If you’re looking for the Wordle answer for December 9, 2023 read on. We’ll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solution. Today’s puzzle is on the easier side; I got it in three. Beware, there are spoilers below for December 9, Wordle #903! Keep scrolling if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today’s Wordle game.

How to play Wordle

Wordle lives here on the New York Times website. A new puzzle goes live every day at midnight, your local time.

Start by guessing a five-letter word. The letters of the word will turn green if they’re correct, yellow if you have the right letter in the wrong place, or gray if the letter isn’t in the day’s secret word at all. For more, check out our guide to playing Wordle here, and my strategy guide here for more advanced tips. (We also have more information at the bottom of this post, after the hints and answers.)

Ready for the hints? Let’s go!

Does today’s Wordle have any unusual letters?

We’ll define common letters as those that appear in the old typesetters’ phrase ETAOIN SHRDLU. (Memorize this! Pronounce it “Edwin Shirdloo,” like a name, and pretend he’s a friend of yours.)

Four of the letters are common; the other is medium. Nothing unusual today.

Can you give me a hint for today’s Wordle?

You’ll need a change in your way of thinking. A slight movement. (Maybe a keyboard key.) 

Does today’s Wordle have any double or repeated letters?

No doubles today! Five different letters.

How many vowels are in today’s Wordle?

Just one.

What letter does today’s Wordle start with?

Today’s word starts with S

What letter does today’s Wordle end with?

Today’s word ends with T.

What is the solution to today’s Wordle?

Ready? Today’s word is SHIFT.

How I solved today’s Wordle

I went with my usual one-two punch of ARISE and TOUCH, and by the end I knew I’d have an S, H, and T, with an I in the center spot. STIH_ doesn’t make sense, so it would likely be SHI_T. And since R was out of play, that meant SHIFT rather than SHIRT.

Wordle 903 3/6

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A primer on Wordle basics

The idea of Wordle is to guess the day’s secret word. When you first open the Wordle game, you’ll see an empty grid of letters. It’s up to you to make the first move: type in any five-letter word. 

Now, you can use the colors that are revealed to get clues about the word: 

• Green means you correctly guessed a letter, and it’s in the correct position. (For example, if you guess PARTY, and the word is actually PURSE, the P and R will be green.)

• Yellow means the letter is somewhere in the word, but not in the position you guessed it. (For example, if you guessed PARTY, but the word is actually ROAST, the R, A and T will all be yellow.)

• Gray means the letter is not in the solution word at all. (If you guessed PARTY and everything is gray, then the solution cannot be PURSE or ROAST.)

With all that in mind, guess another word, and then another, trying to land on the correct word before you run out of chances. You get six guesses, and then it’s game over.

The best starter words for Wordle

What should you play for that first guess? The best starters tend to contain common letters, to increase the chances of getting yellow and green squares to guide your guessing. (And if you get all grays when guessing common letters, that’s still excellent information to help you rule out possibilities.) There isn’t a single “best” starting word, but the New York Times’s Wordle analysis bot has suggested starting with one of these:

• CRANE

• TRACE

• SLANT

• CRATE

• CARTE

Meanwhile, an MIT analysis found that you’ll eliminate the most possibilities in the first round by starting with one of these:

• SALET

• REAST

• TRACE

• CRATE

• SLATE

Other good picks might be ARISE or ROUND. Words like ADIEU and AUDIO get more vowels in play, but you could argue that it’s better to start with an emphasis on consonants, using a starter like RENTS or CLAMP. Choose your strategy, and see how it plays out.

How to win at Wordle

We have a few guides to Wordle strategy, which you might like to read over if you’re a serious student of the game. This one covers how to use consonants to your advantage, while this one focuses on a strategy that uses the most common letters. In this advanced guide, we detail a three-pronged approach for fishing for hints while maximizing your chances of winning quickly.

The biggest thing that separates Wordle winners from Wordle losers is that winners use their guesses to gather information about what letters are in the word. If you know that the word must end in -OUND, don’t waste four guesses on MOUND, ROUND, SOUND, and HOUND; combine those consonants and guess MARSH. If the H lights up in yellow, you know the solution.

One more note on strategy: the original Wordle used a list of about 2,300 solution words, but after the game was bought by the NYT, the game now has an editor who hand-picks the solutions. Sometimes they are slightly tricky words that wouldn’t have made the original list, and sometimes they are topical. For example, FEAST was the solution one Thanksgiving. So keep in mind that there may be a theme.

Wordle alternatives

If you can’t get enough of five-letter guessing games and their kin, the best Wordle alternatives, ranked by difficulty, include:

• Wheeldle, which lets you play one puzzle after another

• Dordle and Quordle, which ask you to play two (Dordle) or four (Quordle) puzzles at the same time, with the same guesses. There is also Octordle, with eight puzzles, and Sedecordle, with 16.

• Waffle, which shows you several five-letter words, scrambled in a grid; you play by swapping the letters around until you solve.

• Absurdle, which changes the solution after each guess, but needs to stay consistent with its previous feedback. You have to strategically back it into a corner until there is only one possible word left; then you guess it, and win.

• Squabble, in which you play Wordle against other people with a timer running. You take damage if you spend too much time between guesses; winner is the last one standing.

• Antiwordle, in which you are trying not to guess the day’s solution. You’re required to reuse any letters that you (oops) guessed correctly, so the longer it takes you, the better you are at the game.

Source: LifeHacker – Today’s Wordle Hints (and Answer) for Saturday, December 9, 2023

The Beats Powerbeats Pro has been considered one of the best pairs of earbuds for those who stay active and want the confidence of a secure fit. Until Sunday, Dec. 10, you can get them for their lowest price since their release after a 48% discount, currently at $129.95 (originally $249.95). Woot only ships to the 48 contiguous states in the U.S. If you have Amazon Prime, you get free shipping; otherwise, it’ll be $6 to ship. 

Perfect for those who like to stay active outdoors

The Beats Powerbeats Pro have been around since 2019 and have been the staple workout earbuds from Beats by Dr. Dre. They have been well-regarded for years for getting the simple things you want in workout earbuds right: a secure fit, easy operation, and good sound. The fit is highly customizable to fit most ears; they have in-canal adjustable ear tips that come in four sizes as well as well as ear hooks that grip the ear firmly to avoid falling off during intense workouts. They are sweat and water-resistant with an IPX4 rating, meaning as long as you don’t submerge them underwater or put them in your sink, they will survive.

The controls are easy as well, with the left and right side mirroring their commands. It also has a sensor detection feature that starts playing music when you put the earbuds on. You’ll get nine hours of battery life from a single charge and an additional 24 hours from the charging case. And yes, you can take calls since it has a microphone as well. Keep in mind these earbuds are not noise-cancelling, but do have the natural noise isolation that comes with a secure in-ear seal. You can read the full “excellent” PCMag review here.

Source: LifeHacker – The Beats Powerbeats Pro Are at Their Lowest Price Right Now

Has Netflix cut you off with the message “This TV isn’t part of your Netflix household” since it started cracking down on password sharing? Are you tired of every streamer you subscribe to hiking prices year over year? Yes, the modern streaming landscape is starting to look a lot like cable. But that also means exploring free streaming options is more enticing than ever.

Luckily there are plenty of ways to stream other awesome shows and movies online for free. Here are 20 great sites to bookmark for when you want something new to watch. (Note that many films are available on multiple free services at once, so if your selection has too many commercial interruptions or painfully low resolution on one source, search for it on another.)

Kanopy and Hoopla

Streaming services Kanopy and Hoopla both have a large selection of high-quality movies—Kanopy even carries The Criterion Collection—but they’re only available if your local library system has a subscription, which also means you’ll need a valid library account to log in. That’s one more hoop you’ll have to jump through, but it’s worth it, considering the variety of what’s available. Check on either site to see if you can access them via your existing (free) library account.

Supported devices: Apps are available for most smart TVs and streaming boxes (including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, and Apple TV) as well as iOS and Android.

PBS

PBS is home to shows like PBS Newshour, Antiques Roadshow and This Old House. While many titles are restricted to paying members, some of PBS’s online selection (taken from its TV programming) is available online for free, including a series of film school shorts. Depending on the show, you may be able to view certain episodes or previews without a subscription. That’s not as great as a full, free season, but it’s enough to get by.

Supported devices: iOS. Android. Amazon Fire TV. Roku, Chromecast, Apple TV, most smart TVs

Tubi

Free streaming site Tubi offers movies and TV shows from several major studios with minimal (sometimes zero) advertising. The catch is that—judging by a spot-check—desktop streaming is limited to SD resolutions. The wide range of titles—more than 50,000—covers ever viewing niche imaginable. There are several genre lists to help you browse the large catalog, and even a dedicated section covering movies “Not on Netflix.”

Supported devices: Tubi is available on desktop as well as Android, iOS, Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV.

Vudu

Paid streaming service Vudu has a free section offering an assortment of recognizable movies floating among less familiar titles. You’ll need to sign up for a free account and sit through some ads—and some movies are only available in SD, which isn’t great—but you’ll get access to more than 5,400 movies on your computer, phone or streaming device. You’ll find a lot of films from the ‘80s and ‘90s (as the rights to supply them have gotten cheaper), as well as a ton of stuff you’ve never heard of before (mostly that, to be honest). But there are some decent hidden gems.

Supported devices:

PlutoTV

PlutoTV is a free, ad-supported, hybrid “live” TV and on demand streaming service offering hundreds of channels you can scroll through to see “what’s on” (with channels covering a wide rage or categories and genres, including a bunch that show inly endless episodes of a single show, from CSI, to Doctor Who, to Family Ties, to Mystery Science Theater 3000) as well as a decent-sized collection of movies and shows to stream on demand. Movies are grouped by categories, including specific themes like “LGBTQ Cinema” and “Popcorn Movie Summer.” The service is owned by ViacomCBS, so a lot of the content mirrors what you’ll find on Paramount+.

Current top on demand selections include all of the Hunger Games films, the original RoboCop, the early 2000s Charlie’s Angels movies, and the Scarlet Johansson-starring adaptation of the Ghost in the Shell anime, which I have been meaning to watch—and doing so via a free streaming services that peppers its programming with ads seems like more or less what the movie deserves.

Supported devices:

Public Domain Torrents

If you’d rather download than stream, Public Domain Torrents is the place to go. As you’d expect, most of the films you’ll find are pretty old, but many are also stone-cold cinema classics. And, as the site’s name implies, they’re all completely free to download. Best of all, many of the films are available in versions optimized or encoded for specific mobile devices—but you can always grab the highest quality download and do the encoding yourself.

Supported devices: This one is up to you and your computer.

TopDocumentaryFilms

TopDocumentaryFilms offers lots of documentaries broken up by category, from war, global conflict and crime to health and the environment. The categorization makes the offerings fairly easy to navigate, and the site has a community of users who provide ratings for each film so you can get an idea of what you’re in for before you begin watching.

If you’d like a starting point, check out their top-100 documentary list to see what others are watching, or check the front page for their featured films. The site is more of an aggregator than a host—the content is pulled from YouTube, Vimeo and other sources—but that makes them a convenient, one-stop shop for documentary fans.

Supported devices: Access the site in your browser.

Classic Cinema Online

If the name doesn’t give it away immediately, Classic Cinema Online is ideal for classic movie buffs who love the era of black-and-white films and artistically painted movie posters. There’s even an entire section dedicated to silent films, if that’s your thing. If you’re looking for something specific, you can sort by category using the menu in the upper-right—if you’re feeling like serials, or a solid silent film. And if you prefer old-time television, check out its sister site, Classic Television Online.

Supported devices: Access the site in your browser.

PopcornFlix

With thousands of free TV shows and movies with names and titles you’ll probably recognize, PopcornFlix prides itself on the fact that none of its programs or movies are more than two clicks away. They’re all completely free to watch on your computer, as well as mobile apps or other supported devices. There are some nice hidden gems here, in addition to a grab-bag of popular (if aging) Hollywood films; one of the current “Most Popular” entries is Memory: The Origins of Alien, a feature-length doc about the creation of Ridley Scott’s horror classic.

Supported devices: Apps are available for Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, and most smart TVs.

Crackle

Crackle is often overlooked when people discuss free streaming media on the web, but you can grab this service for a number of mobile devices and set-top boxes. You have to sign up for an account, but once you do, it’s easy to create a watchlist, get recommendations for new shows to stream and browse Crackle’s full library of TV shows and movies. These the films Charlie’s Angels, Black Snake Moan, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014), and TV series like That Girl!, 21 Jump Street, and 3rd Rock From the Sun. That’s part of the beauty of Crackle: You’ll absolutely find movies you’ve heard of, shows you actually want to watch and more. It’s all free—as long as you’re willing to watch the occasional commercial.

Supported devices: There are apps for Apple, PC, iOS, and Android. You can also add Plex to most streaming devices, including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, and Apple TV.

Plex

We’ve written a lot about Plex, which announced in December 2019 that it was launching a free, ad-supported streaming service. While it offers paid live TV streaming, there’s a bunch of free content too—but you have to watch ads to view any of its free content. Still, the convenience of being able to view free movies and TV along with anything from your (or your friends’) media servers, all in one place and on any device, is pretty great. Plus, Plex recently added content from Crackle, expanding what you can stream within the service.

Supported devices: There are apps for Apple, PC, iOS, and Android. You can also add Plex to most streaming devices, including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, and Apple TV.

Vimeo

Vimeo might be a distant second to YouTube for size and popularity, but it’s still a great video-streaming service for short film and independent filmmakers. It’s also ideal for people who want the freedom and flexibility of a mobile-friendly, HD-capable upload service that has great privacy and video management controls, as well as an upbeat community of users. For those just looking for something great to watch, Vimeo’s Staff Picks is full of gems that run the gamut from dramas, to documentaries, to science fiction.

Supported devices: You can either grab the Vimeo mobile app to take your movies with you (available on iOS and Android), or stream Vimeo films directly to your TV through your Chromecast, Roku, Xbox, Amazon Fire or Apple TV.

YouTube

No list of free TV shows and movies would be complete without YouTube, and not because of the sheer volume of ripped and pirated media available there. In fact, YouTube is home to a ton of freely-published movies and TV shows, some of which are YouTube originals, and others that are available via Creative Commons licenses or shared in the public domain. YouTube also collects free-with-ads films inside its Movies section. If you need help finding something fresh, the Full Movies on YouTube subreddit lists new free movies every day. Recent finds include The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and Open Your Eyes (Abre los ojos), the Spanish film later remade into Vanilla Sky.

Supported devices: YouTube is YouTube; there’s an app on basically every platform and device in existence.

The Internet Archive

The Internet Archive is a repository for all sorts of things. While you probably know it for the ever-useful Wayback Machine, it’s also great for public domain films, independent media, TV broadcasts and newsreels and other media that you’re free watch—and to use and remix on your own, if you want. There are plenty of movies—organized by categories like sci-fi, horror or film noir—in addition to art films, educational videos and films, special collections that were made available to the Internet Archive for posterity, documentaries and even collections of stock footage. It’s not the most easily browsable archive, nor is it organized for mobile screens, but it’s certainly a treasure trove of interesting material.

Supported devices: This one is browser only, but you can cast to your TV with a compatible device.

Fandor

Fandor is a subscription streaming service that offers a diverse catalog of independent and international films. However, they also offer a growing library of free movies and films with ads.

Supported devices: Available on the web or in the Fandor app on iOS, Android, Chromecast, and Roku.

Freevee

Formerly IMDb TV, Freevee is a another ad-supported free streaming service with thousand of popular TV shows and movies spanning generes, including comedy, drama, suspense, and animation. Freevee also gives you access to over 150 FAST channels (free, ad-supported television in linear format, like cable television).

Supported devices: If you are an Amazon Prime member, you already have access to Freevee directly from the Prime Video app. If you are not, it has its own standalone app accessible on all Amazon Fire TV devices, iOS, and Android mobile devices, Xbox, PlayStation 5, and many smart TVs. If you don’t have one of those devices and are not an Amazon Prime member, you can still stream from your web browser from the Amazon website—completely free (but not ad free).

Shout Factory TV

Shout Factory TV is a free, ad-supported streaming service where you can catch classic and cult (very cult-y) movies and TV series, as well as some original programming. Shout Factory TV also includes FAST channels and curated live channels and events. The library goes deep in the offbeat—current selections include a documentary about a Power Rangers fan convention—so you’ll be sure to find something interesting to keep you busy.

Supported devices: Streaming online via your web browser, or download the compatible app for your device (including Apple and Android phones and tablets, as well as Roku, Chromecast, and Apple TV. (You can read an in-depth review of the service from PCMag.)

The Film Detective

If you haven’t had enough classic feature films, cult classic movies, and classic TV, The Film Detective will give you hope. It’s a classic film restoration, distribution, and streaming company.

Supported devices: The service is available on web, iOS, Android, Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV, and on their own app. They also run a 24/7 linear channel you can find on multiple platforms. You can watch all their content for free with ads.

ViX

For the Hispanic (and Lusophones) audience who love their telenovelas, soccer games, news, shows, and movies, ViX offers a 24/7 plan that’s completely free (vix gratis) in Spanish and Portuguese. It also includes more than 100 TV channels available on their website.

Supported devices: Android devices, iOS, Apple TV, Roku, Samsung, and Amazon Fire. The service shows content mainly from TelevisaUnivision, but also from other third-party content providers.

Redbox

One of Netflix’s original competitors, Redbox, now offers Redbox on Demand and Redbox Free Live TV. Redbox on Demand is a free on demand streaming option that lets you watch movies and shows on your internet browser, where you’ll find a limited selection of movies with commercials. On Redbox Free Live TV, you might find some old favorites and syndicated shows on one of their dozens of channels, but it is live TV, so you won’t have much control over anything.

Supported devices: You can catch Redbox on most leading platforms and smart TVs (there’s a full list here).

Source: LifeHacker – 20 Places to Legally Download or Stream Movies for Free

The Roku Streambar and Roku Wireless Bass bundle can do a lot for your entertainment area and kick your TV to the next gear, especially if you don’t have a lot of space to spare. As I’ve covered before, getting a soundbar is one of the best and easiest ways to dramatically improve your TV’s audio. Right now, you can get a streaming device soundbar and subwoofer combo from Roku for $149.99 (originally $249.99) from Amazon, the cheapest price it’s been since its release earlier this year, according to Camelcamelcamel’s price history.

How to use the Roku Streambar and Roku Wireless Bass

I’ve been using Roku devices for years while there’s nothing revolutionary about them, the simplicity is probably what makes them so appealing to me. They are very simple and user-friendly and great for making any TV into a Smart TV. You can download all your favorite apps, cast from your computer or phone (Roku works with both iPhones and Androids) and watch your content in 4K.

The “streambar” is the streaming device and soundbar in one. In comparison to other soundbars, it’s very small (2.4 by 14.0 by 4.2 inches). It can easily fit under most TVs that have at least 2.5 inches of space below the screen, and is small enough to not be too intrusive if it needs to be placed in front. You won’t get the best and most powerful sound out of the soundbar, but it’ll be a big improvement over most TV speakers. You can read the full “excellent” review from PCMag here. However, paired with the Roku Wireless Subwoofer, you’ll get that extra kick in power that the compact soundbar lacks. Since it’s wireless, you don’t need to struggle to fit it on your TV stand. For $20 more than what the streambar normally costs, you get the subwoofer, making this a great deal for anyone looking to improve their audio and streaming system.

Here are some other soundbars to consider:

• Amazon Fire TV 2.0-channel soundbar ($99, was $120)

• Samsung S-series 3.0-channel soundbar ($150, was $250)

• Bose TV Speaker ($199, was $279)

• Samsung S-series 5.0-channel soundbar ($200, was $350)

• Bose Smart Soundbar 600 ($449, was $499)

Source: LifeHacker – This Smart Soundbar and Subwoofer Combo Is a Great Deal Right Now

Threads launched earlier this year in an attempt to take advantage of X’s (sigh, formerly known as Twitter’s) fall from grace. Threads 1.0 might have arrived a little too soon, with users wondering “Hey, where are all the features?”

Well, in the half-year since its debut, Threads has gained some standard social media features, courtesy of developer Meta. It’s still not perfect and Meta continues to add features that probably should have been there from the beginning. Case in post: tags.

How to add tags to posts in Threads

Threads officially rolled out support for tags in posts on Thursday, Dec. 7, following a three-week testing period. If you know how to tag on Twitter, you now know how to tag on Threads: After starting a new post, you can type a #, then type the word you’d like to tag. More conveniently, you can hit the # button in your Threads menu, which pulls up a pop-up window of tag suggestions. You can either choose from these suggestions, or type your own tag. (As you type, the suggestions change to match.)

You’ll notice that each character you type will be highlighted in blue. This is the only way to know whether you’re entering a tag, as the post itself won’t show the hash symbol itself. Weird. Also weird is the tag limit for each post: one. You only get one tag on your post, so choose wisely. If you try to add a second tag, the app will display a red pop-up reading “Tag limited reached (1).” Thanks for the reminder.

But there are advantages to tags on Threads, even with this one tag per post limit. Unlike X or Instagram, your tag can be a phrase, rather than a single word, so feel free to use spaces. You can even use special characters, so it’s possible Threads tags will be more specific and useful than other apps in this space.

Source: LifeHacker – You May Now Add One, Yes One, Tag to Threads Posts

I recently found myself in a bit of a pickle. I borrowed someone’s patent leather boots for Halloween and scuffed the hell out of them. I was dressed as Old Gregg (how’d I do?) a respectable and humorous costume that demands the wearer tote around a large bottle of Bailey’s; there was an inverse relationship between the amount of cream liqueur I had left at the end of the night and the amount of scuffs on the boots. I was, frankly, too scared to give them back, so I delayed doing so, which is neither sporting nor decent.

It turns out, though, that you can get scuffs off of patent leather really easily as long as you have the right tools. Once I tried a few methods, the marks were gone and I was able to return the boots without their true owner having any idea what they’d gone through.

What doesn’t remove scuffs: Soap and water

The first thing I tried was soap and water, which I’d read would help get the scuff marks off. It really didn’t do anything. I was hoping it would, since soap and water is accessible for pretty much everyone, but it didn’t do much besides clean the shoes. The black lines remained. If you’re going to attempt this, use something stiff, like a scrubbing sponge, but be advised that you can actually rip up the patent itself, making the whole situation worse. In my experience, cheaper shoes get torn up easier, but logically, you don’t want to risk it on expensive ones, either, so unless it’s dire, avoid doing this. 

What does remove scuffs: Nail polish remover

A few places I consulted recommended nail polish remover, so that was my next step. I also saw recommendations for using shoe polish, but that can get expensive and might not be worth the investment if you’re just trying to fix some cheap shoes. My nail polish remover cost me all of $2, but there’s also a decent chance you already have some in your home. Obviously, if you have plain polish on your fingernails, put gloves on before attempting this. Sacrificing a manicure for your shoes is a Sophie’s Choice situation and we just don’t need to do that. 

I opted to use a paper towel to scrub the nail polish remover into the scuffs, not wanting to use anything too stiff or hard that might tear at the patent. There was already one rip in it, which I presume was my fault, and I especially didn’t want to make that worse. At first, nothing happened, and I was worried the whole exercise was doomed, but then, I noticed the tip of one scuff mark was disappearing. 

Behold, no more scuffs. (Except for that little tear, which you can pretend you don’t see.)
Credit: Lindsey Ellefson

Scuffs are typically line-shaped and I found that moving my paper towel in the direction of the line was pretty useless. Approaching perpendicularly and scrubbing across the line worked much, much better. I tested this on all the scuffs, finding a higher success rate in going against the grain, but this isn’t a one-and-done approach. Each mark required 10 or so passes before it disappeared. It did take a while, but the lines were completely gone when I finished, so don’t get discouraged if it’s requiring more elbow grease than you expected. 

Obviously, nothing could be done about the torn-up section, but rubbing some of the nail polish remover over it did sort of smooth it out and remove the black scuffing around it, making it less noticeable. There is no need for shoe polish and do not waste your time with soap and water. Nail polish remover is the answer. 

What you need to get scuffs out of patent leather

Let’s put your materials in one place to make this easier. 

• I used an acetone nail polish remover from the dollar store, which contained vitamin E and moisturizer. Pure acetone can be a little harsh, so try to find one that’s strengthening. This one from Target ($1.49) has the same ingredient list as the one I used.

• While you’re at Target, pick up these exfoliating cotton rounds to scrub the nail polish remover in without causing damage ($4.49)…

• …and these nitrile gloves to protect your manicure, if you have one ($5.99). 

Source: LifeHacker – What Finally Got the Scuffs Out of My (Borrowed) Patent Leather Shoes

Apple doesn’t release new apps often, so when they announced their own Journal app at WWDC this year, it made a splash. With iOS 17.2, Apple is finally ready to release the Journal app to the public. Once you update, you’ll find the Journal app sitting on your Home Screen, waiting for you to get started. 

It’s great that Apple is building its own take on journaling right on the iPhone. We know journaling can help reduce stress and anxiety, but not everyone has the time to spend their mornings journaling (though, if you’re interested in it, I personally recommend the Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages method). If you’re short on time, a simple journaling app is all you need.

How Apple’s Journal app works 

Apple takes a simplistic approach to journaling, and I’ve enjoyed using the app for what it is. In short, it’s a simple list of entries. You can create a new blank entry, and it will be logged with the date and time. From there, add some text, locations, photos, or record some audio. Things do get more interesting once you start using Apple’s suggestions and prompts—or “reflections,” as Apple calls them. Apple will ask you what the best part of your week was, or to reflect on the last time you made something. These prompts get you thinking about elements of your day you might not ordinarily think to write about. 

And once you give Apple permission to access your photos, music, and fitness data, their suggestions get deeper. If you’re on a day trip, Apple will pool in your location and all the best photos from your travels, and will ask you to journal about it. It can be a great way to note something that might get lost otherwise. It will also suggest places you went and workouts you completed, just to round out the day.

Limitations of Apple’s Journal app

Journal is not without its limitations, however. Yes, this is only the first version of the app, and Apple is sure to add more features going forward. Still, the app misses out on features that have become standard for popular journaling apps. 

The biggest issue is that at launch, the app is iPhone only, with no option for iPad or Mac. In my testing, there have been many times when I’ve wanted to continue writing more in-depth about a subject on my Mac. Hopefully, this will be rectified in a year. 

Intentionally, Journal is a simple app. You scroll through a list of your entries, in a reverse chronological order. You can bookmark entires, and the app will filter them for you based on photos, reflections, bookmarks, workouts, or places. That’s all there is to it. There is no calendar view, no tagging, no exporting—hell, there’s not even a Search field in sight. And, unlike some competitors, the Journal app doesn’t offer mood tracking. 

When you’re starting out, these issues might seem minor. But as you amass hundreds of entries, they’ll stand out like a sore thumb. 

Journal is a great gateway app

Let me digress a bit and talk about board game culture. In the wonderful world of tabletop games, we are obsessed with the notion of the gateway game: something simple, yet exciting, that’s just complex enough to hook a player, without being so overwhelming that the new player will run away. A perfect gateway game can make a lifelong gamer out of an unsuspecting citizen. 

And Apple has made the best gateway Journal app yet. It’s not perfect, but it’s not complicated. It has some glaring issues, and lacks features you’d expect in a journaling app (like cross-device support and a calendar view). But all that almost doesn’t matter here because Journal is great at what it aims to do, which is to help a large population try journaling, hopefully turning it into a sustainable, frequent hobby. 

Sadly, right now, that’s all it is. I hope Journal serves as a way for new users to get started, and that Apple brings out an Export option soon enough. That way, when users start running into walls, they can export their data to a better app like Day One or Journey, and can continue to build their daily journaling habit. 

If you are in favor of a simple journal app that’s already on your iPhone, I say go for it. How you journal doesn’t matter much—the fact that you are journaling is enough. 

The best alternatives to Apple Journal 

Journal is a great gateway app, but if you’re serious about journaling, you should start off with a more feature-rich app to boot; something that will support your journaling for years to come. 

Day One: If you’re all-in on the Apple ecosystem, Day One is the best journaling app for you, bar none. Yes, it’s paid, and it might seem silly to spend $35 a year for a journaling app. But you get a beautiful, fast, and feature-rich journaling experience for that price. All your data is stored securely in iCloud, and is easy to import and export. 

Journey: If you need to use this data on a PC, Journey might be the right option for you. It’s available on the web, and has mood tracking, shared journals, automation support, and more. A premium membership costs $50/year. 

Five Minute Journal: Consider this to be an elevated version of the Journal app. Five Minute Journal is a simple, timeline-based Journal app, but it also offers some important features like a calendar view, password protection, streams, and import and export. This can be another great gateway journaling app for you. 

Daylio: This is an easy-to-use mood and activity tracker that can help you quickly journal in short bursts. Use this app to check in with your moods, note down what you did, and how it made you feel. If you find the task of writing down your thoughts and feelings daunting, Daylio’s unique approach might help you get started. 

Source: LifeHacker – Apple Journal Might Help You Finally Start Journaling

This week, the publishers of the Oxford English Dictionary named “rizz” as 2023’s word of the year partly for its “potential as a term of lasting cultural significance or providing a snapshot of social history.” But they got it wrong. The real word that provides a cultural picture of 2023 is “vibecession.”

Coined by Kyla Scanlon, vibecession has come to mean something like “widespread pessimism about the economy regardless of the economy itself.” We’re currently in the middle of a huge vibecession.

According to a recent poll from the Pew Research Center, 81% of Americans  think the gap between the rich and poor will grow between now and 2050, despite the fact that it’s (finally) shrinking. Total consumer confidence in the US is lower now than it was in the middle of the Covid lockdown, and 71% of Americans say economic conditions in the country are “poor” or “very poor” with 38% of respondents going with “very poor.” 

In the real world, unemployment is hovering around 3.5%, down from 14.7% during the lockdown. The median household income in the US has risen from a pandemic low of $65,100 a year to $74,600. That number doesn’t reflect the “rich getting richer” either. It’s driven from the bottom: In 2022, people in the lower half of income distribution in the U.S. saw their earnings increase by 4.5%, where the average rate for all Americans was 1.2%. The rate of inflation has been steadily falling too: It’s currently 3.24% compared to 3.70% last month and 7.75% last year. The GDP increased by 2% in 2022 and 5% the year before. Despite the constant drumbeat of doom from social media, all major economic indicators suggest things are going pretty well. 

America is longing for the good old days—of 1973

In researching the vibecession, one data point stuck out to me most: 58% of Americans say that life for “people like them” is worse today than it was 50 years ago—in 1973, a year that was way shittier for way more people than 2023 in just about any way that can be measured.

To further both realism and optimism, here are the hard numbers on the shittiness of 1973:

In 1973, more than half the population of the earth lived in autocracies, compared to about 13% today. Almost 60% of humans live in democracies today, compared to 25% in the early 1970s. About half of the world lived in extreme poverty in 1973, compared to about 8% in 2023. A total of 988,892 people died in war between 1970 and 1973, where 394,375 died between 2019 and 2022, the most recent years for which we have complete statistics.

In terms of domestic economics, unemployment was at 4.9% in 1973, compared to our current 3.5%. The economy grew at a rate of 5.6% in 1973 compared to 9.2% in 2022. Inflation was at 8.7% in 1973, compared to our current rate of 3.24%. The federal interest rate was 8.74% in 1973, compared to 5.25% today. Women earned about 56.6 cents per dollar of mens’ pay in 1973, compared to 83.7 today. 

In 1973, 55,984 Americans died in car accidents compared to 42,795 in 2022, and there are about three times as many cars on the roads. There was more crime of every type in 1973. People lived on average to 71 years in 1973, compared to 79 in 2023. A 20-inch television cost around $500 in 1973 and could probably pick up three blurry channels. Adjusted for inflation, that’s around $3,300. A Chrysler LeBaron cost $7541 in 1973 and could be expected to last around 100,000 miles. That’s $52,255.56 in today’s money, to purchase a vehicle you can expect to drive for twice as long.

Every year is a bad year

I could keep going, but you get the point. It’s not like 1973 was a particularly terrible year either—things really start really going south in 1974, and they kept going south until the early 80s, when the interest rate was nearly 20% and unemployment was near 10%. At the time, I’m sure people looked longingly back to the “good old days” of 1936.

This lack of historical context is at the heart of the vibecession and illustrates its danger. Tangible progress is made through trying to force the real world toward the perfect one we imagine could exist, but misremembering the past and convincing ourselves we let a utopia slip from our fingers does the opposite. It leads to pessimism, inaction, and defeat. People are feeding on that defeatism, too—politicians scaring people into voting for them, corporations profiting from selling comfort to an unsettled populace, social media companies monetizing angst, and more. But buying into to doomerism is not only depressing, it dishonors the people who devoted their lives to making 2023 marginally less shitty than 1973. I mean, who wants to pay $52,000 for a Chrysler LeBaron?

Source: LifeHacker – What People Are Getting Wrong This Week: The ‘Vibecession’

Failing a class in college is weirdly taboo, even though it happens to all kinds of students. If you found this post, you’re likely facing the likelihood of failing a class. It’s hard to know what to do after that. Like, what … happens to you? The answer is actually nothing, unless you’ve failed a bunch of them. What’s more important is what you do next. If you just failed your first class, here’s what you do.

Do not freak out when you get your grade

I’ll be honest here: I went back to school for my master’s last year, thinking that because I had a whole decade of adult experience under my belt and I was always a good student, it would be easier than ever to do well in class—especially now that I was taking specific courses I already know I’m interested in. What I did not account for was that there would be math involved at this level. Math is something I struggle with tremendously; I barely scraped by in the intro-level stats class I had to take in undergrad. It did not occur to me, as someone who cannot do math, does not do it in daily life, and has no plans to do it in the post-grad future, that there was a chance of it coming back around. I thought, when I signed up for epidemiology, that I’d be learning about diseases—and I did! But it was basically math. It was a ton of math. And, I soon found out, all of my other classes were based on the foundational stuff I learned in that secret-math class. Despite my best efforts, I did not pass on my first time through it. Even at my big age, this “failure” hit me hard. Was I going to get in trouble? Was I going to get tossed out of my institution? Was I an idiot for thinking I could go back to school at all? No, no, and no, it turned out. What happened was I had to have a slightly embarrassing chat with an advisor and retake the class, since it was a required course. 

When you find out your grade at the end of the semester, don’t panic if you didn’t pass a class. It’s not going to help; what’s done is done. As Dr. Kim Crowley, Associate Professor of English at Bismarck State College puts it, “Don’t ruminate.” First, remind yourself this really does happen to people. For instance, Crowley—who has a PhD—had to take college algebra more than once in order to pass it. You’re in good company if there’s a class you struggle with. Next, consider a very simple question: Is the class required or not? 

What to do if you fail a required class

If you failed a class that is required for your major or program, you don’t have much of a choice but to take it again. You do have some choices when it comes to how you take it, though. Crowley says you should consider whether you want to take it the next semester “while material is fresh in your mind” or “wait to let the emotion of the whole thing go” and try again after a little break. When I retook epidemiology, I opted to do it right away—but that was because it was a prerequisite for all the other classes I had to take. I found this out by conferring with an advisor, which you should do right away when you find out you didn’t pass. Their job is to help you figure out your next steps; mine worked fast to help me get into a second-semester class. While I had no choice about having to retake it, I did get to choose if I took it online or in person, which is something Crowley says you should think over, as well. My first shot at epidemiology was in one of those big, bowl-shaped halls with hundreds of seats; I didn’t stand a chance of retaining a thing and usually sat in my stadium chair feeling vaguely sick. When I got to go at my own pace, sit in my un-intimidating apartment, and read (and reread and reread again) the materials online, I did way better. (I got a B+!) If you took your failed class in the morning, consider an afternoon slot. If you took it online, try in-person for some extra accountability. If you really hated your professor, you already know whom not to retake it from.

There are some questions you’ll need to ask your advisor when you chat about failing a required course. An academic advisor I spoke to (who will remain anonymous because she forgot to check her employer’s media policy before agreeing to the interview) suggested these:

• When can/should I retake the class?

• Does this impact my financial aid?

• Am I able to remain in my major?

• Which of my other required classes can I not take until this is done?

• What is the consequence if I continue to do poorly?

You’ll likely end up on academic probation, which means you’ll have to check in with your advisor periodically. In some universities, you’ll get a humbling email explaining that to you. In others, you might have to reach out to the financial aid office and your advisor directly to see what repercussions you’re facing. The good news is that in most schools, when you retake a failed class, the new grade replaces the old one, shoring up your GPA. 

What to do if you fail a class that isn’t required

Here’s where it gets tricky. If that class wasn’t required, you may not want to retake it at all. Crowley suggests calculating your GPA overall to see just how big of a hit one F is going to give you. If it’s a significant drop, retake the same class, if you can, to replace the grade on your transcript. If it’s not, though, it might just be OK for you to skip it. For instance, if you need three credits of some kind of art and you hated theater and ended up failing, there might be wiggle room in your GPA to just sign up for drawing or something and take the loss. 

Again, discuss all of this with your advisor before proceeding, but consider if retaking something that was hard for you and sort of unnecessary is really a way to keep morale up while you’re on probation. Bear in mind, too, that required classes are usually offered abundantly at various times, with different professors, and using different structures, but electives are rarer. In your school, it may not be possible to retake the same exact class again, so work this out directly with your advisor. The worst thing you can do is dither over it and let it slow down your progress into the next semester. One F won’t destroy a GPA full of other good grades, but spending weeks agonizing will torpedo your productivity. 

What to do about a failed class in the future

Honesty is the best policy here. If you go on to apply for jobs, transfer to a different school, or seek admissions to a program for a higher degree, the failed class is likely to show on some version of your transcript—even if you retook it and your GPA is solid. Not all jobs will ask for transcripts, but as a rule, most schools will. Don’t shy away from discussing it. In a job interview, this would be a great story to pull out when you’re asked about a time you overcame a hardship or adversity (provided you went on to get a better grade the second time). Failing isn’t necessarily a bad thing and won’t destroy your reputation. Being able to detail exactly how you reoriented and did better afterward will make you look good. 

Crowley says that when she was applying for grad school, she was clear in her admissions essay about the issues she faced in undergrad that led to some of her worse grades. I know another student who was recently accepted into a school’s “second chance” program after detailing in a letter to administrators why he’d failed so many classes in his previous attempt to secure a degree—and how, after a few years away from the classroom, he was in a much better position to do well. 

“Even if you have nothing to write other than, ‘I was a dumb 18-year-old who couldn’t make it to class,’ sometimes just ‘fessing up to that at least shows someone down the line that you’re taking responsibility for it and you’re less likely to do it again,” says Crowley. 

Source: LifeHacker – What to Do When You Fail a College Class

Not everyone can afford a Peloton. Even when they go on sale, you won’t find them going for anywhere near 40% off. Luckily, there are other brands that can get the job done just as well without sending you into a financial crisis.

NordicTrack’s commercial Commercial S22i Studio Cycle spin bike is currently on sale for 40% off, making it $899 (down from $1499.99) on Amazon, which matches the levels it reached on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

What the NordicTrack Commercial S22i Studio Cycle offers

Founded in 2012, Peloton might be the biggest player in the spin bike scene, but they weren’t there first. NordicTrack has been making home gym equipment since 1975, and is a trusted brand among fitness enthusiasts.

The NordicTrack Commercial S22i Studio Cycle spin bike has a lot of the same features as the basic Peloton Bike, making it an attractive alternative to the leading brand—especially at this price point.

If you’re looking for the Wordle answer for December 8, 2023 read on. We’ll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solution. Today’s puzzle is on the easier side; I had it narrowed down to just one possibility after my second guess. Beware, there are spoilers below for December 8, Wordle #902! Keep scrolling if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today’s Wordle game.

How to play Wordle

Wordle lives here on the New York Times website. A new puzzle goes live every day at midnight, your local time.

Start by guessing a five-letter word. The letters of the word will turn green if they’re correct, yellow if you have the right letter in the wrong place, or gray if the letter isn’t in the day’s secret word at all. For more, check out our guide to playing Wordle here, and my strategy guide here for more advanced tips. (We also have more information at the bottom of this post, after the hints and answers.)

Ready for the hints? Let’s go!

Does today’s Wordle have any unusual letters?

We’ll define common letters as those that appear in the old typesetters’ phrase ETAOIN SHRDLU. (Memorize this! Pronounce it “Edwin Shirdloo,” like a name, and pretend he’s a friend of yours.)

Four of the letters are common, and one is sort of medium. No weird or unusual letters today.

Can you give me a hint for today’s Wordle?

It will make you think of a fresh pencil, or a bright student.

Does today’s Wordle have any double or repeated letters?

Nope, five different letters today.

How many vowels are in today’s Wordle?

There is only one vowel in today’s Wordle.

What letter does today’s Wordle start with?

Today’s word starts with S.

What letter does today’s Wordle end with?

Today’s word ends with P.

What is the solution to today’s Wordle?

Ready? Today’s word is SHARP.

How I solved today’s Wordle

ARISE first, as always; the A, R, and S were yellow. I considered SEA_ or SAR_ _ , but those didn’t feel promising. I settled on SCRAP, thinking I might actually get it in two for once. I didn’t, but getting the green S and P, with yellow R and A, only really left S_ARP as a possibility. Had to be SHARP.

Wordle 902 3/6

🟨🟨⬜🟨⬜
🟩⬜🟨🟨🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

A primer on Wordle basics

The idea of Wordle is to guess the day’s secret word. When you first open the Wordle game, you’ll see an empty grid of letters. It’s up to you to make the first move: type in any five-letter word. 

Now, you can use the colors that are revealed to get clues about the word: 

• Green means you correctly guessed a letter, and it’s in the correct position. (For example, if you guess PARTY, and the word is actually PURSE, the P and R will be green.)

• Yellow means the letter is somewhere in the word, but not in the position you guessed it. (For example, if you guessed PARTY, but the word is actually ROAST, the R, A and T will all be yellow.)

• Gray means the letter is not in the solution word at all. (If you guessed PARTY and everything is gray, then the solution cannot be PURSE or ROAST.)

With all that in mind, guess another word, and then another, trying to land on the correct word before you run out of chances. You get six guesses, and then it’s game over.

The best starter words for Wordle

What should you play for that first guess? The best starters tend to contain common letters, to increase the chances of getting yellow and green squares to guide your guessing. (And if you get all grays when guessing common letters, that’s still excellent information to help you rule out possibilities.) There isn’t a single “best” starting word, but the New York Times’s Wordle analysis bot has suggested starting with one of these:

• CRANE

• TRACE

• SLANT

• CRATE

• CARTE

Meanwhile, an MIT analysis found that you’ll eliminate the most possibilities in the first round by starting with one of these:

• SALET

• REAST

• TRACE

• CRATE

• SLATE

Other good picks might be ARISE or ROUND. Words like ADIEU and AUDIO get more vowels in play, but you could argue that it’s better to start with an emphasis on consonants, using a starter like RENTS or CLAMP. Choose your strategy, and see how it plays out.

How to win at Wordle

We have a few guides to Wordle strategy, which you might like to read over if you’re a serious student of the game. This one covers how to use consonants to your advantage, while this one focuses on a strategy that uses the most common letters. In this advanced guide, we detail a three-pronged approach for fishing for hints while maximizing your chances of winning quickly.

The biggest thing that separates Wordle winners from Wordle losers is that winners use their guesses to gather information about what letters are in the word. If you know that the word must end in -OUND, don’t waste four guesses on MOUND, ROUND, SOUND, and HOUND; combine those consonants and guess MARSH. If the H lights up in yellow, you know the solution.

One more note on strategy: the original Wordle used a list of about 2,300 solution words, but after the game was bought by the NYT, the game now has an editor who hand-picks the solutions. Sometimes they are slightly tricky words that wouldn’t have made the original list, and sometimes they are topical. For example, FEAST was the solution one Thanksgiving. So keep in mind that there may be a theme.

Wordle alternatives

If you can’t get enough of five-letter guessing games and their kin, the best Wordle alternatives, ranked by difficulty, include:

• Wheeldle, which lets you play one puzzle after another

• Dordle and Quordle, which ask you to play two (Dordle) or four (Quordle) puzzles at the same time, with the same guesses. There is also Octordle, with eight puzzles, and Sedecordle, with 16.

• Waffle, which shows you several five-letter words, scrambled in a grid; you play by swapping the letters around until you solve.

• Absurdle, which changes the solution after each guess, but needs to stay consistent with its previous feedback. You have to strategically back it into a corner until there is only one possible word left; then you guess it, and win.

• Squabble, in which you play Wordle against other people with a timer running. You take damage if you spend too much time between guesses; winner is the last one standing.

• Antiwordle, in which you are trying not to guess the day’s solution. You’re required to reuse any letters that you (oops) guessed correctly, so the longer it takes you, the better you are at the game.

Source: LifeHacker – Today’s Wordle Hints (and Answer) for Friday, December 8, 2023

Unless you give AirPods to an Android user, you can’t really go wrong with a nice pair of headphones as a gift. Even still, to make things a little easier for you, I rounded up the best deals you can find right now on headphones and who they’re best suited for, so you can rest easy knowing you’re getting a good deal and giving a great gift. 

Noise-canceling headphones for those who work from home

Everyone who works from home could use a nice pair of noise-canceling headphones, especially if they have kids or dogs. Luckily for you (and them), there are many great deals on headphones with Active Noise Cancelling (ANC).

• The Sony WH-1000XM4 for $228 (originally $348) at Amazon, Best Buy, or Walmart is currently at its lowest price yet, according to Camelcamelcamel’s price history. This is one of the best ANC headphones you can get at the moment and is currently very well-priced. You can read more about them from my earlier post.

• If you think the person on your list prefers earbuds, consider the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II, currently going for $199 (originally $279). These come with an assortment of features, like swapping seamlessly between the last seven paired devices, but their noise-canceling technology is what makes them stand out. This is also, by far, the lowest price these earbuds have been, according to Camelcamelcamel’s price history. You can read the full PCMag review here.

Long battery life for the music lovers

Headphones that can last for than 30 hours of playtime are impressive, but you know what’s even better? 50 hours. If you have someone on your list who appreciates not charging their gadgets, these headphones will impress them.

• The JBL Live 660NC are over-ear noise-canceling headphones that will give you 50 hours of playtime with ANC turned off (up to 40 hours with ANC off). A 10-minute charge will give them another four hours of playtime. It also has an Ambient Aware feature that lets you hear your surroundings and another feature that lets you have a conversation without taking your headphones off. You can get the JBL Live 660NC for $99.95 (originally $199.95) from Amazon. This is the second-lowest price they’ve ever been, according to Camelcamelcamel’s price history.

• If you’re looking for a more budget-friendly option with just as impressive battery life, consider the JBL Tune 710BT headphones. These also have a 50-hour battery life, just none of the fancy features. However, you can still take calls and have voice assistant to control your phone with the push of a button. You can get the JBL Tune 710BT headphones for $39.95 (originally $79.95) from Amazon. This matches the lowest price they’ve ever been, according to Camelcamelcamel’s price history.

Headphones for the gamer in your life

If you have a gamer on your list who plays on consoles or PC, the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay gaming headphones are a great gift for an even more impressive discount. The ANC Bluetooth headphones are currently $329 off after a 66% discount from Woot. You can get the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay for $169.99 (originally $499) during the month of December or while supplies last.

Pixel Buds Pro for the Google lovers

People who like Google gadgets, like Google Homes and Pixel phones, are probably invested in the Google ecosystem and want to keep it that way. If they’re in need of new earbuds, consider the Google Pixel Buds Pro, which are 40% off at $119.99 (was $199.99). This matches the lowest price they hit (starting on Black Friday) since their release last summer, according to Camelcamelcamel’s price history. You can read their full PCMag review here.

Beats for the ones who like to show off

We know the type who likes to show off their new headphones to their friends. If you have someone like that on your list, consider the Beats Solo3, which are 50% off at $99.99 (originally $199.95). This matches their Black Friday price, which is the cheapest they’ve ever been, according to Camelcamelcamel’s price history. These headphones give you up to 40 hours of listening time with fast charging (Three hours of playtime with just a five-minute charge) and have a microphone so you can take calls with them. You can read the full Beats Solo3 PCMag review here.

Source: LifeHacker – These Are the Best Christmas Sales on Headphones

When certain rooms in a home are consistently warmer or cooler than others, there may be an obvious cause, like an uninsulated exterior wall or drafty windows. But that’s not always the case.

If you’re unable to determine what’s behind the temperature difference, there’s a good chance that your home’s HVAC system needs to be balanced. Air balancing is an essential part of maintaining effective circulation and air quality throughout your home. To better understand this process and why it’s important, Lifehacker spoke with four HVAC technicians and specialists. Here’s what they told us about HVAC balancing, including how to make some DIY adjustments, and when to call a professional.

What is air balancing?

Balancing an HVAC system (or simply “air balancing”) refers to the process of making adjustments in order to optimize a home’s heating and cooling system, and ultimately, making it more efficient, says Jimmy Hiller, president and CEO of Hiller Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electrical.

“The primary goal of air balancing is to ensure the even distribution of air throughout the home, leading to consistent temperatures in all rooms,” Hiller tells Lifehacker. The process involves making sure each room receives an appropriate amount of heated or cooled air based on its size and usage, he explains.

What are the signs an HVAC system needs to be balanced?

According to all of the HVAC experts we spoke with, the telltale sign that your HVAC system needs to be balanced is uneven heating and/or cooling in different areas of the home. In other words, certain rooms or areas being consistently warmer or cooler than others without a (separate) clear cause.

“If you walk into a room in your house and it feels like the temperature dropped five degrees, this could be a sign of a draft, but it could also be a sign of an HVAC system that just needs to be balanced,” says John Gabrielli, owner and founder of Air Temp Solutions.

Noises like whistling vents or loud air handlers may also be a sign of imbalances in an HVAC system, says Hiller. “Balancing the system can help reduce these noises by ensuring that air flows smoothly through the ductwork,” he explains.

What causes HVAC system imbalances?

Temperature imbalance can be due to various factors like the distance from the HVAC unit, the size and layout of the ductwork, or the natural heat gain/loss in different parts of the home.

“Over time, ductwork can become blocked or begin to leak out air,” Gabrielli tells Lifehacker. “Changes in the home, like renovations or additions, can also alter airflow patterns.” Hiller adds shifts in foundations and insulation to the list of changes in a home’s dynamics that can lead to a home’s original HVAC design no longer being optimal.

In other instances, a closed supply register may be the culprit. “A homeowner that closes supply registers may unintentionally reduce total system airflow, which can stress the blower motor,” says Jennie Bergman, senior product manager of Indoor Air Quality at Trane Residential. “This can lead to increased energy usage, and ultimately, may cause premature system failures because of the excessive wear on the HVAC system.” According to Bergman, a closed supply register has a similar negative impact on HVAC system performance as a dirty or clogged air filter.

Why is air balancing important?

As we discussed above, a balanced HVAC system is necessary for even airflow and consistent temperatures throughout the areas of your home. But, as Hiller and Gabrielli explain, air balancing is essential for reasons beyond comfort. Let’s start with those related to money.

“An unbalanced system can lead to inefficiencies, causing the HVAC system to work harder than necessary to maintain the desired temperature,” says Hiller. When your HVAC system is forced to work harder, it will lead to increases in energy consumption, and, in turn, utility bills. And because it’s overworked, this puts extra strain on the system, which could result in components breaking down more frequently and requiring costly repairs, potentially shortening its lifespan.

It could also cost you when you decide to sell your home. “Regular air balancing is important for preserving and potentially increasing the value of the property, as a well-maintained HVAC system is one of the key features that potential buyers look for,” Hiller explains.

But that’s not all: HVAC system imbalances could also end up harming your home, or even your health. “Proper air circulation is essential for maintaining good indoor air quality,” says Hiller. “An unbalanced system might not effectively circulate air in certain areas, leading to issues such as moisture accumulation, mold growth, or stagnant air.”  

How to balance your HVAC system

As the experts have explained, air balancing is a process that involves making adjustments to various parts of your HVAC system to improve its efficiency. Like most processes, there are usually a number of different steps—some of which are more difficult than others.

In this case, there are many complicated aspects of HVAC system balancing that should only be done by a professional. However, there are also some relatively simple DIY adjustments you can try making first. While these adjustments aren’t going to fix every possible problem, they may take care of yours and are worth trying before calling a professional.

Check the filters

Even if you’re already changing your HVAC filters on a regular basis, you’ll need to do it again. “Whether you or an HVAC technician will perform the balancing, it should always start with checking and replacing filters, because dirty air filters can restrict airflow,” Hiller explains. And according to Chris Winters, a tech content specialist at Cielo WiGle Inc. with five years of experience as an HVAC technician, clogged filters can also cause uneven temperatures. “Clean [your HVAC air filters] every two weeks, and replace [them] every three to four months for optimal performance,” he tells Lifehacker.

Inspect the vents

Next, check all of your home’s air vents—meaning the supply vents (i.e. the ones that blow heated or cool air into your home) as well as the return vents (i.e. the ones that pull air from the rooms in your home and return it to the HVAC system), Hiller advises. Make sure that the vents are open and unobstructed.

Clean the vents

If you notice dust and dirt in your air vents—including stuck in their cover or grille—it’s time to clean them. This 2021 Lifehacker post walks through the various steps in the cleaning process.

Sometimes you might get lucky and figure out that a particular room or area was too hot or too cold because one (or more) of its air vents was switched off, or that a piece of furniture, other large object, or an obscene amount of dust and dirt was blocking it completely. If that didn’t happen, move on to the next steps. (Or, if you’re nearing the end of your technical expertise and/or patience, it may be time to call a professional.)

Do a temperature check

While the HVAC system is running, check the air vents in each room. First, make sure air is blowing out of the each supply vent. If it’s not, double check the vent to see if it’s actually open. If it’s open, but there’s no airflow at all—or it’s extremely low—make a note of it: You’ll probably need to call an HVAC technician, and this way, you’ll be able to let them known which vents aren’t working.

If there is air blowing out of the supply vent, use a thermometer (we recommend an infrared thermometer) to check and make note of its temperature. When you’ve hit up all the vents in your home, review the airflow temperatures, identifying rooms or areas that are too hot or too cold.

Find and adjust the dampers

The next step in DIY air balancing involves your HVAC system’s dampers. According to Hiller, many systems have dampers in the ductwork that can be adjusted to control the airflow to each room.

But before you adjust the dampers, you have to find them. “To locate the dampers, follow the ductwork from the furnace,” Hiller explains. “Dampers are typically located where the ducts branch off from the main line.”

If you don’t already know which ducts supply the air to the various rooms and areas in your home, you may need someone to check the airflow coming through the supply vents and let you know whether there are any changes when you adjust a particular damper. The process is similar to figuring out which breaker controls the electricity on an outlet or switch, and also involves some trial and error.

To adjust your HVAC dampers, you’ll need to rotate the levers outside the ducts. As Winters explains, moving the lever will either open or close a metal disk inside the supply line that controls the airflow to different parts of your home. “Rotate the lever for maximum airflow, keeping the metal disk flat, and be mindful that an upright position blocks airflow,” he notes.

Now that you’ve figured out how to make the adjustments, refer back to your list noting the temperature of the air coming through the vents of each room.

“Slightly close the dampers in rooms that are receiving too much air—usually the ones closest to the HVAC unit—and open them more for rooms that are not receiving enough,” says Hiller. “Make small adjustments, about 10 to 20 percent at a time, and wait a day or two to observe the impact before making further changes.”

Over the next few days, monitor the temperatures in each room, and continue making further adjustments to the dampers until you achieve balanced airflow. “Remember: Each home and HVAC system is unique, so what works for one might not work for another,” says Hiller. “Be patient and prepared for a bit of experimentation to achieve the best results.”

Source: LifeHacker – You Need to Balance Your HVAC System

AI chatbots are more popular than ever, and there are plenty of solid options out there to choose from beyond OpenAI’s ChatGPT. One particularly strong competitor is Google’s Bard AI, which pulls information from the internet and runs off the latest Gemini language model created by Google.

What is Google Bard?

Bard is Google’s answer to ChatGPT. It’s an AI chatbot designed to respond to various queries and tasks, all while offering the latest AI language model to work off of. Like most other chatbots, including ChatGPT, Bard can answer math problems, help with writing articles and documents, and most other tasks you expect a generative AI bot to accomplish.

How does Bard work?

Much like ChatGPT, Bard is powered by a large language model (LLM) and is designed to respond with reasonable and human-like answers to your queries and requests. Previously, Bard used Google’s PaLM 2 language model, but Google has since released an update that adds in Gemini Pro, the search giant’s most complex and capable language model yet. Running Bard with two different language models has allowed Google to see the bot in action in several different ways. Bard can be accessed on any device by visiting the chatbot’s website, just like ChatGPT.

Who can access Google Bard?

Bard is currently available to the general public via an experimental beta. Google is still hard at work on the AI chatbot and hopes to continue improving it. As such, any responses, queries, or tasks submitted to Bard will be reviewed by Google engineers to help the AI learn more from the questions that you’re asking.

To start using Bard, simply head over to bard.google.com and sign in.

What languages does Bard support?

Bard currently supports over 40 languages. Google hasn’t said yet if it plans to add more language support to the chatbot, but a Google support doc notes that it currently it supports: Arabic, Bengali, Bulgarian, Chinese (Simplified / Traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Farsi, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Kannada, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malayalam, Marathi, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, and Vietnamese.

What features does Bard offer?

Like ChatGPT, Bard can answer basic questions, help with coding, and solve complex mathematic equations. Additionally, Google added support for multimodal search in July, allowing users to input pictures as well as text into the chatbot. This, along with the other capabilities of the chatbot, allow the bot to complete reverse image searches. Google can also include images in its answers, which are pulled from the search giant’s online results.

Is Bard connected to the internet?

Yes, Google Bard is connected to the internet. The chatbot has actually had internet access more widely available than ChatGPT, meaning that the model is trained on the latest and most up-to-date information found on the internet. This is obviously a nice advantage over ChatGPT, which just added full access to the internet in recent months, but it also introduces some possible room for misinformation.

How accurate is Google Bard?

Now that Bard is using Gemini Pro, it’s expected to be one of the most accurate chatbots available on the web right now. However, past experiences with Bard have shown that the bot is likely to hallucinate or take credit for information that it found via Google searches. This is a problem that Google has been working hard to fix, and it has managed to improve the results and how they are handled exceptionally well over the past few months. However, like any chatbot, Bard is still capable of creating information that is untrue or plagiarized. As such, it is always recommended you double check any information that chatbots like Bard provide, to ensure it is original and accurate.

Is Bard free to use?

Bard is currently free to use and Google has not shared any plans to charge for the chatbot just yet. However, it did announce an advanced Bard option, which will utilize the strongest and most capable version of its Gemini language model, Gemini Ultra. That feature isn’t set to arrive until sometime in 2024, though, and Google will likely charge for it.

How does Bard compare to ChatGPT?

Bard is a solid competitor for ChatGPT, especially now that Gemini should bring results more akin to GPT-4 into the chatbot. The interface is very similar, and the functionality offered by both chatbots should handle most of the queries and tasks that you throw at either of them. Google’s current lack of any paid plans also make Bard an accessible option, and you get the most up-to-date information thanks to Bard’s internet access. To connect ChatGPT to the internet right now, you’d either need to utilize Copilot, which uses GPT-4 with Bing search, or subscribe to ChatGPT Plus. Unfortunately, at the time of writing, new subscriptions for ChatGPT Plus are currently closed.

Google did share some information about how Gemini compares to GPT-4V, one of the latest versions of GPT-4, and it actually achieves more accurate results in several fields. However, it’s hard to say exactly which one is better, as they both have their strengths. Ultimately, I’d recommend trying to complete whatever task you want to accomplish in both, and then seeing which one works best for your needs.

Google is also working on other AI-driven systems, which it could possibly include in Bard’s working systems later down the line. For now, though, the company is keeping some of its more extreme developments, like MusicLM, which uses AI to generate music, to itself.

Source: LifeHacker – These Are the Biggest Differences Between Google Bard and ChatGPT