Technologies
You Can Finally Use This Very Basic Threads Feature
It only took two years, but Meta is finally adding this one essential feature to Threads.
Better late than never? Threads, Meta’s answer to X (formerly Twitter) and Bluesky, was launched almost two years ago in July 2023, and saw immediate rapid signups after piggybacking off Instagram’s user base. Despite being around for that long, it’s just now giving us the ability to direct message other users.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg teased the new feature earlier this month as it was rolling out in beta. «We’re starting to test DMs on Threads. If you get access to this — slide through!» Zuckerberg posted on his Threads account on June 10.
Meta says the feature is rolling out globally now for users who are 18 and older. Younger users won’t have the option. Don’t worry if you don’t see the feature right away — feature roll outs like these can take a couple of days to hit for all users. Make sure you’ve got the latest version of Threads downloaded.
The new DM tab on the bottom menu will let you access your messages and filter through them. You will also have controls where you can select who is allowed to message you, as well as the ability to filter through the messages. Threads is also releasing new icon indicators to show when a topic is trending, called highlights.
According to the tech giant, Threads users have been requesting a way to continue conversations while keeping it in the app. You might have noticed that if you hit the arrow icon, you can send Threads posts to your friends and contacts on other Meta apps, including WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram, rather than through Threads itself.
Judging from the screenshot Meta sent of the new DM functionality, an envelope icon will be placed at the bottom left of the screen, between the home and plus icons, where the magnifying glass icon is currently in your app. The search icon will be relocated to the top right corner, in line with the Threads logo.
The launch of DMs was purposefully timed for the app’s second anniversary this month. Threads has been the recipient of many Meta updates lately, including a new way to hide spoilers, customizable feeds and a new domain name. The changes hope to make Threads a more staunch competitor and make it more independent from Instagram, which has been a «big sister» for much of Threads’ existence.
For more, check out how to schedule Instagram DMs.
Technologies
Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Nov. 24, #1619
Today’s Wordle is tricky. Here are hints, answers and help for Nov. 24, #1619.
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 little tricky. 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.
Today’s Wordle hints
Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.
Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats
Today’s Wordle answer has no repeated letters.
Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels
Today’s Wordle answer has two vowels.
Wordle hint No. 3: First letter
Today’s Wordle answer begins with D.
Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter
Today’s Wordle answer ends with H.
Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning
Today’s Wordle answer is a flour-based mixture used to bake bread.
TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER
Today’s Wordle answer is DOUGH.
Yesterday’s Wordle answer
Yesterday’s Wordle answer, Nov. 23, No. 1618 was BUNNY.
Recent Wordle answers
Nov. 19, No. 1614: MAKER
Nov. 20, No. 1615: GRAVE
Nov. 21, No. 1616: VOWEL
Nov. 22, No. 1617: THICK
Technologies
Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 24, #631
Today’s Strands puzzle has fun theme, or so says a former farm girl. Here are hints, answers and help for Nov. 24, #631.
Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.
Today’s NYT Strands puzzle has a fun theme, or so says this former farm girl. Some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.
I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.
If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.
Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far
Hint for today’s Strands puzzle
Today’s Strands theme is: Horsing around.
If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Giddy up!
Clue words to unlock in-game hints
Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:
- GALE, REGAL, GAIN, ROOM, MOOR, JOCK, WARN, NEAT, WART, FIRE, QUIET, QUITE
Answers for today’s Strands puzzle
These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:
- GROOM, JOCKEY, FARRIER, VETERINARIAN, WRANGLER
Today’s Strands spangram
Today’s Strands spangram is EQUESTRIAN. To find it, start with the E that’s four letters down on the far-left row, and wind up and over.
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Technologies
Before You Order a $20K Home Robot, There’s Something You Should See
It’s designed to do your chores — with some help from folks behind the curtain.
The robot stands 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighs about as much as a golden retriever and is nearly the price of a brand-new budget car.
This is Neo, the humanoid robot. It’s billed as a personal assistant you can talk to and eventually rely on to handle everyday tasks, including loading your dishwasher and folding your laundry.
Neo doesn’t come cheap: it’ll cost you $20,000. And even then, you’ll still have to train this new home bot, and possibly need a remote assist as well.
If that still sounds enticing, preorders are now open (for $200 down). You’ll be signing up as an early adopter for what Neo’s maker, a California-based company called 1X, is calling a «consumer-ready humanoid.» That’s opposed to other humanoids under development from the likes of Tesla and Figure, which are, for the moment at least, more focused on factory environments.
Neo is a whole order of magnitude different from robot vacuums like those from Roomba, Eufy and Ecovacs, and embodies a long-running sci-fi fantasy of robot maids and butlers doing chores and picking up after us. If this is the future, read on for more of what’s in store.
Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.
What the Neo robot can do around the house
The pitch from 1X is that Neo can do all manner of household chores: fold laundry, run a vacuum, tidy shelves and bring in the groceries. It can open doors, climb stairs and even act as a home entertainment system.
Neo appears to move smoothly, with a soft, almost human-like gait, thanks to 1X’s tendon-driven motor system that gives it gentle motion and impressive strength. The company says it can lift up to 154 pounds and carry 55 pounds, but it is quieter than a refrigerator. It’s covered in soft materials and neutral colors, making it look less intimidating than metallic prototypes from other companies.
The company says Neo has a 4-hour runtime. Its hands are IP68-rated, meaning they’re submersible in water. It can connect via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 5G. For conversation, it has a built-in large language model (LLM), the same sort of AI technology that powers ChatGPT and Gemini.
The primary way to control the Neo robot will be by speaking to it, just as if it were a person.
Still, Neo’s usefulness today depends heavily on how you define useful. The Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern got an up-close look at Neo at 1X’s headquarters and found that, at least for now, it’s largely teleoperated, meaning a human often operates it remotely using a virtual-reality headset and controllers.
«I didn’t see Neo do anything autonomously, although the company did share a video of Neo opening a door on its own,» Stern wrote last week. 1X CEO Bernt Børnich reportedly told her that Neo will do most things autonomously in 2026, though he also acknowledged that the quality «may lag at first.»
The company’s FAQ says that if there’s a chore request Neo doesn’t know how to accomplish, you can schedule an expert from 1X to help the robot «learn while getting the job done.»
What you need to know about Neo and privacy
Part of what early adopters are signing up for is to allow Neo to learn from their environment, so that future versions can operate more independently.
That learning process raises questions about privacy and trust. The robot uses a mix of visual, audio and contextual intelligence — meaning it can see, hear and remember interactions with you in your home.
«If you buy this product, it is because you’re OK with that social contract,» Børnich told the Journal. «It’s less about Neo instantly doing your chores and more about you helping Neo learn to do them safely and effectively.»
Neo’s reliance on human operation behind the scenes prompted a response from John Carmack, a computer industry luminary known for his work with VR systems and the lead programmer of classic video games, including Doom and Quake.
«Companies selling the dream of autonomous household humanoid robots today would be better off embracing reality and selling ‘remote operated household help’,» he wrote in a post on the X social network.
1X says it’s taking steps to protect your privacy: Neo listens only when it recognizes it’s being addressed, and its cameras will blur out humans. You can restrict Neo from entering or viewing specific areas of your home, and the robot will never be teleoperated without owner approval, the company says.
But inviting an AI-equipped humanoid to observe your home life isn’t a small step.
The first units are expected to ship to customers in the US in 2026. There is a $499 monthly subscription alternative to the $20,000 full purchase price, although it will be available at an unspecified later date. A broader international rollout is promised for 2027.
Neo’s got a long road ahead of it to live up to the expectations set by Rosie the Robot in The Jetsons way back when. But this is no Hanna-Barbera cartoon. What we’re seeing now is a much more tangible harbinger of change.
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