The age of the physical disc is ending on the Sony PlayStation. Despite backlash from gamers, the company intends to continue with its plans to end PlayStation disc sales as of January 2028.

“Following this date, new games will be available on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only. This transition has no impact on games that already released, or will be releasing, prior to January 2028 in disc format,” Sony said in a PlayStation blog post on July 1 . The post said the change is driven by consumer trends and a general preference for digital media.

Many PlayStation gamers clearly felt otherwise, with some players calling for a worldwide boycott of Sony platforms beginning in August. The PSBlackout urges gamers to keep their systems powered off for the entire week of Aug. 23. A petition on Change.org called “Don’t Kill the Disc” has also racked up over 350,000 verified signatures so far.

The backlash prompted Sony to respond to gamers in a Q&A session with shareholders, but the company isn’t changing its decision. Sony CFO Lin Tao said that the brand intends to continue moving forward with its plan to end physical disc sales and that the company doesn’t believe the backlash will negatively affect sales, though Tao noted the company will proceed “cautiously” with its plans.

Tao also said that the company is deciding how to address feedback from gamers unhappy with the decision. She said that Sony wants to consider the emotions of upset players, since the games are “connected to people’s fond memories.”

She also said the company might take measures in the future to lessen the blow, without specifying what those measures might be, and said that Sony wanted to engage with gamers in the future digital ecosystem.

A Sony representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Currently, the PlayStation 5 Slim Disc is the only model that comes with a built-in disc drive for physical games. However, you can still buy a separate disc drive for the PS5 Digital Edition and PS5 Pro console.

Unless the August boycott significantly affects Sony’s bottom line, the company is unlikely to back down on this decision. Discs, after all, can be resold, creating a secondary market from which the company doesn’t profit. All digital sales are controlled solely by the company, no matter how old the title is. This is also likely to affect resale platforms like GameStop and eBay, where gamers can usually get used titles at significant discounts.

As many commentators point out, digital titles grant a revocable license for the game, not ownership. So it’s technically possible for Sony to pull a game you’ve paid for and downloaded onto your system, though it’s rare that a company does this if there isn’t a copyright or licensing issue.

This is a transition that PC gamers made ages ago, with purely digital storefronts like Steam, Epic, GOG and others now being the most common ways PC gamers play games. These days, you really need to go out of your way to include an optical drive in your PC build since it’s not a default option. I’ve also found that many of my older disc games, like Age of Empires 3 and the first Rome: Total War, aren’t compatible with Windows 11, and you can’t even install or run them properly.

IGN reported that Project Helix, Xbox’s next console, will not have a disc drive and that Microsoft is exploring ways to digitize physical games. That may leave Nintendo as the sole company to continue supporting physical game media for the foreseeable future, in the form of cartridges for the Switch 2, which can also play games made for the original Switch.

Ajay has worked in tech journalism for over a decade as a reporter, analyst, product reviewer, and editor. He got his start in consumer tech, breaking Android news at Newsweek before going to PCMag, where he reviewed hundreds of smartphones, battery packs, and chargers as a Mobile Analyst. He also worked at Lifewire, a Dotdash Meredith brand, as a Tech Commerce Editor, putting together tested best-of lists and assigning product reviews across categories including smart home, uninterruptible power supplies, generators, and automotive tech.

Most recently, he was Section Editor, Mobile at Digital Trends, spearheading his team’s coverage of breaking news, features, reviews, roundups, deals, and more across a variety of mobile products, including phones, wearables, VR headsets, batteries, and chargers. If you want Ajay’s advice about anything tech, especially solar panels, UPS, batteries, EVs, and charging technology, you can reach him at ajkumar@cnet.com.

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I’ve recently introduced a few friends to the power of a great robot vacuum. One of my friends calls hers a marriage saver, while the other was both thrilled and horrified by how many stains the vacuum’s AI found on her floors. Personally, my robot vacuums keep me from wanting to set the litter box on fire, since my cat is on a mission to create his own navigational trail of litter through my home.

The best robot vacuums these days aren’t just vacuuming your floors, nor are they blindly bumping around your house like they used to. These gadgets are mopping, scrubbing away stains, lifting themselves off obstacles, and even reminding you to clean the dirtier areas in your home more frequently. A good robot vacuum can cost a pretty penny, but it doesn’t have to, depending on what you’re looking for. Curious about what’s the best model for you? I’ve been testing every new robot vacuum I can in my three-story home filled with three adults, a preschooler, and a cat who’s on a mission to get litter all over the house.

Here are the best robot vacuum cleaners I’ve tried this year, and everything we really liked from recent years. Looking for more vacuum ideas? Don’t miss our guides to the Best Dyson Vacuums, Best Cordless Vacuums, Best Vacuums for Pet Hair, Best Carpet Cleaners, and Best Vacuums.

Updated July 2026: I’ve added details about the new FCC ban that will affect future robot vacuums.

What’s a Robot Vacuum?

A robot vacuum is an automated vacuum, usually shaped like a round disc, that moves around your house to vacuum (and mop, as many models these days include mopping) on your behalf. You might’ve heard some refer to these devices as “Roombas,” which is the brand that made the concept popular, but today just about every cleaning brand—from high-end Dyson to affordable Bissell—makes some kind of robot vacuum. They come with either a charging station or a larger docking station that can self-empty.

Can You Use Robot Vacuums on All Kinds of Floors?

You can, especially since there are so many mopping models now to better clean hard flooring. You can use these devices on anything from hardwood to LVP and tile, though I wouldn’t recommend leaving smaller rugs out for these autonomous gadgets to get stuck on. Large, set rugs are fine, but bathroom and kitchen mats or any thin, easily moved rugs should be cleared out of the way and put in the wash instead of vacuumed by your robot vac.

What Will Your Robot Vacuum Need?

There are a few things most robot vacuums will need to work properly:

• Space around the base station. Many robot vacuum manuals recommend at least a foot of clearance on three of the four sides of the vacuum’s base station to ensure it has room to return home.
• A good Wi-Fi signal. If your robot vacuum connects to Wi-Fi, as many do these days for app control and software updates, it’ll need a strong connection wherever it’s placed. Most of them can only connect to the 2.4 GHz wireless band, so make sure you have that (and choose only that band when you’re setting up if your Wi-Fi shows those bands separately). Confused? Check out our guide to setting up your smart home.
• Regular maintenance. It might be a robot, but it can’t take care of itself. See below for my tips for basic robot vacuum maintenance, and make sure to read your vacuum’s manual to know what your specific model requires.

How Often to Maintain Your Robot Vacuum

Taking good care of your robot vacuum will help it last. Here’s the debris-removal process you should follow for each robot vacuum style.

• If it has a charger-only base: This means the debris is stored inside the vacuum. You’ll likely want to empty it after each use. If your vacuum has a fill line you can watch, you can empty it when it reaches that line, but after each use is really best practice.
• If it has a self-emptying docking station: Each manufacturer will have different advice about when a self-emptying station needs to be emptied, but it’s usually between 30 and 60 days, depending on design and use. If you run your vacuum daily and have a lot of debris, like pet hair, you might need to aim for 30 days or less.
• If it has water tanks: Dirty-water tanks should be cleaned after each mopping run of your vacuum. Clean water can stay filled in the station.

Make sure to review your robot vacuum’s manual for any other steps the manufacturer recommends you take regularly to keep the vacuum running for as long as possible. Many brands also have replacement parts, so you can swap out individual pieces like brushes without needing an entirely new vacuum.

Did Robot Vacuums Just Get Banned?

The Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, announced in late July that foreign-produced advanced robotic devices will now be included on the FCC’s Covered List. That list includes communications equipment and services that are deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States, and as of this week, that includes robot vacuums (and similar devices like robotic pool cleaners and lawn mowers). While it won’t ban any models already on the market that have FCC approval, we’ll likely see a huge decline in available new models after this year. Models made in the US will be fine, but future vacuums from popular brands like Dreame, Eufy, Roborock, and more will be affected.

This comes from an interagency body in the White House executive branch called the National Security Determination, which determined that automated robotic devices are a security risk due to the data they collect, which could be used for surveillance and be remotely commandeered by “malign actors.” While the initial documentation describes humanoid robots and a recent case of a humanoid robot’s cybersecurity vulnerability to be remotely taken over, the official description of these robot devices will include robot vacuums and any devices meeting the following criteria:

Most satellite startups are racing to build smaller. K2 Space is going the other way, on purpose. Investors just handed it $500 million to keep going bigger.

K2 raised a $500 million Series D at a $6.8 billion valuation, it said on Thursday. Kleiner Perkins and ICONIQ led the round, with Alphabet’s CapitalG, Lightspeed and ARK Invest among the backers. That more than doubles the $3 billion valuation it carried months ago. K2 has now raised over $1 billion, against more than $1 billion in signed contracts.

The bet is contrarian. Most of the industry shrinks satellites to cut launch costs. K2 argues the opposite: in orbit, power decides what a satellite can do, so it builds big, high-power ones instead.

The proof is already up there

Its first “mega-class” satellite, Gravitas, reached orbit in March on a SpaceX Falcon 9. It weighs two tonnes, generates 20 kilowatts, and carried a dozen payloads for customers including the US military, GeekWire reported.

K2 builds more than 85% of each satellite itself. Its 180,000-square-foot factory in Torrance, California is designed to turn out up to 100 satellites a year. That in-house model, it says, is how it makes large satellites quickly and cheaply.

Defence is writing the cheques

Much of the pull is military. K2 will supply 30 satellites for SES’s meoSphere network, build spacecraft for the Anduril-led Golden Dome missile-defence programme, and act as bus provider on a US Space Force satcom effort, its first Pentagon programme of record. It fits a wider surge of money into defence space.

The real moonshot: data centres in orbit

The bigger bet sits further out. In late 2028, K2 plans a 100-kilowatt “Giga” satellite built to carry “massive amounts of compute on orbit.” In plain terms, that is a step toward AI data centres in space, an application its chief executive flagged to Bloomberg.

K2 was founded in 2022 by the brothers Karan and Neel Kunjur, the latter a former SpaceX engineer. The round lands amid a flood of money into space, from launch to defence to orbital infrastructure.

The risks are real. Building 100 large satellites a year is a manufacturing feat no one has pulled off, and space-based data centres remain years away and unproven. K2’s next mission, Trinity, flies multiple satellites in early 2027. Going from one satellite to hundreds is the bet. Whether orbit becomes the next data-centre site is the wager beyond it.

• NEC unveiled a 999 g business laptop with exceptional battery endurance
• LAVIE BM94C uses carbon fibre to achieve a remarkably light business device
• AI battery management helps extend operating time throughout demanding working days

NEC Personal Computers has unveiled the LAVIE BM94C, a business laptop weighing just 999 g with a starting price of 584,100 yen (about $3,570).

The lightweight notebook is initially launching only in Japan despite attracting attention for combining premium hardware with unusually long battery endurance.

Today’s Wordle answer is a fun word, though it’s a little out of season. Read on for hints and the answer.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has one repeated letter.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

Today’s Wordle answer has one vowel.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with S.

Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter

Today’s Wordle answer ends with H.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can refer to wet, watery snow.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is SLUSH.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, July 31, No. 1868, was PURSE.

Recent Wordle answers

July 27, No. 1864: POSER

July 28, No. 1865: SONAR

July 29, No. 1866: VALVE

July 30, No. 1867: FLUME

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CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of “Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the ’70s and ’80s,” as well as “The Totally Sweet ’90s.” She’s been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She’s Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she’ll be first in line.

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A small, pale oblong device has started turning up in European retail listings and a clear photo, and it carries the name Google Pixel Tag. The model number GA12506 appears alongside a color called Fog Light. The shape stands taller and more pill-like than the round discs most people already know, closer to the core of an old Fitbit without the band attached. A large Google “G” sits in the center of the face. Below it sits a tiny speaker grille and what looks like a small LED.

Photo credit: 9to5 Google
There is no built-in loop or hole on the body, thus the emphasis is on how you want to attach the object to something, such as keys, a wallet, or your suitcase’s handle. You’ll almost certainly need one of those attachments or cases to clip the tracker in place, which is likely what they’re counting on given that the escaping marketing lingo promises that this tracker is designed to be very small and lightweight, and nearly unnoticeable until you need it. This is when the loudspeaker inside starts yelling to tell you where it is so you can go find the missing item.

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Apple AirTag (2nd Generation) – 4 Pack: Tracker for Keychain, Wallet, and More; Locator with Sound…

• FIND YOUR ITEMS ON FIND MY — AirTag (2nd generation) helps you keep track of what matters. Attach one to an item you want to keep track of using the…
• EXPANDED PRECISION FINDING ON IPHONE AND APPLE WATCH — Get step-by-step directions to your lost item on iPhone and, now, Apple Watch.*
• ENHANCED SPEAKER — With a 50% louder speaker and a new, distinctive chime, it’s easier than ever to hear and find AirTag.*

All of this goes through Google’s Find My Device system, which has been helping you find your Android phone and tablet for years. Now, the network is large enough that if you lose the Pixel Tag, a nearby Android smartphone with location enabled should be able to ping its location for you. Privacy language in the early product descriptions stresses that the system was built with personal data protection in mind.

Prices have begun to appear in a few early listings in Europe, at €30, which corresponds to some predictions that it would cost between $29 and $39 in the United States, but one thing we still don’t know is how the battery works. Is it a replaceable coin cell or a sealed rechargeable battery? That ultra-wideband precision issue, no one has confirmed or rejected it yet, and it is not even mentioned in those listings. The timing also appears to be planned, as Google’s major hardware event is scheduled for August 12, when they are expected to unveil the new Pixel phones and the forthcoming Pixel Watch. The Pixel Tag is now mentioned as a compatible attachment on the phones’ product sites, which is unusual given that we have yet to see a photo of the tracker.

Russian state hackers are using a maximum-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Outlook’s Exchange Server to backdoor unpatched machines and steal credentials and other confidential information from them, security researchers said Thursday.

The attacks are coming from TA488, a tracking name for a group working on behalf of the Kremlin, Proofpoint researchers said Thursday. Proofpoint and the National Security Agency jointly warned last week that the group, also tracked as Laundry Bear and Void Blizzard, had been carrying out similar attacks by exploiting a zero-day vulnerability in an email service from Zimbra. The revelation that TA488 is also exploiting the Exchange Server vulnerability to install advanced malware when a user does nothing other than open an email sent to an Outlook Web Access (OWA) account has elevated the group’s profile and assessments of its abilities.

Doubling down

“TA488 is doubling down on the use of ‘half-click’ exploits—where opening the email is enough to trigger compromise—with significantly improved loading mechanisms, techniques, and malware, signaling an improvement in the group’s tradecraft and capability,” Proofpoint researchers wrote. “This novel infection chain ends with a previously unknown JavaScript browser-based implant we call OWAReaper, purpose-built for persistent access inside OWA.”

The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-42897, is a cross-site-scripting vulnerability, usually abbreviated as XSS, that Microsoft provided mitigation advice for in May and patched in July. Microsoft gave it a maximum severity rating. The vulnerability, which stems from a failure to properly filter HTML embedded in an email, allows malicious JavaScript execution. Proofpoint said that TA488 may have exploited it as a zero-day.

The malicious JavaScript installs a novel, custom-built browser extension that gives attackers persistent access to victims’ OWA accounts. Proofpoint said it was the most sophisticated backdoor the company has ever seen delivered through a half-click exploit. The company has named it OWAReaper.

BMS’s Kasia Stusinska discusses the importance of embracing the unknown to further your career.

“Over the years, I’ve developed an understanding of how software, equipment and people come together in a modern biopharma environment,” said Kasia Stusinska, a senior automation engineer for the digital plant at Bristol Myers Squibb Cruiserath Biologics.

She added: “I started my career through the BMS Graduate Programme in the process engineering department, where I learned about the manufacturing process of the molecules we make on-site. It felt like the most natural career path for me as a chemical and bioprocess engineer.”

For Stusinska, rotating across multiple departments was an ideal opportunity to engage with elements of the organisation that she may otherwise not have had any knowledge of. 

“As a graduate, the chance to explore different roles was especially attractive,” she said. “On the programme, I rotated through different departments every nine months. During that time, I moved into automation, which is closely connected to process engineering. 

“What began as an opportunity to broaden my experience quickly became the area I wanted to stay in. Seven years later, I’m still here. I realised that the combination of problem-solving and working with software systems was exactly what I was interested in.”

Upon a move to automation she felt as though she had to learn from scratch, as she was unfamiliar with much of the software she now works with. 

She said: “I undertook several technical courses and was lucky to be mentored by a senior engineer who taught me so much. Over time, it all just clicked. Automation engineering might not seem like an obvious career path for a chemical engineer, but the understanding of physical processes, problem-solving and critical thinking I learned in college still stand to me today.”

What first stirred your interest in a career in this area?

I’ve been curious about how things work since childhood. I used to love taking things apart, like toys and remote controls. I even dismantled a Rubik’s Cube once because I wanted to see how it worked inside. I can’t say I was always able to put things back together, but I was always eager to understand how things worked.

My first experience with computers was through video games. At the time, I barely knew how to use a computer properly, but gaming sparked a curiosity that made me want to understand how computers work, not just the software but also how the hardware comes together to create interactive systems. Over time, this interest naturally grew.

When it came to choosing subjects for the Leaving Certificate, I studied chemistry, biology, design and communication graphics and French. I then went on to study engineering at University College Dublin (UCD).

At UCD, the engineering degree begins with a common first year for all disciplines, and at the end of that year you choose your specific path. For me, it was chemical and bioprocess engineering, as I was interested in science but also enjoyed problem-solving.

Tell us more about your role today and what is involved?

As a senior automation engineer, I play a central role in integrating manufacturing equipment with site systems and testing and troubleshooting software for BMS’s first sterile drug product (SDP) facility in Europe.

My work involves solving multi‑layered problems, improving system performance and ensuring that new technologies integrate smoothly into daily operations. This all contributes to a reliable and efficient manufacturing process. I focus on the automation elements of commissioning activities, making sure that the control software, servers and IT components of the new equipment function correctly and integrate smoothly with the existing systems and services.

Do you have a typical day and if so, how does it look?

My mornings often begin at 8am on the construction floor, where the team meets to align on priorities and the day’s commissioning schedule.

The commissioning activities that I support involve ensuring that all new equipment on site is operating as intended. This includes running tests, preparing the documentation that accompanies those tests and ensuring that everything is reviewed by the relevant technical and quality teams.

From there, my work can shift quickly. I may be reviewing design documents, collaborating with vendors, resolving issues arising from equipment testing or implementing code changes required by the business.

Was there any one person who was particularly influential as your career developed?

One experience does continue to shape my approach to work.

Some years ago, I heard an Irish patient, close to my own age at the time, speak about her diagnosis with oesophageal cancer. Listening to her story brought into focus for me the real people behind the work carried out across BMS. It highlighted for me the importance of the systems and processes that support the development and delivery of medicines.

Sometimes we get so absorbed in our work, especially in highly technical roles, that we can lose sight of the bigger picture. But what we do ultimately affects real people and keeping that in mind helps me stay connected to the patient at the end of the process.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

While my role can be very technical, it also leans heavily on communication, and I really enjoy this aspect and the collaboration involved. There are always stakeholders and people who need to buy into your solution or idea. That requires good, clear communication and building trust across diverse teams.

For me, this is as important as troubleshooting a software fault. In a regulated environment where systems must perform consistently, I’ve found that effective communication with others is a core engineering skill to have.

What can people expect from career progression in this industry?

Over the years, I’ve learned that career progression in the biopharma sector can take you anywhere, from highly specialised technical roles to global strategic leadership. I see people moving into completely different roles all the time. The soft skills you gain from working in a highly regulated environment are very transferable, while the specific technical skills can always be learned.

What advice would you give to those considering a career in this area, or just starting out in one?

My advice would be to not doubt yourself, try new things and get as much hands-on experience as possible. Every role teaches you something valuable and you don’t need to have everything figured out from the start. Staying curious and open to learning will take you a long way.

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