Technologies

Google Doodle celebrates ‘father of fiber optics’ Charles K. Kao

His landmark research laid the groundwork for the internet.

In 1966, a Chinese-born electrical engineer and physicist named Charles K. Kao co-authored a proposal that would revolutionize global communications and lay the groundwork for the internet we know today.

Along with collaborator George Hockham, Kao proposed using thin glass fibers to transmit data across long distances, replacing the bulky copper wires then in use in telecommunications. Though initially rejected, his proposal would transform communications technology and the industry as a whole.

To highlight Kao’s contribution to technology, Google will honor the engineer on Thursday with a Doodle celebrating his 88th birthday. The animated Doodle depicts Kao, widely known as «the father of fiber optics,» using a green fiber laser to transmit data from one end of the Doodle to the other.

Born in Shanghai on Nov. 4, 1933, Kao studied English, French and the Chinese classics before moving to England to study electrical engineering. After earning a bachelor’s degree, Kao went to work at Standard Telecommunication Laboratories in Harlow, England, while he was working toward a doctorate in electrical engineering.

At the time, glass fibers could carry light pulses for telephone signals only 20 meters (65 feet) before nearly all the light dissipated. But Kao’s 1966 landmark paper Dielectric-Fiber Surface Waveguides for Optical Frequenciessuggested it would be possible to transmit light signals more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) across a fiber of ultrapure glass.

Kao and Hockhamnoted in their conclusion that «a fiber of glassy material» of a specific construction «represents a possible practical optical waveguide withimportant potential as a new form of communication medium.»

Four years later, inspired by Kao’s vision, a group of researchers produced the first ultrapure fiber.

Kao’s landmark research allowed the rapid expansion of broadband communications through the hundreds of millions of miles of fiber optic cable that deliver massive amounts of data around the globe in a split second. For his work, Kao would share the joint Nobel Prize in Physics in 2009.

Kao would go on to oversee implementation of fiber optic networks worldwide and focus on education in the 1980s, serving as vice chancellor of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and founding Hong Kong’s Independent Schools Foundation.

Kao died in 2018 at the age of 84.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Jan. 13, #947

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Jan. 13 #947

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 features one of those purple categories where you have to recognize four connected words buried inside slightly longer words. It might trip you up. 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: Wrap it up.

Green group hint: Push or shake around.

Blue group hint: Do not pass Go.

Purple group hint: Not your hand, but with a twist.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Present go-withs.

Green group: Jostle.

Blue group: Accessories for Mr. Monopoly.

Purple group: Parts of the foot plus starting letter.

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 present go-withs. The four answers are bow, card, gift wrap and ribbon.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is jostle. The four answers are elbow, press, shoulder and shove.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is accessories for Mr. Monopoly. The four answers are bowtie, cane, moneybag and top hat.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is parts of the foot plus starting letter. The four answers are otoe (toe), parch (arch), rankle (ankle) and wheel (heel).

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: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Jan. 13, #477

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Jan. 13, No. 477.

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. Hope you know your college sports arenas! 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: Empire State sports.

Green group hint: Fighting with swords.

Blue group hint: Places to play hoops.

Purple group hint: William, but for short.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Teams that play in New York State

Green group: Fencing terms.

Blue group: College basketball venues.

Purple group: Bills.

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 teams that play in New York State. The four answers are Bills, Islanders, Mets and Sabres.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is fencing terms. The four answers are en garde, epee, foil and piste.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is college basketball venues. The four answers are Hinkle, Palestra, Pauley and The Pit.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is Bills. The four answers are Cowher, Parcells, Russell and Self.

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

Technologies

T-Mobile’s New Unlimited Family Plan Pumps Up Perks, but It’s Not for Everybody

The limited-time Better Value plan has appealing features, but the fine print is important.

T-Mobile began the new year with a new phone plan designed for families and accounts with three or more lines. The Better Value plan is available Jan. 14 for what the company says is a limited time, though I confirmed with a representative that it currently has no end date.

Despite its name, the question is whether it actually offers a better value compared to the Essentials plan, which we rank highly in our Best Cellphone Plans, Best Unlimited Data Plans and Best T-Mobile Plans lists.

In fact, after reviewing the specifics, T-Mobile’s Experience More plan — the number two unlimited postpaid plan — presents a more interesting comparison.

Better Value plan pricing and features compared

For an account with three lines, the monthly cost of the Better Value plan is $140 (with AutoPay active), plus applicable taxes and fees. Experience More similarly costs $140 a month for three lines. The Essentials plan costs $90 a month for three lines, but lacks most of the add-ons that make the other two plans appealing.

Both the Experience More and Better Value plans offer unlimited data on T-Mobile’s 5G network, a five-year price guarantee and two-year device upgrades.

However, the Better Value plan includes 250GB of high-speed mobile hotspot data, compared to 60GB for the Experience More plan. After those amounts have been used up, data is available at an unlimited rate of 600 kbps. (T-Mobile’s highest tier plan by comparison, Experience Beyond, includes unlimited high-speed hotspot data.)

Better Value also includes more high-speed data when you’re in other countries, with 30GB available in Mexico and Canada, as well as in 215 countries and areas worldwide. That’s more than the Experience More plan, which offers 15GB in North America and 5GB elsewhere.

T-Satellite is also included in the Better Value plan, a feature that costs $10 extra for every other T-Mobile plan except for Experience Beyond.

One appeal of these plans, especially in the context of families, is the set of included streaming services. The Better Value plan and Experience More plan both include Netflix Standard with Ads and Hulu, and Apple TV can be added for $3 per month.

Important qualifications

Here’s where the fine print comes in, and it appears that T-Mobile is aiming to inspire and reward loyalty.

If you’re switching from a different carrier, the Better Value plan requires three or more lines and two eligible ports. Although it’s likely a family or small business would be transferring from another provider and not keeping its other lines, Better Value is an effort to build up group plans and incentivize switching away from other carriers.

If you’re already set up with T-Mobile, the Better Value plan requires that you have been a T-Mobile postpaid customer for at least five years. And if you have that much tenure, you should be aware that your current plan might have taxes and fees included, whereas the Better Value plan doesn’t.

The Better Value plan will be available in the T-Life app and on T-Mobile.com. When you enter a retail T-Mobile store, you’ll likely be directed to the app or website with the assistance of an employee.

See also: I got an in-depth look at T-Mobile’s emergency response programs.