Technologies

Save $100 on the AI-Powered Google Pixel 9 at Best Buy

Stop spending hours hunting for screenshots and editing by hand: with built-in Gemini AI, the Google Pixel 9 automates your tasks and makes taking beautiful photos a snap.

We keep almost everything on our smartphones nowadays, from our communications to our photos to our calendars. But the more data piles up on our devices, the harder it can be to find when we need it, or to put it to use without cumbersome scrolling and searching.

Google’s Pixel 9 changes all that with generative AI that sees everything on your phone and assists with exactly the task you need done right now. Google’s built-in Gemini AI also helps you take great photos even in less-than-ideal conditions. and easily edit or reimagine them the way you want. It doesn’t skimp on hardware, either, making it the whole package: CNET’s reviewer says the Pixel 9 «shines for its great camera, elegant design, and clean software.»

There’s never been a better time for an AI-forward upgrade: now through October 6, you can save $100 when you buy the Pixel 9 at Best Buy.

Always-on AI assistance at your fingertips

No matter where you are on the Google Pixel 9, AI is never more than a long-press away. All you have to do is click and hold the power button or voice the wakeup phrase to activate Gemini. What sets it apart from other chatbots is that it already has the context it needs to deliver what you ask.

Say you have come across a photo of a landmark on Instagram, you can simply tell Gemini to explain what’s on your screen, and it will automatically grab a screenshot and find out more about it for you. If you need to take notes on an important call, Gemini can do it for you. If someone texts you an invite, it can add it to your calendar.

Similarly, the built-in Pixel Screenshots app leverages Gemini AI’s smarts to organize your heaps of screenshots. As opposed to manually going through your gallery to retrieve a piece of information you screen-grabbed weeks ago, you can punch in what you are looking for, like an Airbnb Wi-Fi password or a restaurant receipt, and the app will pull up all matching screenshots.

AI experiences are incomplete without a little whimsy, and the Pixel 9 is no different. Its Pixel Studio service can produce AI-generated imagery of just about anything, based on brief prompts — perfect for whether you need visuals for your new business or an invite for a Pokémon-themed game night.

A camera that lets your imagination run wild

Spending hours to set up a shot doesn’t always guarantee flawless results. Some aspects of taking photos, like a passerby walking into your scene when you’re about to click, or gloomy weather in the background, will never be in your control. The Google Pixel 9 changes that. Its pair of rear cameras can still snap high-quality photos even in less-than-ideal conditions, but it’s what it allows you to do after you click the button that stands out.

Is there an unwanted object or person in your photos? Just tap or circle them, and Pixel 9’s Magic Editor will get rid of them without ruining the rest of the image. A trash can in your selfie’s backdrop? Ask Magic Editor to replace it with flowers. Cloudy sky? Magic Editor can switch it to bright and sunny.

The Pixel 9 eliminates the need to request strangers to take your group’s photo, too. Its «Add Me» tool intelligently merges two pictures: each taken by a different member of the group, so that everyone can be in the final shot. You don’t have to worry about aligning the two frames, either. The phone superimposes where everyone was positioned in the first photo so that the second photographer can frame their shot accordingly.

Get your Google Pixel 9 at Best Buy

Since Google promises seven years of updates and new features every few months, the Pixel 9 won’t go out of style anytime soon, irrespective of new models and successors. So grab yours at Best Buy and save an extra $100 on it now.

Technologies

Wisconsin Reverses Decision to Ban VPNs in Age-Verification Bill

The law would have required websites to block VPN users from accessing «harmful material.»

Following a wave of criticism, Wisconsin lawmakers have decided not to include a ban on VPN services in their age-verification law, making its way through the state legislature.

Wisconsin Senate Bill 130 (and its sister Assembly Bill 105), introduced in March 2025, aims to prohibit businesses from «publishing or distributing material harmful to minors» unless there is a reasonable «method to verify the age of individuals attempting to access the website.»

One provision would have required businesses to bar people from accessing their sites via «a virtual private network system or virtual private network provider.»

A VPN lets you access the internet via an encrypted connection, enabling you to bypass firewalls and unblock geographically restricted websites and streaming content. While using a VPN, your IP address and physical location are masked, and your internet service provider doesn’t know which websites you visit.

Wisconsin state Sen. Van Wanggaard moved to delete that provision in the legislation, thereby releasing VPNs from any liability. The state assembly agreed to remove the VPN ban, and the bill now awaits Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers’s signature.

Rindala Alajaji, associate director of state affairs at the digital freedom nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation, says Wisconsin’s U-turn is «great news.»

«This shows the power of public advocacy and pushback,» Alajaji says. «Politicians heard the VPN users who shared their worries and fears, and the experts who explained how the ban wouldn’t work.»

Earlier this week, the EFF had written an open letter arguing that the draft laws did not «meaningfully advance the goal of keeping young people safe online.» The EFF said that blocking VPNs would harm many groups that rely on that software for private and secure internet connections, including «businesses, universities, journalists and ordinary citizens,» and that «many law enforcement professionals, veterans and small business owners rely on VPNs to safely use the internet.»

VPNs can also help you get around age-verification laws — for instance, if you live in a state or country that requires age verification to access certain material, you can use a VPN to make it look like you live elsewhere, thereby gaining access to that material. As age-restriction laws increase around the US, VPN use has also increased. However, many people are using free VPNs, which are fertile ground for cybercriminals.

In its letter to Wisconsin lawmakers prior to the reversal, the EFF argued that it is «unworkable» to require websites to block VPN users from accessing adult content. The EFF said such sites cannot «reliably determine» where a VPN customer lives — it could be any US state or even other countries.

«As a result, covered websites would face an impossible choice: either block all VPN users everywhere, disrupting access for millions of people nationwide, or cease offering services in Wisconsin altogether,» the EFF wrote.

Wisconsin is not the only state to consider VPN bans to prevent access to adult material. Last year, Michigan introduced the Anticorruption of Public Morals Act, which would ban all use of VPNs. If passed, it would force ISPs to detect and block VPN usage and also ban the sale of VPNs in the state. Fines could reach $500,000.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Feb. 21 #720

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Feb. 21, No. 720.

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 might be easy for those who pursue a certain hobby. 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: The beer necessities.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Cheers!

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:

MALE, TREAT, STEAM, TEAM, MOVE, LOVE, ROVE, ROVER, SPEAR, PEAR

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:

HOPS, WATER, MALT, YEAST, BARLEY, SUGAR, WHEAT, FLAVOR

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is HOMEBREW. To find it, start with the H that’s three letters to the right on the top row, and wind down.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Feb. 21, #986

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Feb. 21 #986.

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 another of those purple categories where you need to look for hidden words inside of other words. It can be a real stumper. 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: Rookies don’t have this.

Green group hint: Call the roll.

Blue group hint: How’d you do today?

Purple group hint: Vroom-vroom, but with a twist.