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I'm still yet to invest in one of the best espresso machines, but if there was ever a deal to tempt me to do so, then this might just be it. It's for the Breville Barista Express Espresso Machine, which is on sale at Amazon for $499.95 (was $692.99).

This is a machine that allows you to hone your coffee skills to make drinks exactly how you like them. Whether that be a flat white, cappuccino, or a simple espresso, the Barista Express can do it all. The whopping discount brings the highly-rated coffee machine down to the lowest price it's ever been.

Today's best coffee machine deal

We've seen this coffee machine discounted several times in the past few years, but never by this amount. Now, coming in at under $500, there really has never been a better time to invest. If you like your home-crafted coffee, then you won't regret it with one of the best coffee makers we've ever tested for its lowest-ever price.View Deal

If you've been looking for a TechRadar review of this coffee machine, then I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't find it. We actually reviewed it under its UK name, Sage the Barista Express. Whatever US or UK readers call it, it's the same machine, and we rated it an impressive 4.5 stars.

In particular, we loved how simple it was to use, the many adjustable settings to get your drink exactly right, and the "tasty espresso" that the machine is a pro at making. One of the downsides that our reviewer highlighted was the price, something that is made significantly more palatable with this deal.

If you're open to other machines, then take a browse of the best coffee makers for lattes and the best coffee makers. We've collated all our favorites based on features and budgets.

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Monday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Monday, June 29 (game #1114).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #1115) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• CURL
• BREEZE
• BOX
• FENCE
• SKETCH
• SKATE
• BOTTLE
• ON TAP
• CAN
• WALL
• RECRUIT
• HEDGE
• LUGE
• NEWSPAPER
• GATE
• SKI

NYT Connections today (game #1115) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: Things that split up places
• GREEN: Skills for snow and ice sports
• BLUE: Things that can be reused
• PURPLE: United by a word that sound like “craft”

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #1115) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: DIVIDING STRUCTURES
• GREEN: PARTICIPATE IN SOME WINTER OLYMPICS
• BLUE: COMMON RECYCLABLES
• PURPLE: WHAT "DRAFT" MIGHT REFER TO

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #1115) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #1115, are…

• YELLOW: DIVIDING STRUCTURES FENCE, GATE, HEDGE, WALL
• GREEN: PARTICIPATE IN SOME WINTER OLYMPICS CURL, LUGE, SKATE, SKI
• BLUE: COMMON RECYCLABLES BOTTLE, BOX, CAN, NEWSPAPER
• PURPLE: WHAT "DRAFT" MIGHT REFER TO BREEZE, ON TAP, RECRUIT, SKETCH

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 2 mistakes

CAN, BOX, BOTTLE and ON TAP all sounded like wine delivery methods to me, while HEDGE, BOX, BOTTLE and FENCE were surely describing someone who wouldn’t commit to an opinion.

Alas, in both cases I was very wrong, but fortunately before the situation go too dire I was able to spot four ways in which one could PARTICIPATE IN SOME WINTER OLYMPICS and the quartet of DIVIDING STRUCTURES.

With just eight tiles left I finally managed to see the COMMON RECYCLABLES while WHAT "DRAFT" MIGHT REFER TO passed me by like a a BREEZE. Fine work if you saw the purple first.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Monday, June 29, game #1114)

• YELLOW: OLD TIMEY TROUBLEMAKERS MISCREANT, ROGUE, RUFFIAN, SCOUNDREL
• GREEN: CONSUME WITH GUSTO CRUSH, GUZZLE, INHALE, SNARF
• BLUE: PARTS OF A SPEAKER CABINET, CONE, MAGNET, WOOFER
• PURPLE: ENDING IN PARTS OF A TREE EMBARK, GROOT, NUDIBRANCH, STRUNK

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Monday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Monday, June 29 (game #848).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #849) - hint #1 - today's themeWhat is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… And … action!

NYT Strands today (game #849) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• SHOWER
• CORD
• DROP
• WASTE
• PASTOR
• CRIED

NYT Strands today (game #849) - hint #3 - spangram lettersHow many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 12 letters

NYT Strands today (game #849) - hint #4 - spangram positionWhat are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: bottom, 4th column

Last side: top, 4th column

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #849) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #849, are…

• WRITER
• DIRECTOR
• CAST
• PRODUCER
• CREW
• EDITOR
• SPANGRAM: THATSSHOWBIZ

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

There was no mystery about today’s search, although I was expecting to find Lights and Camera in the game somewhere.

Instead, the game ended up being a broader take, with THATSSHOWBIZ covering both stage and screen (both small and large) and the various roles that make up a production.

We could have added “audience” I suppose, as without that there is little point — although I know from a relation who works in a movie theater that even if no one turns up they still play the film the same as if it was a full house, as they are all set by a program at the start of each day.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Monday, June 29, game #848)

• CLEFT
• REST
• NOTE
• BRACKET
• MEASURE
• ACCIDENTAL
• SPANGRAM: MUSICALSTAFF

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Monday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Monday, June 29 (game #1617).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,400 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1618) - hint #1 - VowelsHow many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 3*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1618) - hint #2 - repeated lettersDo any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 2.

Quordle today (game #1618) - hint #3 - uncommon lettersDo the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1618) - hint #4 - starting letters (1)Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1618) - hint #5 - starting letters (2)What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• H

• D

• T

• M

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1618) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1618, are…

• HALVE
• DRYER
• THERE
• MINTY

I played this game without my glasses, which added a new dimension of difficulty.

The first error this caused was my using the word “ducky” instead of my starter word “duchy” and the second was missing the letter H and wasting a guess before getting HALVE.

Somehow, I managed to keep my winning streak going.

Daily Sequence today (game #1618) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1618, are…

• VIVID
• CYCLE
• CHUNK
• PLATE

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1617, Monday, 29 June: SLURP, CRACK, CRANK, PHONY
• Quordle #1616, Sunday, 28 June: RUPEE, TOPAZ, FULLY, BEING
• Quordle #1615, Saturday, 27 June: PRINT, MARRY, SADLY, BICEP
• Quordle #1614, Friday, 26 June: JUICE, ARRAY, BONEY, SKIFF
• Quordle #1613, Thursday, 25 June: SHELF, TAWNY, HYPER, SOLVE
• Quordle #1612, Wednesday, 24 June: SOBER, ECLAT, GOOSE, NINNY
• Quordle #1611, Tuesday, 23 June: ARDOR, DADDY, SERVE, SHEAR
• Quordle #1610, Monday, 22 June: WAXEN, APNEA, CHIME, WAVER
• Quordle #1609, Sunday, 21 June: ABBOT, NOTCH, DREAD, LURID
• Quordle #1608, Saturday, 20 June: SLAIN, TAMER, VIPER, FALSE
• Quordle #1607, Friday, 19 June: ALOUD, POINT, GLOBE, GROIN
• Quordle #1606, Thursday, 18 June: LATCH, BRAWL, STEEL, CRUSH
• Quordle #1605, Wednesday, 17 June: HOIST, PLUSH, GROUP, LEMUR
• Quordle #1604, Tuesday, 16 June: SLAIN, PLUCK, PINTO, SLICE
• Quordle #1603, Monday, 15 June: GAUNT, SNEAK, ROUTE, POKER
• Quordle #1602, Sunday, 14 June: WIMPY, WISPY, VIRAL, NYLON
• Quordle #1601, Saturday, 13 June: DEALT, STEED, BELIE, GULLY
• Quordle #1600, Friday, 12 June: TENTH, SHOAL, JELLY, UNIFY
• Quordle #1599, Thursday, 11 June: GAMMA, SPILL, SALVE, RURAL

• New report claims only 2% of English schools currently have formal AI strategies
• No clear policies means the sector isn’t working together to define use cases safely
• Clear strategies, but also room to experiment, are the next steps

New data from Accenture and Teach First has revealed that, even though schools across England are already using artificial intelligence to support learning, only 2% actually have formal strategies.

Full deployment strategies aside, only 12% of the 200 secondary schools surveyed have any type of AI policy, leaving an overwhelming majority investing and deploying blindly.

As a result, most schools are ultimately conducting informal experiments with AI, but on a national level, a lack of consistency or shared learning across the education system could be putting the sector several marks behind enterprise and business counterparts.

Moving beyond experimentation needs a clear strategy

“Many school leaders are navigating this shift without clear guidance or the confidence to implement the technology effectively,” UK&I Head of Accenture Matt Prebble said.

Still, schools are far behind businesses, with 27% of C-suite and senior leaders noting they have a comprehensive AI strategy, per Gartner data (via The Times of India).

Besides surveying around 200 secondary schools, Accenture also conducted 30 in-depth interviews with school leaders, who generally believe that AI has significant potential to improve education once early niggles are ironed out.

At the moment, leaders are worried about plagiarism, safeguarding and bias. Teachers are also being considered in AI rollouts, even if formal strategies lack – nearly two-thirds (63%) cite a lack of staff confidence.

But early adopters are already starting to see results, with common use cases across education including lesson planning, generating quizzes and drafting mock exam questions.

Separate Government reporting also implies that AI can help provide tailored feedback and support personalized learning, as well as administrative tasks that would otherwise take away from staff’s teaching time.

The report also uncovers how top-down leadership can impact AI’s role within any given school, with sceptical leaders causing slower and patchier uptake.

“Building the leadership capability and providing practical support to adopt AI responsibly will be critical to ensuring its benefits are delivered consistently and equitably across the education system,” Prebble added.

Regionally, London leads the way with 29% of leaders using AI everyday, compared with just 12% in the rest of England.

Support for how to use and deploy AI is starting to be written

“Safety should be the top priority when deciding whether to use generative AI in your education setting,” the Department for Education stressed. Industry regulator Ofsted also supports the responsible use of AI.

But with artificial intelligence no longer an experimental novelty and pressures from Ofsted monitoring, schools are being urged to consider more detailed strategies as they deploy AI.

“The biggest risk is doing nothing and assuming that you can just continue as is,” an unnamed headteacher told Ofsted in a separate report.

Teach First CEO James Toop also emphasized the knock-on impact poor strategies could have on schoolchildren: “Ensuring every young person, regardless of background or where they live, can safely benefit from the opportunities AI presents must be a priority for the education system.

Accenture and Teach First set out five key priorities for schools looking to advance their AI strategies: headteachers and leaders should engage with AI more directly and visibly; policies should clearly define purpose and boundaries; early pilots should start where value is clearest before progressing; teaching staff should be given permission to experiment with use cases; and shared learning must complement formal training for a more rounded approach.

A blast from an explosive device has seriously injured three people at a residential building in Monaco, and the attacker fled to France, local authorities said.

(Image credit: Daniel Cole)

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for June 30.

Guo said he came to the U.S. to destroy the Chinese Communist Party. But the judge said he instead diverted investor money to live lavishly.

(Image credit: Elizabeth Williams)

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for June 30, No. 645.

• AMD Zen 5-based EPYC 9965 is on sale on eBay for just under $6,000
• With 192 cores and 384 threads in tow, AMD's offering can handle as much as 6TB of RAM per processor for AI-centric workloads
• The CPU not only offers the highest core count in all x86 CPUs to date, but also holds its own against the competition

When AMD unveiled its new EPYC CPUs in June 2024, one particular chip caught everyone's eye, given how outrageously powerful it was compared to the competition.

The AMD EPYC 9965 CPU was also the company's most ambitious server-grade offering to date, and one that has held its own against the competition with relative ease thanks to its yet-unmatched 192-core, 384-thread x86 configuration.

At a suggested MSRP of $14,813 (now $11,988) at launch, it is also one of AMD's most expensive products across the board, with only a few of its server-grade GPUs pushing noticeably higher.

Why the eBay listings are somewhat hard to digest

Despite being unveiled over two years ago, the EPYC 9965 CPU remains largely unchallenged by the competition, thrashing most benchmarks with relative ease. It remains the flagship server chip for AMD-based systems worldwide, with Team Red shipping it globally, including China.

The chip itself is a genuine monster. The EPYC 9965 packs 192 Zen 5c cores and 384 threads onto a single SP5 package, with a 2.25 GHz base, a 3.35 GHz all-core, and a 3.7 GHz maximum boost, 384 MB of L3 cache, twelve channels of DDR5, 128 lanes of PCIe 5.0, and a 500 W default TDP, AMD's highest yet. It is the densest part in AMD's 9005 stack, built for cloud providers aiming to cram the maximum number of virtual machines into a rack.

All in all, it is designed primarily to serve hyperscalers and cloud providers, with a focus on low-power, efficient cores that dominate such setups.

Even at its reduced reference price of just under $12,000, eBay listings selling the same CPU for just under $6,000 seem inexplicable, offering a sub-50% discount over current advertised prices and over 60% off its original launch price.

This is even lower than the last time we tracked this CPU in 2025, but there might be an explanation of sorts for what would otherwise be seen as an anomaly. Most server-grade CPUs trade at prices below MSRP, with OEM and negotiated discounts that quickly add up to significant savings for large-scale deployments.

The other explanation that often applies to older server-grade CPUs that often get cycled out or decommissioned by data centers does not apply here, however; the EPYC 9965 does not have a successor yet, and it is hard to imagine a currently available CPU replacing AMD's most capable chip yet in a data center just yet

Other reasons prices are low could include excessive inventory, canceled orders, or simply someone liquidating hardware in an industry that is increasingly GPU- and memory-focused to meet its AI needs.

Most industry players prefer a direct OEM solution, especially given AMD's support for PSB-locking (secure boot) on their CPUs for certain vendors, which makes them unwilling to purchase from 3rd-party sellers. This also raises the risk profile for buyers, who could unwittingly end up purchasing a vendor-locked CPU, making for a rather annoying testing and return process.

With a shift in spending towards GPUs and memory becoming prohibitively expensive, hardly helping matters, while enterprise consumers are still buying up the EPYC 9965, prices might reflect a market reality: they are unlikely to be scouring eBay for their next 192-core monster CPU purchase, even assuming they have a compatible motherboard and memory modules to match.

EOFY is a good time to check gaming laptop deals, even if the laptop isn’t going to be used for work. Gaming laptops can be quite expensive, so a legitimate discount can make a bigger difference than it does on a basic everyday laptop.

That said, a gaming laptop can also be a powerful workstation if your work does need extra grunt. A fast CPU, dedicated GPU and plenty of RAM can help with video editing, 3D work, coding, running AI tools, creative apps or just keeping a lot of browser tabs and programs open at once.

It’s also worth checking our main EOFY laptop deals hub even after June 30, because in previous years we’ve seen some great laptop deals hang around or pop up in early July as retailers clear leftover stock.

For gaming laptops, we have deals from lower-cost RTX 5060 machines with generous RAM, through to much more expensive RTX 5090 desktop replacements.

This is a tempting price if you want a gaming laptop that can also handle study and everyday work. The Core 7 240H, RTX 5060, 32GB RAM and 1TB SSD make the spec very capable for the money, while the 16-inch 1920 x 1200 180Hz display means you can push older titles to high frame rates.View Deal

For those who want serious gaming power, the Legion Pro 7i with an Intel Ultra 9 275HX processor and RTX 5090 GPU is one of the better options going, even though it's 15% more than the price we saw on Black Friday in 2025. There are very few comparable machines at this price, making it an excellent deal if you are willing to spend big. Read our review to learn more.View Deal

The Acer Nitro V 16S is a good option for a buyer who wants current-gen gaming performance without paying big money. You still get an RTX 5060, 32GB RAM, a 1TB SSD and a 180Hz display for AU$1,777, which is a lot of hardware for the price.

The RTX 5060 is a lower-end current-gen GPU, but that’s still a good fit for 1080p or 1200p gaming, especially if you’re happy to use DLSS or turn down a few settings in the most demanding games. With RAM prices rising, 32GB of RAM is harder to take for granted at this price, so it’s good to see Acer include it rather than cutting back to 16GB.

The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is at the other end of the scale. Our Lenovo Legion Pro 7i review described it as “perfect for a desktop replacement, just okay as a portable”, and that’s exactly how I’d frame this deal.

You’re not buying it because it’s cheap or easy to carry everywhere. You’re buying it because you want a very powerful 16-inch gaming laptop with an RTX 5090, 32GB RAM, a 1TB SSD and a 240Hz OLED screen.

Our review gave the Legion Pro 7i 4 stars and called out its excellent gaming performance, gorgeous OLED screen and useful port selection. That makes it a good fit if you want one machine for demanding games, an external monitor setup and heavier work like editing, rendering or development.

The big caveat is battery life, which our review said “is not great”, but that’s the trade-off with this kind of desktop-replacement gaming laptop.

If neither of these gaming laptop deals is quite right, our main EOFY laptop deals hub has more options across cheaper Windows laptops, MacBooks, 2-in-1s and higher-end gaming machines.

The new requirement is rolling out to Netflix profiles, and only Kids profiles are exempt.

Michigan Gov. Whitmer is one of four Democrats who sent their states' National Guard troops to Washington, D.C. ahead of America 250 celebrations in recent weeks, amid President Trump's ongoing — and controversial — deployment in the city.

(Image credit: Andrew Harnik)

The 6-3 ruling slaps down law enforcement's wide-ranging "geofencing warrants" that pull phone data of anyone in an area.

The company said listeners should know whether the content they are listening to is AI-generated.

Officials from the US Department of Justice seized nearly 400 domains linked to illegal World Cup streams and warned viewers about the risks of malware, phishing, and data theft.

The post DOJ Seizes 400 Illegal FIFA World Cup Streaming Domains appeared first on TechRepublic.

Over 70 million Americans are expected to hit the roads and airports this holiday week. How to make the most of your Independence Day.

KDDI says a breach may have exposed email addresses and passwords for up to 14.2 million ISP accounts across six providers.

The post Japanese Telecom Giant Says Breach May Expose 14.2 Million Email Accounts appeared first on TechRepublic.

If you're looking for an elevated sound experience, these are CNET's current picks, including a few budget options, for earbuds that deliver the best sound quality.

People who rely on wheelchairs say that industry consolidation driven by private equity means long delays in getting them fixed, which isolates them from society and endangers their health.