Technologies

Cut the Strings and the Cost by Grabbing This Wireless Pro Controller for Just $42

This is a smart way to get a 40-hour rechargeable battery and official reliability without paying the usual $60.

The Pdp Realmz Wireless Nintendo Switch Pro controller is down to $42, an $18 discount off its usual price. We’ve been tracking the price on this, and while this isn’t the steep drop we saw during the holiday sales, it still offers significant savings. If you’ve been looking to level up your Xbox setup, this is a perfect time to buy. Also, since the stock is low, grab one before it’s gone.

This Nintendo Switch Pro controller features a unique design with a small figurine built into the grip, letting you see a piece of your favorite game world while you play. It is officially licensed by Nintendo and SEGA, so you know it’s designed to work perfectly with your console. Plus, you can easily change the built-in LED lights using the ABXY buttons to match your style.

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.

You won’t have to worry about running out of power in the middle of a game, since the rechargeable battery lasts up to 40 hours on a single charge. It features 30-foot wireless range and a comfortable shape, making it easy to play from anywhere in the room. Since it’s rechargeable, you’ll also save money and reduce waste by never needing to buy disposable batteries. For other budget-friendly Xbox gaming controller options, check out our roundup on the best Xbox controllers.

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Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.

Why this deal matters

The deal is rare because it offers an officially licensed wireless controller with a 40 hour rechargeable battery for just $42. This is a smart buy because you get the reliability of a high-end pro-tier controller without paying the pro-level price.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Feb. 11, #976

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Feb. 11 #976.

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 is kind of tough, and the categories are all over the place. 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: Think Valentine’s Day.

Green group hint: Cash money.

Blue group hint: Solid item.

Purple group hint: On wheels.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Act lovestruck.

Green group: Earnings.

Blue group: Compact mass.

Purple group: Roller ____.

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 act lovestruck. The four answers are moon, pine, swoon and yearn.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is earnings. The four answers are gain, net, return and yield.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is compact mass. The four answers are block, brick, cake and puck.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is roller ____. The four answers are bag, coaster, derby and rink.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Feb. 11, #1698

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for Feb. 11, No. 1,698.

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 begins with a rare letter. According to our list of which letters show up the most in English words, it’s really not used often. 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 V.

Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter

Today’s Wordle answer ends with N.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can refer to a person who does not eat any food derived from animals.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is VEGAN.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, Feb. 10, No. 1697 was SCENE.

Recent Wordle answers

Feb. 6, No. 1693: GAVEL

Feb. 7, No. 1694: BLEAT

Feb. 8, No. 1695: EMBED

Feb. 9, No. 1696: CELLO

Technologies

TikTok-Linked AI Video Tool Debuts With a Catch for the US

Seedance 2.0 is grabbing attention for AI videos that match OpenAI’s Sora 2 and Kling 3.0.

The race to dominate AI video tools is heating up. After Chinese company Kuaishou launched Kling 3.0 last week, ByteDance — the company behind TikTok — has now opened its new video generator, Seedance 2.0, to beta users.

It remains unclear when general audiences will be able to access Seedance 2.0 and whether it will be available in the US, given that the company had to relinquish most of its TikTok ownership due to security and privacy concerns. So far, Seedance 2.0 is impressing AI enthusiasts, many of whom say it is more advanced than offerings from companies such as OpenAI, which offers video generation through its Sora 2 AI tool. A representative for ByteDance did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

What’s different about Seedance 2.0

According to information on various ByteDance websites, Seedance 2.0 is an AI video model that will be available across several of its tools, including Dreamina, a creator software suite from its video editing service CapCut.

Seedance can pull together multiple types of clips, such as video, audio and images, generate videos based on a thumbnail of a person’s face, and do things that other video generators struggle with, like maintaining consistent character and object features and displaying unified fonts and text.

Some of the examples that have made their way onto social media include realistic-looking dance scenes, martial-arts fights, explosive battles and entire short films generated from a text prompt.

Other AI software such as TopView AI and Atlas Cloud appear to be planning to incorporate Seedance 2.0 into their video-generator suites. On the Atlas Cloud website, Seedance 2.0 AI generation is said to be arriving later this month.

Video generators are proving to be popular, but companies making these AI tools have faced legal issues and other troubles. Disney and other companies last year sued AI image and video company Midjourney over copyright issues. Kuaishou was recently fined by the Chinese government for failing to curb pornography on its AI platforms.