Even without devices like the Google Mini or Google Nest Displays, the Google Home app can accomplish a lot when it comes to your smart home: it works like a dashboard for all your smart devices. And if you’re using Google Wifi routers, all of the information about your wifi network—including current connection speeds and what devices are using the network—is contained there. You can even prioritize or block devices from the network or change a network name.

In short, the Google Home app can serve as a digital hub for all your automations, and a record of all the activity across your devices from Google Home. It is a powerhouse of an app, and it takes almost no time to set up. 

Download the Google Home app for your mobile device

You might think Google Home is an Android exclusive, but if you prefer to skip Apple’s Homekit app, you can use Google Home on your iPhone, too. While you’ll need a Google account to set up the app, you don’t actually need any smart devices, yet. 

Associate your Google Account with Google Home

In order to set up the app, you will need a Google account, like Gmail. If you have more than one Google account, consider carefully which you’ll use. Setting up your home devices on a work account may not be a great idea; you want to ensure this is an account only you can control.

In the bottom right of the screen, you’ll see a button that says “Get Started.” Click on that button to proceed. On the next screen, enter the Gmail account you’ve chosen to use. You may need to enter a password for the account even if you’re already signed in on the mobile device. 

Add services to Google Home

You should arrive back on the home screen now and see the “link services” option. While this is optional, you’ll find that linking media services to your account can be useful. For instance, if you want to be able to ask Google to play a particular song, it’ll pull that song from Spotify, but only if you have a Spotify account. 

You’ll see all the available services from YouTube to Netflix available, and can work your way down the list.

Set up a new home in your Google Home app

Google wants to know where you are so it can give you more accurate information. For instance, in order to tell you the time, it needs to know your time zone. In order to tell you the weather, it wants your address. As you add devices, it wants to know what room they’re in, so when you say, “turn off the living room lights,” it knows which lights you’re talking about. Accomplishing all those tasks starts with setting up a home in Google. You’ll likely only have one (the house you live in) but if you’ve got Google set up at your office or a second home, you can add additional homes. 

By clicking the “Get Started” button in the middle of the home screen, you can set up your first home. Google will ask for a name; you can call it whatever you want, including simply “home.”  Google will guide you through adding your address, which is optional, but for the reasons above, you should probably include it.

Adding devices to Google Home

At this point, Google Home is set up. You don’t need to add a device, but it’s likely why you got excited about the Home app in the first place, so let’s add one. If you have a smart TV, any Google device from a Chromecast to a Nest device, or any other smart device, it likely works with Google Home and can be added. So, to start, go to “New Device” and it will ask you to help classify the kind of device:

• A Matter enabled device: Your device will be quite clear about being Matter enabled, if it is. It would be on the packaging somewhere or in the name of the device. 

• Google Nest or partner device: Anything from the Google lineup, such as a Mini, Chromecast, or Nest. 

• Works with Google Home: This is any device that has its own app that you’ve already added the device to. For instance, Meross devices, SmartThings, Eufy, iRobot, Govee, LG, Leviton, etc. Google Home has thousands of integrations, and clicking on this option will show you all the ecosystems that connect with Google. 

Depending on which you choose, the next steps will differ. For a Google Nest device, you’ll be asked to turn on Bluetooth and it will search for the device. Once it finds the device, it will go through a series of guided actions to connect to the device via wifi, then name the device, and categorize it into a room. 

For third-party devices that work with Google Home, you’ll simply find the service and then authorize it to connect to Google Home. You’ll sign into the ancillary service, and then be asked what rooms to place the devices in. 

For Matter devices, you’ll be asked to scan a QR code that appears on the device somewhere, which will kick off some guided actions to connect to the device. 

Managing Devices in Google Home

From the “Devices” tab, you can control and manage these home devices. By long pressing on one, you can access the settings for it. You can move rooms or change any other settings available via the dashboard. On some devices, particularly those that “Work with Google” but have their own app, you’ll likely have fewer controls in Google Home than you would in their native app, but you should always be able to turn the device on and off. 

Now that Google Home is installed and connected, get started making automations and adding in Google Assistant. 

A “minimester” is a class that gives you a semester’s worth of credit after one or two weeks, usually over winter or spring break. They go by a lot of names, but at their core, they’re a fast way to accumulate credits and get ahead of your graduation schedule. In undergrad, I took “wintersession” (winter intersession) classes and spring break offerings when I could, and I’m doing the same thing now in grad school. But there are pros and cons, of course. 

Familiarize yourself with the class

Unless you’re really racing for credits (maybe to make up a failed course or graduate early), you should pay extra attention to the content of a minimester class: On one hand, if it’s a topic you don’t care about, it might be worth it to get it over with in a week or two; but on the other hand, if it’s a difficult subject, then a super-intense, truncated class might be overwhelming. This spring, I’m taking a perfect topic for an intensive class: it’s a weeklong course on drug policy that I’m extremely interested in. For me, it’s a great example of the ideal type of class for an intense semester: a subject I’m at least a little excited about. I’ve already combed through the syllabus repeatedly and started reading some of the material.

“Really familiarize yourself with the syllabus and readings beforehand so that you can fully immerse yourself in the course and not worry so much about deadlines,” says Maryam Ismail, a full-time clinical researcher and grad student who took a week-long course in public health nutrition last year. In a normal semester, you have time to get familiar with the material and expectations over the first week or two. In a minimester class, the first “two weeks” of material are blasted through in the first half-day. You don’t have the luxury of settling in, so get familiar with everything beforehand to make sure you’re able to handle it. 

Don’t overwork yourself

During a minimester course last winter, I spent the first few days trying to keep up with the readings. It was a fool’s errand. Spaced out over three months, sure, I could have read all of the studies and textbook chapters and still kept up with my work. In two weeks, it simply wasn’t happening. Instead, I started focusing on what we discussed in class and what, specifically, was being asked for in the homework—then only seriously reading and dissecting that.

Before I started grad school, a friend of mine with a PhD advised me to be discerning with which readings I actually read versus skimmed, since there’s simply not enough time to consume every suggested reading. Never was that truer than when I was trying to earn three graduate-level credits in two weeks. Skimming is your friend here. You won’t read it all, but you can absorb the basics and be at least a little prepared to learn more about the necessary information once you get back to class. To skim, read headings and other context clues like chapter titles, tables, image captions, and bolded words. Then, read the first and last sentence of each paragraph. You’ll gain a working understanding of the bones of the text and can fill in the gaps in class or while you do your assignments. 

“My biggest challenge was time management, because I wasn’t used to having the same class everyday, let alone full days of content to soak up,” says Ismail. If you’re going to tackle one of these intensive courses, you need to determine how much time you really have and which elements of the material are most important. Try using a system like the Eisenhower Matrix, which has you sort your responsibilities into four quadrants: Urgent and important, not urgent but important, not important but urgent, and not urgent and not important. Schedule your studying around these classifications and don’t feel bad if there are things you don’t get to read or engage with. You’re on a time crunch.  

Understand that an intensive course can take over your life

Lifehacker’s Beth Skwarecki, who has taught many classes, pointed out that the most important thing you can do here is accept that this course is going to dominate your life for the week or two you’re immersed in it. It’s something you have to at least accept, if not embrace. During my minimester class last year, I had the misfortune of celebrating my birthday on the penultimate day. In a minimester setting, that second-to-last day is actually like the week you’d normally devote to studying for finals; my final was the next day and it determined most of my grade. As a result, my birthday itself was mini, not very exciting at all. I had to be in class, then back the next day at 8 a.m. to present for 10 minutes on global efforts to combat AIDS in sub-saharan Africa.  

Skwarecki says you can always catch up on hobbies, TV shows, and your social life when the class is over, but bear in mind that regular breaks, even from work or school, are important to avoid burnout. These courses typically take place during the time carved out by your school to regroup after sustained work in other classes—and winter and spring break are integral to relaxing. Before signing up for a class that crams so much into the time when you’re supposed to be recuperating, consider whether you have the capacity for it. There are other options if you’d like to stay ahead of your graduation schedule, like taking a class or two in the summer. Those are more spaced out, less frantic, and still helpful for speeding up your progress. 

Still, there are good reasons to give up one break in favor of a minimester class. Domenick DiCostanzo, who returned to community college in his 30s after first attempting school at 18, did a minimester class last year before taking a single full-semester class. He says this was a great way to “get back in the swing of things” academically.

“You gotta go real hard, real fast, so when you get into a 15-week class, it’s easier. You have more time and just learned how to manage your time better, so doing a real class is simple,” he says.

Ismail agrees. Even though she says she struggled at first with having so many deadlines close together, she’s a big proponent of mini classes now that she got the hang of them: “I would always choose a condensed class if I could because you get a whole semester’s worth in one or two weeks and save so much time and it’s less dragged-out pain.” Less dragged-out pain, a glowing recommendation.

If you’re looking for the Wordle answer for December 29, 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 29, Wordle #923! 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 in our mnemonic today, and the other one is also fairly common.

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

Today’s word is something juvenile. It’s also heavier on consonants than vowels, so explore that consonant space today!

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

Nope, no repeats today.

How many vowels are in today’s Wordle?

There is one vowel in today’s word.

What letter does today’s Wordle start with?

Today’s word starts with C.

What letter does today’s Wordle end with?

Today’s word ends with D.

What is the solution to today’s Wordle?

Ready? Today’s word is CHILD.

How I solved today’s Wordle

ARISE as usual, then TOUCH. I wanted to keep the CH together, so those letters would have to go in the beginning. What could be CHI⬜⬜? I almost tried CHICA before thinking of CHILD.

Wordle 923 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.

International travel is expensive enough before factoring in how much mobile carriers charge for data packages, but this aloSIM digital SIM card comes with $50 of data credits and is on sale for $19.97 right now (reg. $50).

aloSIM saves you the hassle of physical SIM cards; instead, you download the eSIM to your device and keep it forever. Just like regular SIM cards, this one will only work on one device, so if you also want data access on your laptop—or you eventually upgrade your phone—you’ll need a new eSIM.

Once you download the eSIM, all you have to do is add a data package that meets your needs. There are over 170 locations available, and a variety of data allowances and time frames to choose from, so you can only pay for what you’re actually going to use. Data doesn’t rollover, though—any leftover data will disappear after the time stated at redemption.

One crucial tip for using aloSIM, though: install your eSIM and activate data plans before you leave for your trip. Otherwise, you’ll be messing around with slow airport wifi and running into problems when you should be enjoying your vacation.

You can get aloSIM with $50 in travel data credits on sale for $19.97 right now, though prices can change at any time.

The latest Amazon Echo Show 8 was released in September, bringing some cool new features to the third-generation Echo Show device. And right now, Amazon has dropped the price of its best smart display device with a 40% discount, bringing it down to $89.99 (originally $149.99), the lowest price it has ever been since its release, according to Camelcamelcamel’s price history.

A great bedside or kitchen companion

Echo Show devices make a great kitchen or bedside companion, especially for those who are visually inclined and/or like Alexa as their smart home assistant. This third generation has seen some great improvements over the previous generations, mainly in the audio department and with specs that make it perform faster.

One of its new features is spatial audio, which can analyze the acoustics of the room it’s in and auto-adjust its sound balance to improve the quality. Obviously, it’s still a single stereo speaker, so don’t expect it to blow your mind. The Amazon Echo Show 8 gives you a 1,280 by 800-pixel eight-inch touch screen (hence the name) with Bluetooth. The camera is a 13MP sensor that supports auto-framing, so you’ll always be the center of attention on your video calls. The processor is an upgrade from the previous model, featuring an octa-core processor with Amazon’s AZ2 neural engine, which gives you a smooth user experience.

This sale means the Echo Show 8 is currently the same price as the older, slower Echo Show 5—even its second-generation predecessor still goes for around $130, making it far and away the best buy in the group. (It is also much cheaper than the more premium Echo Show 10, which is currently priced at $244.99).

The Echo Show 8 is a great device for those who like to follow recipe instructions with video in the kitchen or take hands-free calls. You probably won’t find a similar or better discount on it for a while.

Let’s say you recently moved into a new home, and want to deep-clean and then properly maintain your kitchen floors. That should be a relatively straightforward task, but unfortunately, you aren’t entirely sure whether they’re vinyl or linoleum. The good news is that there are a few simple ways you can make that distinction so you can care for the flooring in the best possible way.

The difference between vinyl and linoleum floors

First, let’s talk about the difference between vinyl and linoleum floors. According to Joe Ferguson, an architectural joiner at Skirtings R Us, traditional linoleum is made from natural, eco-friendly materials, while vinyl which is typically made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC)—a durable plastic. “Compared to linoleum, vinyl is often easier to use for DIY projects, and can be removed piece by piece,” he says. “Although available in tiles or planks, linoleum is often laid out by sheet.”

How to figure out whether you have vinyl or linoleum floors

Keeping those differences in mind, here are a few tips for determining whether your floor is vinyl or linoleum, courtesy of John Peña, a real estate agent and the CEO of Peña El Paso Realty Group and Keith Sant, founder and CEO of Kind House Buyers:

Look at the material

For Peña, one of the easiest ways to determine whether the flooring is vinyl or linoleum is by looking at the texture and pattern of the material. “Vinyl flooring usually has a printed pattern that mimics the appearance of natural materials like wood or stone, while linoleum has a more uniform and consistent pattern,” he says. “Also, vinyl flooring often has a glossy finish while linoleum tends to have more of a matte finish.”

Check for trademarks or labels

Sant suggests looking for trademark signs or logos on the flooring itself: “These can often be found hidden in corners, or along the edges of the floorboards, and can provide valuable information about the type of material used in your flooring.”

Along with trademarks, logos, and labels, Peña also recommends looking for serial numbers or other codes that may identify the type of material on the backside of the flooring.

Test the flexibility

Another way to determine the type of flooring is by doing a simple test (in an inconspicuous spot). “For example, vinyl flooring tends to be more flexible and can be easily dented or scratched with a sharp object,” Sant says. “On the other hand, linoleum is more durable and resistant to scratches and dents.”

Why identifying your flooring type matters

Why go through this hassle? First, knowing whether your floors are vinyl or linoleum will allow you to properly care for them. “Vinyl and linoleum require different cleaning methods and products, so knowing which one you have will help prevent damage to the material,” Peña says.

It will also give you a better idea of how long you can expect the flooring to last. “While both types of flooring are durable, linoleum tends to have a longer lifespan and can withstand more wear and tear compared to vinyl,” Sant says.

Finally, this knowledge could come in handy if your floor gets damaged and you want to replace some or all of it. “Knowing the type can help with selecting the right materials and tools needed for the job,” Sant says.