Technologies

Meta Completes Acquisition of VR Fitness Company Within

The held-up acquisition has gone through, adding a major fitness platform to Meta’s toolkit.

As the VR headset race heats up in 2023, Meta has been slowly acquiring many of the bigger developers in the field. Now it finally has a fitness platform that it’s been trying to acquire for two years.

Meta announced Wednesday that it closed on the acquisition of Within, maker of the subscription fitness app Supernatural. Meta originally announced its intent to acquire the developer back in 2021. The Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint to stop the deal last year on grounds of Meta building a «virtual reality empire,» but it was reported last week that Meta had won approval for the acquisition.

«Today marks an exciting new chapter for Supernatural, as we officially join Meta,» Within CEO Chris Milk said in a statement. «We’re elated for the opportunity to bring joy, awe, wonder, and a happier, healthier life to more people around the world.»

Supernatural pairs with smartwatches to measure heart rate, and uses video scans of trainers overlaid in game-like training settings to create workouts that can feel like a VR version of Peloton. Fitness has been a major interest of Meta for the future of its VR and AR platforms, along with subscription services. Supernatural looks like a building block to fill both needs. CNET’s Joan Solsman has given it several in-depth tests over the last few years.

The closing of the deal happens amid a number of other VR headsets arriving in the next year, including the PlayStation VR 2, HTC Vive XR Elite and Apple’s expected mixed reality device.

The bigger question is whether Meta enables Supernatural to work across other VR headsets and platforms, and whether the app as it currently exists will change significantly now that it’s officially part of Meta.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed by Meta.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, Oct. 25

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 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’s the longest one of the week, and some of the answers are tricky. Read on for help. 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: Sword go-with
Answer: SHIELD

7A clue: Hamburger or Frankfurter, for example
Answer: GERMAN

8A clue: Sticky stuff on bark
Answer: TREESAP

10A clue: Hotel room pricing
Answer: RATE

11A clue: Classic arcade game of hopping between obstacles
Answer: FROGGER

14A clue: The «W» of the W.N.B.A.
Answer: WOMENS

15A clue: Looked after a pup
Answer: DOGSAT

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Drill instructor’s rank: Abbr.
Answer: SGT

2D clue: «___ Loss» (#1 album for Drake and 21 Savage)
Answer: HER

3D clue: Fury
Answer: IRE

4D clue: Appears on the scene
Answer: EMERGES

5D clue: Dish layered like this: sheet of noodles, sauce, cheese, repeat
Answer: LASAGNA

6D clue: Genetic screening procedure
Answer: DNATEST

9D clue: «As ___ my last email …»
Answer: PER

11D clue: Subject line abbreviation
Answer: FWD

12D clue: Aussie marsupial, for short
Answer: ROO

13D clue: «No wayyyy!»
Answer: OMG

Technologies

Verizon Offers New Internet Plan That Could Cost $25 Per Month

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Oct. 25, #397

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Oct. 25, No. 397.

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 is a fun one. It helps if you’re familiar with the athletes of the Pacific Northwest. If you’re struggling 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 show up in the NYT Games app but appears 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: When you get hurt.

Green group hint: Beaver State.

Blue group hint: Not surnames, but…

Purple group hint: Think oxygen.