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Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 223, for May 4.

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for May 4.

Ahead of the election of the next pope, a chimney was installed atop the Sistine Chapel on Friday, which will help notify the public of the 267th pope.

The Bees look to boost their top-eight hopes as they host a Red Devils team on a high after another European win.

Can the Hammers get a much-needed win against a Spurs team focused on its European adventure?

The victory hands Venezuelan jockey Junior Alvarado his first career win in the Kentucky Derby. Sovereignty's trainer, Bill Mott, has won the Kentucky Derby once before.

(Image credit: Abbie Parr)

Arne Slot's Reds head to west London for their first match since being crowned champions.

Florida lawmakers have sent the governor a bill that would provide financial relief to condo owners. The measure softens mandates passed after the deadly 2021 collapse of a condo tower in Surfside.

(Image credit: Lynne Sladky)

• Innodisk launches PCIe Gen5 SSD series for AI and big data demands
• Up to 128TB capacity and 14GBps read speeds for enterprise data centers
• New drives support multiple form factors with enhanced security and VMware compatibility

Innodisk has announced its first PCIe Gen5 SSD series, targeting the high-performance – and lucrative – data center market.

The new drives are designed to meet the demands of AI model training, big data analytics, and other data-intensive environments. The series supports multiple form factors, including U.2, EDSFF E1.S, E3.S, and the newer E3.L, offering flexibility for a wide range of enterprise and data center needs.

“To ensure high quality and alignment with market trends, the PCIe Gen5 SSD aims to enhance integration with industry-leading data center standards, such as OCP Data Center NVMe SSD spec v2.0," Innodisk commented.

Fast read/write speeds

Built on the PCIe Gen5 x4 interface, Innodisk says the new 128TB drives achieve read speeds up to 14GB/s and write speeds up to 10GB/s.

The company says the PCIe Gen5 SSDs have been developed to integrate easily with industry standards, offering compatibility with VMware environments and other virtualized systems to enhance performance.

Enterprises managing large-scale or multi-tiered deployments will benefit from features like NVMe-MI for streamlined SSD management and multi-namespace support, helping to ensure scalable, efficient operations, Innodisk says.

The SSDs also include advanced security mechanisms. Secure Boot technology checks digital signatures during firmware updates, blocking unauthorized modifications and ensuring only verified firmware is executed.

The Innodisk PCIe Gen5 SSD series is expected to be available in the second quarter of 2025, but there's no word on pricing as of yet.

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• Rugged smartphones aren't boring - the Tank 4 Pro has a built-in DLP projector
• 8849 Tank 4 Pro is ready for anything, even weekend survival missions
• Big batteries are yesterday’s news; this rugged phone brings a full entertainment system outdoors

The best rugged smartphones now offer more than just durability and big batteries; high-end cameras and even portable projectors are becoming the new norm.

8849, a Chinese smartphone brand known for rugged devices, has announced the 8849 Tank 4 Pro, which blends power and protection, following earlier releases such as the 8849 Tank 4, and Tank 3 Pro.

Its newest device combines a 720p DLP-class projector with 100-lumen brightness and a 64MP night vision camera, as well as a 50MP main camera and a 50MP telephoto lens - and there's even a 32MP front sensor for selfies.

More than just durability

Built to be as smart as it is tough, the Tank 4 Pro features a 6.73-inch AMOLED display delivering 3K resolution with a 120Hz refresh rate.

Powering the device is MediaTek’s Dimensity 8300 chip, supported by 16GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage.

The 8849 Tank 4 Pro also sports dual camping lights, IP68 water and dust resistance, and a massive 11,600mAh battery. The battery supports 120W fast charging, helping users stay off the grid for days.

This rugged smartphone's connectivity is just as strong, supporting Wi-Fi 6, dual SIM, and compatibility with GSM to 5G NR networks, reaching download speeds of up to 2.34Gbps.

The device easily meets expectations as a rugged tablet replacement for those who prefer portability without sacrificing endurance. It is not just a simple rugged phone but more like a survival kit.

While pricing and availability details are still under wraps, a review sample is expected to arrive on our desk very soon.

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Hints and answers for Connections for May 4, #693.

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle No. 427 for May 4.

Here are hints and the answer for today's Wordle No. 1,415 for May 4.

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In co-stars Ruth Buzzi and Gary Owens at NBC's 75th Anniversary Party, in Los Angeles, in 2002. Buzzi was best known for her regular appearances in the variety TV show during the late 1960s and early 70s.'/>

Buzzi, who was best known for her regular appearances on the NBC variety TV show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, died on Thursday at her home in Texas.

(Image credit: Rene Macura)

The Daniel K. Inouye telescope snapped a clear image of sunspots.

(Image credit: VTF/KIS/NSF/NSO/AURA)

The billionaire investor, now 94, also said he would be resigning as CEO at the end of the year. He spoke at Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting known as "Woodstock for Capitalists."

(Image credit: (AP Photo/Josh Funk))

• Researchers set new wireless data record over 4.6km with infrared
• Data beams allow many parallel high-speed connections without interference
• Researchers believe this can bridge future 5G and 6G network connectivity gaps

Researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) have transmitted data between the TU/e campus and the High Tech Campus over a 4.6km distance using infrared light.

This feat happened at the astonishing rate of 5.7 terabits per second, the equivalent of streaming 1.9 million Netflix shows in HD simultaneously, making it the fastest wireless data transmission ever demonstrated over this big a distance in an urban setting.

The record-breaking connection was established using advanced optical antennas from Aircision, a spin-off of TNO based at the High Tech Campus. These antennas transmit data through invisible infrared beams instead of cables or radio signals. This technique, known as free-space optical (FSO) communication, enables ultra-fast, interference-free data transmission.

Paving the way for its future applications

“We need new ways to meet the increasing demand for fast and reliable connectivity,” said Vincent van Vliet, a TU/e PhD researcher involved in the project. “Infrared wireless communication combines the high data speeds known from optical fibers with the flexibility of wireless communication systems.”

The team used the Reid Photonloop testbed to achieve the breakthrough. This permanent set-up allows experiments with high-speed wireless communication and uses cutting-edge technology to combine multiple wavelengths in a single transmission.

“Because the transmitted infrared light is highly focused, an almost unlimited number of communication links can exist side-by-side without interference, allowing wireless network capacity growth at an unprecedented scale,” Van Vliet explained.

The Reid Photonloop testbed, named after the late John Reid, a driving force behind the project who passed away before its realization, stretches between the Flux building at TU/e and Building 37 at the High Tech Campus, a distance of 4.6km across Eindhoven.

"This facility will allow us to refine high-speed wireless communication and optimize its reliability and availability in all weather conditions,” said Chigo Okonkwo, Associate Professor and head of TU/e’s High-Capacity Optical Transmission Lab.

Aircision sees future applications for this technology in connecting 5G and 6G antennas where laying fiber is impractical.

“We are redefining how data is transmitted over the air. This record-breaking achievement proves that our technology is ready to make high-speed internet accessible to millions of people faster than ever before,” said Luis Oliveira, co-founder of Aircision.

The findings were presented at the Optical Fiber Communications (OFC) Conference 2025 in San Francisco.

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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says he will ask Defense Department officials why an Army Black Hawk helicopter violated flight restrictions at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

(Image credit: Stefani Reynolds)

Hansi Flick's league leaders go in search of a win against the relegated Pucela.

We live in times when tech firms will more often than not leave us disappointed; such is the nature of iterative technology upgrades and product cycles. So I was fully prepared to be disapproved by an attempt to run Death Stranding on my aging MacBook Air 13-inch (M2).

Last year, Apple touted how the 2019 game, which originally launched on the PS4, was coming to both macOS and iOS.

Now, Death Stranding is a rather attractive open-world game with a good few systems at play, and it has the added need of rendering actors Norman Reedus and Léa Seydoux, among others, with solid realism. It’s not a game for a bit of low effort porting, so I’d prepared myself for disappointment.

Thanks to the move to in-house Apple silicon, modern Mac and MacBooks have buckets of performance to tap into – be that for battery efficiency or handling a mass of Chrome tabs or some professional video rendering. Of course, one’s mileage varies depending on the generation of chip and whether it’s an M-series with a 'Pro' or 'Max' suffix (those offer the most power).

While I’ve been thoroughly impressed by the M2 chip in my MacBook Air, it’s mostly been for how well it handles everyday tasks and sips power – at least compared to Windows laptops I’ve used. It can also run Baldur’s Gate 3, which is no mean feat, and handles the likes of Divinity Original Sin 2 with aplomb.

Still, I was concerned that a more graphically ambitious game would prove too much for my MacBook.

Reader, I was wrong.

Out-stranding

(Image credit: Future / Roland Moore-Colyer)

Booting up Death Stranding, I was surprised at how smooth everything felt – there were no odd audio glitches or stutters, as can happen in my experience when running demanding games on Valve’s Steam Deck. Positive first steps, then.

Once the game got up and running, and after an oddball opening sequence that’s very much in keeping with the style of director Hideo Kojima, I was dropped into the boots of futuristic delivery man Sam Porter Bridges’ boots.

And, to my surprise, the game ran at what I felt was a steady 30 frames per second – sure, not the smooth 60 fps I like, but more than playable. This was at a resolution of 2560 x 1440 and with graphics settings turned up to their highest settings.

Now, playing a game with the kind of expansive vistas that Death Stranding sports on a 13.6-inch display isn’t the best way to experience it. But the impressive colors the Retina display on my Air manages, despite being an LCD panel, helped make some of the wet and green landscapes of North America pop with punchy dark greens, blues, yellows, and grays.

(Image credit: Future / Roland Moore-Colyer)

At 30 fps Death Stranding – at least so far – feels very playable. Plus I’m sure I could squeeze out more if I dig into the graphics settings.

It’s also seriously impressive that I’m running a game of this calibre on a fanless laptop, where previously it would take a dedicated games console to kick Death Stranding into gear. So yeah, I was impressed and had to put my skepticism to bed.

More than all of that though, is how this shows the promise for proper gaming on MacBooks.

Mac gaming has arrived

(Image credit: Future / Roland Moore-Colyer)

With Apple's in-house designed chips showcasing that they are more than just great slices of silicon for getting stuff done, and have the graphical grunt for gaming, I could see a decent future for actually gaming on Macs.

Now I don’t expect custom Windows PCs to be replaced by Macs, no matter how powerful the latter get. But I do see MacBooks being viable gaming machines if more games are ported over to run on M-series chips, either via the App Store on Stream.

I like the idea of a MacBook being a form of secondary device to game on when you don’t want to be hunched over a desktop PC. Or as a machine that goes from work to play when on a trip away from home; perhaps replacing the need to carry the likes of the Steam Deck or Nintendo Switch, especially when dealing with limited luggage capacity.

(Image credit: Future / Roland Moore-Colyer)

But beyond that, I think there’s scope for Apple Arcade to be expanded to include games that are made from the ground up to run on M-series chips. This might go against the initial idea behind the ‘Arcade’ moniker, which suggested that the subscription service was able to offer the same games on all manner of Apple devices. But it could open up a new tier of gaming for Macs.

There’s a slight wrinkle in that I’ve been waiting for gaming to improve on Macs for a while, what with the introduction of the Metal graphics API, but it’s only just feeling like it's getting to a noteworthy level. So it could be a case that we’ll need to wait a few more years before we see any significant changes.

But I’m hopeful for a future where gaming on Mac is less of an afterthought, and the laughable proposition it once was is left thoroughly in the rear mirror.

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