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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 Friday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Friday, June 20 (game #1243).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,100 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 #1244) - hint #1 - VowelsHow many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 5*.

* 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 #1244) - 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 #1244) - hint #3 - uncommon lettersDo the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

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

Quordle today (game #1244) - 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 2.

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 #1244) - hint #5 - starting letters (2)What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• B

• G

• B

• M

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

Quordle today (game #1244) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1244, are…

• BUDDY
• GROUT
• BEGIN
• MADAM

A bit of a harder Quordle for me today, not least because my three set start words – STARE, DOILY and PUNCH – didn't give me nearly as many letters as I'd had in previous games.

A couple of the words were tricky, too: BUDDY with its repeated Ds and with the alternative word MUDDY, and MADAM with its repeated Ms and As. I got there in the end, but it was a challenge.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Daily Sequence today (game #1244) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1244, are…

• TEACH
• PENAL
• TWEED
• LIMIT

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1243, Friday, 20 June: BRAID, DULLY, HASTE, LURID
• Quordle #1242, Thursday, 19 June: BRUSH, ISLET, FRUIT, PRIVY
• Quordle #1241, Wednesday, 18 June: MEDIA, SHARK, GUPPY, MOURN
• Quordle #1240, Tuesday, 17 June: LEAPT, PRISM, ADMIN, WHINE
• Quordle #1239, Monday, 16 June: RETRY, SCALD, DINGO, FEIGN
• Quordle #1238, Sunday, 15 June: SHOCK, STEIN, BROIL, COVEN
• Quordle #1237, Saturday, 14 June: STICK, FERRY, THESE, IONIC
• Quordle #1236, Friday, 13 June: REPEL, LARGE, SNIDE, CARRY
• Quordle #1235, Thursday, 12 June: SCANT, BATCH, UNDER, PARSE
• Quordle #1234, Wednesday, 11 June: CRAVE, ROOST, ANGLE, FLOOD
• Quordle #1233, Tuesday, 10 June: DECRY, CHEEK, FILET, EASEL
• Quordle #1232, Monday, 9 June: DERBY, LEMON, WRITE, HOVEL
• Quordle #1231, Sunday, 8 June: REBAR, ALERT, PAYEE, FLUME
• Quordle #1230, Saturday, 7 June: FLUNK, ESTER, SPITE, CHEAP
• Quordle #1229, Friday, 6 June: ELUDE, KHAKI, VISTA, SMOKY
• Quordle #1228, Thursday, 5 June: CHIDE, RABBI, GUSTY, LANCE
• Quordle #1227, Wednesday, 4 June: BANAL, STOUT, SEDAN, HIPPO
• Quordle #1226, Tuesday, 3 June: FUGUE, SYRUP, FLACK, WORST
• Quordle #1225, Monday, 2 June: THINK, BELLE, CRONE, BOULE
• Quordle #1224, Sunday, 1 June: POINT, MERIT, WHOOP, APHID

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 Friday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Friday, June 20 (game #474).

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

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Goose eggs

NYT Strands today (game #475) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• TANG
• STAG
• DARN
• DARE
• HATING
• THING

NYT Strands today (game #475) - hint #3 - spangram lettersHow many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 11 letters

NYT Strands today (game #475) - hint #4 - spangram positionWhat are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: top, 3rd column

Last side: bottom, 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 #475) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #475, are…

• NADA
• ZERO
• NOTHING
• ZILCH
• ZIPPO
• NAUGHT
• BUPKIS
• SPANGRAM: DIDDLY SQUAT 

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 2 hints

I spent a fair bit of today's Strands thoroughly baffled by what I was needing to do. For starters, I've never heard the phrase 'Goose eggs' – which apparently means 'nothing', but which I think might mainly be an American sports term, and therefore of no use as a hint to people like me, who don't have any interest whatsoever in US sports. That said, it seemingly comes from the British term 'duck's egg', which then found its way into cricket – a sport I love. So maybe I should have guessed.

Anyway, my first hint gave me NADA, and with no idea at this stage what the hint meant I was still in the dark. A second hint gave me ZERO, at which point I realized what the objective was.

Finding the answers was not that easy though, particularly BUPKIS – another word that was entirely alien to me until today.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Friday, June 20, game #474)

• BABY
• COCOA
• BLASTING
• BAKING
• CHILI
• TALCUM
• ITCHING
• SPANGRAM: POWDERS

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.

It's the end of another working week and you definitely deserve a well-earned rest in front of the TV.

Thankfully, there are plenty of exciting new movies and shows to watch at home, too. From the return of fan-favorite series to the official streaming debut of one of the most memorable films of 2025, there's lots to check out on the world's best streaming services before Monday rolls around. So, read on to learn more about the seven biggest new things you should stream this weekend. – Tom Power, senior entertainment reporter

A Minecraft Movie (Max)

I don't think anyone expected A Minecraft Movie to be one of the biggest movie hits of the year. As evidenced by my two-star review of A Minecraft Movie, I certainly didn't – and I even took Mojang's best-selling video game namesake's worldwide fanbase into account, too.

And yet, whether it was down to the game series' enduring popularity, its starry cast, or those viral TikTok videos of chaotic screenings – you must have seen those 'Chicken Jockey!' memes by now – A Minecraft Movie has become one of the highest-grossing films of 2025. Not only does that mean it deserves a spot on our best Max movies list, but also that it's worth checking out on Max this weekend. You'll be pleasantly surprised by what's on offer or, like me, wonder what all of the fuss is about, and I say that as someone who's enjoyed the odd Minecraft gaming marathon! – TP

• Watch A Minecraft Movie on Max

The Waterfront (Netflix)

If you're in the mood for a twisty drama, Netflix's latest TV Originals might hit the spot.

Inspired by true events and set in coastal North Carolina, The Waterfront explores family dynamics and the lengths people will go to when their legacy is on the line. The series follows the Buckley family, who has ruled Havenport, dominating everything from the local fishing industry to the town’s restaurant scene. But, all that has started to crumble as patriarch Harlan recovers from two heart attacks.

It's giving similar vibes to Succession in a way, but will this be as popular as that hit series and carve out a space as one of the best Netflix shows? – Lucy Buglass, senior entertainment writer

• Watch The Waterfront on Netflix

The Buccaneers season 2 (Apple TV+)

Dust off your bustles and bowler hats, because it's finally time to step back into the Gilded Age for season 2 of one of the best Apple TV+ shows: The Buccaneers.

The last time we saw sisters Nan and Jinny St George alongside sisters Lizzy and Mabel Elmsworth in this Apple TV Original, the group were only just starting to settle into London high society after traveling to England for the wedding of Conchita Closson. Now, the American heiresses are practically running the place, which is precisely where the first episode of this Apple TV+ show's sophomore season starts off.

Expect the remaining eight episodes of this Bridgerton and My Lady Jane rival to be released weekly until the finale premieres on August 6. – Amelia Schwanke, senior entertainment editor

• Watch The Buccaneers season 2 on Apple TV+

We Were Liars (Prime Video)

We Are Liars is an interesting one. It's got a positive 75% Rotten Tomatoes critics score (at the time of publication), but it remains to be seen if the Prime Video young adult drama will similarly appeal to general viewers.

If you love a psychological thriller, you may be keen to see which side of the debate you fall on this weekend. This eight-part Amazon TV series follows a 17 year old girl from a wealthy family, who spends summers on a private island.

However, when she suffers a terrible accident, she struggles to remember events that happened in her past, and it goes from there. Expect lies, deception and shocking truths with this one, which could yet join our best Prime Video shows list. – LB

• Watch We Were Liars on Prime Video

The Gilded Age season 3 (Max)

It's a big weekend for period drama fans, because there's also the return of HBO's hit historical drama The Gilded Age gracing our screens.

Following the end of the Opera War at the end of season 2, New York high society has never been more in flux. Will the Russells be the new top dog in town? Can Agnes come to terms with Ada's new position as the lady of the house? There's a lot at stake.

This season's first episode debuts this Sunday (June 22), with new episodes of one of the best Max shows scheduled to be released weekly through August 10. – AS

• Watch The Gilded Age season 3 on Max

Kpop Demon Hunters (Netflix)

I love movie soundtracks. They're among my most listened to albums, purely because they always have a way of transporting me back to the film. So, it's exciting to see Netflix put this front and centre in KPop Demon Hunters.

One of June's new Netflix movies features music from K-pop icons, including Danny Chung, IDO, Vince, KUSH, EJAE, Jenna Andrews, Stephen Kirk, Lindgren, Mark Sonnenblick and Daniel Rojas, as well as original songs from Jeongyeon, Jihyo and Chaeyoung of TWICE, giving it all the star power to make it one of the best Netflix movies.

K-pop superstars by day, demon hunters by night, the film follows a famous ensemble that fights off supernatural forces, including a new rival boy band of demons that's out to steal the limelight. – AS

• Watch Kpop Demon Hunters on Netflix

Underdogs (Hulu/Disney+)

I love a good nature documentary. I enjoyed Secrets of the Penguins narrated by Blake Lively, and now her husband Ryan Reynolds is following in her footsteps with Underdogs.

In this five-part Hulu and Disney+ docuseries, we examine the weird and unsung heroes of the animal kingdom. You can expect to see questionable parenting strategies, nature's con artists, and how these animals use various tactics to get by.

Each episode is around 40 minutes and is packed with witty commentary and up close footage that's perfect for any nature lover this weekend One for our best Hulu shows and best Disney+ shows guides, perhaps?. – LB

• Watch Underdogs on Hulu (US) and Disney+ (internationally)

For more stellar streaming suggestions, read our guides on the best Hulu movies, best Prime Video shows, best Paramount+ movies, and best Disney+ movies.

Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo: Two-minute review

The Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo is instantly striking with its retro design and ultra-wide body. If you're after the best instant camera for hybrid photography (i.e. the ability to print film images taken directly on the camera or sent from your smartphone) and prefer to shoot on wide format prints, then this really looks like it's the model for you.

Although it doesn't come cheap, the Instax Wide Evo is very much the step-up from Fujifilm's other Instax hybrid, the Mini Evo, that was launched in 2021, offering most of the same great features, including an LCD display screen, 10 lens and 10 film effects that make 100 different creative combinations, and a microSD card slot, along with a few more new additions that I'll break down below.

(Image credit: Future)

A wider film print means this instant camera is a bit on the larger side, but it makes use of the extra real-estate by adding more physical buttons that let you quickly change settings. These include a dedicated wide angle button that lets you switch to a more standard field of view (FoV) if you don't want that cinematic look.

Speaking of, you can also switch between six different film styles, one of which puts black bars to give your pictures that IMAX feeling, using a button on top of the camera. There's also a dial on the left side of the camera to cycle through the 10 different lens effects, with another dial on the opposite right side to switch between the 10 different film effects. My favorite, though, is the crank that lets you manually print a picture by winding it, which is a nice design nod to the crank for winding back film on the best film cameras.

So it's a full five stars for all the creative photo editing options it offers, but what about the Instax Evo Wide's image quality? It's by no means as rich or dynamic as an analog instant camera can produce. Instead the picture quality of the physical print outs is more in line with what you'd expect from your phone's smartphone camera. Of course, the digital copies of these images when compared to those taken your phone can't compete.

The Instax Evo Wide will by no means replace your dedicated digital camera – and if you love the 'magic' of purely analog instant film cameras, then this might not be right for you either as your images will always be digital first – but it is a perfect piece of extra gear if you want to be creative with your photography and experiment with a larger field of view.

Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo: Price and availability

There's a dedicated button at the top of the camera for switching between six different film styles. (Image credit: Future)

The Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo was launched on January 21, 2025 with a price tag of $349.95 / £319.99 / AU$599.

That makes the Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo one of the the priciest instant cameras of its kind, says TechRadar's cameras editor, Timothy Coleman. Indeed, for comparison's sake, the only other Instax camera that takes wide-format instant film prints is the Instax Wide 400 and that sets you back $149.99 / £129.99 / AU$229.99.

The Wide Evo is also almost double the price of Fujifilm's other Instax hybrid too, the Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo, which retails for $199.99 / £174.99 / AU$299.99. Does the extra cost account for the more premium, larger features in the step-up model? As the brand's first wide format hybrid camera (and second hybrid camera overall), the Wide Evo does offer a premium package, which it's not great on value.

There's also optional accessories available for the Evo Wide, including a leather case that costs $49.95 in the US and £37.99 in the UK. Although optional, this might be a necessary additional cost to make sure to protect the LCD display screen (if this gets too scratched up, then you won't be able to take let alone see your photos).

Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo: Specs

Film Type:

Fujifilm Instax Wide film

Print size:

62mm x 99mm

Focus range:

f = 16 mm (35 mm equivalent)

Aperture:

f 2.4

Shutter Speed

Automatic switching, 1/4 to 1/8,000 seconds

Power:

Internal lithium ion rechargeable

Charging time:

2–3 hours

Dimensions:

138.7 mm x 125 mm x 62.8 mm (excluding protruding parts)

Weight:

490g

Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo: Design

The left dial on the Instax Wide Evo is for switching between the 10 different lens effects. (Image credit: Future)

• A hybrid instant camera that can print directly or from your catalog of shots, stored on Micro SD
• Plenty of dials and switches to select various film effects
• Includes a mirror and switch to take selfies

When rumors started to circle about the Instax Wide Evo, there was talk that it would be "regarded as the best-looking Instax camera ever made" and that caught a lot of enthusiast's attention, including TechRadar's senior news editor Mark Wilson who said off the back of it that the "Instax Wide Evo sounded like my dream instant camera".

Now that the camera is out in the wild, we can officially say that it's a stunning piece of equipment. It has a relatively slim body to balance the camera's wide build, making the Instax Wide Evo one of the more sizable options on the market. This is offset by a stylish retro look that mimics those vintage cameras that had black textured bodies with silver lenses.

Considering that the only wide-format Instax camera alternative is the big and bulky Instax Wide 400, the Wide Evo's textured, minimal black design is definitely a lot more easy on the eye than the plasticky, dull green finish of its larger cousin. (Another alternative if you're set on a wide-format is 2024's Lomo’Instant Wide Glass – an attractive instant camera that we gave 4.5 stars in our in-depth review.) Indeed, I don't think many would be opposed to slinging the Wide Evo over their shoulder for the day.

This is how you would hold the Instax Wide Evo to take a selfie, with your thumb pulling down on the shutter switch button. (Image credit: Future)

The leather case that you can buy alongside the Wide Evo makes this very easy to do and might be a crucial accessory – not just for protecting it from nicks and scratches but – to make sure that it has a long life, as the LCD screen could easily get scuffed up over time. That's not great for a camera that doesn't have a viewfinder. Of course, I can't yet say that this will be an issue but it's worth considering.

It also helps that the Evo Wide is light – it weighs about half a kilo – making it very portable, but don't expect to be able to fit the Wide Evo in any pocket. As you would expect, because it takes wide-format instant prints, it's on the larger side.

Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo: Performance

This image was shot with the warm film effect and color shift lens effect settings turned on. (Image credit: Future)

• Plenty of scope to try different looks, with 100 creative combinations
• The widest-ever Instax lens and wide-format prints give extra breathing room for your subjects

The Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo's built-in film and lens effects make experimenting with different styles extremely easy. The fact that you can create 100 different creative combinations with these settings means there's plenty of room to play around.

Fujifilm has made the ability to customize all your images with various different effects a core part of the Instax Wide Evo. Indeed, if you're someone that likes to experiment with different effects such as lens flares, borders and color filters, then this camera is built for you.

The entire design of the camera is focused on making those photo editing tweaks simple, quick and easy. Both the lens and film effects each have dedicated dial buttons on the side of the camera. Even the top most prominent button on the camera (the placement of which is normally reserved for a shutter button) is for adding different film styles to your images.

The Wide Evo even has a dedicated button on the front of it that turns off the wide-angle, which is a nice feature that nods to its hybrid functionality. Another more less visible button is the lens of the camera itself, which can be twisted to adjust the intensity of the filter and film effects you're applying.

The dial on the right side of the Instax Wide Evo is for switching between the 10 different film effects. (Image credit: Future)

I had a lot of fun playing around with all the different film effects and styles because of these dedicated buttons, but my favorite physical feature of the camera has to be the hand crank on the side for printing images. It's a nice nod to the analog nostalgia that the Wide Evo embodies.

The shutter button is a lot different to the Mini Evo, which has a standard push button on top of the camera. Instead of this, the Wide Evo has a rocker style switch (like the ones you would use to turn on a light) that's situated on the front of the camera, beside the lens. I found this placement and style initially cumbersome, especially when taking a selfie as I couldn't immediately engage the auto focus by half pressing it down.

To be clear, this might be just be because I didn't spend a lot of time using it and could become more easier, but I will say it's not initially intuitive. That's also not to say that all the buttons are like this. The spin dials and crank for printing photos, for instance, are extremely tactile and easy to use.

On top of all this, there's even an Instax Wide app for more standard editing options, such as being able to crop an image or increase the brightness and contrast, as well as a 'Discovery Feed' for sharing and seeing fellow Instax Wideo Evo owners' creations. One thing to note about the app is that only printed images are automatically saved. Any photos you take on the camera itself won't just appear in your personal library in the app, which means you'll have to still transfer them of a microSD card.

Image 1 of 3

(Image credit: Future)

Every image that you choose to print on the Instax Wide Evo will automatically be saved in a library on the app, giving you detailed information about which effects you used.

Image 2 of 3

(Image credit: Future)Image 3 of 3

(Image credit: Future)Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo: Image qualityImage 1 of 3

(Image credit: Future)

I experimented with several different film effects and styles while testing the Instax Wide Evo.

Image 2 of 3

(Image credit: Future)Image 3 of 3

(Image credit: Future)

• Images are digital first, which loses the 'magic' of analog
• Picture quality of printouts appear flat but look fine digitally
• Not on par with pure analog instant cameras like the Instax Mini 99

There's a trade-off with every instant camera when it comes to picture quality that most of us are willing to accept. These cameras don't produce the same precision as newer dedicated digital cameras, but many people that purchase these type of cameras are more interested in the nostalgia that instantly printed photographs brings, so I appreciate that this isn't the most important component.

When it comes to the picture quality overall, I was most interested in testing out how the film prints compared to those taken on a non-hybrid instant camera as the images are digital first on the Evo Wide. This is a big deal for me because I'm split between analog and digital, and this in my opinion takes a bit of the magic away.

For context, I bought my first Instax in 2014 and of course quickly realized how expensive this style of photography is after discarding some duds, which made me even more selective with every picture I took. My boyfriend decided to buy me an Instax printer to solve this issue, but this for me took away what I loved about the style in the first place. I also found that picture quality from a printer wasn't on par, as the photographs appeared flatter and less dynamic than those printed on an analog instant camera.

Image 1 of 3

(Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 3

(Image credit: Future)Image 3 of 3

(Image credit: Future)

With this in mind, if the image quality of the prints is really important to you then you're better off buying an analog Instax camera in my opinion, because the prints are much more rich in contrast due to the light passing directly though the sensor rather than being digitally scanned. They also don't tend to be as overexposed as those printed on a hybrid Instax.

In terms of the wide-angle prints themselves, the larger size makes them feel much more premium than the smaller rectangular formats that mimic your smartphone pictures and is much more akin to the classic square instant prints that were once more popular.

As for the digital images that are taken by the Instax Wide Evo, these by no means match up to the quality you'd find from one of the best cameraphones, which benefit from more advanced sensors and image processing algorithms. For this reason, outside of sharing the images you take on the Instax Wide Evo to social media, you most likely won't use these elsewhere.

How I tested the Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo

• A one hour hands-on session at the UK launch event
• Ad-hoc testing during the day and night over a week
• I tried various filters, two lenses and selfie mode

My time with the Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo was brief: following attending the UK launch event in London, I was able to test out the camera for less than a week around the office and home.

However, during this time, I had decent chance to get a feel for the camera; how it handles for regular photos and selfies, plus the various filter and film effects possible through the physical controls on the camera.

I used two packets of the Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo at the event, each of which had 10 prints, and a couple more packets during the week-long product loan

• Network Solutions is integrating the Web.com brand
• It will offer Web.com's services, including the AI-powered website builder
• Network Solutions is one of the oldest domain registrars out there

Network Solutions, one of the oldest domain registrar and web services companies out there, is integrating Web.com, a popular website builder and web hosting platform into its Network Solutions brand.

The news was announced earlier this week and described as a move that aims to create a “stronger, more seamless digital experience for customers.”

Network Solutions was founded in 1979, as a company that offers domain name registration, website hosting, email services, and website building tools. In 2011, it was acquired by Web.com for $405 million in cash, plus 18 million shares. Both companies are owned by Newfold Digital, a company that was formed in February 2021 when Web.com and Endurance Web presence merged to form a joint-venture company owned by Siris Capital and Clearlake Capital.

With this integration, Network Solutions sought to create a “secure and stable platform” that will mean peace of mind for the customers, it said. Web.com’s customers will now benefit from Network Solutions’ 45 years of technical support, the company added.

Website builder in the spotlight

"This strategic consolidation brings together decades of innovation, reliability, and top-tier support, offering customers a comprehensive experience under the globally recognized Network Solutions brand," said Christina Clohecy, CEO of Network Solutions. "It's the same trusted service our customers know, now powered by the best of both brands, making it easier than ever for businesses to grow online."

In the announcement, Network Solutions stressed that its portfolio of services is now richer for Web.com’s AI Website Builder, offering a more streamlined way to build professional websites in minutes.

AI in web design is growing more popular by the day, and all of the best website builders out there have implemented the revolutionary technology. Bluehost, Wix, Hostinger, Squarespace, 10Web, and many others, have announced variants of AI-powered website builders, offering AI-enhanced experience that minimize the need for coding knowledge.

More from TechRadar Pro

• Read about why our Website Builder Editor is moving his website away from Wix
• Learn more with our full Wix review
• Check out the best AI website builders on the market

Republicans want to change or reduce key social safety net programs that provide health care, food benefits and financial assistance for millions of children.

(Image credit: Annie Otzen)

• 30.1% of US Python code is written by AI coding assistants
• Newer developers are even more likely to use AI
• Tech firms are also using more AI-generated code

A new research paper entitled "Who is using AI to code? Global diffusion and impact of generative AI" has found US software developers are the most intensive users of AI coding assistants globally.

By December 2024, artificial intelligence was believed to have generated nearly one in three (30.1%) Python functions by US developers on GitHub.

This puts US developers far ahead of their global counterparts in terms of AI usage, with countries like German (24.3%), France (23.2%), India (21.6%), Russia (15.4%) and China (11.7%) lagging behind.

US developers use AI coding assistants the most

The researchers also noted more experienced developers are less likely to use AI (28%) compared with newer GitHub users (41%) who might be more receptive to the platform's latest additions.

Despite coming with huge productivity promises, AI doesn't seem to have made such a great impact.

Moving to 30% AI-generated code has only correlated with a 2.4% increase in quarterly commits. The researchers place the economic value of AI-assisted coding in the US at anywhere between $9.6 billion and $96 billion annually, depending on the realistic productivity gains seen.

However, Daniotti et al noted at AI usage could be linked to greater experimentation, with a 2.2% increase in new libraries and a 3.5% increase in new library combinations observed, suggesting the tech could be helping developers expand into new programming areas.

The trend correlates with major tech firms like Google, Meta and Microsoft, which now admit that a large proportion (up to around a third) of their code, depending on project and use case, is generated by AI.

However, in the case of this study, the researchers admitted that the analysis focuses exclusively on open-source Python projects on GitHub, therefore the model effectively assumes that AI usage rates in Python are seen across other languages.

Still, they hope that quantified research could help AI sceptics make better-informed decisions about how they see themselves using AI and its effects on the labor market.

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Netflix's new drama Cocaine Air: Smugglers at 30,000 Ft. is a true story that feels like it's been ripped from the fictional drug drama Narcos – and that's something the filmmakers themselves are the first to admit.

Speaking of the four-man arrest that's at the centre of the story, director Olivier Bouchara told Variety that "it’s like a spinoff of Narcos, except that none of the four fit the profile. Two pilots, former air force heroes, family men. And two passengers with no criminal records, not even for stealing potatoes".

The story begins on the 19th of March, 2013, as a Falcon 50 business jet gets ready for take-off in the Dominican Republic. But before it can fly the anti-drug squad swoop in, because there are 26 suitcases full of dope on board.

Alongside two passengers the pilots are arrested. They protest their innocence and ignorance of their cocaine cargo – "we're pilots, not baggage handlers" – but they and the accused passengers are thrown in jail.

Cocaine Air: Smugglers at 30,000 Ft. tells the story of how they ended up there and what happened next, and it has soared to second place on Netflix's global top 10 for non-English content, putting it in the running to be one of the best Netflix shows.

What are people saying about Cocaine Air: Smugglers at 30,000 Ft.?

As with many Netflix documentaries, there's an argument that the material has been stretched longer than it needs to be to tell the story over a too-long period; Decider definitely felt that at three 45-minute episodes: "it's majorly stretching its material." But the mystery at the heart of the story – were the men guilty as charged, or was it a setup? – is intriguing, so much so that the case was a media sensation in France with alleged connections to the rich, famous and powerful in that country.

Over on r/netflix, top commenter LKS983 "thoroughly enjoyed it – and even laughed out loud a few times at some of the 'porkies' being told!". It's "one of those stories that gets crazier each episode," agreed the excellently named Elegant-Leg540, who "started out thinking the pilots were naive innocents then ended up not so sure."

Telerabbit9000 couldn't believe that the pilots didn't know what was in their cargo. "When they say 'I didnt care what the cargo was, as long as I was paid' they had to be getting paid so much that they would have known what the cargo was. (And if they werent getting paid 1 million, they are even bigger fools, taking such a risk for no money.)"

And the also excellently named 60percentsexpanther loved it too, and was equally dubious about the pilots' evidence. "Imagine putting 34 days worth of blow for the entire city of London in a single plane and then claiming you thought it was all bikinis, knickers, flip flops and sunglasses and you never knew."

Cocaine Air: Smugglers at 30,000 Ft. is streaming now on Netflix.

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• NordVPN faces a class action lawsuit in the US over alleged "deceptive and illegal" auto-renewal practices
• A US law firm has already brought lawsuits on behalf of four plaintiffs so far
• The auto-renewal system used by NordVPN isn't dissimilar to that used by other major VPN providers

A US law firm has filed a class action lawsuit against NordVPN over alleged "deceptive and illegal" auto-renewal practices.

The lawsuit, which is still active at the time of writing, also accuses NordVPN of making it difficult for consumers to cancel their subscriptions.

Despite some exceptions, almost all the best VPNs on the market have a similar auto-renewal system in place to handle users' subscriptions.

Four legal complaints

Wittels McInturff Palikovic is the main legal firm behind the ongoing class action against NordVPN S.A., Tefincom SA d/b/a NordVPN, and Nordsec B.V.

As mentioned, the class action questions how the provider manages user subscriptions.

Specifically, lawyers are accusing NordVPN of using "deceptive and illegal 'automatic renewal' practices to dupe customers into unknowingly paying for unwanted, pricey subscriptions," the class action's main page reads.

The lawsuit also accuses the provider of employing so-called "dark patterns" when customers seek to cancel their subscriptions. These refer to deceptive design techniques aimed at manipulating user actions.

"As a result, the lawsuit alleges that NordVPN customers paid tens of millions of dollars more than they would have if NordVPN had not used deceptive and illegal automatic renewal practices," concluded the lawyers.

(Image credit: Shutterstock / Freedomz)

Wittels McInturff Palikovic has already presented legal complaints on behalf of four former NordVPN customers so far – and seeks compensation of up to $100 million.

The first case TechRadar could find goes back to April 2024 and was filed in the Northern District of California. Two more cases were also filed last year, one in the Western District of North Carolina in July and another one in November in a Colorado federal court. NordVPN was dragged into Court again in the Southern District of New York last March on the same grounds.

In one of these cases (July 2024), allegations against NordVPN also include shady practices around cancellations during the 30-day money-back guarantee period.

According to the lawyers, "Nord Security did not adequately disclose to Plaintiff that it would retain his $131.76 payment despite his cancellation during the 30-day trial unless he affirmatively requested a refund."

It is worth noting that, in at least two cases, NordVPN has already issued a refund to plaintiffs for the unwanted subscription charges.

What NordVPN is saying

When approached by TechRadar, a NordVPN spokesperson said that the company complies with legal requirements, while striving to provide excellent customer experience.

"Our auto-renewal practices are clear and straightforward. We are and always have been very clear about the recurring nature of our services, and we also send charge reminders to customers with long-term recurring subscriptions," said NordVPN in a statement.

"Our goal is to provide our customers with services they use and enjoy every day; therefore, as a customer service matter, we may issue refunds even if customers have exceeded the 30-day money-back guarantee window. That said, two of the customers who brought lawsuits had received refunds before they sued."

A virtual private network (VPN) is security software that encrypts (Image credit: BlackJack3D/via Getty Images)

The class action is still active at the time of writing, and lawyers are urging all NordVPN customers who were charged for a subscription they did not want to get in touch.

The Wittels McInturff Palikovic firm has previously opened investigations into auto-enrollment practices against ExpressVPN, Proton VPN, and Private Internet Access (PIA).

Yet, no lawsuit was ever filed against these providers.

If you're looking to sign up for a VPN service but don't want to get locked into auto-renewing subscriptions, I recommend looking into Mullvad VPN. Besides being one of the most secure VPNs on the market, the provider axed all recurring subscriptions in 2022 to better preserve users' privacy.

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• Cerebras' X account was hacked to push (fake) new $CEREBRAS coin
• Company execs have confirmed this was a "scam"
• Cerebras is working with the US military

The official X account of AI chip maker Cerebras was recently hacked, with the malicious actor(s) behind the attack using the platform to share a fake cryptocurrency, the company has confirmed.

The breach was used to promote a fraudulent crypto scheme involving a fake coin, named $CEREBRAS, however the news was met with scepticism even before the company regained control over its X account and confirmed the scam.

Industry experts had already suspected $CEREBRAS of being a scam or a rug pull (and instance where a project gets abandoned after the company or individual responsible has raised assets from the public), and doubt was also raised when people started to notice that the fake coin had only been launched days earlier, on June 15, raising red flags among crypto observers.

Cerebras fake cryptocurrency scam

Responding to one request on X, CEO Andrew Feldman wrote: "No. We did not. This is a scam." Company Director James Wang also responded to speculation: "Cerebras is not launching a token. It’s a scam. Do not click."

Ceberas has since regained control over its X account, and no recent suspicious activity has been reported.

"Please be aware: Cerebras does not, and will never, launch or endorse any cryptocurrency or token. We are working to regain control of the account. Stay alert and protect yourself from scams," the company wrote.

In other news, the company recently boasted record-breaking LLM inference speeds using the Llama 4 Maverick 400B model – we're talking 2,522 output tokens per second – nearly 2.5x Nvidia's 1,038 output tokens per second.

"Cerebras has led the charge in redefining inference performance across models like Llama, DeepSeek, and Qwen, regularly delivering over 2,500 TPS/user," Feldman wrote.

Cerebras also won a joint $45 million US government contract with Canadian chip startup Ranovus to speed up inter-chip connections.

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Amid all the debates about how AI affects jobs, science, the environment, and everything else, there's a question of how large language models impact the people using them directly.

A new study from the MIT Media Lab implies that using AI tools reduces brain activity in some ways, which is understandably alarming. But I think that's only part of the story. How we use AI, like any other piece of technology, is what really matters.

Here's what the researchers did to test AI's effect on the brain: They asked 54 students to write essays using one of three methods: their own brains, a search engine, or an AI assistant, specifically ChatGPT.

Over three sessions, the students stuck with their assigned tools. Then they swapped, with the AI users going tool-free, and the non-tool users employing AI.

EEG headsets measured their brain activity throughout, and a group of humans, plus a specially trained AI, scored the resulting essays. Researchers also interviewed each student about their experience.

As you might expect, the group relying on their brains showed the most engagement, best memory, and the most sense of ownership over their work, as evidenced by how much they could quote from them.

The ones using AI at first had less impressive recall and brain connectivity, and often couldn’t even quote their own essays after a few minutes. When writing manually in the final test, they still underperformed.

The authors are careful to point out that the study has not yet been peer-reviewed. It was limited in scope, focused on essay writing, not any other cognitive activity. And the EEG, while fascinating, is better at measuring overall trends than pinpointing exact brain functions. Despite all these caveats, the message most people would take away is that using AI might make you dumber.

But I would reframe that to consider if maybe AI isn’t dumbing us down so much as letting us opt out of thinking. Perhaps the issue isn’t the tool, but how we’re using it.

AI brains

If you use AI, think about how you used it. Did you get it to write a letter, or maybe brainstorm some ideas? Did it replace your thinking, or support it? There’s a huge difference between outsourcing an essay and using an AI to help organize a messy idea.

Part of the issue is that "AI" as we refer to it is not literally intelligent, just a very sophisticated parrot with an enormous library in its memory. But this study didn’t ask participants to reflect on that distinction.

The LLM-using group was encouraged to use the AI as they saw fit, which probably didn't mean thoughtful and judicious use, just copying without reading, and that’s why context matters.

Because the "cognitive cost" of AI may be tied less to its presence and more to its purpose. If I use AI to rewrite a boilerplate email, I’m not diminishing my intelligence. Instead, I’m freeing up bandwidth for things that actually require my thinking and creativity, such as coming up with this idea for an article or planning my weekend.

Sure, if I use AI to generate ideas I never bother to understand or engage with, then my brain probably takes a nap, but if I use it to streamline tedious chores, I have more brainpower for when it matters.

Think about it like this. When I was growing up, I had dozens of phone numbers, addresses, birthdays, and other details of my friends and family memorized. I had most of it written down somewhere, but I rarely needed to consult it for those I was closest to. But I haven't memorized a number in almost a decade.

I don't even know my own landline number by heart. Is that a sign I’m getting dumber, or just evidence I've had a cell phone for a long time and stopped needing to remember them?

We’ve offloaded certain kinds of recall to our devices, which lets us focus on different types of thinking. The skill isn’t memorizing, it’s knowing how to find, filter, and apply information when we need it. It's sometimes referred to as "extelligence," but really it's just applying brain power to where it's needed.

That’s not to say memory doesn’t matter anymore. But the emphasis has changed. Just like we don’t make students practice long division by hand once they understand the concept, we may one day decide that it’s more important to know what a good form letter looks like and how to prompt an AI to write one than to draft it line by line from scratch.

Humans are always redefining intelligence. There are a lot of ways to be smart, and knowing how to use tools and technology is one important measure of smarts. At one point, being smart meant knowing how to knap flint, make Latin declensions or working a slide rule.

Today, it might mean being able to collaborate with machines without letting them do all the thinking for you. Different tools prioritize different cognitive skills. And every time a new tool comes along, some people panic that it will ruin us or replace us.

The printing press. The calculator. The internet. All were accused of making people lazy thinkers. All turned out to be a great boon to civilization (well, the jury is still out on the internet).

With AI in the mix, we’re probably leaning harder into synthesis, discernment, and emotional intelligence – the human parts of being human. We don't need the kind of scribes who are only good at writing down what people say; we need people who know how to ask better questions.

Knowing when to trust a model and when to double-check. It means turning a tool that’s capable of doing the work into an asset that helps you do it better.

But none of it works if you treat the AI like a vending machine for intelligence. Punch in a prompt, wait for brilliance to fall out? No, that's not how it works. And if that's all you do with it, you aren't getting dumber, you just never learned how to stay in touch with your own thoughts.

In the study, the LLM group’s lower essay ownership wasn’t just about memory. It was about engagement. They didn’t feel connected to what they wrote because they weren’t the ones doing the writing. That’s not about AI. That’s about using a tool to skip the hard part, which means skipping the learning.

The study is important, though. It reminds us that tools shape thinking. It nudges us if we are using AI tools to expand our brains or to avoid using them. But to claim AI use makes people less intelligent is like saying calculators made us bad at math. If we want to keep our brains sharp, maybe the answer isn’t to avoid AI but to be thoughtful about using it.

The future isn't human brains versus AI. It’s about humans who know how to think with AI and any other tool, and avoiding becoming someone who doesn't bother thinking at all. And that’s a test I’d still like to pass.

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• We have leaked renders for Samsung's next foldables
• There are a couple of key design changes
• It's likely that the phones will be unveiled during July

All the indications are that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 are going to get their grand reveal next month – possibly on July 9 – and freshly leaked renders may have given us a better idea of the designs of these handsets.

First up we've got the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 renders, courtesy of the team at Android Headlines. There aren't too many design changes, but it looks like the foldable is going to be thinner than ever, as has been previously rumored.

Exclusive: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Renders Show Slimmer Design, Bigger Displays https://t.co/bYpU7Fuyy5June 19, 2025

The cover display is apparently getting wider too, so the phone will feel a bit more like a standard phone when it's closed, and we've got two colors to look at here: Blue Shadow and Jet Black (a few other colors could be on the table too).

Perhaps the biggest surprise in these renders is that the punch-hole camera seems to be back on the main display, replacing the under-display camera on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 – perhaps due to the thinner frame. That's a step back in terms of technology, and arguably aesthetics, though the captured photo and video quality could be boosted as a result.

On the flip side

Exclusive: Galaxy Z Flip 7 Leaks with Full Cover Display — Finally Catching Motorola https://t.co/aWkrS2P4TOJune 19, 2025

We've got another batch of leaked renders showing off the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7, and again these come from Android Headlines. The same Blue Shadow and Jet Black colors are on show, which will most likely be joined by other shades.

The big upgrade when it comes to this phone compared to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 is the larger cover display, meaning it looks more like the Motorola Razr series of flip foldables – and the upgrade should make the outer screen more useful.

As with the Galaxy Z Fold 7, these renders show a phone that's thinner and lighter than its predecessor. According to this leak, many of the specs will stay the same, though there will be a faster processor on the inside.

All that remains is for Samsung to announce a date for its next Galaxy Unpacked event, and reveal these phones officially – which will almost certainly be sometime in July. At the same showcase we're expecting to see a couple of Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 models, and perhaps a tri-fold phone as well.

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