Our Experts Written by David Watsky Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Reviews ethics statement Why You Can Trust CNET 12345 Years of Cooking66676869707172737475 Meal Kits102030405060708090100 Prepared Meals How we test Our meal delivery experts have logged more than five years of cooking more than 75 meal kits and tasting upwards of 100 prepared meals, from popular meal delivery services to help land on our list of the best cheap meal subscriptions. What to consider Cost After you've picked between meal kits or meal delivery, you'll want to find a service within your budget. There are meal kits with recipes for as cheap as $5 a serving with basic menus and no-frills recipes. More expensive services include recipes with more exotic ingredients, high-end cuts of meat and organic produce but they can cost as much as $15 or $20 a serving. Meal kit or prepared meal delivery The first big decision you'll make is whether you want meal kits, which require some prep and cooking, or a prepared meal service that sends fully cooked meals that are ready to heat and eat. Meal kits will demand more of your time and energy but they'll also cost a little less per serving. Prepared meals require almost no time and energy, other than what it takes to actually eat the food, but typically run a few bucks more per serving. Healthiness While most meal delivery services have healthy options, some are much healthier than others. If you're keen on eating low-calorie, low-carb, plant-based or pescatarian food, certain meal kits and meal delivery services will be better than others. Our list of thehealthiest meal delivery services for 2024is a good place to find all the most nutritious options. Number of meals per week With almost every service, the more meals or servings you order per delivery, the cheaper it becomes per meal. You'll want to decide exactly how much food makes sense for your household. If you can't imagine yourself cooking more than twice per week, don't order more than two meal kits because they typically won't last more than a week in the fridge.Most prepared meals either arrive frozen or can be frozen after unboxing. That means it's less of an issue if you order too many meals on your first go around. Most services allow you to change the number of meals or servings in your plan even after you've started. Table of Contents Back to selection

Looking for the most recentregular Connections answers? Click here for today's Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.Today, Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9, is a big day forConnections: Sports Edition. The puzzle iscoming out of betatoday. That's a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will be continuing to publish it. It won't show up in the NYT Games app but will appear in The Athletic's own app. Or you can continue to play it free online. And to no one's surprise, all of today's categories are about pro football.Read more: NYT Has a Connections Game for Sports Fans. I Tried ItHints for today's Connections: Sports Edition groupsHere are four hints for the groupings in today's Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.Yellow group hint:Way to scoreGreen group hint: Pass the seven-layer dipBlue group hint: Run and catchPurple group hint:Not front, but...Answers for today's Connections: Sports Edition groupsYellow group: Scoring playsGreen group: Big Game snacksBlue group: Receiver routesPurple group:____ backRead more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English WordsWhat are today's Connections: Sports Edition answers? The completed NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Feb. 9, 2024, #139. NYT/Screenshot by CNETThe yellow words in today's ConnectionsThe theme is scoring plays. The four answers are extra point, field goal, safety and touchdown.The green words in today's ConnectionsThe theme is big game snacks. The four answers are chips, nachos, pizza and wings.The blue words in today's ConnectionsThe theme is receiver routes. The four answers are curl, fly, hook and slant.The purple words in today's ConnectionsThe theme is ____ back. The four answers are corner, full, quarter and tail.

When you log into your bank's website, you might be presented with an image showing distorted numbers and letters and asked to enter them into a field to prove you're human. These tests, called CAPTCHAs (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart), are commonly used on websites to prevent bot attacks and spam.In 2007 Luis von Ahn had a good idea: why not use CAPTCHAs to help digitize scanned text from books and newspapers that computers struggled to read. His creation, called reCAPTCHA, proved so effective that the New York Times used it to digitize its archive of 13 million articles dating back to 1851.Google acquired reCAPTCHA in 2009 and used it to digitize Google Books and improve Google Street View by processing photos of street signs and house numbers.By 2025, reCAPTCHA is easily defeated by bots. Yet Google continues to offer it because reCAPTCHA has evolved into a tracking tool that collects user data and generates billions in revenue for Google, according to Chuppl. "Re-captcha takes a pixel by pixel fingerprint of your browser, a realtime map of everything you do on the internet.""The essentially get access to any user interaction on that web page," says Dr. Andrew Searles, a former computer security researcher at UC Irvine.Searle's paper, titled "Dazed & Confused: A Large-Scale Real-World User Study of reCAPTCHAv2," found that Google's widely-used CAPTCHA system is primarily a mechanism for tracking user behavior and collecting data while providing little actual security against bots. The study revealed that reCAPTCHA extensively monitors users' cookies, browsing history, and browser environment (including canvas rendering, screen resolution, mouse movements, and user-agent data) all of which can be used for advertising and tracking purposes. Through analyzing over 3,600 users, the researchers found that solving image-based challenges takes 557% longer than checkbox challenges and concluded that reCAPTCHA has cost society an estimated 819 million hours of human time valued at $6.1 billion in wages while generating massive profits for Google through its tracking capabilities and data collection, with the value of tracking cookies alone estimated at $888 billion.Unfortunately, if you want to use the Internet in a meaningful way, there's no way to opt out of reCAPTCHAs.Previously: Robot outwits 'I am not a Robot' Captcha Select all squares with bots able to complete CAPTCHAs faster than humans How 'I'm not a Robot' checkboxes work Why Google's CAPTCHA images are 'so unbearably depressing' Google will defeat its own captchas for you

In BriefPosted:2:17 PM PST February 8, 2025Image Credits:Michael M. Santiago / Getty ImagesTrump ends legal battle over Twitter banPresident Donald Trumps lawsuit against the company formerly known as Twitter appears to be over.Trump sued the social media platform for banning him in the aftermath of January 6, 2021, when Trumps supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. While a federal judge dismissed the suit in 2022, the then-former presidents lawyers continued to appeal.Soon after the judges ruling, Elon Musk (who has become a key Trump ally) acquired Twitter (now known as X), and reinstated Trumps account. Facebook and other platforms subsequently reinstated Trump, as well although he still does most of his social media posting on Truth Social, which is owned by Trump Media & Technology Group.A court filing states that all parties are asking the court to dismiss the case. The filing does not offer any details about the agreement between Trump and X, except to say that both sides will bear their own costs.In January, Meta agreed to pay $25 million to settle a similar lawsuit over Trumps ban from Instagram and Facebook.Topics

Last month, Apple offered up more insight into its consumer robotics work via a research paper that argues that traits like expressive movements are key to optimizing human-robot interaction. Like most animals, starts the report, humans are highly sensitive to motion and subtle changes in movement.To illustrate its point, Apple pays homage to Pixar, another company founded with help from the late Steve Jobs. Since Pixar first debuted in an eponymous 1985 short film, the Luxo Jr. lamp has served as the animation studios long-time mascot. For its research, Apple, too, chose a lamp for its own non-anthropomorphic example. After all, lamps dont possess any obvious humanlike traits, but they can be made to behave in familiar ways.Image Credits:AppleFor robots to interact more naturally with humans, the paper notes, robot movement design should likewise integrate expressive qualities, such as intention, attention, and emotions, alongside traditional functional considerations like task fulfillment and time efficiency.A video released in conjunction with the paper showcases some of these movements. Unsurprisingly, they mostly echo those of Pixars creation. That includes the same analogous parts, with the lampshade serving as the head, while the arm stands in for a neck.The most intriguing part of the video, with regard to potential productization, comes as a user queries the robot. At its simplest, the unnamed lamp robot operates as a more kinetic version of a HomePod, Amazon Echo, or other smart speaker. The person facing the lamp asks a query and the robot responds in Siris voice.Image Credits:AppleA split screen video highlights the importance of expressive movements. Asked what the weather is like outside, one version simply states the answer. The other swivels its head to look out the window as if the view offers insight on which the robot can draw. Its a simple example, but one that drives home how even small movements tap into our lizard brains pareidolia. The familiarity of expressive movements helps form a connection between human and object. ScreenshotImage Credits:AppleApples research arrives as the company is reportedly ramping up its consumer robotics efforts ahead of the planned release of a more advanced smart home system. Its clear how these learnings might be applied to make a robotic home hub more expressive. Its similar to the approach Amazon has taken with its Astro robot. However, the inclusion of a non-anthropomorphic form factor in the research implies that the robot may be even less humanoid than Amazons.Rumors surrounding the upcoming release have described the hub as a robot arm with an iPad attached. Its easy to see how the lamp form factor could be applied there. Of course, Apples consumer robotics division appears to still be the research phase. Plenty can happen between now and then, from a major shift in form factor to a decision to pull the plug on the project prior to launch.

Seagate office in the Silicon Valley, Fremont, CaliforniaGetty ImagesThere are a number of reports, example, of used Seagate Nearline HDDs being sold as new HDDs, where the SMART log for power on hours has been reset. Articles say these used HDDs are being sold to customers in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg, the UK, the Czech Republic, Japan and the USA. These drives are being sold by third parties through outlets such as eBay.Many of these drives are reported to have been in operation for about 25,000 hours. There are other locations on an HDD where the usage of the drive is stored and these can be accesses with the appropriate software tools to confirm whether an HDD is new or not. However, it is better to avoid purchasing a misrepresented HDD than to determine that it is not new and try to return it.Buyer awareness is key when purchasing a hard drive. Below is a what appears to be a new Exos 24TB drive on eBay selling for a price that a user might expect to pay for a new HDD. However, at the top description it says that the drive is renewed and also when a potential buyer scrolls down, the drive being sold is actually a refurbished drive.Example of eBay Used Drive PostSeagate TechnologyWhen looking to buy a new HDD always check the condition of drive, the packaging, and serial number to confirm its origin or if it is new or refurbished. Note that you can look up information on the warranty condition of a Seagate HDD on the companys web site using the drive serial number.MORE FOR YOUSeagate actually sells refurbished and sanitized used HDDs as part of its sustainability efforts with a 6-month warrantee, but these used drives are sold at a significant discount to new HDDs. In addition, HDDs sold to system integrators usually have a warrantee from the system integrator, rather than the HDD company.Used HDDs removed from these system integrators storage systems likely have no warrantee or warrantees that are less than those from the original HDD manufacturer. Used HDDs, particularly those refurbished and certified by the manufacturing HDD company, play an important role by providing additional life for these products, but you shouldnt pay new prices for old used products.In addition to the SMART logs on HDDs there is another drive data log called the Field Accessible Reliability Metrics, FARM, which cant be altered. These values can be accessed to see information about the HDD use using smartmontools or Seagates Seatools. If you think you may have bought a used HDD, you can use these tools to find out if that is true.When asked about this matter, Seagate provided me with a a statement to share, We take this matter very seriously and are conducting a thorough investigation. Seagate did not sell or distribute these drives to resellers. While we cannot share specific details of this ongoing investigation, we suspect these drives were new products that Seagate sold to customers who later sold them on the used market.In this instance, we believe that somewhere in the used market supply chain, the drives were remarketed and resold as new. We recommend that resellers purchase drives from Seagate authorized distribution partners, as purchasing from Seagate-authorized distributors is the best way resellers, and consequently, their end customers can be sure of the authenticity of Seagate products.Seagate processes are in place to investigate these types of cases, with teams working proactively with our resellers to take corrective action when necessary. Our security team also regularly collaborates with local authorities to take necessary actions. Many investigations are initiated based on anonymous tips, and reports from partners and customers. Measures we have implemented are intended to protect Seagate partners and end customers in an increasingly global marketplace.We encourage anyone who suspects that they received a used drive marketed as new to help the investigation by reporting it to us directly at fraud@seagate.com. Suspect drives and/or sellers can also be reported anonymously through our ethics hotline: https://secure.ethicspoint.com/domain/media/en/gui/38559/index.htmlWe are grateful for the trust our customers place in us and are committed to doing everything possible to uphold that trust.Some online sites are selling used Seagate nearline HDDs as new with reset SMART logs. Users should avoid buying from sites who are not Seagate authorize distributors or resellers, check drive serial numbers to determine if there is a warrantee and, if purchased, use tools to read the FARM data from the drive to determine its actual usage.

ZAPOPAN, MEXICO - MAY 06: Canelo Alvarez arrives prior the fight for the Super Middleweight ... [+] Championship at Akron Stadium on May 06, 2023 in Zapopan, Mexico. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)Getty ImagesCanelo Alvarezs next fight appears to be locked in.On Saturday afternoon, boxing powerbroker and Riyadh Season figurehead Turki Alalshikh announced that Alvarez would be fighting undefeated IBF super middleweight champion William Scull of Cuba.The fight will take place on Cinco de Mayo in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It will be the first bout in the four-fight deal Alvarez signed with Alalshikh and Riyadh Season. Alalshikh made the announcement on X.Canelo co-signed the announcement with a quote reply to the post.Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) will be in a position to regain undisputed championship status with a win over Scull. There is a lot at stake because if Canelo winsas most expectthe September clash with Terence Crawford will be for the undisputed super middleweight title.The Canelo-Crawford fight was already massive on paper, but adding undisputed title status makes it even more attractive.Scull (23-0, 9 KOs) enters the fight fresh off a unanimous decision victory over Vladimir Shishkin in October 2024. That victory won Scull the IBF crown and set him up for the opportunity to fight Canelo in May.Hell have a chance to upset the apple cart, but even if he doesnt, he will receive the most handsome financial reward of his career once he climbs in the ring with Canelo.On top of the prestige of facing a legend, most fighters chase a fight with Canelo because of the financial windfall it provides. Scull has captured the carrot.MORE FOR YOUUpcoming Boxing ScheduleThe year is shaping up to be another strong one for boxing with tons of big fights. Canelo-Scull fits in nicely on this list.Boxing Schedule 2025Saturday, February 8, 2025Derek Chisora vs. Otto WallinLocation: Co-Op Live Arena, Manchester, GBTime: 2:00 PM (ET)Friday, February 14, 2025WBO World Lightweight Championship: (c) Denys Berinchyk vs. Keyshawn DavisXander Zayas vs. Slawa SpomerVito Mielnicki vs. Connor CoyleJared Anderson vs. Marios KolliasAbdullah Mason vs. Manuel JaimesLocation: The Theater at MSG, New York City, USTime: 8:00 PM (ET)Saturday, February 15, 2025Jack Catterall vs. Arnold BarbozaLocation: Co-Op Live Arena, Manchester, GBTime: Noon (ET)Oscar Duarte vs. Miguel MadueoHonda Center, Anaheim, California, USTime: 8 PM (ET)Saturday, February 22, 2025The Ring, WBA, WBC, WBO, and IBF Light Heavyweight Championship: (c) Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry BivolIBF Heavyweight Championship: (c) Daniel Dubois vs. Joseph ParkerWBC Lightweight Championship (c) Shakur Stevenson vs. Floyd SchofieldWBC Middleweight Championship (c) Carlos Adames vs. Hamzah SheerazVergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Israil MadrimovJoshua Buatsi vs. Callum SmithZhilei Zhang vs. Agit KabayelLocation: Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, SATime: Noon (ET)Monday, February 24, 2025WBC World Bantamweight Championship: (c) Junto Nakatani vs. David Cuellar ContrerasLocation: Ariake Arena, Tokyo, JPTime: 2:00 AM (ET)Saturday, March 1, 2025WBA World Lightweight Championship: (c) Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach Jr.Location: Barclays Center, New York City, USTime: 8:00 PM (ET)Friday, March 7, 2025The Ring Welterweight Championship: (c) Natasha Jonas vs. Lauren PriceLocation: Royal Albert Hall, London, GBTime: 1:00 PM (ET)Wednesday, March 12, 2025Keith Thurman vs. Brock JarvisMichael Zerafa vs. Erkan AyLocation: Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, AustraliaTime: 3:00 AM ETSaturday, March 15, 2025WBA World Featherweight Championship: (c) Nick Ball vs. TJ DohenyLocation: M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool, GBTime: 1:00 PM (ET)Sunday, March 16, 2025Callum Walsh vs. Dean SutherlandLocation: The Theater at MSG, New York City, USTime: 9:00 PM (ET)Saturday, March 29, 2025WBO World Welterweight Championship: (c) Mikaela Mayer vs. Sandy RyanBruce Shoo Shoo Carrington vs. Enrique VivasLocation: Fontainebleau, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, USTime: 9:00 PM (ET)Saturday, April 12, 2025The Ring Welterweight Championship: (c) Jaron Boots Ennis vs. Eimantas StanionisLocation: Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USTime: 8:00 PM (ET)Saturday, April 26, 2025Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Conor BennAnthony Yarde vs. Lyndon ArthurLiam Smith vs. Aaron McKennaChris Billam-Smith vs. Brandon GlantonCheavon Clarke vs. Viddal RileyLocation: Event at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, GBTime: 12:00 PM (ET)Saturday, May 3, 2025Canelo Alvarez vs. William Scull - undisputed super middleweight championshipLocation: Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaTime: ???

President Donald Trump has long sought to tackle the country's overall trade deficit.The combined goods and services trade deficit hit $918.4 billion in 2024, a big increase from 2023.There hasn't been a trade surplus in the United States since 1975.The US Department of Commerce says the combined goods and services trade deficit stretched to a gargantuan $918.4 billion in 2024.That's a 17% increase compared to 2023, although it's a little smaller than 2022's record-high of $944.8 billion.Tackling trade imbalances will likely be a key part of President Donald Trump's second-term agenda.One of the president's first official acts was to sign an executive order calling for an "America First Trade Policy," emphasizing economic investment and reducing the trade deficit.Here's why the trade deficit is important and the role Trump's tariffs play.A trade imbalanceA trade deficit occurs when a country imports more than it exports, which has been the case in the United States for decades. The United States hasn't had a trade surplus since 1975 exactly 50 years ago.The US trade deficit on goods alone was a record $1.2 trillion in 2024, and there was a trade surplus on services of about $293 billion.Trade deficits can benefit the economy by allowing countries to consume more products than they produce. Trade deficits that are too big, however, can hurt domestic companies by potentially driving increased competition for less expensive foreign imports. Large trade deficits can also potentially lower a country's gross domestic product.The strength of the US dollar means imports are slightly cheaper for American consumers, which is good. But it also means exports are more costly for non-US consumers. That can make it more difficult for US exporters to sell their products.How Trump plans to balance the trade deficitThe persistent trade deficit is something Trump has long sought to reverse.Before Trump took office, he suggested a universal 10% to 20% tariff on every country to among other things reduce the number of foreign imports and bring down the trade deficit. US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba discuss trade policy at the White House. AP Photo/Alex Brandon On Friday, Trump said he'd announce "reciprocal" tariffs on multiple countries in the coming week.During a Friday meeting with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba of Japan at the White House, Trump said he wanted to cut the US trade deficit with Japan, which in 2024 hit $68.5 billion.Trump didn't rule out future tariffs for Japan. However, Ishiba was highly complimentary of the US president during their meeting, and Trump said he didn't believe Japan and the US would "have any problem whatsoever."Trump levied 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and 10% tariffs on China earlier this month. Mexico and Canada have since struck deals with the Trump administration to pause the tariffs through at least early March.China responded with its own 10% tariff on select US imports including crude oil, agricultural machinery, and pickup trucks.Part of Trump's rationale for tariffs was his frustration with illegal immigration and border security, as well as the flow of illicit drugs into the United States.Trump also cited the elevated trade deficit."They have to balance out their trade, No. 1," he told reporters at Maryland's Joint Base Andrews, referring to how Canada and Mexico could avoid tariffs. "We have deficits with almost every country not every country, but almost and we're going to change it."Last year, the US trade deficit with China was $295 billion, a major decline from the record $418 billion gap set in 2018 during Trump's first term.The trade deficit with Mexico, however, grew from $78 billion in 2018 to about $172 billion in 2024.The United States had a $63 billion trade deficit with Canada last year, but if oil and gas are left out of the equation, the United States would have a $30 billion trade surplus with its northern neighbor, according to MarketWatch.

Elon Musk says he has no plans to acquire TikTok in the United States.A law passed last year requires TikTok to sell to a US company or face a ban from app stores.TikTok still faces uncertainty in the United States, even after Trump's 75-day extension.Elon Musk says he does not plan to be TikTok's savior in the United States."I have not actually put in a bid for TikTok and I don't have any plans for what would I do if I had TikTok," Musk said during a virtual appearance at a recent business conference in Germany.Former President Joe Biden signed a law last year that requires ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, to divest from the popular social media app or face a ban from US app stores. The US government worries TikTok's Chinese ownership presents a security risk.The Supreme Court upheld the law in January before President Donald Trump signed an executive order giving ByteDance another 75 days to find a buyer.Several investors have expressed interest in purchasing TikTok, including "Shark Tank" mogul Kevin O'Leary and former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt. Some have also wondered if Musk, who bought Twitter in 2022 and rebranded it X, might also throw up his hand.Musk's first public comments on the matter came via video call at the WELT Economic Summit in Berlin, a gathering of politicians and CEOs hosted by Axel Springer, on January 28. Axel Springer is Business Insider's parent company.Musk told the summit's guests he does not personally use TikTok and that he is "not chomping at the bit" to acquire the app.He said his acquisition of Twitter was a "rare" and "highly unusual" purchase. He said the acquisition has been "difficult" and "quite painful," but that he bought the company because he thought it was important to "preserve freedom of speech in America.""I usually build companies from scratch," Musk added.Lawyers for TikTok argued at the Supreme Court that banning the app in the United States would infringe on its users' right to free speech.Musk, however, said he only sees monetary reasons to buy the app."I don't know if the same logic applies to TikTok," He said, referring to the reasons he purchased Twitter. "I don't acquire things just for economic reasons. So it's not clear to me what the purpose of acquiring TikTok would be apart from economics."ByteDance has said it does not plan to sell TikTok, which means that if Trump does not intervene, TikTok could go dark in the United States by April.

PlayStation users are approaching 24 hours without being able to play their games online or offline, and as Sony breaks its silence in awkward style, some have had enoughTech22:00, 08 Feb 2025Updated 22:01, 08 Feb 2025The PSN is still down for many people(Image: SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)The PlayStation outage continues, and we're approaching 24 hours since players were able to log into their console, and the outage is still patchy across the network although some enterprising fans have seemingly found a workaround of sorts.As the Daily Star pointed out earlier, players were online when things began, but there has been no update to the PSN status page in quite some time.To make matters worse, Sony has rather put its metaphorical foot in it. With a post on X (formerly Twitter) likely scheduled before the outage, many are taking Sony's silence, and the way it's nudging people towards buying accessories, as the last straw.Content cannot be displayed without consentSony say it's still down but at the time of writing, we've been able to connect to PSN again on PS5, while other users online are reporting they're seeing positive connection attempts.If you've been waiting all day to grind EA FC or Call of Duty, now might be the time to try againResponding to the post above (which is almost certainly something scheduled before the weekend), one account responded with a gif of someone leaping at someone else, while others joked about the poor timing.Others are less inclined to forgive. "Selling my console", one account said, while another said "how abput we get updates on things being back online".One more cynical user suggested Sony is "engagement farming" from players' anger, but that seems a bit of a stretch.The network is down for many players(Image: AFP via Getty Images)Perhaps most worryingly for Sony, the word "Xbox" began cropping up plenty.Article continues belowXbox and PlayStation have been rivals for years, but in recent times they've begun to play nicely as Xbox moves to a multiplatform approach to great results.While it's highly unlikely someone will trade their PS5 in tomorrow and pick up a Series X, it's certainly not what Sony would have wanted on a packed week which offered a whole host of things to play.Civilization 7 and Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 both launched this week, but this momentum could be big for Microsoft since it drops Avowed next week as an Xbox and PC exclusive.