Technologies

MacOS Sonoma Brings Boosts to Gaming, Customizable Widgets and More

At WWDC 2023, Apple showed off its latest desktop software, which includes more customizable widgets.

At its WWDC 2023 keynote event Monday, Apple took the wraps off MacOS 14 Sonoma, the latest operating system for the company’s line of Mac desktops and MacBooks. MacOS 14 Sonoma comes with a number of new features, including new video screensavers and more customizable widgets. The new software will be available as a public beta in July with a full release slated for the fall.

Read back our Apple WWDC 2023 live blog to see all the news from the event as it happened.

More from WWDC 2023

laptop with macOS sonoma — Apple/Screenshot by CNET

Named after the Northern California winemaking region, MacOS Sonoma offers some key upgrades over MacOS 13 Ventura. Widgets are more customizable now. They can be placed anywhere on the desktop and resized, depending on how prominent you want them to look. They’re interactive, too, allowing you to pause music, reply to messages or access smart home controls right from your desktop. You can now also drag over any widgets you have on your iPhone and use them on your desktop.

Apple also introduced a new game mode that prioritizes CPU and GPU usage for whatever game you’re playing to increase frame rates. Gamers will also appreciate the lower latency for both Bluetooth audio with AirPods and inputs from Bluetooth game controllers.

Sonoma also brings a neat new video-conferencing feature that displays you as the presenter on top of your shared screen. It allows you to make your presentations a bit more immersive, almost as though you were in front of a white board in a meeting room giving the talk in person. It’s a small tweak, but I can see this being helpful for those of us still working via Zoom calls.

Other features include new video screensavers showing drone footage over various landscapes (much like we’ve seen on the Apple TV), updates to private browsing in Safari and a host of overall tweaks to messaging, interface and security.

The company showed off the new software alongside updates to iOS 17, a new 15-inch MacBook Air, an updated Mac Studio and a new performance-focused chip, the M2 Ultra. Apple’s top-end desktop, the Mac Pro, also got a big update that now includes the new M2 Ultra chip, rather than being based on Intel chips.

Watch this: Apple Debuts MacOS Sonoma

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, Dec. 26

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Dec. 26.

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.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Some of the clues are tough today — I thought maybe 1-Across was referring to the Grinch, or even Oscar the Grouch, but was I ever wrong! Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

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: Furry and green, say
Answer: MOSSY

6A clue: State known for its potatoes
Answer: IDAHO

7A clue: Like a faithful friend
Answer: LOYAL

8A clue: Had a beverage
Answer: DRANK

9A clue: Pronoun frequently paired with «her»
Answer: SHE

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Not spicy, as salsa
Answer: MILD

2D clue: Reasons for wrinkled noses
Answer: ODORS

3D clue: Words from a doctor checking your tonsils
Answer: SAYAH

4D clue: Comedian Gillis
Answer: SHANE

5D clue: Part of an egg used to make hollandaise sauce
Answer: YOLK

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Dec. 26, #459

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Dec. 26, No. 459.

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 tough one. That purple category once again has players looking for a different, but related, hidden word in four of the clues. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle 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: Big Apple jock.

Green group hint: College football fun.

Blue group hint: On the road.

Purple group hint: Hunt down a word in other words.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: A New York athlete.

Green group: Bowl games.

Blue group: Associated with a team road trip.

Purple group: Ends in a movement verb.

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

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is a New York athlete. The four answers are Islander, Net, Ranger and Yankee.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is bowl games. The four answers are Alamo, Gator, Liberty and Pinstripe.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is associated with a team road trip. The four answers are bus, flight, hotel and visiting locker room.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ends in a movement verb. The four answers are foxtrot (trot), newsprint (sprint), terrace (race) and thunderbolt (bolt).

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

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Dec. 26, #929

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Dec. 26 #929

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 full of fun pop-culture references. 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: Golden state cliches.

Green group hint: Funny films.

Blue group hint: Rock on.

Purple group hint: Not white.