Today's Strands puzzle delivers another tricky word-hunting challenge. The task seems simple: find all the themed words while using each letter just once. However, that single cryptic clue you are given can leave even long-time fans scratching their heads.

Haunted Chocolatier could make a jump that Stardew Valley didn't with human enemies, and there are a few valid reasons to consider it. Since Haunted Chocolatier looks to follow in the footsteps of Stardew Valley, it's expected to capture the same sort of cozy vibe. The idea of fighting humans sounds antithetical to that idea at first glance. However, there are a good few ways that the concept could fit into the game without incident. After all, Haunted Choclatier will already have its fair share of combat. It wouldn't be a huge shock if players battled a few humans.

Picking your birthsign in The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered is one of the first tough decisions you’ll make. You’ll do so during the tutorial, after creating a character (including choosing your race). Birthsigns depict the constellation your character is born under, with each granting your character unique passive or active powers. There are 13 birthsigns, but with your character limited to just one, you must consider your choice carefully. Below, we’ve highlighted what we believe is the best birthsign to pick in Oblivion Remastered, along with details on its buffs and some tips on utilizing it.  All birthsigns in Oblivion Remastered You pick your birthsign in Oblivion Remastered during the tutorial at the beginning of the game. After customizing your character, continue through the sewers until you reconvene with Emperor Uriel Septim and his men. There are 13 birthsigns in Oblivion Remastered. Here are all of them plus the active and passive powers they grant you: The Apprentice Fortify Magicka: Increases Magicka by 100 points Weakness to Magic: Increases susceptibility to magic by 100% The Atronach Fortify Magicka: Increases Magicka by 150 points Spell Absorption: 50% chance of absorbing incoming spells cast Stunted Magicka: Magicka regeneration is halted The Lady Fortify Willpower: Increases Willpower by 10 points Fortify Endurance: Increases Endurance by 10 points The Lord Shield: Increases Armor Rating by 15 Resist Magic: Increases magic resistance by 15% The Lover Lover’s Kiss (greater power): Use this power once a day to paralyze an opponent for 10 seconds at the cost of 120 points of Fatigue The Mage Fortify Magicka: Increases Magicka by 50 points The Ritual Mara’s Gift: Restores 200 points of health, can be used once a day Blessed Word: Forces the undead to flee in horror for 30 seconds, can be used multiple times a day at a cost of 40 Magicka points per cast The Serpent Serpent spell (greater power): Deal 3 points of damage for 20 seconds, also cures Poison, dispels 90 points, and damage Fatigue 100 points to caster, can be used once a day The Shadows Moonshadow (greater power): Grants invisibility for 60 seconds once a day The Steed Fortify Speed: Increases Speed by 20 points The Thief Fortify Agility: Increases Agility by 10 points Fortify Luck: Increases Luck by 10 points Fortify Speed: Increases Speed by 10 points The Tower Tower Key: Opens locks of average difficulty, can be used once per day Tower Warden: Reflects 5% of all incoming damage for 120 seconds, can be used once a day The Warrior Fortify Endurance: Increases Endurance by 10 points Fortify Strength: Increases Strength by 10 points Can you change your birthsign in Oblivion? After selecting your birthsign, Oblivion Remastered gives you one final chance to change it (and any other character customization choices) before you leave the sewers. After that chance, your birthsign is permanent.  If you’re playing Oblivion Remastered on Windows PC, however, you can use a console command to change your birthsign. Press the tilde key (~) to open the cheat console, then type in ‘showbirthsignmenu’ (without the quotes) to bring up the birthsign menu and change your birthsign. Best birthsigns in Oblivion Remastered The best birthsign in Oblivion Remastered is the Atronach, followed closely by the the Warrior and the Thief. Below, we’ll explain why these are the best birthsigns in Oblivion Remastered. The Atronach Permanent Effects: Fortify Magicka: Increases Magicka by 150 points Spell Absorption 50% chance of absorbing incoming spells Stunted Magicka: Magicka regeneration is halted The Atronach is perhaps the best defensive birthsign in Oblivion Remastered. This birthsign is great for those who want to focus on a magic build or playstyle, as it gives you a 150 Magicka boost, the highest permanent Magicka boost in the game. The real stand-out power of this birthsign, however, is its 50% spell absorption. This means that half the time, magical spells (and potentially hits from magic weapons) do no damage to you, instead, they regenerate your Magicka. This is incredibly helpful for defense, but also because the downside of this birthsign is that it gives you stunted Magicka – in other words, it prevents normal Magicka regeneration. In the early game, that stunted Magicka may be a bit of a pain, but it comes into its own as you progress. Initially, you need to use Ayleid Wells, Welkynd Stones, and Magicka potions to effectively restore Magicka, but eventually, you’ll likely need fewer potions in your inventory, and this tradeoff will prove its worth. What’s more, Spell Absorption stacks. So, you could, for example, combine the Spelldrinker Amulet (which gives 26 points) and the Sorcerer’s Ring (which gives 25 points) to make up the other 50 points of Spell Absorption, granting you 100% Spell Absorption and making you immune to magic. This makes The Atronach a great future-proof birthsign and a great choice for High Elves (as it gives them the highest initial base Magicka), for those looking to maximize their Magicka, or for those who wish to improve their magical defense – even if you don’t plan to spell cast much. The Warrior Permanent Effects: Fortify Endurance: Increases Endurance by 10 points Fortify Strength: Increases Strength by 10 points If spellcasting and magic aren’t your style, and you value health and strength more, then The Warrior is a good option. The extra Endurance provided by The Warrior birthsign helps to quickly improve your maximum health, as your Endurance level directly affects how much your maximum health increases each time you level up. Having a high Endurance level early on puts you in good stead for later in the game, just keep trying to level it up. The Strength boost here is great for those who want to focus on melee, but if you want that Endurance boost, but would rather focus on magic than brute force, The Lady is a good alternative to this as it provides the same 10 points of Endurance but 10 points of Willpower instead of Strength. The Thief Permanent Effects: Fortify Agility: Increases Agility by 10 points Fortify Luck: Increases Luck by 10 points Fortify Speed: Increases Speed by 10 points The Thief is a solid birthsign for those who want a well-rounded character and are more focused on the early game over the late game. Straight off the bat, this birthsign gives you 30 extra stats (compared to the 20 of other birthsigns), including 10 points to Luck, which impacts all skills and is the slowest attribute to raise normally. That equates to about four extra points to each of your stats and is helpful early in the game, especially if you’re a new player, but this birthsign eventually becomes somewhat redundant as you progress.

Choosing your race in The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered isn’t an easy decision, and it’s a challenging choice you must make early on. You’ll do when making a character but before starting the tutorial and selecting a birthsign. There are 10 playable races available in Oblivion Remastered, with your choice determining your initial attribute points and skills and how other races react to you. Each also has its own unique abilities and weaknesses, which have a longer-term effect on your character. There’s not technically one best race in Oblivion, as your choice should depend on what you want your playstyle to be, but if you’re new to Oblivion or undecided on how to play this time around, we’ve highlighted what we believe is the best race for all players and detailed its main benefits and weaknesses. We’ve also added some alternate suggestions as well. All races in Oblivion Remastered There are 10 playable races in Oblivion Remastered, which we’ve listed each below: Khajiit Breton  Imperial Nord Redguard  High Elf Wood Elf Dark Elf Orc Argonian You choose your Oblivion race when creating your character at the beginning of the game. Once the opening cutscene has played, you’ll enter the character customization menu. Your character’s race is the first choice you need to make. Click on the portrait of a specific race to select it and press the right toggle on your controller to bring up the stats, so you can see the stats each race has.  After choosing your character’s race, you must choose their origin, which further affects their stats. This is a new feature for Oblivion Remastered, as the original Oblivion tied gender to your stats. For example, Male Bretons had -10 Speed, while Female Bretons had -10 Strength. In the remake, however, it seems gender has no impact on your stats. Instead, your origin does. For example, a Breton from Systres has less speed than one from High Rock, but more Strength. Can you change your race in Oblivion Remastered? No, you cannot change your race in Oblivion Remastered. Once you choose your race, you get one final chance to change your pick before you leave the sewers (the tutorial), but after that, your pick is set in stone. However, you can change your Oblivion race on Windows PC by using console commands. Just open the cheat console by pressing the tilde key (~) and type ‘showracemenu’ (without the quotes) into the console and press enter. This should bring up the race menu and let you change your race.  Best races in Oblivion Remastered The best race to pick in Oblivion Remastered is a Breton with the Systres background. If that one doesn’t strike your fancy, however, two other terrific picks are either the High Elf with the Auridon background or the Redguard with the Dragontail Mountains background. Whatever race and background you pick will give you a +10 bonus to some attributes and a -10 penalty to others. Additionally, the vast majority of your skills will start with a baseline of +5, but your race and background can increase some skills to a baseline of +10 or +15. With all of that in mind, we’ll explain why these three race and background combinations are our top choices. Breton (Systres) Attributes: +10 Intelligence +10 Willpower +10 Magicka Bonus – 10 Agility – 10 Speed – 10 Endurance Top skills: +15 Conjuration +15 Mysticism +15 Restoration +10 Illusion +10 Alchemy +10 Alteration Traits: Fortify Magicka 50 points on self permanently Resist Magic 50% on self permanently Shield 50% for 60 seconds on self, once per day If you’re undecided on your playstyle — or are simply looking for a good all-around Oblivion race — you can’t go wrong with the human race, Breton. The Breton race is arguably the most balanced in Oblivion, though they are more magic-leaning due to their increased magic skills, like Conjuration, Mystician, and Restoration, plus their improved Willpower. Their resistance to Magicka also gives them a high level of magical defense, as they absorb half of all magical damage; regardless of whether you want to be a spellcaster or not, that’s universally useful.  Systres Bretons come with no permanent negative effects, but they have reduced Endurance, Agility, and Speed. These drawbacks are pretty negligible, however, as Agility and Speed don’t take too long to level up. This Endurance reduction is worth keeping in mind if you value Health, however, as Endurance is directly related to how much your maximum Health increases each time you level up. Again, though, it’s not a bad trade-off considering the benefits this race comes with.  The Breton is a good race to build on if you don’t want to commit to one playstyle, especially if you’re considering trying a mage build. High Elf (Auridon) Attributes: + 10 Intelligence -10 Strength -10 Speed +100 Magicka Bonus Top skills: +15 Alteration +15 Destruction +15 Mysticism +10 Alchemy +10 Conjuration +10 Illusion Traits: Fortify Magicka 100 points on self permanently Resist Disease 75% on self permanently Weakness to Fire, Frost, and Shock 25% on self permanently  The High Elf race (of either background) is the best Oblivion race for those who want to create a pure mage build, thanks to increased Alteration, Destruction, and Mysticism, plus the Magicka bonus. In fact, if you pair this race with the Atronach birthsign, you get the highest Magicka available in the game. Do note that this race’s weaknesses to fire, frost, and shock damage means you may find battling other mages more challenging. Redguard (Dragontail Mountains) Attributes: +10 Strength +10 Endurance -10 Intelligence -10 Willpower -10 Personality Skills: +15 Blade +15 Blunt +15 Athletics +10 Heavy Armor +10 Light Armor +10 Mercantile Traits: Fortify Agility 50 points for 60 seconds on self, once a day Fortify Endurance 50 points for 60 seconds on self, once a day Fortify Speed 50 points for 60 seconds on self, once a day Fortify Strength 50 points for 60 seconds on self, once a day Fortify Health 25 points for 60 seconds on self, once a day Resist Disease 75% on self permanently Resist Poison 75% on self permanently The Male Redguard is the best race for those who want to create a warrior build focused on melee. Redguards are hardy, boasting high Endurance and Strength, bonuses in Blunt and Blade (and various armor types), and natural resistance to poison and disease. Just don’t expect to be winning any personality contests or pub quizzes.

Obsidian is my favorite productivity tool. I use it for all of my writing, as a journaling app, and to replace multiple productivity tools. There's a big downside, though: no grammar checking tool.Grammarly is the best known grammar checking tool, but there's no way to add it to Obsidian. I also wouldn't enable it even if I could. Grammarly processes text on their own servers, which is a potential privacy issue and also generally inefficient. This is why I've come to love Harper, a free and open-source alternative that runs entirely on your device and can be added to Obsidian in a couple of clicks.Harper isn't just an Obsidian tool—there are also plugins for WordPress, Visual Studio Code, or any developer tool that supports the Language Server Protocol. If you'd like to see Harper in action before installing, there's a live demo on the Harper homepage—just type whatever you want and watch the recommendations.The Harper plugin for Obsidian can easily be installed from the Community Plugins tab in the Obsidian settings, the way you'd install any other extension. After you download and activate the plugin it will start working immediately.Harper can make spelling recommendations, while also pointing out grammatical and stylistic issues. I've been trying out Harper for a week now after missing a couple of embarrassing typos. It's helped me notice easy-to-overlook issues while, for the most part, staying out of my way.Potential issues are underlined. Hover the mouse over any highlighted issue and you'll see an explanation and suggestions. Credit: Justin Pot I find Harper noticeably faster than web-based tools, which makes sense, given that the developer was primarily motivated by speed during development. In the settings you can choose between American, Canadian, Australian, and British English. You can also change the settings for a specific Harper rule, allowing you to do things like use the Oxford comma. Right now Harper isn't easy to use outside of Obsidian—there's no browser extension. But if you do your writing in Obsidian, or are a developer who uses a supported IDE, Harper is a tool that integrates into your workflow right now—one well worth trying out.

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.In "celebration" of Earth Day, some tech retailers are offering discounts on their refurbished products. Sonos is one of these retailers, and their discounts are actually good. Sonos says it repairs these products to "like-new" conditions and still offers the same one-year warranty. Here is what you can get from them on sale today: 30 hour battery, ANC, lossless streaming, spatial audio with dynamic head tracking. Refurbished Sonos Ace $269.00 at Sonos $359.00 Save $90.00 Get Deal Get Deal $269.00 at Sonos $359.00 Save $90.00 Dolby Atmos, two height channels, Sonos app, and Apple AirPlay 2, multiroom, wifi. Refurbished Sonos Arc Ultra $599.00 at Sonos $719.00 Save $120.00 Get Deal Get Deal $599.00 at Sonos $719.00 Save $120.00 Spatial audio, Dolby Atmos, Sonos app, voice control, multiroom. Refurbished Beam (Gen 2) Smart Soundbar $299.00 at Sonos $399.00 Save $100.00 Get Deal Get Deal $299.00 at Sonos $399.00 Save $100.00 Sonos app, voice control, and Apple AirPlay 2. Refurbished Beam (Gen 1) - Shadow Smart Soundbar $191.00 at Sonos $319.00 Save $128.00 Get Deal Get Deal $191.00 at Sonos $319.00 Save $128.00 Wireless, sonos app. Refurbished Sub (Gen 3) Premium Wireless Subwoofer $479.00 at Sonos $639.00 Save $160.00 Get Deal Get Deal $479.00 at Sonos $639.00 Save $160.00 Sonos app, wireless. Refurbished Sub Mini Wireless Subwoofer $259.00 at Sonos $349.00 Save $90.00 Get Deal Get Deal $259.00 at Sonos $349.00 Save $90.00 SEE 3 MORE The Sonos Ace headphones are $269The Sonos Ace is Sonos' only pair of headphones, first released last summer. You can get a pair for $269 ($449 for new ones). The battery life is impressive, with about 30 hours with either the Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) or Aware Mode settings active, or about 40 hours with both of those off. The Bluetooth multipoint connectivity means you can connect up to two devices at once and switch seamlessly between them. Their ANC and Aware Mode are top-tier, competing with the best headphones on the market. You can read more about them on PCMag's "excellent" review.Soundbars start at $191The Sonos Beam Gen 1 has been around since 2018, but it's much better than most soundbars you can get under $200 today. It supports both Google and Alexa voice assistants, as well as AirPlay, according to CNET's review. At $191 straight from the Sonos website, this is a great deal for anyone who wants to try the Sonos ecosystem for cheap.The Sonos Beam Gen 2 came out in 2021 with Atmos compatibility and a better processor, according to CNET's review. For $299 ($499 for a new one), you get a much bigger and fuller sound on the same-sized compact soundbar.If you're looking for a top-notch soundbar, consider the Sonos Arc Ultra. This is the latest soundbar from Sonos and one of the best on the market, according to PCMag's "outstanding review." It's still expensive at $599, but it's 40% cheaper than a new one ($999). It has a speakerphone, Sonos Voice control, an Ethernet connection, multiroom, and the best sound Sonos offers.Subwoofers start at $259If you want to have that rumbling bass that adds more depth to your theater system, get a subwoofer. The Sonos Sub Gen 3 is not the newest (that's the Gen 4), but the 3 is much cheaper and still a very capable subwoofer. You can get it for $479 ($799 for a new one).The Sonos Sub Mini is a smaller and more affordable version of the Sonos Sub, perfect for a small apartment or room where you want a soundbar and subwoofer combo. You can get it for $259 ($428 for a new one); learn more about it on CNET's review.

Google is under the microscope following a court ruling last year that it has a monopoly over online search, but the future of its vast suite of digital services is still uncertain at this stage. Last month, the Justice Department suggested that Google would need to sell off the Chrome browser; if the tech giant does make that move, there's already at least one interested buyer. Bloomberg reports that Nick Turley, head of ChatGPT, spoke at a hearing today about the Google monopoly situation and was asked whether OpenAI would be interested in acquiring Chrome. “Yes, we would, as would many other parties,” he said. Users can currently use the ChatGPT AI assistant in Chrome through a plugin, but Turley said there could be deeper integrations if OpenAI owned the browser. Under OpenAI's hypothetical ownership, Chrome could "introduce users into what an AI first experience looks like." Chrome isn't the only property Google may lose control over. A separate judge determined earlier this month that Google has also been engaged in anti-competitive behavior over online ad tech. It's no surprise that any other major tech operation would be interested in acquiring one of the many popular services Google has developed over the years. The real question is which one of them landing a purchase wouldn't create a new monopoly. For now, the DOJ is allowing Google to continue its AI investments amid the break-up talk, but adding the browser to OpenAI's holdings may raise new concerns. Since the wheels of justice often turn slowly, it may be a while before we learn the outcomes of the recent Google rulings. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/openai-says-it-would-buy-chrome-if-google-is-forced-to-sell-215239832.html?src=rss

Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012 for $1 billion, but tensions between Mark Zuckerberg and the app’s founders persisted for years afterward. On Tuesday, Instagram’s former CEO and cofounder Kevin Systrom took the stand in Meta’s antitrust trial in Washington D.C and offered a firsthand account of how Zuckerberg viewed the photo-sharing app as a “threat” to Facebook. Systrom, who ran Instagram until 2018, said that Zuckerberg slowed hiring and other investments into Instagram despite its success. Zuckerberg, Systrom testified, "believed we were a threat to their growth," and as a result "was not investing" in the photo-sharing app, according to testimony reported by The New York Times. As The Times notes, Instagram had only a fraction of the employees as Facebook even after reaching 1 billion users. "As the founder of Facebook, he felt a lot of emotion around which one was better, meaning Instagram or Facebook," Systrom reportedly said.  Tensions between Instagram’s founders and Zuckerberg over company resources have been previously reported, but Systrom’s testimony is the first time he’s publicly spoken in detail about the issues that ultimately led him to resign from the company. On the stand Tuesday, Systrom said that Zuckerberg “believed we were hurting Facebook’s growth,” according to Bloomberg. Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram is central to the FTC’s case against Meta. The government has argued that Meta’s purchase of WhatsApp and Instagram were anticompetitive and that the social media company should be forced to divest the businesses. Systrom’s testimony comes a week after Zuckerberg took the stand and defended Meta’s $1 billion Instagram acquisition. However, a 2018 email from Zuckerberg that surfaced earlier in the trial showed that the Facebook founder was aware as early as 2018 that he could be forced to spin off the services into independent entities.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/instagrams-former-ceo-testifies-zuckerberg-thought-the-app-was-a-threat-to-facebook-202112282.html?src=rss

North Korean hackers pose as recruiters, turning coding tests into costly crypto theft schemes.

Google Messages beta finally adds Sensitive Content Warnings for some.