virtual backgrounds in Microsoft Teams might actually get easier and more intuitive thanks to a new release from the company.

The video conferencing service announced in March 2023 that it would be bringing green screen technology to help boost the detail and accuracy of virtual backgrounds and blur effects without the need for any additional software or hardware.

Now, the company has revealed more details on exactly how the new tool will work, and how it belives green screens can take your Microsoft Teams calls to the next level.

Green screen Microsoft Teams

In a Microsoft Tech Community blog post, company expert Jan Steberl outlined how the green screen feature, which is now in public preview, can provide, "an enhanced virtual background effect".

He noted how, "green screen improves the sharpness and definition of the virtual background effect around your face, head, ears, and hair. It also allows you to show a prop or other object in your hand to be more visible to other meeting participants."

Users will need to ensure they have a solid color screen or a background wall behind them to use the feature, which must be flat without any stains or other irregularities. They will also need to carefully select the backdrop color in order to ensure the background or blur effect is applied correctly and looks high-quality.

Steberl reminded users that they will need to apply a background effect in Teams meeting before enabling the green screen effect, which can be done after joining the call by clicking the “More” icon in the meeting toolbar, then selecting Video effects > Green Screen Settings in the Backgrounds section, and toggling the option under Teams settings -> Devices -> Green screen.

He did warn that activating a green screen will automatically disable background blur and Together Mode, although it is compatible with several Presenter mode options, including Standout, Side-by-Side and Reporter, PowerPoint Live Standout, and background replacement (JPEG/PNG).

Green screen on Microsoft Teams is currently only supported on Windows and macOS devices with Intel and AMD chips - Apple Macs with M1/M2 hardware are not able to enjoy the feature just yet.



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The iPhone 15 leaks and rumors continue to arrive at a steady rate: the latest sneak preview we've got is of the screen components for...

The iPhone 15 leaks and rumors continue to arrive at a steady rate: the latest sneak preview we've got is of the screen components for the phone, which show of the super-thin display bezels apparently appearing on the iPhone 15 Pro models.

These images supposedly showing the glass heading to the iPhone 15 models come courtesy of well-known tipster Ice Universe. We've got shots of the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max devices, plus some iPhone 14 screens for comparison.

You may remember that the same source previously claimed that the iPhone 15 Pro Max would have the thinnest bezels of any phone ever made, coming in at a mere 1.55 millimeters (0.061 inches) – and it looks like the iPhone 15 Pro will match that.

See more

Thinner and thinner

According to the leaker, the iPhone 15 will copy the bezel size of the iPhone 14 Pro at 2.1mm (0.083 inches), while the bezels on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone Pro Max will be even thinner. These very small changes aren't easy to see on these leaked photos.

We've also heard that the new iPhone 15 handsets are going to come with more rounded edges, which should add to the aesthetic appeal of the phones (unless you were a particular fan of the flat, straighter-edged look of the recent models).

All should be revealed around September time, which is when Apple traditionally unveils its new iPhones. Before that we've got the WWDC 2023 event in June, where we're expecting to hear all the details about the upcoming iOS 17.


Analysis: it's all about that display

What we can also tell from these leaked images is that the smaller notch and the Dynamic Island feature are going to be included on all of the iPhone models this time around, rather than being exclusive to the more expensive Pro editions.

The display notch is smaller than ever before, but it might not be around forever: rumors persist that Apple is working on ways to get the Face ID sensor and other components embedded under the display, so no notch would be required.

Add in Apple's attempts to make the bezels on the iPhone thinner than ever, and it's clear that the screen is the priority. It looks likely that eventually the iPhone will be all about that screen when viewing it from the front.

Bear in mind too that some of the iPhone 15 models are being tipped to replace the mechanical buttons with solid-state versions, another indication of the iPhone taking a minimal and compact approach to design in the years to come.



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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...

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 #440 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 #440) - 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 #440) - 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 6.

Quordle today (game #440) - 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 3.

Quordle today (game #440) - 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 #440) - 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.

Quordle today (game #440) - hint #6 - starting letters (1)

Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #440) - hint #7 - starting letters (2)

What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• V

• C

• P

• G

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #440) - the answers

Quordle 440 answers on a yellow background

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #440, are…

  • VERGE
  • CAMEL
  • PUTTY
  • GRASS

Another day, another Quordle. And this one appears to have a theme to it - well, to an extent. 

Here goes: VERGE and GRASS go together easily, no explanation needed there. CAMEL? Well, camels eat grass right? Do they? I'm actually not sure. Maybe they prefer hay or something. But I'm sure they'd eat grass if they had the chance. 

And PUTTY? Well, this is even more tenuous but, well, someone on a golf green might be PUTTY when they're using their putter. No? Fair enough, I'm just trying to inject some fun into proceedings.

Not that there's any problem with today's Quordle as such, it's just that it's a fairly standard one without any particularly notable features, and there's only so many times you can say that before your mind starts to wander. There are some repeated letters (three of them in total), but otherwise it's just a standard Quordle, and I solved it with two guesses remaining.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.


Quordle answers: The past 20

  • Quordle #439, Saturday 8 April: CRUEL, LIVID, SPIED, BLEND
  • Quordle #438, Friday 7 April: RIVET, VISOR, CEASE, AFOOT
  • Quordle #437, Thursday 6 April: COVEY, BREAK, AWASH, STALK
  • Quordle #436, Wednesday 5 April: SKULL, POLAR, SPREE, THOSE
  • Quordle #435, Tuesday 4 April: OUNCE, WHINE, FROCK, POSIT
  • Quordle #434, Monday 3 April: TURBO, WHOLE, LIGHT, SPRIG
  • Quordle #433, Sunday 2 April: WHOSE, SUPER, SHARK, FABLE
  • Quordle #432, Saturday 1 April: GODLY, MOTOR, EPOXY, HEART
  • Quordle #431, Friday 31 March: CHOIR, TUBAL, SCOUR, PARRY
  • Quordle #430, Thursday 30 March: ALIBI, REACH, ACRID, QUARK
  • Quordle #429, Wednesday 29 March: MOIST, BRAND, FAITH, ADMIN
  • Quordle #428, Tuesday 28 March: SUGAR, FIBRE, DITTY, TRIAD
  • Quordle #427, Monday 27 March: READY, REVUE, BELOW, HASTE
  • Quordle #426, Sunday 26 March: AWAIT, DROVE, MORAL, REEDY
  • Quordle #425, Saturday 25 March: AWOKE, THESE, LEASE, DITTO
  • Quordle #424, Friday 24 March: COUCH, APRON, BROTH, TITHE
  • Quordle #423, Thursday 23 March: CROSS, SAUCE, DOING, USUAL
  • Quordle #422, Wednesday 22 March: FAULT, ADAGE, SOOTH, HABIT
  • Quordle #421, Tuesday 21 March: WRING, SCRAP, THIRD, NOBLE
  • Quordle #420, Monday 20 March: BISON, BOTCH, ABHOR, GLINT

Quordle FAQs: Everything you need to know

What is Quordle?

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. 

It's played online via the Quordle website and you can also get to it via the Merriam-Webster site, after the dictionary purchased Quordle last year

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 Music Sing made its debut just before the end of 2022 to… actually, relatively little fanfare. And that is strange, because for Apple...

Apple Music Sing made its debut just before the end of 2022 to… actually, relatively little fanfare. And that is strange, because for Apple Music subscribers who are able to meet a few key credentials, it's an exciting and fun new way to explore their inner diva, crooner or hype-person.

And not with specially-made karaoke tracks either! No no, you get to lower the vocal within the actual track, along with beat-by-beat on-screen lyrics in case you forget the bridge. (You won't, we know that.) 

Apple Music Sing isn't a device-agnostic perk within Apple Music though. Right now, it's exclusive to more recent iOS devices running the latest version of the Apple Music app – iPhone 11 or later basically, but we'll get to that. 

If you're an Apple Music subscriber ($10.99 / £10.99 / AU$12.99 a month) though, there's a lot to have fun with. And potentially, there's a voice hiding within you that's desperate to be unleashed! 

Apple Music Sing on an iPhone, held in your hand

'Cause aaaall of me… Loves, aaall of you! (Image credit: Future)

Hold the verse and chorus though, how good is Apple Music Sing? Before you warble a note, you need to know whether it's worth upgrading your old iPhone XR for, since it'll only work with iPhone 11 and later. And why on earth has Apple made it so you cannot completely nix the pre-recorded voices and add your own inimitable vocal stylings to songs? 

We've tried to answer all of these questions and more in this guide to Apple's unique Sing offering, a proposition which undoubtedly gives Apple Music a further advantage in its battle with Spotify and the best music streaming services right now. 

Apple Music Sing: release date and price

Apple Music Sing is available now in any country where Apple Music is available. That includes the USA, UK and Australia, China, Japan and South Korea. It was officially unveiled on December 13, 2023. 

You need an Apple Music subscription to listen to Apple Music – there's no separate subscription available (take note: Apple Music Sing is not to be confused with Apple's cheaper Apple Music Voice option). 

Right now, Apple Music, which is where you find Apple Music Sing, costs $10.99 / £10.99 / AU$12.99 a month.

Considering Apple Music has over 100 million songs (and the recently launched Apple Musical Classical app is free to subscribers and adds another five million tracks to that), adding a neat little karaoke volume slider for the vocals is pretty good value – particularly if you have a penchant for grabbing the mic and songbook at your local karaoke place. But it's not available on all songs (more on this later). 

Apple Music's lyrics offering is not new, you understand – just the cute mic icon that blossoms to a bigger slider when you tap and hold it. The time-synced lyrics feature actually arrived with the release of iOS 13, on September 19, 2019. 

Why are we mentioning this? Well, only the tracks within Apple Music that have lyrics are part of Apple Music Sing. If nothing happens when you tap the lyrics icon in the bottom left (which reveals the words in real-time and then the little mic icon) you cannot use Apple Music Sing with this track. 

Apple Music Sing: how to get it and how to use it

There are a few hoops to jump through before you can start using Apple Music Sing. First, you need an individual, student, or family subscription to Apple Music – unfortunately, the cheaper Apple Voice ($4.99 / £4.99 / AU$5.99) plan doesn't include the otherwise-free Sing features.

You also may need to update your iPhone's software to iOS 16.2. The granular details are as follows… 

Supported devices: iPhone 11 (or later), iPhone SE (3rd generation) using iOS 16.2 or later, iPad Pro 11-inch 3rd gen. or later, iPad Air 4th gen. and later, iPad Mini (6th gen.) or iPad 9th gen. and later using iPadOS 16.2 or later, and Apple TV 4K (3rd gen.)

As a quick guide, iOS 16.2 was released on December 13, 2023, so if you haven't updated your iPhone software in a little while, you'll need to. 

Apple Music Sing screenshots on gray background

French rap, Pop or classic love songs – what's your vocal poison?  (Image credit: Apple Music)

Got both an Apple Music subscription and a relatively recent iPhone, iPad or Apple TV 4K? You can download Apple Music from the App Store right now – although let's be honest, it'll come pre-loaded on your device won't it? This is Apple after all. Just sign in with your Apple ID (you may even be able to take advantage of a free trial!) and you're off.

Unfortunately, there is currently no Android support for Apple Music Sing, which is a shame – and we're not convinced this is something Apple is considering… of course, should this change, you'll be the first to know.

But now that you're in Apple Music, on your relatively new Apple device, simply start playing a song, then tap on the song at the bottom-left of the screen (which opens it up to cover the full screen). Now, tap the lyrics icon, also bottom left, which look like a set of quotation marks in a bubble. If lyrics are available, they'll pop up in real-time. 

Finally (and this is the good bit), tap anywhere on the screen and a little mic icon should show up, on the right. Touch that, and it becomes a slider to lower the vocal in the mix. Then get to singing! 

Apple Music Sing: what is it?

Apple Music Sing sounds simple enough – an extra feature, free with your Apple Music subscription, which lets you stream any lyrics-enhanced track with hardly any vocal on top. But therein lies our two small issues with it. Firstly, not every track in Apple Music's library is so enabled (and it's nigh-on impossible to tell how much of Apple Music's library is or isn't available with beat-by-beat lyrics to sing along to), and secondly, you cannot switch off the vocal completely; it's still ever-so-slightly perceptible. 

Of course, it's hard to knock something that's free and fun – and we're certainly not doing that. The amount of tracks available is surprising; certain tracks will shock you for being onboard (Bruce Springsteen's For You is there, which is a lyrical challenge you should only accept with a clear head), but others will be harder to find – Maria McKee's power ballad classic Show Me Heaven is there via her album, Cherish, but not through certain compilation albums.

Apple has done the right thing and provided over 50 diverse, multi-language Apple Music Sing genre and decade playlists, if you scroll down from the Apple Music Sing section, in the Browse tab. I counted 33 playlists organized by genre and seven decade-curated playlists, but that's after the 13 'Made to Sing' offerings, including more generic 'Classical Love Songs', 'Iconic Duets' and the like. 

Naturally, all of these particular curations contain only Sing enabled tracks. My personal favorites here include Deutschrap (I used to live in Germany), Classic Rock (hello, Black Velvet's A5 belt, it's been a while) and of course Sing '60s, where you'll find Elvis, Aretha, Frankie Valli, the Beatles and many more… probably best to run through a few vocal scales first if you're trying to impress here. 

Apple Music sing close-up of the mic icon, on an iPhone

Turn the vocal down and belt your heart out (Image credit: Future)

Apple Music Sing: features and design

As you'd hope for a free in-app feature, Apple Music Sing is seamlessly integrated with Apple Music – so much so, that you might struggle to find it at first, given Apple Music's various colorful landing pages. 

If you go to the Browse tab – the icon that looks like four squares, second from the left at the bottom of the home screen – and scroll down, you'll see a red bar wanting to navigate you to Apple Music Sing (although it does tend to take second billing to Apple Music Classical, so keep scrolling!) 

The app itself features lossless audio quality up to 24 bit/192 kHz throughout its catalog, which is a boon considering there's still no sign of equivalents like Spotify HiFi (its lossless, CD-quality offering). The thing is, as with Apple Music's Dolby Atmos support, you kind of have to go looking for it at the bottom of tracks, to see if it's there. 

And this brings me on to a key point for those who love spatial audio: if you’re listening to a song playing with Dolby Atmos and you turn on Apple Music Sing, Dolby Atmos turns off and the song plays without surround sound. If you turn off Apple Music Sing, the song plays with Dolby Atmos.

There's no official support for microphones or the option to record your efforts yet either – although wouldn't that be good?

So that's kind of your lot. Essentially, lead vocals (which are usually mixed to the center channel so they're easy to remove with most audio software) can be greatly lowered with Apple Music Sing, and you can get it wherever you see the lyrics feature. 

One especially fun element of the Apple Music Sing when it launched was Apple's claim that you'd be able to sing duets and backup vocals, with separately animated lyrics. Only, in our tests we found we could only tweak the lead vocal – and Apple hasn't released any more information on when (or even if) those further features are coming – yet.

Apple Music Sing: the downsides

Apple Music Sing certainly isn't perfect. For a start, my iPhone XR is too old to get it, and there's no Android support at the time of writing. When you deploy it, you lose Dolby Atmos too. 

One bugbear noted by early users is that the slider can't go all the way to zero – yes, you'll always hear a little bit of vocal in the track. Why? It's not immediately obvious, but because the software is likely using a vocal remover/AI to remove the vocal from the center channel (although there's extra intelligence going on too; some vocals from left and right channels are also diminished in much the same way), it's never going to sound as clean as an official instrumental version, plus you'll hear some artificing from the reverb effects – so no vocal whatsoever would sound very odd. It’s decent, but if you're thinking of signing up to Apple Music and expecting high quality backing tracks, you may be disappointed. 

Also – and this is perhaps a wider discussion – Apple Music sort of needs a design overhaul. The service is to be commended for offering so much – Lossless, Hi-Res Lossless and Dolby Atmos tracks, videos, regularly-updated playlists, videos, radio, a dedicated Classical app, your own library, even the option to 'love' a track – but it feels more than a little congested. It's as if the myriad options presented under 'Browse', 'Listen Now', 'Radio' and 'Library' are all vying a little too hard to get your attention. 

One especially fun element of the Apple Music Sing when it launched was Apple's claim that you'd be able to sing duets and backup vocals, with separately animated lyrics. Only, in our tests we found we could only tweak the lead vocal – and Apple hasn't released any more information on when or even if those further features are coming – yet.

Back in December, Apple's vice president of Apple Music and Beats, Oliver Schusser, said, "Apple Music's lyrics experience is consistently one of the most popular features on our service," adding, "We already know our users all over the world love to follow along to their favorite songs, so we wanted to evolve this offering even further to enable even more engagement around music through singing. It's really a lot of fun, our customers are going to love it." 

Apple Music Sing: early verdict

Back in December, Apple's vice president of Apple Music and Beats, Oliver Schusser, said, "Apple Music's lyrics experience is consistently one of the most popular features on our service," adding, "We already know our users all over the world love to follow along to their favorite songs, so we wanted to evolve this offering even further to enable even more engagement around music through singing. It's really a lot of fun, our customers are going to love it." 

We'd have to agree, it's fun. But it could be even more fun – if you could do multiple vocal parts, backing tracks, record what you'd just created and could nix the original vocal entirely… That said, for a first-gen. offering, Apple Music Sing is a novel new experience. It's like a free karaoke mode; a unique differentiator for Apple Music when compared to the likes of Tidal, Amazon Music, and Spotify.



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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...

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 #439 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 #439) - 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 #439) - 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 #439) - 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 #439) - hint #4 - total letters

How many different letters are used in Quordle today?

The total number of different letters used in Quordle today is 12.

Quordle today (game #439) - 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.

Quordle today (game #439) - hint #6 - starting letters (1)

Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #439) - hint #7 - starting letters (2)

What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• C

• L

• S

• B

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #439) - the answers

Quordle answers for game 439 on a yellow background

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #439, are…

  • CRUEL
  • LIVID
  • SPIED
  • BLEND

Today's Quordle answers aren't too bad. Or at least they're definitely easier than yesterday's, with no words as obscure as COVEY.

Instead, all four are relatively common words, of which only one, LIVID, has an repeated letters. Three finish with a D - so once you got that in place you'll have been well along the path to solving all of those ones.  

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.


Quordle answers: The past 20

  • Quordle #438, Friday 7 April: RIVET, VISOR, CEASE, AFOOT
  • Quordle #437, Thursday 6 April: COVEY, BREAK, AWASH, STALK
  • Quordle #436, Wednesday 5 April: SKULL, POLAR, SPREE, THOSE
  • Quordle #435, Tuesday 4 April: OUNCE, WHINE, FROCK, POSIT
  • Quordle #434, Monday 3 April: TURBO, WHOLE, LIGHT, SPRIG
  • Quordle #433, Sunday 2 April: WHOSE, SUPER, SHARK, FABLE
  • Quordle #432, Saturday 1 April: GODLY, MOTOR, EPOXY, HEART
  • Quordle #431, Friday 31 March: CHOIR, TUBAL, SCOUR, PARRY
  • Quordle #430, Thursday 30 March: ALIBI, REACH, ACRID, QUARK
  • Quordle #429, Wednesday 29 March: MOIST, BRAND, FAITH, ADMIN
  • Quordle #428, Tuesday 28 March: SUGAR, FIBRE, DITTY, TRIAD
  • Quordle #427, Monday 27 March: READY, REVUE, BELOW, HASTE
  • Quordle #426, Sunday 26 March: AWAIT, DROVE, MORAL, REEDY
  • Quordle #425, Saturday 25 March: AWOKE, THESE, LEASE, DITTO
  • Quordle #424, Friday 24 March: COUCH, APRON, BROTH, TITHE
  • Quordle #423, Thursday 23 March: CROSS, SAUCE, DOING, USUAL
  • Quordle #422, Wednesday 22 March: FAULT, ADAGE, SOOTH, HABIT
  • Quordle #421, Tuesday 21 March: WRING, SCRAP, THIRD, NOBLE
  • Quordle #420, Monday 20 March: BISON, BOTCH, ABHOR, GLINT
  • Quordle #419, Sunday 19 March: KNEEL, COBRA, LINER, DEBUG

Quordle FAQs: Everything you need to know

What is Quordle?

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. 

It's played online via the Quordle website and you can also get to it via the Merriam-Webster site, after the dictionary purchased Quordle last year

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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A new global study found that Iceland is leading the way in creative activity online. Of the top 30 countries web hosting provider Hostin...

A new global study found that Iceland is leading the way in creative activity online.

Of the top 30 countries web hosting provider Hostinger analyzed that ranked highest in online creativity activity, the data shows that 23 can be found in Europe.

In terms of website and app creation and GitHub commits, Cyprus leads the way in terms of mobile app creation; Singapore and Hong Kong are the frontrunners for Github commits; and the USA ranks first for most websites created (generic TLDs).

Creative websites in Europe 

With the continuing growth of the internet, the report marks Cyprus’ app creation as one of the economy’s strengths, even from an income perspective.

Hostinger says that Fintech powerhouses, like Switzerland, Netherlands, and Denmark, have among the highest number of website launches on the continent, indicating that website design and development are still substantial economic drivers on the continent.

Commenting on the study, a spokesperson for Hostinger noted: “We often don’t stop and think about what online creativity is or how it can be measured. It’s been fascinating to see just how different economies are shaped by different types of web development endeavors. 

“This study also opened our eyes to some emerging economies where the online revolution has just started, and it’s exciting to be in the forefront of all these new technologies.” 

Overall online creativity frontrunners include Iceland, Switzerland and the Netherlands, while leaders in mobile app development include Cyprus, Israel, and Singapore.

When it comes to leaders in website development, the USA, Malta and Iceland take the lead for generic TLDs, as the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Denmark sit at the top of the table for country-code TLDs.

The top three countries taking the lead in GitHub activity include Singapore, Hong Kong, and Switzerland.



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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...

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 #438 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 #438) - 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 #438) - 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 10.

Quordle today (game #438) - 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 2.

Quordle today (game #438) - hint #4 - total letters

How many different letters are used in Quordle today?

The total number of different letters used in Quordle today is 10.

Quordle today (game #438) - 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.

Quordle today (game #438) - hint #6 - starting letters (1)

Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #438) - hint #7 - starting letters (2)

What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• R

• V

• C

• A

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #438) - the answers

Quordle answers for 438 on a yellow background

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #438, are…

  • RIVET
  • VISOR
  • CEASE
  • AFOOT

I found today's Quordle answers to be another pretty tough bunch to solve. There are repeated letters in two of them (AFOOT and CEASE), Vs in two of them (RIVET and VISOR), plus lots of vowels - which can make it hard to find the structure of a word without so many consonants to pin them down.

I solved all four in the end, but it took me until the final go and I was relieved when all five letters for AFOOT turned green. That's two tricky days in a row - coincidence or a sign of something to come? 

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.


Quordle answers: The past 20

  • Quordle #437, Thursday 6 April: COVEY, BREAK, AWASH, STALK
  • Quordle #436, Wednesday 5 April: SKULL, POLAR, SPREE, THOSE
  • Quordle #435, Tuesday 4 April: OUNCE, WHINE, FROCK, POSIT
  • Quordle #434, Monday 3 April: TURBO, WHOLE, LIGHT, SPRIG
  • Quordle #433, Sunday 2 April: WHOSE, SUPER, SHARK, FABLE
  • Quordle #432, Saturday 1 April: GODLY, MOTOR, EPOXY, HEART
  • Quordle #431, Friday 31 March: CHOIR, TUBAL, SCOUR, PARRY
  • Quordle #430, Thursday 30 March: ALIBI, REACH, ACRID, QUARK
  • Quordle #429, Wednesday 29 March: MOIST, BRAND, FAITH, ADMIN
  • Quordle #428, Tuesday 28 March: SUGAR, FIBRE, DITTY, TRIAD
  • Quordle #427, Monday 27 March: READY, REVUE, BELOW, HASTE
  • Quordle #426, Sunday 26 March: AWAIT, DROVE, MORAL, REEDY
  • Quordle #425, Saturday 25 March: AWOKE, THESE, LEASE, DITTO
  • Quordle #424, Friday 24 March: COUCH, APRON, BROTH, TITHE
  • Quordle #423, Thursday 23 March: CROSS, SAUCE, DOING, USUAL
  • Quordle #422, Wednesday 22 March: FAULT, ADAGE, SOOTH, HABIT
  • Quordle #421, Tuesday 21 March: WRING, SCRAP, THIRD, NOBLE
  • Quordle #420, Monday 20 March: BISON, BOTCH, ABHOR, GLINT
  • Quordle #419, Sunday 19 March: KNEEL, COBRA, LINER, DEBUG
  • Quordle #418, Saturday 18 March: CLUED, STAVE, CRANE, EMPTY

Quordle FAQs: Everything you need to know

What is Quordle?

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. 

It's played online via the Quordle website and you can also get to it via the Merriam-Webster site, after the dictionary purchased Quordle last year

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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A Chinese online marketplace apparently unknowingly leaked hundreds of thousands of highly sensitive customer records which could have easi...

A Chinese online marketplace apparently unknowingly leaked hundreds of thousands of highly sensitive customer records which could have easily been used for identity fraud and other forms of cybercrime, a new report has claimed. 

Researcher Jeremiah Fowler found a shady marketplace called Z2U keeping an unlocked database on a cloud server hosting roughly 600,000 records. 

While Z2U advertises itself as a “reliable trade environment” for gamers, Fowler discovered many items on sale which could easily be classified as illegal, including Facebook and Instagram accounts, access to HBO, Netflix, Disney+ and other streaming services, Windows license keys, malware, viruses, and more, were all available for purchase.

Sensitive information

To register on the site, a user must pass KYC (Know Your Customer) verification and must provide an unaltered image of an identity document, such as an ID card, or passport. 

However this information, including photographs of users holding their identity documents, was sitting in the unprotected database Fowler discovered. 

Furthermore, the database held records showing bank transaction payments that included IBAN numbers, user logins, emails, account passwords, order confirmations with the buyers’ names, emails, purchase details, and more. 

The database was hosted on a server located in China, Fowler further explained, saying he saw a “large number” of documents and file names in Chinese. 

“There could be significant intellectual property implications of selling accounts, license keys, and access to games, services and licensed software applications,” he says. 

Many of the account login email addresses he was for sale used Russian email accounts, too. “It is well known in the security community that Russia and China are among the most active locations for cybercrime and both countries have a reputation of being deeply engaged in dark web or malicious activity online.”

A week after discovering the database and notifying Z2U, the company locked the database, and Fowler did not mention finding any evidence of the data actually being used in the wild - however users should still act with caution.



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The world will have 5.9 billion 5G subscribers by the end of 2027, according to new estimates from market analysts Omdia - almost a fourfol...

The world will have 5.9 billion 5G subscribers by the end of 2027, according to new estimates from market analysts Omdia - almost a fourfold increase from the 1.5 billion connections at the end of 2022. 

The figure should hit two billion 5G connections in 2023, the report says, backing up recent Ericsson estimates which claim global 5G subscriptions hit ne billion at the end of 2022, with 136 million subscriptions being added in Q4 alone.

Omdia says that 455 million new 5G connections were added around the world in 2022, equaling 14% sequential quarterly growth (from 922 million in Q3 to 1.05 billion in Q4). 

"Remarkable" growth

Of that number, 119 million 5G connections were in North America, in addition to its 507 million LTE connections. In total, Omdia expects some 215 million 5G connections to come from the continent this year, as the sale of 5G-powered phones continues to rise.

“5G is growing remarkably and scaling faster than any other previous generation of mobile wireless,” commented Chris Pearson, president of 5G Americas. “While deployments and connections are added at a significant pace, the promise of 5G will be realized by technological progress in areas like standalone architecture and network slicing for new use cases.”

For Kristin Paulin, principal analyst at Omdia, telecom operators are driving the adoption of 5G with lower prices and smartphone promotions, “including some free smartphone deals”. “This is helping to drive 5G adoption as there is wide 5G coverage in North America, making it likely to be in a 5G service area,” she said. “The only other thing required is a 5G-eligible plan.”

5G Americas also reports that the number of 5G commercial networks in the world now reached 259, with the industry trade organization expecting 390 by the end of 2023. In two years’ time, by the end of 2025, we might have more than 400, it said.



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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...

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 #437 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 #437) - 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 #437) - 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 #437) - 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 #437) - 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 #437) - 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.

Quordle today (game #437) - hint #6 - starting letters (1)

Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #437) - hint #7 - starting letters (2)

What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• C

• B

• A

• S

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #437) - the answers

Quordle 437 answers on a yellow background

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #437, are…

  • COVEY
  • BREAK
  • AWASH
  • STALK

Today's Quordle answers are… tough! Or rather, one is quite tough and one is really tough. At least the other two aren't too bad.

Let's start with the simple ones. BREAK and STALK are pretty standard Quordle fare, with no repeated letters and no really obscure letters. Both include a K, which isn't so common, but it's at the end of the word (where it is). 

AWASH is harder: this has a repeated A, which isn't particularly common among five-letter words. For some reason I always decided to play the far less likely ABASH, which meant I wasted a guess on it.

And then there's COVEY. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, which owns Quordle, COVEY means "a mature bird or pair of birds with a brood of young." Right. Well, it was a new one to me, and I only found it because a) I already have four of the five letters in place and b) it was one of only two words that Quordle would accept, given my remaining letters. It was COVEY or COZEY on the final guess, and fortunately I guessed correct and escaped - just about - with my streak intact.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.


Quordle answers: The past 20

  • Quordle #436, Wednesday 5 April: SKULL, POLAR, SPREE, THOSE
  • Quordle #435, Tuesday 4 April: OUNCE, WHINE, FROCK, POSIT
  • Quordle #434, Monday 3 April: TURBO, WHOLE, LIGHT, SPRIG
  • Quordle #433, Sunday 2 April: WHOSE, SUPER, SHARK, FABLE
  • Quordle #432, Saturday 1 April: GODLY, MOTOR, EPOXY, HEART
  • Quordle #431, Friday 31 March: CHOIR, TUBAL, SCOUR, PARRY
  • Quordle #430, Thursday 30 March: ALIBI, REACH, ACRID, QUARK
  • Quordle #429, Wednesday 29 March: MOIST, BRAND, FAITH, ADMIN
  • Quordle #428, Tuesday 28 March: SUGAR, FIBRE, DITTY, TRIAD
  • Quordle #427, Monday 27 March: READY, REVUE, BELOW, HASTE
  • Quordle #426, Sunday 26 March: AWAIT, DROVE, MORAL, REEDY
  • Quordle #425, Saturday 25 March: AWOKE, THESE, LEASE, DITTO
  • Quordle #424, Friday 24 March: COUCH, APRON, BROTH, TITHE
  • Quordle #423, Thursday 23 March: CROSS, SAUCE, DOING, USUAL
  • Quordle #422, Wednesday 22 March: FAULT, ADAGE, SOOTH, HABIT
  • Quordle #421, Tuesday 21 March: WRING, SCRAP, THIRD, NOBLE
  • Quordle #420, Monday 20 March: BISON, BOTCH, ABHOR, GLINT
  • Quordle #419, Sunday 19 March: KNEEL, COBRA, LINER, DEBUG
  • Quordle #418, Saturday 18 March: CLUED, STAVE, CRANE, EMPTY
  • Quordle #417, Friday 17 March: STUFF, DEBUT, FORCE, RUPEE

Quordle FAQs: Everything you need to know

What is Quordle?

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. 

It's played online via the Quordle website and you can also get to it via the Merriam-Webster site, after the dictionary purchased Quordle last year

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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