Technologies

Best Cheap Earbuds and Headphones for 2023

Looking for a set of inexpensive headphones? Here are some of the best budget models worth considering.

We have a few lists that focus on the best cheap headphones and earbuds, including one just for the best cheap wireless earbuds. This one features a mix of top budget wired and wireless headphones and earbuds, with most of the picks costing less than $50 and all costing less than $100.

You’ll find there’s a fair amount of junkier headphones in this price range, so I’ve only selected ones that manage to exceed expectations and deliver good quality for the price with decent build quality (good comfort in particular) and solid overall performance.

Read more: Best Wireless Earbuds for 2023

This story was originally published earlier, but is updated periodically.

Technologies

Microsoft Offers Free Windows 10 Security Updates for Those Who Don’t Want to Upgrade to Windows 11

You can still get support for a year, under one condition: It requires linking your OneDrive account to your PC.

The Windows 10 era is almost at an end. Microsoft is ending support for Windows 10 and stopping security support in October. Initially, Microsoft was offering a one-year extended security update for $30, but we’ve got some good news: Microsoft has added a free option, allowing you to stick with Windows 10 for another year. However, in order to access it, you’ll need to use cloud backup and connect it with your OneDrive account.

The ability to get free updates on Windows 10 is a pretty big deal because it is still the most widely used Windows OS, accounting for just over 53% of installs as of May 2025. That leaves millions of people without security support in just a few months unless they upgrade. So the cloud backup option gives users a way out without costing them any money.

The only potential issue is OneDrive. Anyone with a Microsoft account gets up to 5GB of storage for free. However, as The Verge points out, some backups may exceed this limitation, requiring users to purchase a monthly or yearly plan. At $2 per month for 100GB of cloud storage, a year of OneDrive still costs less than the $30 for a year of additional security updates, but it may still cause frustration among some customers.

Windows 10 was released a decade ago, in July 2015.

How to get Windows 10 security updates for free

Per Microsoft’s blog post, there are now three options for those who want to stay on Windows 10 and still receive security updates:

Use Windows Backup to sync settings to the cloud via OneDrive.
Redeem 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points. Redeeming those points can buy you one year of security updates.
Pay $30 for the extended security updates program.

You will be presented with these options starting in July, which is when Microsoft plans to roll out the sign-up wizard for the Extended Security Updates program. Signing up for this option will guarantee updates until Oct. 13, 2026, although businesses will have the option to purchase up to three years of additional updates. So, this isn’t a long-term solution, but rather gives you more time to upgrade to Windows 11.

It’s been an uphill battle for Microsoft, as people have been reluctant to upgrade their existing hardware. There are myriad differences between the two operating systems, but Microsoft’s string of unpopular decisions along with Windows 11 compatibility issues have kept the prior generation OS around a lot longer than it normally would be.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for July 18, #768

Find hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for July 18, #768, which might be easy if you do yoga.

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 all over the place. If you want to solve the blue category, it helps if you know yoga. (I don’t.) Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now 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 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: Order of things.

Green group hint: Ah, I get it.

Blue group hint: Flexible positions.

Purple group hint: Eddy Grant sang about this avenue.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Sequence.

Green group: Pick up on.

Blue group: Yoga backbends.

Purple group: Electric ____.

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 sequence. The four answers are run, series, streak and string.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is pick up on. The four answers are catch, note, see and spot.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is yoga backbends. The four answers are bridge, cobra, cow and wheel.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is electric ____. The four answers are blanket, eel, guitar and slide.

Toughest Connections puzzles

We’ve made a note of some of the toughest Connections puzzles so far. Maybe they’ll help you see patterns in future puzzles.

#5: Included «things you can set,» such as mood, record, table and volleyball.

#4: Included «one in a dozen,» such as egg, juror, month and rose.

#3: Included «streets on screen,» such as Elm, Fear, Jump and Sesame.

#2: Included «power ___» such as nap, plant, Ranger and trip.

#1: Included «things that can run,» such as candidate, faucet, mascara and nose.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for July 18, #1490

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for July 18, No. 1,490.

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.

I thought yesterday’s Wordle puzzle was difficult — until I met today’s. I’m unsure I’ve ever heard this word before, though now, I’m glad to know it. 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.