Technologies

Best Buy Expands Apple Upgrade Program to Include iMac and Mac Studio Desktops

The «Upgrade Plus» program, which Best Buy launched for MacBook laptops in October, helps people finance Apple computers over 36 months and then upgrade.

Best Buy on Tuesday expanded its Apple computer upgrade program less than two months after its launch, helping people finance an iMac or Mac Studio desktop, in addition to its existing MacBook laptop offer from October. In each case, customers can finance an Apple computer over 36 months, with options to buy it outright at the end of the three-year cycle or turn it in for a newer model.

The move, which offers financing options through Citizens Financial, is among the first of its kind to bring smartphone-like payment and upgrade programs to the computer market. Best Buy’s program starts at $20 per month for a $999 MacBook, with $280.35 remaining to pay on the device, if customers are approved for a 0% interest rate after a credit check. If they trade it in for another MacBook, payments merely continue and Best Buy «will make the final payment on behalf of the customer.» Best Buy will also cover the final payment if a customer turns in the laptop instead of upgrading or paying the final price.

«We’re excited about the amount of customer interest we’ve seen in the Upgrade Plus program over the past couple months,» Jason Bonfig, Best Buy’s chief merchandising officer, said in a statement. «It’s been great to partner with Apple to now bring this program to iMac, especially during a time when customers are looking for value more than ever.»

Read more: Best MacBook for 2022

Best Buy’s move to expand its Upgrade program comes as monthly financing and subscription schemes have become increasingly popular across the tech industry. Apple, for example, doesn’t offer a similar upgrade program for its computers, but it does for iPhones. Other companies, including software giant Microsoft, have increasingly turned to financing and subscriptions as well to lure in new customers with low upfront costs for its Xbox video game consoles.

Environmental advocates believe these subscriptions may have another benefit as well. Companies and retailers are effectively incentivizing people to turn in devices when they’re ready to upgrade, which may help create «closed loop» recycling, in which older machines are kept out of landfills. Instead, they can be torn down for parts or refurbished and reused by someone else.

Best Buy said it plans to similarly find a «second life» for working devices turned in through its program.

The company’s fine print notes that the program does not include configure-to-order models, nor open-box, pre-owned or refurbished items. Citizens Financial will also charge between 0% and 29.99% interest annually, depending on a customer’s credit worthiness.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for March 10, #533

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for March 10, No. 533.

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 features a lot of team names, but that doesn’t mean it’s an easy one to solve. 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: Play ball!

Green group hint: Not front.

Blue group hint: Certain NFL player.

Purple group hint: They play at Smoothie King Center.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: An AL Central player.

Green group: Words appearing before «back,» in football.

Blue group: Associated with Derrick Henry.

Purple group: New Orleans Pelicans.

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 an AL Central player. The four answers are Guardian, Royal, Tiger and Twin.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is words appearing before «back,» in football. The four answers are corner, defensive, full and running.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is associated with Derrick Henry. The four answers are Heisman, King, Ravens and Titans.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is New Orleans Pelicans. The four answers are Bey, Fears, Murphy and Queen.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Tuesday, March 10

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for March 10.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? I’d just like to point out that the New York Times puzzle-makers love the 7-Across answer — they use it about every other week. 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? Read on. 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: Writing that lacks substance
Answer: FLUFF

6A clue: Pencil in a cosmetics bag
Answer: LINER

7A clue: ___ acid (building block of proteins)
Answer: AMINO

8A clue: Partner of services, in economics
Answer: GOODS

9A clue: Small criticism
Answer: NIT

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Warning sign in a relationship, metaphorically
Answer: FLAG

2D clue: Fancy prom ride
Answer: LIMO

3D clue: SAG-AFTRA, for one
Answer: UNION

4D clue: Luxury fashion house headquartered in Rome
Answer: FENDI

5D clue: Ground coating on a cold morning
Answer: FROST

Technologies

Australians Flock to VPNs in the Wake of Online Age-Restriction Laws

App downloads for VPN services increase sharply as websites in Australia go behind age-restriction walls.

A new set of laws in Australia requiring adult websites and app stores to age-restrict content for those under 18, and requiring AI companies to restrict chatbot offerings from displaying certain types of sensitive or adult content to minors, is apparently driving many to download Virtual Private Network apps there.

Major adult sites have closed their virtual doors to those who aren’t age-confirmed in Australia, and these changes follow a nationwide ban on social media use by teenagers and young children that went into effect in December.

According to reports from Reuters, The Guardian and others, in response to the bans, downloads of VPN-related apps, which people can use to circumvent location-based restrictions, are sharply on the rise. According to Reuters, three of the 15 most downloaded free iPhone apps in the country were VPN-related as the new laws went into effect on Monday.

Lawmakers in some regions, including the US, are well aware that people use VPNs in this way. In states such as Michigan and Wisconsin, laws are being proposed to limit or outright ban VPN use. Wisconsin’s proposed law would require adult sites to block VPN traffic, while Michigan’s proposal would ban VPN use entirely in the state.

There is also a proposal in England under consideration to ban VPN use by minors. That proposal is currently under review.