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Author and engineering leader Will Larson describes his hands-on attempt to apply the 'software factory' pattern within his organization. The post outlines his motivations and early experiences testing this approach to structuring engineering work. Larson, known for books like Staff Engineer and An Elegant Puzzle, frames this as a practical exploration rather than a finished framework.
CNET's daily coverage of the New York Times Connections puzzle offers hints and answers for game #1196, which the writer describes as trickier than usual. The four categories are organized by difficulty, from an easy yellow group to a challenging purple group that plays on math terminology.
CNET's daily puzzle guide published hints and the solution for the Sept. 19 Wordle, puzzle number 1,918. The word, WAKEN, has no repeated letters, contains two vowels, starts with W and ends with N. The previous day's answer, Sept. 18, was SNOWY.
CNET released the solutions for the September 18 edition of NYT's Strands puzzle, themed around agreements. The nonspangram words were PACT, TREATY, CONTRACT, COVENANT and AGREEMENT, with the spangram revealed as LETSMAKEADEAL.
CNET's daily Wordle guide confirmed that the solution for puzzle #1916, released Sept. 17, is THETA, the Greek letter often used in Greek life symbols. The site also provided hints beforehand, noting the word starts with T, ends with A, contains two vowels and one repeated letter. Wednesday's answer, WISPY, and other recent solutions were listed for reference.
CNET's daily guide covers Strands puzzle #927, themed around words meaning showy or eye-catching. The guide lists helper words to unlock in-game hints and reveals the six theme answers—JAZZY, VIVID, BRIGHT, FLASHY, VIBRANT and STRIKING—plus the connecting spangram.
Almost 5,000 mathematicians, including 25 Fields medalists, signed a declaration titled 'A Severe Misalignment of AI in Mathematics,' arguing that AI's success at solving famous problems is being mistaken for genuine mathematical progress. They contend that solving problems is merely a proxy for the real goal of conceptual insight, and that rapid AI-generated 'true/false' outputs could crowd out the slower work of idea generation rather than advance it.
CNET published its daily hints and full solutions for the NYT Strands puzzle #924, dated September 13. The puzzle's theme, tied to secret agents and espionage, centers on the spangram UNDERCOVER along with related words like MOLE, AGENT, ASSET, PLANT, OPERATIVE and COUNTERSPY.
CNET published the hints and full solution for the Sept. 11 NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, number 718. The groups covered NFL injury designations, ways to reach first base, Las Vegas Aces players, and types of dunks.
Wednesday's New York Times Connections puzzle grouped 16 words where eight could precede 'dog,' including hunting, rescue, sheep and sausage dog versus corn, prairie, salty and top dog. Solvers had to separate genuine canine breeds from food terms, animal names and slang phrases, tripping up many players who assumed all eight belonged together.
The New York Times launched a new weekly release of five to six bonus puzzles, built by its puzzle team, available only to Games or All Access subscribers. The batch includes variants such as Wordle in 1, which presents five partially filled five-letter grids to solve at once, plus smaller spins on Connections and colorized versions of Strands. Core puzzles like Wordle, Connections and Strands remain free and unaffected.
The New York Times launched a new set of five to six bonus puzzles released every Wednesday, created by its puzzle constructors and editors, available exclusively to Games or All Access subscribers. The lineup includes 'Wordle in 1,' a variant with five grids partially filled with correct and incorrect letters to solve, plus smaller spinoffs like Connections 3x3 and Colorful Strands, a color-coded version of Strands. Core puzzles such as Wordle, Connections and Strands remain free.