Slow Wi-Fi? Your Internet Provider May Be Throttling Your Speed. Here's How to Tell - CNET

If your internet is crawling, you might want to check this out.

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The FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) wars are heating up, with Amazon today announcing that it will add more than 100 Amazon Originals from Prime Video to its Freevee streaming option. More than 50 movies and TV shows, are now available to stream on Freevee, and each month more Amazon Originals will be added to the list.

Freevee highlights now include Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, The Grand Tour, Mozart in the Jungle, Bosch, Modern Love, Savage X Fenty, Sylvie’s Love, Troop Zero, and Late Night, from Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling.

Freevee is available within the Amazon Prime Video app and can be accessed even without a paid Prime Video subscription. The app is available on Amazon Fire TV sets, Fire TV Stick 4K Max, and other streaming devices. It can also be accessed on many of the best smart TVs as well as iOS and Android devices.

Amazon Originals scheduled to launch in May on Freevee include The Summer I Turned Pretty and the first three episodes of A League of Their Own, along with The Terminal List, Paper Girls, Goliath, The Tick, full seasons of Homecoming and Upload, and The Vast of Night. According to the company’s release, all shows will simultaneously remain available on Prime Video for ad-free viewing.

Amazon further announced that the entire first seasons of Amazon Originals Reacher and The Wheel of Time will also be available for viewing on Freevee later this year. 

Analysis: Freevee is a gateway to Prime Video 

Streamer maker Roku was early to jump on the FAST track with its The Roku Channel and Amazon has since been playing catch-up with Freevee, the name it gave to its re-branded IMDb TV channel back in 2022. If you can deal with commercial interruptions while watching movies and TV shows, FAST options like Freevee provide a massive amount of free-to-stream programming. 

With other FAST apps like Pluto and Tubi available on most smart TVs, along with the built-in free TV portals that many set brands provide (Samsung’s TV Plus, for example), there is no shortage of options for accessing ad-supported movies and shows without having to pay a subscription fee.

What is there to watch on FAST platforms? You’ll typically find a mix of national news programs, old movies and TV shows (Gunsmoke, anyone?), reality series, and much more, all of it presented in a cable TV-style grid. And while I personally don’t find free ad-supported TV worth my time, I’m also keenly aware that the best streaming services are getting more expensive, and some viewers are no longer willing to pay big bucks to have a bundle of ad-free subscriptions to Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu and the like at their disposal.

Freevee is one of the better free options I’ve checked out, and with the addition of the company’s Amazon Originals to the mix, it’s going to provide strong competition for its FAST rivals. Right off the bat, I’d recommend streaming The Vast of Night and, later on this year, the visually sumptuous The Wheel of Time. 

Making a limited amount of Amazon Original programming available to stream for free is also a great way for the company to acquaint viewers with the best Prime Video TV shows and best Prime Video movies, which will doubtless encourage more viewers to subscribe to its paid streaming service.

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Google I/O 2023: How to Watch, Pixel Fold Rumors, Pixel Tablet and What to Expect - CNET

AI was a key topic during Google's recent earnings call. Expect plenty of AI announcements at I/O.

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Samsung is kicking off the new month by releasing Astrophotography Mode to the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy S21 series following a similar update to the Galaxy S22 line several months ago.

Users of those Samsung devices will now have an easier time taking high-quality pictures of the night sky without, for the most part, needing any fancy equipment or extensive experience. Astrophotography Mode comes with a Sky Guide for pointing out the exact location of constellations by “drawing [an outline] on the screen”. You will also be able to choose how long those outlines stay up on screen by dragging an in-app slider from four minutes up to 10, according to SamMobile.

All you need to do is install the latest update for the Expert RAW app from Samsung’s Galaxy Store in order to get the feature on your Z Fold 4. For the S21 phones, you will need to download the April 2023 security patch first before you can try out Astrophotography Mode. Once everything is squared away, a new icon for the mode will appear on the far side of the in-app toolbar.

Be aware the tech isn’t foolproof. You will need to have a clear night sky (although a few passing clouds won’t ruin the effect) plus little to no light pollution which may be difficult to avoid if you live in a city. But if you’re able to make it work, the images you can capture are pretty stunning. We do recommend getting a phone tripod. Taking long exposure shots of the stars requires you to hold the camera steady for several hours so save your arms the trouble. 

Potential expansion

It’s unknown if other Galaxy phones will get Astrophotography Mode. However, it’s worth mentioning a leak back in February by Twitter user GaryeonHan that did correctly predict that the Z Fold 4 and S21 Ultra would get the feature. That same leak also claimed the Galaxy S20 Ultra, N20 Ultra, and Z Fold 2 would see the same update. As it turns out, all three are listed as devices that have recently obtained support for Expert RAW on the app's Galaxy Store listing. So it’s possible this isn’t the last we see of Astrophotography Mode coming to older Galaxy models. We did reach out to Samsung to see if we could get any hints at a future rollout. This story will be updated at a later time. 

In the meantime, be sure to check out TechRadar's roundup of the best Galaxy S21 deals for May 2023 if you’re looking for a deal on this now more feature-rich phone.  

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Latest Gadgets News

About half of Indians surveyed said that they are unable to differentiate between the real and cloned voice of a person while 83 percent of the victims of voice scams have faced the loss of money, online security firm McAfee said in a report. The survey of 7,054 people was conducted in seven countries, including 1,010 respondents from India, around artificial intellig...

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Latest Tech News

Nvidia’s RTX 4060 Ti graphics card is set to be on shelves by the end of May, according to the latest from the rumor mill – but Team Green still isn’t sure when it’ll launch the vanilla RTX 4060.

This fresh leak from VideoCardz shows us a purported embargo timeline document which clearly marks the RTX 4060 Ti as shipping on May 5 – later this week – ahead of a product announcement and on-sale date both marked as ‘end of May’.

That could mean a product launch with simultaneously availability, or perhaps a short period between the reveal and the GPU actually being on shelves.

As for the base RTX 4060, that’s marked as ‘To Be Determined’, so we can assume that it’s going to be a bit later to arrive that the 4060 Ti, as the rumor mill has already suggested.

Of course, take all this with plenty of seasoning, and naturally what Nvidia intends right now could change, meaning the 4060 Ti launch could still slide. That said, the GPU has been rumored for a Computex launch (end of May) for some time now.

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Analysis: Pricing will be key

This is yet more evidence that we’re about to see the RTX 4060 Ti go on sale, and we’ve been seeing quite a bit lately – including a purported picture of the GPU shared on Twitter. This graphics card has also been spotted in some MSI PCs recently (in product listings at a Dutch online retailer which were mistakenly aired, but have now been yanked down).

In short, at this point, we’d be surprised if we don’t see the RTX 4060 Ti popping up at the end of the month. However, it looks like we’re in for a longer wait with the RTX 4060.

With all the chatter being around worries that the RTX 4060 Ti won’t be all that impressive in the spec department – particularly the purported 8GB of VRAM, which is looking like a meager allocation these days, even for 1080p gaming – we still have to see where Nvidia will pitch the price of this GPU.

Some truly affordable pricing could still save the day, but the latest rumor around the cost isn’t promising, theorizing that the RTX 4060 Ti might pitch in at $450, which would be disappointing to say the least. That’s from a YouTube leaker, not one with the strongest track record mind you – and another rumor has suggested a $399 price tag (from a shakier source still, MyDrivers in China).

We’re not confident on either of those pieces of speculation to be honest, and it could be that Nvidia is still making the final decision on pricing itself. We shall see, but if the rumored specs are correct including that 8GB of VRAM, Team Green will need to make this a reasonably compelling value proposition.

Cost-wise, Nvidia will also need to factor in the rival RX 7600, which AMD purportedly plans to sneak in for a launch on May 25, perhaps stealing Nvidia’s RTX 4060 Ti thunder.

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Don't Forget Grandma! She Deserves a Mother's Day Gift Too - CNET

Show your grandmother just how much you appreciate her this Mother's Day with these meaningful gifts.

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While we wait patiently for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 to get its grand unveiling, some unofficial renders of the foldable have appeared online. These are third-party renders, based on information from a variety of sources that has leaked out so far.

The images are courtesy of the well-known leak-monger OnLeaks and Smartprix, and they show a phone that's very much like the Galaxy Z Fold 4 that was launched last year. It looks like there won't be any massive design changes this time around.

That's partly to be expected – there aren't that many ways you can design a foldable phone, really. One change is on the rear camera module, where the flash has moved to the side of the camera lenses rather than sitting underneath them.

Good morning #FutureSquad! Here comes your very first look at the #Samsung #GalaxyZFold5 (360° video + stunning 5K renders + dimensions)!On behalf of @Smartprix 👉🏻 https://t.co/CP8EVA9eQB pic.twitter.com/QAnWJtSOoBApril 29, 2023

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Dimension details

What will be different, apparently, are the dimensions of the device. The Z Fold 5 apparently measures 154.9 mm x 129.9 mm x 6.3 mm when unfolded, compared with 155.1 mm x 130.1 mm x 6.3 mm for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4.

When folded up, the new phone is said to be a few millimeters thinner than its predecessor, thanks to the introduction of a waterdrop hinge that means both sides of the screen are going to be able to lie fully flat against each other.

It would seem that the biggest upgrade is going to be on the inside, with the Galaxy Z Fold 5 rumored to be powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. As per the most recent report, the Z Fold 5 and the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 could launch before the end of July.

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Analysis: design changes cost money

It always adds a little bit of extra interest to a phone launch when there are significant design changes to talk about – but as we mentioned earlier, it's hard to see too many ways to innovate when it comes to two slabs of glass and metal folding against each other.

What's more, design changes cost money. If the Z Fold 5 looks similar to the Z Fold 4, then Samsung may well already be able to use existing components and manufacturing lines to get the handset out to the masses.

When your profits have been declining as fast as Samsung's over recent months, saving money is important. Let's hope that some of the savings are passed on to consumers – the Z Fold 5 is rumored to cost the same as its predecessor (from $1,799 / £1,649 / AU$2,499).

It looks as though we might have to wait for next year for the design of this foldable to be significantly different: the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is reportedly going to come with a "major form factor change", but what exactly that looks like remains to be seen.

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Best Mattress for Side Sleepers for 2023 - CNET

Alleviate your back and shoulder pain by using the best mattress for side sleepers.

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Formula 1 Racing 2023: How to Watch and Livestream the Azerbaijan GP Today - CNET

Red Bull are now three for three in the 2023 season. Will they grab a fourth? Here's how to watch without cable.

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It's time for your daily dose of Quordle hints - now with added Daily Sequence answers! 

Yes, that's right: the makers of Quordle have a new game, which sees you complete four Wordle puzzles consecutively. The twist is that the letters you've already used on the first game are repeated on the second and so on. 

It's good fun, but also difficult - so if you already find yourself searching for Wordle hints, you'll probably need some for Quordle and the Daily Sequence 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 #461 and the answers to the Daily Sequence. 

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 #461) - 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 #461) - 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 #461) - 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 #461) - hint #4 - total letters

How many different letters are used in Quordle today?

• The total number of different letters used in Quordle today is 11.

Quordle today (game #461) - 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 #461) - 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 2.

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 #461) - hint #7 - starting letters (2)

What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• S

• G

• R

• R

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

Quordle today (game #461) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #461, are…

• STOUT
• GROUT
• RALPH
• RIGOR

Today's Quordle is a real mixed bag. Two of the answers, STOUT and GROUT, end in the same three letters, so once you found one, you'll have been in a good place to find the other. But on the flipside, STOUT has a repeated T, RIGOR has a repeated R and RALPH is not necessarily a word you'd expect to find in Quordle. 

Meanwhile, the Daily Sequence (see below) has four reasonably straightforward answers, although SHUCK might not be the most obvious word in the English language.

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

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Daily Sequence today (game #461) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #461, are…

• SAVOR
• SHUCK
• RURAL
• CORAL

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Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #460, Saturday 29 April: SCOUR, BLUSH, WHINE, ELIDE
• Quordle #459, Friday 28 April: TRITE, SLEEK, ALTAR, VOTER
• Quordle #458, Thursday 27 April: QUASI, PLUSH, CHUTE, SOAPY
• Quordle #457, Wednesday 26 April: PARKA, SPINY, BUSHY, CHAIR
• Quordle #456, Tuesday 25 April: CREST, SHRUB, CREDO, BELOW
• Quordle #455, Monday 24 April: DEUCE, BEAST, NOISY, YOUNG
• Quordle #454, Sunday 23 April: FALSE, LUSTY, EMPTY, FLESH
• Quordle #453, Saturday 22 April: LIMIT, IRONY, TERRA, ARBOR
• Quordle #452, Friday 21 April: WARTY, SEVER, KNAVE, PUBIC
• Quordle #451, Thursday 20 April: JELLY, PRONG, GLOBE, BLOOM
• Quordle #450, Wednesday 19 April: PURGE, OPINE, LILAC, CHEAP
• Quordle #449, Tuesday 18 April: MOLAR, PROBE, DRIER, BORNE
• Quordle #448, Monday 17 April: ASSAY, SLANT, NADIR, DENIM
• Quordle #447, Sunday 16 April: SLATE, BENCH, QUASH, FOGGY
• Quordle #446, Saturday 15 April: HAZEL, BERET, FALSE, COVEN
• Quordle #445, Friday 14 April: BROWN, PLAZA, DRUNK, DODGE
• Quordle #444, Thursday 13 April: DELVE, PIXEL, MINOR, CLOAK
• Quordle #443, Wednesday 12 April: INCUR, DRUNK, COVEN, THERE
• Quordle #442, Tuesday 11 April: CHIME, DRAIN, WHOSE, BOXER
• Quordle #441, Monday 10 April: THUMB, CHESS, SYRUP, HOTEL

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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Best Monitor Deals: 27-Inch QHD Displays From $180, 32-Inch UHD Displays From $272 - CNET

Save big on discounted 2K and 4K displays from top brands like HP, Dell, LG, Samsung, ViewSonic and more.

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Best Cellphone Deals: Save Big on Unlocked and Carrier Phone Deals - CNET

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Is It Time to Upgrade to the iPhone 14? How to Decide - CNET

Your current phone and budget will play a big role in the decision.

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Samsung has quietly launched the 2023 version of its Frame QLED (Quantum Light Emitting Diode) Smart TV line with the company closely adhering to the idea of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. 

The Frame series is a bit of an oddball in the realm of smart TVs as it has exclusive access to Samsung’s Art Store, a subscription service where owners can purchase pieces of digital versions of famous artworks. These TVs double as decorative pieces and the 2023 rendition is no different. Each display can be customized by installing magnetic wooden bezels onto its frame, or, as is the case with this year’s Frame, a metallic one sporting a Sand Gold finish for that extra pizzazz.

Beyond the aesthetic changes, the 2023 Frame is nearly identical to the 2022 model. You still get a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels with a refresh rate of 60Hz. You still get all of the bells and whistles like HDR10 Plus, an Anti-Reflection matte screen to “reduce the effects of glare”, plus a motion sensor to “display [art] when you’re in the room”. And support for Quantum Dot technology for outputting vibrant colors is migrating over too. 

Availability

At the time of this writing, the 2023 Frame TV is seeing a limited release. In the United States, you can purchase just the 32-inch model for $599; shipping out on May 1. Bezels are currently available for pre-order in wood only for $99.99 in three different colors: white, teak (which is a light brown), and dark brown. The Sand Gold metal bezel won’t be out until June 2023, so you’ll have to wait a bit longer.

For those in the United Kingdom, they have way more options. Interested buyers there can buy from six different sizes ranging from 32 inches to 85 inches, except the 50-inch model. That one is unavailable at this time. Prices for the TVs start at £549. The metal bezels are indeed available in the UK except for the 32-inch Frame TV. If you want the metal option, you’ll need to purchase the 43-inch model or anything bigger. Prices for the decorative bezels start at £89. We should also mention the full range of Frame TVs is available in Germany but on Amazon instead. Prices start at €685.

We asked Samsung if it has plans to expand the number of Frame TV sizes in the United States. Will the US get the full range or be stuck with the 32-inch screen? And whether or not there are plans for an international release. This story will be updated if we hear back.

Check out TechRadar’s list of the best TVs for 2023. We cover a wide range from low-budget to top-tier 8K displays.  

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