Technologies

Master a New Language With a Lifetime Babbel Subscription for $150 (Save $449)

Score a discounted lifetime membership to practice up to 14 languages, including Spanish, Italian, German and more — today only.

Learning a new language can be both intellectually stimulating and fun, for globetrotters and lifelong learners alike. Additionally, there may be instances where knowing the basics of a particular language can be helpful for a course at school or to take advantage of specific job opportunities. With so many people communicating across borders in our digitally connected world, mastering a foreign language is a valuable skill for anyone, no matter your interests. And Babbel can help you acquire language skills without breaking the bank.

With 14 language courses and more than 10,000 hours of content, Babbel’s language learning software aims to be the shortest path to real-life conversations. Babbel is one of CNET’s favorite language learning apps in 2023, particularly if you want a school-type experience. Right now you can get a lifetime subscription to Babbel Language Learning software for just $150 at StackSocial, which is $449 off the usual price. This deal is only available today, March 28, so if you’re interested in learning a new language (or languages) at your own pace, take advantage of this low price before it’s gone.

See at StackSocial

Babbel’s extensive language software includes Spanish, French, Italian, German, Russian, Swedish, Indonesian, Portuguese and more. The lessons are short and to the point, allowing you to practice in 10- to 15-minute intervals that can fit into any schedule. Real-life topics include travel, family, business, food and more. There are also a variety of skill levels available, ranging from beginner to advanced, so the program can grow with you as you improve.

A selection of the languages you can learn with Babbel. — Babbel

Using the speech-recognition technology will give you immediate feedback on pronunciation so that you don’t just learn to read and write, but to listen and speak, as well. You’ll also get personalized review sessions to reinforce what you’ve learned. The program works across desktop and mobile devices. And though the internet is required most of the time, there is also an offline mode available where you can access courses, lessons and reviews without Wi-Fi, so long as you download them beforehand. Babbel also syncs your progress across your devices so that you can jump in from wherever is most convenient.

Becoming fluent in a new language is a great way to stay engaged in learning, and the transferrable skills you gain can open a lot of doors for leisure, work and beyond. Note that while you can access this program on as many devices as you want, this subscription offer is only available for new users.

Ready for the next premium app?

Check for promo codes with our CNET Shopping extension before installing the app on your phone.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, Aug. 1

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Aug. 1.

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

I love it when the Mini Crossword is playful. The 4-Across and 5-Across clues are a lot of fun, and the clue for 1-Across is just plain adorable. It brought a little extra sparkle to my crossword experience. Looking for a hand with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Arm-y greeting
Answer: HUG

4A clue: Undiluted … or a country with its vowels swapped
Answer: PURE

5A clue: Ballroom dance … or a country with its vowels swapped
Answer: TANGO

6A clue: Played a role
Answer: ACTED

7A clue: Eisenberg of «The Social Network»
Answer: JESSE

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Ketchup brand
Answer: HUNTS

2D clue: Eggs on
Answer: URGES

3D clue: Crystal-lined rock
Answer: GEODE

4D clue: Marathoner’s concern
Answer: PACE

5D clue: ___ Mahal
Answer: TAJ

Technologies

High Noon Recalls Alcoholic Drinks Mislabeled as Celsius. What to Do if You Were Impacted

This packaging label mishap could lead to unintentional alcohol consumption. Here’s how to check if you bought these cans.

High Noon has issued a recall on two of its Beach Variety packs because of the presence of alcohol in the wrong type of cans. Within these 12-packs of High Noon Beach Variety packs there may be some Celsius-labelled cans — which should contain an energy drink — that were shipped out with High Noon vodka seltzer inside them.

Cans that are filled with High Noon’s vodka seltzer are mislabeled as Celsius Astro Vibe Energy Drink, Sparkling Blue Razz Edition, and have a silver top instead of a black top. High Noon discovered the error after receiving a shipment of empty Celsius cans instead of empty High Noon cans, according to a statement.

Distributors shipped these drinks to Florida, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, Virginia and Wisconsin between July 21 and July 23.

Here’s which lot codes were impacted and what to do if you bought these cans.

What to do if you were impacted by High Noon’s drink recall

High Noon advises people who bought the following codes of Celsius Astro Vibe Energy Drink, Sparkling Blue Razz Edition not to consume it and to discard it. The lot codes are L CCB 02JL25 2:55 to L CCB 02JL25 3:11. Other High Noon variety packs should not be affected.

High Noon reported that no illnesses or events occurred as a part of the mislabeling. If you’ve purchased the impacted drinks, contact High Noon Consumer Relations at consumerrelations@highnoonvodka.com for next steps and refunds. The recall is being conducted with the US Food and Drug Administration and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.

CNET reached out to High Noon for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

Technologies

How to Join the Battlefield 6 Open Beta: Early Access Sign Up and Weekend Dates

The next Battlefield game is getting a public beta next weekend. Tune into your favorite streamer to get into it.

EA’s DICE studio has blown the lid off the multiplayer for its upcoming military shooter Battlefield 6, and players will soon get to join the fray themselves. A Battlefield 6 public beta is coming on two consecutive weekends starting Aug. 9 — and if you’re lucky enough to get in Early Access, to play starting Aug. 7 — and here’s how to join.

The Battlefield 6 open betas will be the first chances for players to get to experience the game’s multiplayer before its full release Oct. 10. The first open beta weekend will start at 1 a.m. PT Aug. 9 through Aug. 10 and the second will kick off at 1 a.m. PT Aug. 14 and run through Aug. 16. Fans can visit Battlefield’s website to get info for the open beta, which just requires linking your EA account to your platform account.

Note that publisher EA hasn’t provided a specific sign-up for the beta just yet but it will be open to all players. We’ll update this post if or when EA provides specific instructions for signing up but we do know the open beta can be pre-downloaded on respective platforms starting Aug. 4.

The beta will be playable on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

How to get Battlefield 6 open beta early access

There is one way to secure your spot in the open beta a couple days early on Aug. 7: Watch your favorite streamer playing Battlefield 6 today (July 31), as explained in an official post on X. You can watch on the official Battlefield Twitch or on a participating creator’s channel but you’ll have to do it fast as the event ends at 4:30 p.m. PT.

Here are the steps:

Sign into your Twitch account.
Make sure you have drops enabled and the Battlefield 6 Early Access Beta Key Drops selected from among the drops campaigns list.
Watch a single streamer participating in the Battlefield 6 Early Access Beta Key Drops for 60 minutes — if you’re having trouble finding one, search for «Battlefield 6» and look for streams that include «Beta Key Drops» or often just «Drops» in their titles.
Once earned, find your beta key access in your Drops Inventory.

Players who have participated in Battlefield Labs, studio DICE’s pre-release feedback program for the game, will be granted early access to play the beta starting Aug. 7.

Studio DICE didn’t detail which modes, weapons and other options will be playable in the open beta but it did confirm that «Closed Weapons» modes that restrict certain guns to certain classes will be available to try out. If the preview is anything to go by, players will be able to load up a handful of multiplayer modes, like Conquest, Squad Deathmatch and Breakthrough, on maps like Siege of Cairo, Empire State and Liberation Peak.

Battlefield 6 open beta dates

August 7-8: Early access, starting at 1 a.m. PT on Aug. 7
August 9-10: First open beta weekend available to all, starting at 1 a.m. PT on Aug. 9 and closing Aug. 11 at 1 a.m. PT.
August 14-16: Second open beta weekend available to all, starting at 1 a.m. PT on Aug. 14 and closing Aug. 17 at 1 a.m. PT.

PC specific notice for Battlefield 6 beta

A special note if you haven’t played a Battlefield game on PC recently: Studio DICE and EA recently started requiring players to set their computers to Secure Boot when playing Battlefield games to combat cheaters, and Battlefield 6 is no different. To even play the open beta, you’ll need to delve into your BIOS and switch your PC to Secure Boot — check EA’s guide for help.