'Wordle' today: Here's the answer, hints for July 28 - Mashable

Thursday has returned, and with it, Wordle #404. But if you're getting a 404 error (heh), we can help with a nudge in the right direction.

The answer to the July 28 Wordle can be found at the end of this article, or you can simply read on for a few tips, gentle hints, and strategies to help you every day.

Where did Wordle come from?

Former Reddit engineer Josh Wardle came up with the game in 2021 as a bit of fun for him and his word game-loving partner. It eventually became a staple of their family WhatsApp messaging, and that's when Wardle started to suspect he might have something special enough to merit a wider release.

Thousands of people around the globe now play this game each day, and fans have even created alternatives to Wordle inspired by the original format. This includes music identification game Heardle, Hollywood nerd faves Actorle and Framed, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once.

Not the day you're after? You'll find the Wordle answer for July 27 here.

Is Wordle getting harder?

If you've been finding Wordle too easy, there is a Hard Mode you can enable to give yourself more of a challenge. But unless you activate this mode, we can assure you that Wordle isn't getting harder — although a run of tricky or slightly more obscure words might make you feel like it is, some weeks. 

What's the best Wordle starting word?

We have some ideas to help you pick the perfect first move. Such tips include choosing a word with at least two different vowels to rule those building blocks in or out, plus a few common consonants such as S, T, R, or N.

Also, even if you're attached to your mathematically sound starter, once it's been the answer on any given day it won't be the answer again for a few years — so if you happen to get the elusive 1/6 result, celebrate by swapping out your starting five.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

While you could once play the entire archive of past puzzles, the archive was taken down at the request of the New York Times, according to the site's creator.

Why are there two different Wordle answers some days?

The whole point of Wordle is that everyone's solving the same puzzle, with the same answer, no matter where you are in the world. However, occasionally the puzzle game will accept two different correct solutions on the same day. This aberration is due to changes the New York Times began making after it acquired Wordle earlier this year, excising words form Wardle's original list that the team considers obscure or potentially offensive.

To make sure you're always getting the same puzzle as everyone else, refresh your browser before you play — don't worry, the site will keep your streak.

A subtle hint for the Wordle answer on July 28

You can do it, and you can hear it.

Wordle today is a 5-letter word that starts with...

...the letter S!

Does today's Wordle word have a double letter?

Not today!

Wordle today: What's the answer?

Ready?

It's time to reveal the solution.

It's...

STOMP.

Reporting by Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

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'Wordle' today: Here's the answer, hints for July 28 - Mashable
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Google is making it easier to edit PDFs on Chromebooks - The Verge

Starting next week, editing PDFs on a Chromebook is going to be a breeze. Users will be able to highlight text, fill out forms, sign documents, and add text annotations directly within the Gallery app.

Gallery is the default photo editing app on Chromebooks. Similar to Photos on Windows, it’s where a batch of photos first appears when you open it. Most Chromebooks don’t come with a PDF editor by default, and while free third-party options exist, their features tend to be limited, and editing directly in Gallery seems like it would involve significantly less hassle.

This could be a big help for students, a demographic among which Chromebooks are widely used. Not only could they more easily mark up texts and assignments but also they can annotate handwritten notes from class (which can be exported as a PDF from the Cursive app in ChromeOS).

Google is bringing a number of other features to Chromebooks this fall, including a “new movie editor and video editing features” in Google Photos, which will come to Chromebooks first. Users will be able to, “with just a few taps,” compile a video out of the clips and photos that are stored on their account. It looks like you just need to select a theme (“Love Story,” “Pet Movie,” etc.) and subjects, and Google will do the rest.

Those who want more control will also be able to use a more advanced “movie editor” to arrange clips, apply filters, and adjust settings like brightness, contrast, and white point.

Other features coming to Google Photos in August include light and dark themes as well as wallpaper integration.

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This 11th Gen Core i3, 8GB convertible Chromebook is only $294 - Chrome Unboxed

12th Gen Intel Chromebooks are finally arriving and by the end of the year, we should have a solid selection of powerful Chromebooks from which to choose. That’s not even counting the slew of ARM-based devices that we’ll see powered by MediaTek and Qualcomm. (Perhaps even Google’s own Tensor at some point.) That said, the current class of 11th Gen Intel Chromebooks is still very worthy of your time and attention if you happen to be in the market for a new laptop.

The best part about buying an 11th Gen Intel Chromebook is that you can often score some of the latest and greatest features that ChromeOS has to offer while saving some serious cheddar. One such device is currently on offer over at Amazon and it features an 11th Gen Intel Core i3 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and a 13.3″ convertible form-factor that makes it extremely versatile.

The Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5i iterates on Lenovo’s 10th Gen model with simple but powerful upgrades. Thanks to its price-to-features ratio, the Flex 5 family has long been one of our favorite devices. It cuts some corners here and there to keep the price down well below other “flagship” devices but does so without feeling or looking cheap. The 2021 model comes in a few configurations but the version in question here is equipped with a Core i3, 8GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, and a backlit keyboard. You’ll also get those up-firing speakers along with USI compatibility for the stylus users out there.

This model of the Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5i appears to have gone on clearance to make room for the upcoming 12th Gen version and multiple Amazon stores have it new in the box for the extremely low price of $295 or less. You can find the Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5i available from third-party sellers as well as listings fulfilled by Amazon and they are new devices with a full factory warranty. For under $300, you’d be getting a whole lot of Chromebook for very little money and updates through June of 2028 guaranteed by Google. You can find all the buying options for the Flex 5i over on the Chrome Shop at the link below.

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Facebook parent Meta raises price of its Quest 2 VR headset by $100 - CNBC

In this article

• META

Meta

Facebook parent Meta has raised the price of its Quest 2 virtual reality headset by $100, as the company reckons with inflationary pressures.

Meta announced the price increase on Tuesday via a Twitter post.

Starting Aug. 1, the 128 GB version of the Quest 2 will cost $399, while the 256 GB model will cost $499, Meta said.

The company said it hiked the price of the VR headset "in order to continue investing in moving the VR industry forward for the long term."

Meta added in a corporate blog post that "the costs to make and ship our products have been on the rise."

"By adjusting the price of Quest 2, we can continue to grow our investment in groundbreaking research and new product development that pushes the VR industry to new heights," Meta said.

In the first quarter, Meta's Reality Labs division, which includes VR headsets, reported revenue of just $215 million, compared to Facebook's $27 billion in advertising sales. Meanwhile, Reality Labs recorded an operating loss of $2.96 billion. 

Meta is estimated to have shipped over 10 million Quest 2 headsets in 2021 topping other companies that sell VR headsets like Sony and HTC, according to research by analyst firm Counterpoint. The firm said that Quest 2's relatively cheap price of $299 made it more attractive to consumers.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said he's pushing the company to the metaverse, a virtual world where he envisions consumers working and playing within the next decade.

WATCH: The advertising market is softening

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Rollerdrome Feels Utterly Phenomenal to Play - Push Square

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1. Rollerdrome Feels Utterly Phenomenal to Play  Push Square
2. 'Rollerdrome' preview: Twitchy dystopian bloodsport is my new favorite genre  Engadget
3. Rollerdrome - Gameplay Walkthrough | PlayStation Underground  PlayStation
4. RollerDrome Is A Game That Feeds The Thirst For A Perfect Run As Well As The Violent Impulses Of Putting On Skates  GamerBraves
5. Rollerdrome Mixes Tony Hawk Tricks With Guns Akimbo  IGN
6. View Full Coverage on Google News

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Dell is getting out of the phone syncing game - The Verge

Remember when everyone wanted to own your phone and your laptop? Dell’s finally tossing in the towel (via Windows Central).

On a support page, Dell announced that it’s discontinuing Mobile Connect, the program that syncs your phone’s texts, calls, and notifications to your computer. While Dell is stopping downloads on November 30th for users in the US, Canada, and Japan, it will no longer be available to use starting January 31st, 2023. The service is shutting down even earlier for users outside these three countries, with downloads stopping on July 31st and a total shutdown occurring on November 30th.

Dell Mobile Connect — sometimes called Alienware Mobile Connect — made its debut in 2018 and is, naturally, supposed to work best with Dell laptops from 2018 or later. The program’s compatible with both iPhone and Android phones, but it offered more features for Android devices right out of the gate — like screen-mirroring, which arrived on the Mobile Connect app for iPhone in 2020.

Microsoft offers a similar feature on Windows 10 and 11 PCs, called Phone Link (previously known as the Your Phone app). Phone Link does everything that Mobile Connect does, letting you mirror notifications on your PC, take calls and texts, as well as transfer files. But the main difference is that Phone Link doesn’t support iPhones, whereas Mobile Connect does.

If you like Mobile Connect, it seems like its capabilities aren’t going away for good. As noted by Windows Central, Intel actually bought the software behind Dell Mobile Connect in 2021, called Screenovate. Intel already showed off its plans to sync your PC with your Android, iPhone, and smartwatch at CES 2022, and the capability’s set to roll out on Intel Evo devices towards the end of this year.

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Amazon's best-selling new charcoal grill is... the Pixel Buds Pro? - The Verge

Prepping for a summer cookout? If you head over to Amazon right now, you can pre-order the retailer’s hottest new charcoal grill: the Google Pixel Buds Pro.

Yes, that sentence you just read didn’t make a lot of sense, but Amazon’s search engine thinks it does! The algorithm has apparently decided that not only do the new charcoal colored earbuds count as a “charcoal grill,” they’ve apparently been the best-selling product in that category for over 24 hours now (via Reddit and Mishaal Rahman) without Amazon doing anything about it.

See for yourself:

In general, I wouldn’t read too much into any badges you’d see on an Amazon product. As another example, did you know the “Amazon’s Choice” badge isn’t a stamp that indicates any sort of quality whatsoever? It’s algorithmically doled out to all sorts of products that you wouldn’t think deserve it.

And don’t get me started on Amazon’s user reviews — though there, the company does clearly know it has a problem, and pursues large enforcement actions (like this recent crackdown on Facebook fake review groups) every year.

Last month, The Wall Street Journal wrote about the deluge of random-letter-generator Chinese brands that appear when you look for products. It’s interesting to see how many of them rank in the charcoal grill list, too — including such storied brands as RESVIN, Cecarol, Oilzz, YSSOA, and DOIT.

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