Technologies

Roku’s Holiday Streaming Deals: Three Months of Free Apple TV, $1 Howdy and More

Black Friday is behind us, but Roku is still offering streaming discounts until early next year.

Black Friday typically offers some streaming deals each year, but the period immediately following is a bit less predictable. If you have a Roku streaming device, you can continue your shopping spree with offers on services such as Apple TV, Howdy and Starz.

You can currently get three months of Apple TV (formerly Apple TV Plus) for free in the Apple TV app on your Roku device with an offer that ends on Jan. 19. Roku’s recently launched ad-free streaming service, Howdy, typically costs $3 per month, but you can stream for $1 per month for two months with a current deal that expires on Jan. 2. You can also get a 30-day free trial of the budget-friendly live TV streaming service Frndly TV right now in the app on your device before the deal runs out on Jan. 5.

If you frequently visit The Roku Channel, you may be interested in discounts on premium subscriptions, which are similar to Prime Video’s add-on subscriptions. Hallmark Plus, Starz or BET Plus on the Roku Channel are all $2 per month for two months right now. Here’s a list of even more Roku offers to check out.

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Roku subscription deals

Each of these deals is only available if you use Roku to sign up. Outside of the claim windows for the Apple TV and Frdnly offers, these discounts end on Jan. 2.

Apple TV: Three months free. Typically $13 per month (expires Jan. 19).

Howdy: $1 per month for two months. Typically $3 per month.

Frndly TV: 30 days free. Typically $11 per month for the Classic plan (expires Jan. 5).

Hallmark Plus on Roku Channel: $2 per month for two months. Typically $8 per month.

Starz on Roku Channel: $2 per month for two months. Typically $11 per month.

BET Plus on Roku Channel: $2 per month for two months. Typically $6 per month.

Lifetime Movie Club on The Roku Channel: $2 per month for two months. Typically $5 per month.

Sundance Now on The Roku Channel: $2 per month for two months. Typically $7 per month.

Acorn TV on The Roku Channel: $2 per month for two months. Typically $9 per month.

Screambox on The Roku Channel: $3 per month for 12 months. Typically $5 per month.

All Reality on The Roku Channel: $2 per month for two months. Typically $5 per month.

UP Faith & Family on The Roku Channel: $2 per month for two months. Typically $6 per month.

A&E Crime Central on The Roku Channel: $2 per month for two months. Typically $6 per month.

Technologies

Quadrantids Is a Short but Sweet Meteor Shower Just After New Year’s. How to See It

This meteor shower has one of the most active peaks, but it doesn’t last for very long.

The Quadrantids has the potential to be one of the most active meteor showers of the year, and skygazers won’t have long to wait to see it. The annual shower is predicted to reach maximum intensity on Jan. 3. And with a display that can rival Perseids, Quadrantids could be worth braving the cold to see it.

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The show officially begins on Dec. 28 and lasts until Jan. 12, according to the American Meteor Society. Quadrantids is scheduled to peak on Jan. 2-3, when it may produce upwards of 125 meteors per hour. This matches Perseids and other larger meteor showers on a per-hour rate, but Quadrantids also has one of the shortest peaks at just 6 hours, so it rarely produces as many meteors overall as the other big ones.

The meteor shower comes to Earth courtesy of the 2003 EH1 asteroid, which is notable because most meteor showers are fed from comets, not asteroids. Per NASA, 2003 EH1 is a near-Earth asteroid that orbits the sun once every five and a half years. Science posits that 2003 EH1 was a comet in a past life, but too many trips around the sun stripped it of its ice, leaving only its rocky core. The Earth runs through EH1’s orbital debris every January, which results in the Quadrantids meteor shower.

How and where to see Quadrantids

Quadrantids is named for the constellation where its meteors appear to originate, a point known as the radiant. This presents another oddity, as the shower originates from the constellation Quadrans Muralis. This constellation ceased to be recognized as an official constellation in the 1920s and isn’t available on most publicly accessible sky maps.

For the modern skygazer, you’ll instead need to find the Bootes and Draco constellations, both of which contain stars that were once a part of the Quadrans Muralis. Draco will be easier to find after sunset on the evening of Jan. 2, and will be just above the horizon in the northern sky. Bootes orbits around Draco, but will remain under the horizon until just after 1 a.m. local time in the northeastern sky. From that point forward, both will sit in the northeastern part of the sky until sunrise. You’ll want to point your chair in that direction and stay there to see meteors.

As the American Meteor Society notes, Quadrantids has a short but active peak, lasting around 6 hours. The peak is expected to start around 4 p.m. ET and last well into the evening. NASA predicts the meteor shower to start one day later on Jan. 3-4, so if you don’t see any on the evening of Jan. 2, try again on Jan. 3.

To get the best results, the standard space viewing tips apply. You’ll want to get as far away from the city and suburbs as possible to reduce light pollution. Since it’ll be so cold outside, dress warmly and abstain from alcoholic beverages, as they can affect your body temperature. You won’t need any binoculars or telescopes, and the reduced field of view may actually impact your ability to see meteors.

The bad news is that either way, the Quadrantids meteor shower coincides almost perfectly with January’s Wolf Moon, which also happens to be a supermoon. This will introduce quite a lot of light pollution, which will likely drown out all but the brightest meteors. So, while it may have a peak of over 100 meteors per hour, both NASA and the AMS agree that the more realistic expectation is 10 or so bright meteors per hour.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Dec. 24, #1649

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for Dec. 24, No. 1,649.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle is a little tricky, with a double letter that could confuse players. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has one repeated letter.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

Today’s Wordle answer has one vowel, but it’s the repeated letter, so you’ll see it twice.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with S.

Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter

Today’s Wordle answer ends with L.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can refer to a cylindrical device upon which thread is wound.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is SPOOL.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, Dec. 23, No. 1648 was GLINT.

Recent Wordle answers

Dec. 19, No. 1644: MYRRH

Dec. 20, No. 1645: WHITE

Dec. 21, No. 1646: QUILT

Dec. 22, No. 1647: CONCH

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Dec. 24, #457

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Dec. 24, No. 457.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a bit of a toughie, with a lot of proper nouns included. If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: What separates two entities.

Green group hint: Head to the mountains.

Blue group hint: Mitt makers.

Purple group hint: Kick it.