Author: Admin

You might assume you have to choose the iPhone or something with a Samsung logo on the back to get a great phone, but you’d be wrong in that assumption. Nothing is a company that’s trying to change perceptions in the tech space, and the Nothing Phone 2 is the company’s first real foray into the US market. And it’s impressive. It’s even better when you can get it at a discount, and Amazon has obliged with the Nothing Phone 2 now yours for just $649. That’s a $50 saving although you should note this special price is only available for the black version. Thankfully, that’s probably the best one.

There’s a lot to like about the Nothing Phone 2. It has a 6.7-inch OLED display that also supports a variable refresh rate. That ensures a buttery smooth experience while saving battery life where possible. The phone is also water-resistant and sports a 50-megapixel main camera, while 256GB of storage and 12GB of RAM round out the main specs.

Nothing’s latest phone is designed with sustainability in mind, which is always worth a mention. It has a 100% recycled aluminum midframe and uses 100% recycled tin across nine circuit boards. Other efforts include the phone being entirely plastic-free, among other things.

Not sold on the Nothing Phone 2? Our list of the best phone deals is sure to have something to pique your interest.

There are a lot of integrated development environments, or IDEs, out there, but possibly one of the most well known ones on the market is Microsoft Visual Studio. If you get a subscription, it would normally run you about $45 a month. But right now at StackSocial, you can snag a lifetime copy of Microsoft Visual Studio Pro 2022 for just $36. That’s more than a 90% discount on the standard $499 price. Be sure to use coupon code ENJOY20 to receive the full discount. This offer ends April 14.

When you’re writing and editing code on a large scale, basic rich text editors probably aren’t going to cut it. Having an IDE, or integrated development environment, will allow you to not only write and edit but also run your code so you can debug it all in one platform. Microsoft Visual Studio is a 64-bit IDE with advanced tools and built-in integrations that can make it much easier to handle a sizable workload or a particularly large project.

Visual Studio Pro will allow you to build across languages and platforms, and with IntelliCode to help you complete lines or blocks of code, you should be able to increase your speed and accuracy on the whole. CodeLens is another great feature that allows you to see recent changes, tests, authors and more. Perhaps most importantly, you’ll be able to collaborate in real time and make sure your team’s code stays consistent.

There are a couple of caveats when it comes to choosing this deal over paying for the full subscription version. First, the code provided can only be used once, meaning you will have access to Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 on only one device and will not be able to install it on multiple machines or transfer it if your current device crashes. You also won’t get the Azure access and credit that the Microsoft subscription includes. The good news is that updates are included with your purchase, so this should serve you well for as long as you have your current device. Just be sure to check the system requirements to ensure your device is compatible with this program before you checkout.

Tiger Woods is set to play in the 2024 Masters Tournament. On a reconstructed leg and balky back, the 48-year-old legend on Thursday will begin his 26th Masters, a tournament he has won five times. Only Jack Nicklaus, with six green jackets, has more titles.

Woods is scheduled to tee off at 1:24 p.m. ET Thursday with Jason Day and Max Homa. Defending champion Jon Rahm is grouped with Matt Fitzpatrick and Nick Dunlap, and will start at 10:30 a.m. ET.

Other notable tee times for Thursday (all times ET):

• Phil Mickelson, Sepp Straka and Tony Finau at 9:36 a.m.
• Hideki Matsuyama, Will Zalatoris and Justin Thomas at 10:18 a.m.
• Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele at 10:42 a.m.
• Wyndham Clark, Viktor Hovland and Cam Smith at 10:54 a.m.
• Jordan Spieth, Ludvig Aberg and Sahith Theegala at 1:48 p.m.
• Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa and Tommy Fleetwood at 2 p.m.

You can see all starting times and groupings here.

With or without a cable TV subscription, golf fans have plenty of ways to watch the world’s best golfers compete at the world’s best golf course this week. Here’s what you need to know.

• What: The 2024 Masters Tournament

• When: April 11-14

• Where: Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia

• Channels: ESPN and CBS
• Streaming: ESPN Plus and Paramount Plus

Who are the favorites to win the 2024 Masters?

According to the latest odds on Fanduel, Scottie Scheffler (+500), Rory McIlroy (+950) and Jon Rahm (+1,200) are the three favorites.

Behind this trio are Brooks Koepka (+1,700), Xander Schauffele (+1,900), Viktor Hovland (+2,100), Patrick Cantlay (+2,400), Ludvig Aberg (+2,400), Collin Morikawa (+2,800), Justin Thomas (+2,800) and Jordan Spieth (+2,800).

Who are the LIV golfers I should root against this week?

Defending champion Jon Rahm and 12 other golfers who left the PGA Tour for the Saudi-backed LIV Golf league are set to compete in the Masters Tournament this year. Here’s the list:

• Bryson DeChambeau
• Sergio García
• Tyrell Hatton
• Dustin Johnson
• Brooks Koepka
• Adrian Meronk
• Phil Mickelson
• Joaquín Niemann
• Jon Rahm
• Patrick Reed
• Charl Schwartzel
• Cameron Smith
• Bubba Watson

What is the TV schedule for the Masters?

The first two rounds will be broadcast on ESPN and stream on ESPN Plus. The final two rounds over the weekend will air on CBS and stream on Paramount Plus.

Thursday and Friday

• 3 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET (12 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. PT) on ESPN and ESPN Plus.

Saturday

• 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on ET (12 p.m. to 4 p.m. PT) on CBS and Paramount Plus.

Sunday

• 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET (11 a.m. to 4 p.m. PT) on CBS and Paramount Plus.

Can I livestream the Masters online for free?

On the Masters website or mobile app, you can stream live without having to sign in with a pay TV provider. You can also watch a livestream of the Masters on CBSSports.com or the CBS Sports app, also without needing pay TV credentials. The Masters site will have the TV simulcast livestream each day, and both the Masters site and CBS Sports will offer an additional five livestreams each of the four days of the tournament:

• You can follow featured groups at the Masters throughout each day.
• You can watch golfers navigate holes 4, 5 and 6.
• You can watch the action as it passes through Amen Corner, Augusta National’s most famous sequence of holes: the treacherous par-4 11th, the short par-3 12th and the long par-5 13th.
• You can watch golfers navigate holes 15 and 16.
• You can select your favorite golfers and watch all of their shots with the My Group feature.

Live TV streaming options

If you don’t have a cable or satellite TV subscription, you can watch the Masters with a live TV streaming service. All five of the major services offer ESPN, and four of the five (all but Sling TV) offer CBS. If you’re only interested in watching the final two rounds of the tournament over the weekend, you can use Paramount Plus. The catch is that not every service carries every local network, so check each one using the links below to make sure it carries CBS in your area.

In addition to the ESPN broadcast of the first two rounds, ESPN Plus will also show portions of the tournament each of the four days of the tournament.

Stream all four rounds on ESPN and CBS

Stream only the weekend rounds from CBS

Stream only the first two rounds from ESPN

Stream only selected holes and groups with ESPN Plus

All of the live TV streaming services above offer free trials, allow you to cancel anytime and require a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our massive streaming services guide.

If you’re planning on going on vacation any time soon, you might be tempted to buy an AirTag to keep track of your belongings. If a friend or family member has an extra AirTag they aren’t using, you can borrow it and save yourself the money. When Apple released iOS 17 in September, one of the helpful new features it introduced was the ability to share AirTags with up to five people.

Apple released AirTags in 2021 as a way to keep track of valuable items, like your keys when your couch eats them. AirTags could be attached to only one user at a time. Until now, you couldn’t lend someone an AirTag, and if you traveled with someone who had an AirTag, you’d be notified that you were traveling with an unidentified AirTag. That changed with iOS 17.

Here’s how to share AirTags with others.

How to share AirTags

1. Open the Find My app.
2. Tap Items across the bottom of your screen.
3. Tap the AirTag you want to share with others.
4. Tap Add Person under Share This AirTag.

Your iPhone will show you a prompt that says once you’ve shared an AirTag, the people you’ve shared it with will be able to locate it, and they won’t receive unidentified tracking notifications. Tap Continue to choose who will share your AirTag.

Once you’ve shared the AirTag, the other person will receive a notification to add it. All they need to do is tap the notification’s Add button, which adds the tag to their Find My app.

If you’re going through this process and receive a notification for a shared AirTag you don’t recognize, you can tap Don’t Add.

How to stop sharing AirTags

After a family member or friend returns your AirTag, you can stop sharing it with them. Here’s how.

1. Open the Find My app.
2. Tap Items across the bottom of your screen.
3. Tap the AirTag you want to stop sharing.
4. Tap the name of the person with whom you want to stop sharing.
5. Tap Remove.

Your iPhone will show another prompt saying that the person won’t be able to locate your item and they will receive unidentified tracking notifications. Tap Stop Sharing and you’re set.

For more iOS news, here are the features that could be included in iOS 17.5 and the latest features in iOS 17.4. You can also check out our iOS 17 cheat sheet.

If you’re taking a road trip this spring, you might plan on using your iPhone’s Maps app for directions. But using the app for extended periods of time could eat up your monthly data. Thankfully, when Apple released iOS 17 in September, the tech giant brought offline maps to your iPhone. With offline maps, you designate which areas you want to download from your Maps app onto your iPhone to use in case of an emergency, or so the Maps app doesn’t use your cellular data. Before you start using the feature, you may be wondering how well it works.

To find out, I downloaded a map of my hometown and used it to get around for a couple of days. My wife and I went to get coffee downtown before walking to an outdoor market, we drove back to our home and went back downtown for dinner after an NFL game ended. I also used offline maps to drive to and from my gym, as well as to walk my dog around the neighborhood.

Here’s how you can access offline maps, and what to know about them before you set foot out the door.

How to download a map to use offline

It can be a good idea to have a map of an unfamiliar area, like a new town or hiking path, in case you don’t have Wi-Fi access or a cell signal. Here’s how you can download a map to use offline.

1. Open the Maps app.
2. Find the area you want to download a map for and long-press on the area. A pin should drop on your screen.
3. Tap Download at the bottom of your screen.

An outline will then appear over your map, which represents the area which you will download a map for. You can resize this outline until you’re satisfied and then tap Download. A banner will announce when your map has finished downloading.

Here’s how you can access your offline maps settings page after you’ve downloaded them.

1. Open the Maps app.
2. Tap your profile picture near the Search Maps bar.
3. Tap Offline Maps.
4. Tap the map you want to use.

From here, you can access settings like updating the map and a Only Use Offline Maps switch near the bottom of the page. If you toggle this switch on, you’ll see Using Offline Maps across the top of your map when you use it. You can then tap this banner to get back to the offline maps settings page, too.

Offline maps will get you to your destination, but expect a few issues

Using offline maps was similar to using the Maps app when online. You open your Maps app, type in where you want to go and hit Go. You can also select your mode of transportation and whether you want to add any stops along the way.

When you’re on the road, offline maps act similarly to online maps. The map follows you and shows nearby restaurants and businesses. If you’re driving, offline maps will also show you the speed limit for the street you’re on. Siri will read out directions the whole way, telling you when to turn and where your destination is on the street.

There are a few differences between offline and online maps. The biggest issue is it won’t know exactly when you’ll get to your destination. When you look up directions, offline maps will display an estimated time of arrival, but they can’t take into account real-time traffic patterns since it’s offline.

When I used offline maps to find my way to a downtown restaurant after an NFL game, for example, offline maps told me it would take me about 15 minutes to get to my destination. In reality, it ended up taking me about 40 minutes to fight through traffic and get to dinner.

That leads to my second issue with offline maps: If you veer off its path, it takes a while to recalibrate and find you again. When getting through the traffic mentioned above, I took a few impromptu turns down side streets and offline maps still showed me where I turned off the path for a minute or so.

Otherwise, offline maps take things back to the days of physical maps. You may not be able to predict how much traffic will delay your drive, and if you take a wrong turn it might take you a second to figure out how to get back, but you can get to your destination — eventually. Pack some snacks just in case.

For more on iOS, check out what features could be coming to your iPhone with iOS 17.5 and what was included in iOS 17.4. You can also check out our iOS 17 cheat sheet.

Apple’s AirPods Pro earbuds are pretty great, but at their usual $249 asking price they’re definitely not the cheapest option on the market. But right now they’re available at a $60 discount if you buy at Amazon, dropping them down to just $189. That’s just $9 above their all-time low price there, so well worth nabbing.

Even with a refreshed AirPods lineup potentially on the horizon, Apple’s second-gen AirPods Pro are still among the best noise-canceling earbuds you’re likely to find. They also sport Apple’s transparency mode for when you need to be more aware of your surroundings, and they can automatically optimize their volume based on your environment. In use, the earbuds promise an impressive battery life of up to 30 hours on a single charge (including the battery life stored in the charging case). They also instantly pair and switch between Apple devices, making these wireless earbuds a joy to use for those in the Apple ecosystem.

If you plan on buying these to use with your Apple Vision Pro headset, you’ll enjoy support for 20-bit/48 kHz lossless audio with ultralow latency. The Apple Vision Pro has its own built-in speakers so AirPods aren’t an essential add-on, but they do allow for a more immersive — and private — viewing experience if you want to lose yourself in a movie.

Not into Apple’s buds or looking for headphones instead? There are tons of headphone and earbud deals available right now.

Today’s Wordle answer isn’t especially tricky. It’s a common word, with some popular letters in it. But if it’s tripping you up, read on.

Every day, we’ll post hints and then the answer for the current day’s Wordle, just in case you need it.

Today’s Wordle hints

Warning: If you keep reading, you’ll see the Wordle answer for Wednesday April 10, puzzle #1026. That could be a devastating spoiler for some players. But if you just need the answer — maybe you’re on your last guess and just don’t want to see an 800-game streak go poof — keep reading.

Wordle hint No. 1: One vowel

There’s only one vowel in today’s answer, so if you’ve correctly found it, focus on consonants.

Wordle hint No. 2: Double consonants

Often, words start with a consonant and move on to a vowel, but this answer leads off with two consonants.

Wordle hint No. 3: For foodies

The answer is a food term.

Wordle hint No. 4: First letter

The answer starts with B.

Wordle hint No. 5: Menu meaning

This food can be eaten plain, but it’s often an ingredient in recipes.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Here comes the spoiler: Today’s Wordle answer is BROTH. Now I want French onion soup.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, #1025, was MERGE.

Past Wordle answers

April 4, #1020, CLIMB

April 5, #1021, WRIST

April 6, #1022, FINCH

April 7, #1023, LASER

April 8, #1024, BREED

Everyday Wordle tips

I’ve written a lot about Wordle — from covering its 1,000th word to my list of the best starter words to a helpful two-step strategy to controversial word changes. I’ve even rounded up what I learned playing the hit online word puzzle for a full year. So if you’re rethinking your need for the actual answer, you might try tips from one of those stories.

Still need a starter word? One person told me they just look around and choose a five-letter object that they’ve spotted to use as their starter word — such as COUCH or CHAIR. I tend to stick to starter words that have the most popular letters used in English words. I like TRAIN as a starter, though I have a friend who uses TRAIL. I’ve read that people use the financial term ROATE, but I like to use words I actually know.

What is Wordle?

If you read this far, you know how to play. You have six chances to guess a five-letter word, and the game gives you feedback as to whether the letters you’ve guessed are in the puzzle, and if they are in the same spot where you guessed them to be. The Times bought the game from creator Josh Wardle for seven figures in 2022. Wardle famously created the game for his partner, and let them narrow down the 12,000 five-letter words in the English language to just 2,500, creating the database of answers. It was convenient of him to have a name that plays off “word” too.

A Times spokesperson told me it lists the very first Wordle as appearing on June 19, 2021, and the paper celebrated the game’s 1000th word on March 15. Spoiler: That 1000th word was ERUPT. As in, Dad will ERUPT if the Wordle is so tough he loses his streak.

There are other fun games in the Times Games stable. My latest addiction is Connections, which I think is trickier than Wordle. This is the game where you look at a grid of 16 words and try to put them into four groups of related words. Sometimes the relationships between the words are pretty out there — like the time when it was four words that all began with rock bands, such as RUSHMORE and JOURNEYMAN. (Connections got a little sassy on April Fool’s Day with an all-emoji puzzle. Some gamers did NOT find that funny.)

Spelling Bee is a popular Times game too. And there’s a new game that’s still in beta, Strands, which I’m trying to master.

The 10th Saw movie unleashed more gory traps on theatergoers in September, and soon “Jigsaw’s most personal game” will reach the Starz streaming service.

Saw X takes place after the events of Saw (2004) and before Saw II (2005), when Tobin Bell’s John Kramer, desperately searching for a cure for his cancer, uncovers a scam to defraud the most vulnerable, according to a synopsis. Gruesome traps inevitably follow as the Jigsaw Killer deals with the con artists as he does best.

Shawnee Smith also reprises her role as Amanda in the 10th entry, which ranks the highest out of the franchise on Rotten Tomatoes. Here’s when you can stream the newest Saw film on the Starz app, and how a VPN could potentially come in handy. Another reason to watch? Saw XI is scheduled to arrive later this year, on Sept. 27.

When you can watch Saw X on Starz

Want to play a game? Viewers in the US can access Saw X on Starz on April 19 at 12:01 a.m. ET/April 18 at 9:01  p.m. PT.

For $10 a month, the ad-free streaming service gives you access to original series like Outlander, P-Valley and Party Down. Hunger Games prequel The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is hitting the platform next month, and you can watch other Lionsgate films, like John Wick: Chapter 4 and Expend4bles now.

How to watch Saw X from anywhere with a VPN

Perhaps you’re traveling abroad and want to stream Starz while away from home. With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the movie from anywhere in the world. There are other good reasons to use a VPN for streaming too.

A VPN is the best way to encrypt your traffic to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds. Using a VPN is also a great idea if you’re traveling, find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network, and want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins. Streaming TV can be a bit smoother with a reliable, quality VPN that’s passed our tests and met our security standards.

You can use a VPN to stream content legally as long as VPNs are allowed in your country and you have a valid subscription to the streaming service you’re using. The US and Canada are among the countries where VPNs are legal, but we advise against streaming or downloading content on illegal torrent sites. We recommend ExpressVPN, but you may opt for another provider from our best list, such as Surfshark or NordVPN.

Follow the VPN provider’s instructions for installation, and choose a country where Saw X will be streaming on Starz. Before you open the streaming app, make sure you’re connected to your VPN, using your selected region. If you want to stream Saw X on more than one device, it’s possible you’ll need to configure each one to ensure you’re signed in. Go to settings and check your network connections to verify you’re logged in and connected to your VPN account. Now you’re ready to open Starz to stream.

If you run into issues with streaming, first make sure your VPN is up and running on its encrypted IP address. Double-check that you’ve followed installation instructions correctly and you’ve picked the right geographical area for viewing. If you still encounter connection problems, you may need to reboot your device. Close all apps and windows, restart your device and connect to your VPN first. Note that some streaming services have restrictions on VPN access.

Apple’s always made battery life a key selling point of its devices. When co-founder Steve Jobs announced the first iPhone in 2007, he said the smartphone had “tremendous power management.” At the time, that translated to 16 hours of audio playback and 5 hours of talk time, video or browsing. “That’s dramatically better” than any competitors, he added.

The upcoming iPhone 16 Plus may not be able to hold up that tradition.

A new series of leaks on social media say Apple’s $899 iPhone 16 Plus 6.7-inch model will have a smaller battery than the previous version when it releases later this year. The Plus iPhone, which is sold as a more entry-level option to the Pro-model iPhones that start at $999, is expected to have a battery that’s 9% smaller than its predecessors. The other iPhone 16 models, by comparison, are expected to have their battery capacity grow by as much as 6%.

The leaks came by way of MacRumors, which translated Chinese Weibo-based leaker OvO Baby Sauce OvO, who doesn’t have an established record of accurate iPhone leaks. Previous leaks, also tracked by MacRumors, have suggested similar battery changes. Apple representatives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read more: iPhone 16: All the Major Rumors on Apple’s Next iPhone

The new details about the iPhone 16 Plus give some insight into how this year’s model may stack up against the rest of Apple’s product line. Other rumors have suggested the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will sport more energy-efficient displays. Add that together with regular chip design improvements and software features, and the actual battery life of the iPhone 16 Plus may be unchanged from before. Still, tech industry watchers tend to see these types of moves as a downgrade.

Aside from battery and screen changes, Apple is also rumored to be adding the iPhone 15 Pro’s well-received action button in place of a mute switch.

Apple is also expected to expand on the artificial intelligence technologies built into its iPhones, with a series of software upgrades expected to be announced during the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June. In the past, Apple has also made AI-powered advancements, such as more capable photo editing or video stabilization, a key selling point of its annual iPhone upgrades.

Beeper — having given up on its iMessage for Android ambition — is instead moving forward with a new Android chat app publicly released on Tuesday. The company also announced that it’s being acquired by WordPress creator and current Tumblr owner Automattic.

Beeper’s new Android app, previously available in a beta, has a similar function as the company provided last year with its iMessage integration: a text messaging hub app that lets you text contacts on services like WhatsApp, Messenger, Signal and other services from within the Beeper app. While Apple successfully shut down Beeper’s method of entering its iMessage network, the new Beeper connects with 14 other chat networks and can be accessed from mobile and desktop. That includes an integration with Google Messages for RCS texting, which Apple is set to support at some point this year.

Beeper is available in both Android and iOS apps, though not even the latter supports iMessage, with CEO Eric Migicovsky telling CNET over email that the iOS version will eventually get its own update to be more like the new Android version.

By joining Automattic, Beeper is also now under the same ownership as services like WordPress, Pocket Casts and Tumblr. While these blogging platforms aren’t expected to get any integration with the Beeper app, Migicovsky said in a blog post announcing the acquisition that it will merge with the similar Texts.com messaging app that Automattic acquired last year. This combined team will continue to operate independently under its new ownership.

Migicovsky said that the acquisition has no immediate changes planned for either Beeper or Texts.com, the latter which he now also oversees as Automattic’s new Head of Messaging. He did say that while Beeper is currently available for free, the company still plans to provide a premium tier of service in the future.

While Beeper continues to be an open source project, it is still important to note that Beeper does not officially collaborate with any of the chat networks that it interconnects to. This means that while Beeper is pledging to support many of the features that a particular service provides for communication, it won’t necessarily be at parity as using a service directly. Beeper also pledges that its setup does not allow it to see any messages sent or received, but several of the services it supports do require users to trust Beeper with access tokens and keys to their accounts.

In short, while Beeper has been in operation for three years, there is still a degree of privacy risk to be aware of if you want to give it a try. But with so many chat apps and messaging services out there, efforts to attempt to streamline all the noise could have a lot of interest as they develop.