Technologies

Sims 4 Cyber Week Deals: The Best DLC Packs to Buy Before Dec. 7

You can still save up to 50% on Sims 4 DLC packs.

The Sims 4, which is free to download across all platforms, still has deals to snag on downloadable content through Electronic Arts’ website for Cyber Week. It’s a great time to grab the expansion packs you’ve been curious about for Origin on Mac or the EA App for Windows.

You can save up to 50% on expansion packs, game packs, stuff packs, bundle deals — even expansions for The Sims 3. The deals through EA’s website will run through Dec. 7.

Not sure where to start downloading? I recommend checking out these packs:

Cottage Living

$20 from EA (save 50%)

Cottage Living is one of my all-time favorite expansion packs. The pack introduces the world of Henford-on-Bagley — a gorgeous location filled with woodland creatures, lush forests and cozy cottages. It’s the perfect pack for a Rags to Riches or Living Off the Land challenge.

High School Years

$30 from EA (save $25%)

The Sims 4 High School Years expansion pack was one of the franchise’s most ambitious undertakings yet. The pack lets your teen Sim go to high school and you can actually sit in on the classes — unlike with Discover University. The choices your teen Sim makes in high school also have a bearing on their college acceptance.

Dream Home Decorator

$14 from EA (save 30%)

If your favorite part of The Sims is building new properties, renovating premade builds or making over a room, Dream Home Decorator is the perfect pack. Your Sim can take on a career as an interior designer and let their creativity run wild.

Snowy Escape

$20 from EA (save 50%)

The Sims 4 Snowy Escape expansion pack whisks players away to the picturesque world of Mount Komorebi. Take your Sims on a wild winter adventure with skiing, rock climbing and snowboarding, or on a relaxing mountain retreat with Komorebi’s bathhouses, meditation centers and peaceful walks. Mount Komorebi is the first Sims 4 world where Sims can either visit on vacation or live permanently as residents.

Get to Work

$20 from EA (save 50%)

Instead of waiting for your Sim to get home from their job, the Get to Work expansion pack lets you be more involved in your Sim’s career. The pack introduces doctor, detective and scientist career options where you can tag along with your Sim during their work day. You can also open your own business, hire employees, interact with customers and more.

Island Living

$20 from EA (save 50%)

Island Living, which was released in 2019, introduced the gorgeous tropical world of Sulani. Your Sims can make their home on the beach, take a sunny day trip, scuba dive in crystal clear waters, play with dolphins and take up a career in conservation to protect the environment. Did I mention there are mermaids?

Seasons

$20 from EA (save 50%)

The Sims 4 Seasons expansion pack incorporates spring, summer, fall and winter, as well as different weather into your game for a more dynamic experience. The pack also unlocks holidays like Winter Fest, Harvest Fest and Love Day. Decorate your home, throw a festive party, rake leaves and play in puddles — just make sure your Sim is dressed appropriately so they don’t freeze or overheat.

Parenthood

$14 from EA (save 30%)

Parenthood is a great pack to own if you’re a fan of legacy gameplay or are trying your hand at the 100 Baby Challenge. Sims can build up their parenting skills by interacting with babies, toddlers and teens, encourage good behavior, discipline bad behavior, help with school projects and more.

Nifty Knitting

$7 from EA (save 30%)

Nifty Knitting, a craft-themed pack voted on by The Sims Community in 2020, lets your Sims take up a new hobby — knitting. Your Sim can practice knitting to increase their skills, unlock new knitting styles, teach other Sims to knit and sell their handmade goodies on the in-game marketplace, Plopsy. As a fan of the Rags to Riches challenge, I like knitting as a way to make money — and the pack decor is adorable.

Tiny Living

$7 from EA (save 30%)

If you’re a fan of building, the Tiny Living stuff pack offers a new challenge — tiny and micro homes. Build economically and make a cozy space for your Sim to embrace a low-key lifestyle. Get creative with furniture choices to make everything fit in your home like a fold-up Murphy Bed. Just make sure the bed doesn’t drop on your Sim.

For more information, check out our sneak peek at The Sims 5 and tips and tricks for Sims gameplay.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Jan. 14, #948

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Jan. 14 #948.

Looking for the most recent 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, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is kind of tough. The blue category, not the purple one today, expects you to find hidden words in four of the words given in the grid. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

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

Yellow group hint: That’s not going anywhere.

Green group hint: End user or customer.

Blue group hint: Ask a meteorologist.

Purple group hint: Not noisy.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Fixed.

Green group: Receiver of goods or services.

Blue group: Starting with weather conditions.

Purple group: Silent ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is fixed. The four answers are fast, firm, secure and tight.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is receiver of goods or services. The four answers are account, client, consumer and user.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is starting with weather conditions. The four answers are frosty (frost), mistletoe (mist), rainmaker (rain) and snowman (snow).

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is silent ____. The four answers are auction, movie, partner and treatment.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Jan. 14, #1670

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for Jan. 14, No. 1,670.

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 tough one, with a letter that is rarely used and which I just never guess. 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 no repeated letters.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

Today’s Wordle answer has three vowels.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with A.

Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter

Today’s Wordle answer ends with D.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can mean to keep away from something or someone.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is AVOID.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, Jan. 13, No. 1669 was GUMBO.

Recent Wordle answers

Jan. 9, No. 1665: EIGHT

Jan. 10, No. 1666: MANIC

Jan. 11, No. 1667: QUARK

Jan. 12, No. 1668: TRIAL

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Apple Launches Creator Studio Package as $13 a Month Subscription

Mac users can still buy the apps individually, but subscribers get access to Final Cut Pro and other Studio tools.

Apple is bundling its pro filmmaking and audio tools including Final Cut Pro with its productivity apps Keynote, Pages and Numbers into a subscription software suite called Apple Creator Studio.

The package, which includes apps for Mac, iPad and iPhone, includes Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, MainStage and the whiteboard app Freeform. Creator Studio will be available starting Jan. 28 at a cost of $13 per month or $129 per year, or $3 per month or $30 per year for students and educators. Mac users will still have the option to purchase software like Final Cut Pro for a one-time free. The current price for Final Cut Pro in the Mac App Store is $300.

While apps such as Keynote and Pages are already free on Apple platforms, it appears that new versions of those apps will receive access to beta features that will roll out first to Creator Studio subscribers. The announcement by Apple alludes to «new AI features and premium content» in some of the apps it otherwise makes available to use for free.

What the Creator Studio bundle comes with

The star of the show in Creator Studio is Final Cut Pro, the video editing software that will now include Transcript Search on both Mac and iPad. There is also a new Beat Detection feature Apple says uses an AI model to analyze a music track and display a beat grid, making it easier to cut video to music rhythms. The software also will include a new Montage Maker on iPad for quick social video creation.

Motion, the 2D and 3D graphics tool, and Compressor also integrate with Final Cut Pro. Apple touted Motion’s Magnetic Mask feature for isolating objects or people without the need for a green screen.

Logic Pro has new features for musicians, including a Synth Player addition to AI Session Players. Chord ID, a new AI feature, can create chord progressions from audio or MIDI recordings. A new Sound Library will have hundreds of royalty-free clips, samples and loops.

A revamped MainStage app gives subscribers access to instrument, voice-professing and guitar rig tools. Pixelmator Pro arrives with new tools and filters, and there will be an iPad version in addition to the Mac tool.

Freeform in the Creator Studio package will add premium content, including curated photos, graphics and illustrations. It will also get new AI features that include image creation.