Technologies

Samsung to build $17 billion chip factory in Texas

The massive investment comes amid a global shortage of chips for computers and other electronics.

Samsung on Tuesday announced plans to build a $17 billion semiconductor factory in central Texas, a massive investment that comes amid a global chip shortage.

The facility, to be located in Taylor, a town of about 16,000 people located about 30 miles from Austin, where Samsung already has a production facility. The electronics giant will break ground next year, with chip production expected to begin in 2024.

Samsung sells more phones and TVs than any other company, but it also has a huge business selling memory chips to device makers around the globe. In recent months, Samsung’s chip business has gotten a boost from increased demand for equipment as people work from home during the coronavirus pandemic and data centers that store everything we’re doing online.

But that increased demand for work-from-home technology like PCs, tablets and webcams soared beyond the semiconductor manufacturing industry’s ability to supply chips. The chip shortage soon extended beyond remote work and school needs to home entertainment products like tablets, game consoles, TVs and graphics cards for gaming PCs.

The Biden administration responded to the supply chain problems by prodding companies to be more transparent about their needs and supplies and calling on Congress to create the Critical Supply Chain Resiliency Program.

«In addition to our partners in Texas, we are grateful to the Biden Administration for creating an environment that supports companies like Samsung as we work to expand leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing in the US,» Kinam Kim, CEO of Samsung Electronics Device Solutions Division, said in a statement.

The 2.5 million-square-foot facility in Taylor will be larger than the sizable presence Samsung already has in Austin. In 2012, the company announced a $4 billion investment in a Texas plant to boost chip production to meet the increasing demand for mobile devices including smartphones and tablets.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Sunday, July 13

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for July 13.

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.

Today’s Mini Crossword is a little meta. Two clues refer to Wordle, another super-popular game from The New York Times. We have answers for that puzzle, too. In fact, iff you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

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: Gibbon or gorilla
Answer: APE

4A clue: Bird whose name is an excellent starting guess in Wordle, according to WordleBot
Answer: CRANE

6A clue: Cry from a judge
Answer: ORDER

7A clue: Family nickname that would make a terrible starting guess in Wordle
Answer: MAMMA

8A clue: «Hooray!»
Answer: YAY

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Widespread display
Answer: ARRAY

2D clue: Lakshmi who was a longtime host of «Top Chef»
Answer: PADMA

3D clue: «Don’t let perfect be the ___ of good» (aphorism)
Answer: ENEMY

4D clue: URL ending
Answer: COM

5D clue: Historical period
Answer: ERA

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for July 13, #293

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for July 13, No. 293

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 has some fun categories. There’s only one requiring last names, and one requiring teams, so if you can sort those easily, you should be in good shape. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it 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: Bad news for a golfer.

Green group hint: Aries animal.

Blue group hint: Think California capital city.

Purple group hint: No charge.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Mess up a golf shot.

Green group: Rams

Blue group: Sacramento Kings greats.

Purple group: Free ____.

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 mess up a golf shot. The four answers are duff, flub, mishit and shank.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is rams. The four answers are Colorado State, Los Angeles, Rhode Island and VCU.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Sacramento Kings greats. The four answers are Divac, Richmond, Stojaković and Webber.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is free ____. The four answers are agent, kick, safety and throw.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for July 13, #1485

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for July 13, No. 1,485.

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 fun word, but not easy to guess. That first letter doesn’t come up in any of the starter or secondary words I tend to choose. 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.