Hasta La Gadget!

Everyone has their own approach to playing Wordle. Some methods are arguably better than others. But what if a computer could help players perfect their gameplay? The New York Times just unveiled WordleBot, an optional feature that breaks down a completed game and reveals what players could have done to play more efficiently. We’ve all had rounds of Wordle where we’ve finally landed the winning word on the fifth try or were stumped completely. For those less than stellar attempts, WordleBot is likely to be a useful post-mortem.

Players also receive a score between 0 to 100 on luck and efficiency. This will likely up the ante amongst families or friend groups who compete to solve each game in the fewest tries possible. WordleBot also reveals how each player’s score stacks up against others. Given the annoying Twitter craze of players posting Wordle scores in order to see how they measure up against others (or humblebrag), there’s no doubt a need for this. WordleBot’s ratings are also a useful measure of whether a game was particularly hard, run-of-the-mill or unusually easy.

In a Q&A, the NYT gave a simple explanation of how WordleBot works: “Every Wordle game starts with one of 2,309 possible solutions as the hidden word. At each turn, WordleBot chooses the word that will allow it to solve the game in as few steps as possible, assuming any of the remaining solutions are equally likely.”

For many players, WordleBot may simply be more information than they need. Especially if Wordle is just meant to be a fun distraction. But hardcore Wordle players or those who feel their gameplay has stagnated are likely to welcome the new feature. WordleBot could also bring back former players who want to know how much of their success was due to good gameplay — or just a lot of luck.

One of the most powerful and fascinating details of the X-Men’s current revitalization on the living island Krakoa is that their new, ever-splintering yet still-idealistic sovereign nation is a home to all mutants, not just X-Men and their former allies. The rehabilitation of—or uneasy Entente Cordiale between—former…

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HBO Max is following through on promises to overhaul its underwhelming smart TV apps. Both Variety and The Verge say WarnerMedia is rolling out an updated Apple TV app that tackles some of the most glaring problems that remained. For one, it’s finally built on a modern platform that should be more reliable than the relatively ancient HBO Go/Now framework. You’ll also see a new home page with a “hero” banner you can scroll, the option to skip credits, more control over My Stuff watchlists and easier sign-ins.

The new version should reach your Apple TV device either this week or the next. You can already find the framework in many of HBO Max’s other apps, including for Android, PlayStation, Roku players and TV sets from LG, Samsung and Vizio. Similar revamps are coming for Amazon Fire TV devices and the web.

The flawed Apple TV client was the result of WarnerMedia’s desire to hurry the HBO Max launch. Rather than build its smart TV apps from scratch, the media company repurposed its HBO Go and HBO Now apps to cut development time. The company knew it would have to “replatform” the app to modernize it and accommodate both international expansion as well as more content, according to WarnerMedia executive VP Sarah Lyons.

That rushed approach might not have helped HBO Max’s initial growth. JustWatch estimated that the service had 7 percent of the world’s streaming market share in February versus 17.6 percent for Disney+. While we wouldn’t count on a surge in demand linked to the new apps, they might help HBO keep subscribers who would otherwise be frustrated enough to leave.

The fossilized remains of a Triceratops fondly referred to as Big John have revealed a surprising detail about an injury it suffered during a battle.

Spotify announced today that it’s pushing through a bundle of new features to the Car Thing, its borderline-useless in-car accessory that goes for $90. While the device is supposed to help enlarge the Spotify controls to put them front and center while you’re behind the wheel—but in practice, it offers little utility…

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