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Today's NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, Sept. 17

Gael Cooper CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.

OpenAI's Teen Safety Features Will Walk a Thin Line

OpenAI announced new teen safety features for ChatGPT on Tuesday as part of an ongoing effort to respond to concerns about how minors engage with chatbots. The company is building an age-prediction system that identifies if a user is under 18 years old and routes them to an “age-appropriate” system that blocks graphic sexual content. If the system detects that the user is considering suicide or self-harm, it will contact the user’s parents. In cases of imminent danger, if a user's parents are un

ChatGPT will verify your age soon, in attempt to protect teen users

Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's key takeaways OpenAI will add age verification to ChatGPT. Teens will have more safety measures, compromising some freedom. Adults will retain the ability to use the chatbot as they want. Chatbot users are increasingly confiding in tools like ChatGPT for sensitive or personal matters, including mental health issues. The consequences can be devastating: A teen boy took his own life after spending hour

This smartphone telescope brought tears to my eyes with stunning photos - how it works

Vaonis Hestia ZDNET's key takeaways The Vaonis Hestia is a smartphone telescope device that retails for $300. The Hestia does well at capturing detailed photos of planets and the stars, and an intuitive app helps guide you. It is an expensive device that takes some getting used to, and the better smartphone camera you have, the better quality photos you will get. $299 at B&H Photo-Video Amidst all the doomscrolling, TV binging, and overworking, we've forgotten to look up at the sky every once

Should we drain the Everglades?

Lake Okeechobee, the largest lake in Florida, has an average depth of only nine feet (2.7 meters). Oh, and it has 30,000 alligators, but try not to think about that. Dough4872 , CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons I can’t explain why this bothers me so much, but something about it being so big and yet so shallow just creeps me out. I find it unsettling, okay? Mentally, it makes me feel like noodles, if that makes sense. It’s the eighth-largest (freshwater) lake in the country but I’ve swam i

Don’t worry, the Apple MacBook Air M4 is back to its record-low price!

We have been kind of spoiled. The Apple MacBook Air has been discounted to $799 for so long that it almost feels like that’s its regular price. The price suddenly jumped up earlier this month, though, which made us worry a bit. Don’t fret, though, the price has come back down! Buy the Apple MacBook Air M4 13-inch for $799 ($200 off) This offer is available from Amazon, and the discount applies to all color versions available. These include Midnight, Silver, Sky Blue, and Starlight. This $799 d

Apple made a strap, now Google has a rope to dangle your Pixel from your wrist

Google TL;DR The Google Rope Wristlet is a $7 polyester rope with a company logo that lets you dangle your Pixel from your wrist. You can actually use it with any phone, not just Pixels. The wristlet is available in three different dual-tone color options: Blue/Purple, Black/Gray, and Green/Yellow. Google has launched a new accessory targeted at Pixel phone users, and coincidentally, it comes right after Apple launched a similar one for iPhones. The new $7 Google Rope Wristlet is meant to at

Slow Social Media

Slow social media 16 Sep, 2025 People often assume that I hate social media. And they'd be forgiven for believing that, since I am overtly critical of current social media platforms and the effects they have on individuals and society; and deleted all of my social media accounts back in 2019. However, the underlying concept of social media is something I resonate with: Stay connected with the people you care about. It's just that the current form of social media is bastardised, and not socia

Did a ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Songwriter Really Use ChatGPT to Write ‘Soda Pop’?

Netflix hit KPop Demon Hunters has stayed in the conversation in large part because of its blockbuster soundtrack, but now one of those songs has come under scrutiny for potentially getting an assist from ChatGPT. In a recent discussion in Seoul for OpenAI’s newly opened Korean office, songwriter Vince reportedly claimed he used the controversial technology to help pen the song “Soda Pop,” performed in the movie by the demonic Saja Boys. He is credited as one of several co-writers on the track,

Google pokes a banana-shaped hole in Musk’s claims of Apple’s bias towards OpenAI

A few weeks ago, a frustrated Elon Musk sued Apple, claiming that the company’s pro-OpenAI bias made it impossible for other AI companies to rise to the top of the App Store. This week, Google Gemini became the latest app to contradict his claims. When Musk first suggested that Apple’s ties to OpenAI were unfairly impacting App Store rankings, xAI had just made Grok 4 free for all users, and had just made a splash with the release of controversial AI companions. Despite an App Store ranking bu

Mac Mini Sale: Get Into MacOS for Less Than $500 Today

In the market for a new MacOS-based desktop, but don't have a lot of space to spare? Amazon is currently offering discounts on both the 256GB and 512GB model of the late 2024 Apple Mac Mini (8/10, WIRED Recommends) with the M4 chip. Apple's M4 CPU is at the heart of both versions of this miniaturized desktop, with 10 cores each for the CPU and GPU. Our reviewer Brenda Stolyar had no complaints about the performance, noting that it handled multiple browser tabs, chat programs, and other apps wit

Epson’s new Lifestudio projectors put Google TV and Bose sound in one package

Epson TL;DR Epson’s new Lifestudio lineup blends 3LCD projection, Bose audio, and built-in Google TV. Models range from the portable Pop ($679.99) to the Lifestudio Grand UST ($2,499.99) with 120-inch 4K PRO-UHD HDR10 projection. All projectors are available now with a two-year warranty, and accessories like stands and a karaoke mic are available to add on. Epson’s new Lifestudio line of portable projectors makes a compelling pitch. The series blends Epson’s latest 3LCD projection tech with

OpenAI Wants You to Prove You’re Not a Child

If you are filled with too much childlike wonder, you might get relegated to a more kid-friendly version of ChatGPT. OpenAI announced Tuesday that it plans to implement a new age verification system that will help filter underage users into a new chatbot experience that is more age-appropriate. The change comes as the company faces increased scrutiny from lawmakers and regulators over how underage users interact with its chatbot. To determine a user’s age, OpenAI will use an age prediction syst

OpenAI Rolls Out Teen Safety Features Amid Growing Scrutiny

OpenAI announced new teen safety features for ChatGPT on Tuesday as part of an ongoing effort to respond to concerns about how minors engage with chatbots. The company is building an age-prediction system that identifies if a user is under 18 years old and routes them to an “age-appropriate” system that blocks graphic sexual content. If the system detects that the user is considering suicide or self-harm, it will contact the user’s parents. In cases of imminent danger, if a user's parents are un

US Tech Giants Race to Spend Billions in UK AI Push

Microsoft and Nvidia have unveiled plans to invest up to $45 billion dollars into the UK economy, in a move that will bolster the building of more data centers as well as research and development into artificial intelligence. The investment comes as US President Donald Trump travels to Britain, where he is expected to announce a US-UK tech deal alongside UK prime minister Keir Starmer. As part of the agreement, Microsoft has committed to invest $30 billion in AI infrastructure over the next fo

Should We Drain the Everglades?

Lake Okeechobee, the largest lake in Florida, has an average depth of only nine feet (2.7 meters). Oh, and it has 30,000 alligators, but try not to think about that. Dough4872 , CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons I can’t explain why this bothers me so much, but something about it being so big and yet so shallow just creeps me out. I find it unsettling, okay? Mentally, it makes me feel like noodles, if that makes sense. It’s the eighth-largest (freshwater) lake in the country but I’ve swam i

Today's Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Sept. 17, #1551

Gael Cooper CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.

ChatGPT may soon require ID verification from adults, CEO says

On Tuesday, OpenAI announced plans to develop an automated age-prediction system that will determine whether ChatGPT users are over or under 18, automatically directing younger users to a restricted version of the AI chatbot. The company also confirmed that parental controls will launch by the end of September. In a companion blog post, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman acknowledged the company is explicitly "prioritizing safety ahead of privacy and freedom for teens," even though it means that adults may

The Download: regulators are coming for AI companions, and meet our Innovator of 2025

As long as there has been AI, there have been people sounding alarms about what it might do to us: rogue superintelligence, mass unemployment, or environmental ruin. But another threat entirely—that of kids forming unhealthy bonds with AI—is pulling AI safety out of the academic fringe and into regulators’ crosshairs. This has been bubbling for a while. Two high-profile lawsuits filed in the last year, against Character.AI and OpenAI, allege that their models contributed to the suicides of two

KPop Demon Hunters Collaboration Could Come to Fortnite Soon

Netflix's surprise hit animated movie, KPop Demon Hunters, exploded onto the scene in June, becoming the streaming service's most-watched original movie ever. Besides breaking viewing records, the movie holds a top-three spot in daily rankings, has a successful sing-along theatrical run and has turned several songs from the original soundtrack into charting hits. KPop Demon Hunters will break one more record: It may be the speediest crossover in Fortnite history. Don't miss any of our unbiased

Annapurna Interactive will reveal three new games in a showcase on September 23

Annapurna Interactive is hosting a games showcase on September 23, 2025 at 8PM ET / 5PM PT to show off three of its upcoming games. The publisher says the "Annapurna Interactive Direct from Tokyo" will stream on YouTube and feature new games from Kyoto-based developer Marumittu Games, Iridium Studios and Yarn Owl. Annapurna Interactive held its previous games showcase this past February to show off games like Skin Deep and Wheel World . Marumittu Games' Annapurna project was initially detailed

Microsoft rolls out Copilot Chat to Microsoft 365 Office apps

​Microsoft is rolling out Copilot Chat to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote for paying Microsoft 365 business customers. Copilot Chat (short for Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat) is the company's AI-powered, content-aware chat that enables users to access AI agents. However, unlike Microsoft 365 Copilot, which has access to organizational content, Copilot Chat only works with data from the web. While Microsoft says Copilot Chat is "included at no additional cost" for Microsoft 365 users,

How Container Filesystem Works: Building a Docker-Like Container from Scratch

One of the superpowers of containers is their isolated filesystem view - from inside a container it can look like a full Linux distro, often different from the host. Run docker run nginx , and Nginx lands in its familiar Debian userspace no matter what Linux flavor your host runs. But how is that illusion built? In this post, we'll assemble a tiny but realistic, Docker-like container using only stock Linux tools: unshare , mount , and pivot_root . No runtime magic and (almost) no cut corners. A

Adios Chicos, 25 Years of KDE

It was the turn of the millenium when I got my first computer fresh at university. Windows seemed uninteresting, it was impossible to work out how it worked or write programs for it. SuSE Linux 6.2 was much more interesting to try and opened a world of understanding how computers worked and wanting to code on them. These were the days of the .com boom and I went to big expos in London where they showered you with freebies and IBM competed with SuSE and Red Hat for the biggest stall. IBM said tha

Google rolls out new Windows desktop app with Spotlight-like search tool

Google announced on Tuesday that it’s launching a new experimental app for Windows that’s designed to help people find what they need faster. The app will allow people to use an Alt + Space shortcut to instantly search for information from their computer files, installed apps, Google Drive files, and the web. The search bar works similar to Mac’s Spotlight search, which lets users quickly find anything on their device and on the web. The new app is available via Search Labs, Google’s experimen

Mophie debuts Qi2 Powerstation lineup with slim and stand options for iPhone

iPhone 17 is officially here, and Mophie is launching four new MagSafe batteries to give you more power. The lineup includes both slim and high-capacity options with and without kickstands. Not upgrading to iPhone 17? Mophie’s Qi2 Powerstation Wireless Batteries can upgrade your existing iPhone experience too. Mophie’s new lineup includes four options: Each model is Qi2-certified for 15W wireless charging that’s compatible with MagSafe. The two “Slim” models carry a 5,000mAh battery for up to

Google nukes 224 Android malware apps behind massive ad fraud campaign

A massive Android ad fraud operation dubbed "SlopAds" was disrupted after 224 malicious applications on Google Play were used to generate 2.3 billion ad requests per day. The ad fraud campaign was discovered by HUMAN's Satori Threat Intelligence team, which reported that the apps were downloaded over 38 million times and employed obfuscation and steganography to conceal the malicious behavior from Google and security tools. The campaign was worldwide, with users installing the apps from 228 co

Hate Windows 11's vibe? Make it look more like Linux or MacOS - here's how

Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's key takeaways Seelen UI is a desktop environment for Windows. With this app, you can achieve a Linux or MacOS look. Seelen UI is free to use and install on Windows 10/11. As a longtime Linux user, my opinion of the Windows UI has never really wavered: I think it's pretty dismal. Given that Linux has a cornucopia of desktop environments from which to choose, it makes perfect sense that someone wh

OpenAI Is Building a Teen-Friendly Version of ChatGPT

OpenAI announced today that it's developing a "different ChatGPT experience" tailored for teenagers, a move that underscores growing concerns about the impact of AI chatbots on young people's mental health. The new teen mode is part of a broader safety push by the company in the wake of a lawsuit by a family who alleged ChatGPT's lack of protections contributed to the death by suicide of their teenage son. The changes include age-prediction technology to keep kids under 18 out of the standard v