Technologies

This New App Wants to Help You Track Your Sun Exposure

The Sun Day app, just out in beta, will prompt you on how to prep for being out and about.

The founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, has a bright idea that he’s released as a beta app for iPhones: Sun Day, for tracking your exposure to the sun.

The app is free to testers and so far contains basic information such as sunrise, sunset and the UV index in order to assess a user’s potential burn-limit time and, as the app description says, «track your Vitamin D from the sun.» Dorsey is currently testing UI updates and a solar noon notification, according to the app notes. In the app, users can describe the type of clothing they’re wearing, such as shorts and T-shirts or swimwear, and their Fitzpatrick skin type, which classifies how quickly they’ll burn.

People tend to think about sun exposure and protections like sunscreen most during the summer, when the sun is strongest and the days are long, and when they’re heading to the beach or out gardening, golfing or otherwise getting in quality sun time.

The iOS app asks permission to connect to some Apple Health data when the app is installed.

Dorsey announced an iOS Test Flight app, Sun Day, on Sunday, with a post on X (former Twitter).

Dorsey also recently released Bitchat, a private messaging client that uses Bluetooth as its communication platform. Although it’s meant to be a secure, private app, some users have flagged Bitchat for potential security flaws that are still being tested.

Should you try Sun Day?

For iOS users, using Sun Day involves downloading the TestFlight app from the App Store and then following the link to the app for Sun Day to join the beta test.

The effectiveness of an app such as Sun Day depends on giving it accurate information about your skin type and clothing, and while vitamin D levels are one way to gauge UV exposure, it’s not foolproof given that some people also take vitamin D supplements.

«Jack Dorsey’s new app Sun Day is exciting, not to detect vitamin D levels but really to help us understand our UV index which is so important in sun safety,» said Tanya Kormeili, an LA-based dermatologist. The risks of too much sun exposure include sunburns, aging skin and skin cancer. Tracking UV levels is one way to help mitigate those risks.

«The app does have an interesting promise as far as I am concerned, in that using the UV index can show you the risk for the level of UV exposure,» Kormeili says. «Sometimes it is hard for patients to be convinced that there can be an excessive UV risk on a cloudy day. The app would provide an objective measure of that UV index and guide you in safer sun practices.»

The dermatologist suggests that Dorsey putting the app out for public consumption without medical experts endorsing it might be a missed opportunity. «I am surprised that they have not involved actual dermatologists in pointing out the true value and limitations of this app,» she said.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Sunday, Jan. 25

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Jan. 25.

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? It might help to be a Scrabble player. 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: Some breakfast drinks, for short
Answer: OJS

4A clue: Ready for business
Answer: OPEN

5A clue: Information gathered by a spy
Answer: INTEL

6A clue: Highest-scoring Scrabble word with four tiles (22)
Answer: QUIZ

7A clue: Nine-digit ID
Answer: SSN

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Agree to receive promotional emails, say
Answer: OPTIN

2D clue: Second-highest-scoring Scrabble word with four tiles (20)
Answer: JEEZ

3D clue: Sketch comedy show since ’75
Answer: SNL

4D clue: Burden
Answer: ONUS

5D clue: Geniuses have high ones
Answer: IQS

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Jan. 25, #489

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Jan. 25, No. 489.

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 grid started with a funny message: SUPER BOWL ORR BUST. 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: Bummer!

Green group hint: Add three letters.

Blue group hint: Noted hockey players.

Purple group hint: Not the moon, but …

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Disappointment.

Green group: Sports, with «-ing.»

Blue group: Hall of Fame NHL defensemen.

Purple group: ____ star(s)

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 disappointment. The four answers are bust, dud, failure and flop.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is sports, with «-ing.» The four answers are bowl, box, curl and surf.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Hall of Fame NHL defensemen. The four answers are Bourque, Coffey, Leetch and Orr.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ star(s). The four answers are all, Chicago, Dallas and super.

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 Jan. 25 #959

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Jan. 25, No. 959

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.

Really, New York Times? The paper noted for being rather sedate actually put the words SUB and DOM next to each other in today’s NYT Connections puzzle. Of course, they didn’t mean what they could have meant, and they did not end up in the same category, but still. 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: Like an understudy.

Green group hint: Delete is another one.

Blue group hint: Like penne.

Purple group hint: At the end of words.