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The problem with online shopping is that it makes it far too easy to buy pretty much anything, without properly considering whether you really need it. I started to wonder if ChatGPT could help me make better decisions, by questioning every purchase I was going to make, before I made it.

To test ChatGPT’s ability to stop me wasting money, I picked four tempting purchases and asked ChatGPT to argue against each one. It had to check the price history, suggest cheaper alternatives, and decide whether the purchase solved a real problem, or if I was just scratching an itch to buy.

Here's how ChatGPT did — and the results surprised me.

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I started with a tech gadget I was thinking of buying — an Apple MacBook M5 — and went to ChatGPT with the following prompt: “I'm thinking of buying an Apple MacBook Air 13-inch Laptop M5 chip. Help me check the price history, suggest cheaper alternatives and decide whether the purchase solves a real problem."

ChatGPT said it would check current pricing and recent lows, compare genuinely cheaper options, then pressure-test whether the purchase replaced a real limitation, or was mostly me trying to satisfy an upgrade itch, and off it went.

After a lot of thinking, ChatGPT replied with a devastating verdict that made me pull back from hitting the 'Buy' button: “Don’t buy the M5 MacBook Air yet.”

It suggested I get the previous M4 version instead, which is considerably cheaper, which didn't hugely surprise me. Then it gave me some questions to ask myself, in order to work out if buying a new MacBook was actually solving a real problem, or if I was just satisfying a buying itch.

Questions like, “Does your existing Mac have noticeable slowdowns?” It suggested I shouldn’t buy a new machine if my main argument was simply that my current Mac was a few generations old.bChatGPT also gave me some buying options if I was determined to go through with a purchase.

The most useful advice here wasn’t the cheaper recommendation — it was being forced to identify the exact limitation my current MacBook was causing me. I couldn’t, so I decided to keep it until I could.

Then I hit on a simple phrase that could potentially work even better — "Try to talk me out of it".

Talk me out of it

I repeated the experiment with a few other items I’d been thinking of buying recently. An item of clothing (new trainers), a subscription (Disney+), and a kitchen thing (a new microwave). But this time I added "Try to talk me out of it" at the end of each prompt.

In each case, Chat surprised me with its answer, provided alternatives, and made me question whether I genuinely wanted the item, or if there was something else driving my decision.

With the trainers, it pointed out that I already owned shoes that served the same purpose, and suggested waiting until those wore out. For Disney+, it recommended subscribing for a single month when there were several things I actually wanted to watch. The microwave was different — because our existing one had a genuine fault, ChatGPT concluded that replacing it was justified.

The experiment worked because it helped me mentally reframe each purchase. Instead of asking whether I wanted something, I had to consider what problem it solved, what I already owned, and whether there was a cheaper way to get the same result.

Online shopping is designed to remove as much friction as possible from spending money. ChatGPT gave me some of that friction back. So now, whenever I’m about to spend a few hundred pounds, or a few thousand, I ask it the same question: “Talk me out of it.”

Artificial intelligence came at just about the right time, speeding up app and software development as the world started to contend with skills shortages, but it changed the pace so much that security teams have not been able to keep up.

Recently, we’ve seen AI being applied across multiple other domains with role-specific agents and tools, but that’s introduced its own challenges. While tools like Claude Code have proven a hit for generating, reviewing and editing code in seconds, security-focused tools like Anthropic’s Claude Mythos family of models are having broader impacts on the industry.

Anthropic itself has even admitted that Mythos is so powerful that the worry it could be abused by malicious criminals is extremely real – the Preview model is currently only available to a select number of pre-approved partners.

So with AI now capable of inspecting code, discovering vulnerabilities and suggesting fixes, do organizations even need as many human workers on the case, or can they get by with significantly fewer humans in the loop serving as AI reviewers? Recent layoffs have certainly implied as much.

The evolving role of security workers in an AI-first world

But with the entire lifecycle of development now amplified by AI, experts are warning that companies could actually be creating more work for themselves, and more than they could ever handle, leaving them facing strains from angles they weren’t previously exposed to.

For example, fewer than one in 10 companies now fix 90% of identified vulnerabilities within 90 days – implying that the volume of vulnerabilities is indeed increasing, rather than that fix efficiency is slipping.

Anthropic even revealed that its around 50 early Mythos Preview partners discovered more than 10,000 high- or critical-severity vulnerabilities – and thousands more of lesser significance.

Checkmarx CEO Sandeep Johri predicts we could soon find a balance, where vulnerabilities volume matters less and we revert our focus back toward exploitable risks. I spoke with Johri about the evolution of AppSec, where AI is and isn’t useful, and how organizations can balance speed and control.

• With the rise of AI coding tools and AI-generated software, some are questioning whether traditional application security practices are becoming outdated. Is AppSec actually becoming obsolete, or is it evolving?

Traditional application security is not obsolete. It is evolving to meet the reality of how software is being built today.

For years, the process was fairly linear: developers wrote code, security teams scanned it, and vulnerabilities were addressed later. That approach becomes much harder when software is being created at a much faster pace with the help of AI.

AI accelerates development and risk simultaneously: 70% of developers say AI-generated code created more vulnerabilities in 2025, according to our research. As code volume and complexity compound, security needs to move earlier into the development process, giving developers the tools and guidance they need while they are building.

Security teams will continue to play a critical role to help organizations develop software and maintain confidence in their enterprise applications. But their focus needs to shift from finding vulnerabilities to remediating them at scale, because we are tracking an enormous gap in most companies. Our data finds that fewer than 10% of organizations fix 90% of identified vulnerabilities in 90 days.

• AI coding tools are helping developers create software faster than ever before. What new security challenges does this introduce for organizations adopting these technologies at scale?

The biggest challenge is that development speed is increasing faster than many security processes can keep up with. AI coding tools allow teams to create and deploy software quickly, but the code generated by AI still needs to be reviewed, tested, and secured.

Companies that ship 81-100% of their code with AI are nearly three times more likely to ship vulnerable code than those who use AI 1-20% of the time. This volume can overwhelm security teams with thousands of findings, many of which don't represent meaningful risk. The priority needs to be identifying the vulnerabilities that actually create exposure and helping teams fix those issues faster.


• Many organizations are looking to AI to help identify and fix security vulnerabilities. Why shouldn’t companies rely solely on AI models to secure the code that AI is helping create?

AI is a valuable tool for security teams, but organizations still need accuracy, context, and human oversight. AI can help identify patterns, analyze code, and accelerate remediation, but security decisions require confidence in what risks actually matter.

Frontier models can uncover hidden exploit paths, but they can also deliver inconsistent findings and false positives. Their results may change depending on the prompt, and they can still miss known critical vulnerabilities.

The challenge with relying only on AI is that organizations may create a false sense of security, or “automation bias.” AI models can generate code and help analyze vulnerabilities, but they need to be paired with security expertise and proven security practices.

The most effective approach combines AI-driven capabilities with strong security foundations, so teams can move faster while maintaining control over risk.

• As companies adopt more AI tools throughout the development process, what are the biggest security risks they need to consider beyond just AI-generated code?

Organizations need to think beyond the code itself and look at the entire AI ecosystem being introduced into software development. Many companies are adopting AI tools, models, agents, libraries, and other components faster than they can establish governance around them. This creates visibility challenges because security teams may not know what AI technologies are being used, where they exist in applications, or whether they meet security requirements.

Another concern is shadow AI, where employees use AI tools without formal approval or oversight. Organizations need visibility, clear policies, and a way to manage these technologies as part of their overall software supply chain.



Perhaps the most urgent problem is the expansion of the attack surface itself. With LLMs, it has never been faster, cheaper, or easier for bad actors to exploit software. Issues that sat undetected for years are now being surfaced and weaponized at machine speed. Of the vulnerabilities Mythos has found so far, 99% haven't been patched, according to Gartner.

• How does the rise of AI change the role of security teams? Does the traditional approach to finding vulnerabilities need to shift toward a model focused more on prioritization, remediation, and continuous protection?

Identifying vulnerabilities is no longer enough when organizations already have more findings than they can realistically address. Security has to become continuous, embedded in development workflows, working in lockstep with developers, to build securely from the start while maintaining visibility and control.



We are shifting the focus to understand which issues create the greatest risk to give developers the context to address them fast, where code is written in the IDE.

Fidelity now matters more than volume. One verified true positive is worth more than a hundred low-confidence findings. If developers can’t trust what they’re shown, they’ll start ignoring it. That’s why organizations are increasingly looking at metrics like F1 score, which measure precision and recall together, rather than raw finding counts.

• What does the future of application security look like in an AI-driven software development world? Will organizations need a different approach to balancing speed, innovation, and security?

The future of application security will require a more integrated approach. Organizations are going to continue adopting AI because the productivity benefits are significant, but security needs to evolve alongside that innovation.

Security will become more agentic, more intelligent, and more closely connected to the development process. Part of that evolution is combining deterministic, rules-based scanning with AI-driven reasoning in a single process, rather than running them as separate, disconnected tools. Deterministic methods catch what’s already proven; AI reasoning catches what’s novel. Together they’re more complete than either alone.



In addition, deterministic models have real cost advantages. Asking a frontier model to reason its way to security (i.e. extra review passes, self-generated threat models) burns tokens fast. That cost compounds the longer a vulnerability survives: cheap to fix in the IDE, more expensive in CI/CD, most expensive once it's live in runtime. And every time a developer has to stop and pull a vulnerability out of code that's already shipped, that's velocity lost to rework instead of innovation.

Teams will need technology that can help identify real risks, support faster remediation, and provide visibility across the entire software lifecycle. The organizations that succeed will be those that make security part of how they build software, allowing developers to move quickly while reducing unnecessary risk.

• For organizations that are embracing AI coding tools today, what steps should they take to make sure they can innovate quickly without introducing unnecessary security risks?

The first step is visibility. Organizations need to understand where AI is being used, what tools are being introduced, and what impact those tools have on their applications.

Remediation is far cheaper the earlier it happens — catching an issue in the IDE costs a fraction of catching it further down the pipeline. But there’s another unsettling gap in our research: nearly all developers have access to in-IDE security tools, but fewer than one in five actually secure code as they write it. The cost of fixing that issue compounds as it passes through later stages of development.



In addition, organizations need clear governance around AI adoption, because only 22% currently have formal AI governance policies in place. That means defining policies, monitoring usage, and making sure teams have the right security controls as they continue to innovate.



AI will continue to change software development. The companies that benefit most will be the ones that embrace the technology while building security into the process from the beginning.

Recent conversations with clients, owner-operators, investors, contractors and technology partners across the global data center market have given a clear picture of where the sector is heading. The same themes keep coming up: AI, high-density compute, power constraints, liquid cooling, resilience, speed to market and operational performance.

Capacity demand is still strong, and that is clear from the level of activity and investment across the market. The question now is what happens after capacity is secured, and whether owner-operators have enough visibility to use it properly.

Businesses are asking more detailed questions about how their assets will perform, how much capacity they can use safely and how much freedom they will have to adapt as customer requirements change.

Three takeaways stand out.

1. Capacity is becoming an operational question

The data center industry has spent much of the last decade focused on scale - larger sites, faster delivery, more power and higher levels of availability. Those requirements haven’t disappeared, but the operating environment has become more demanding.

Securing capacity is no longer only a development question. Owner-operators also need to know how a facility will behave in operation, how much of that capacity can be used safely and where constraints are likely to appear across load, cooling, controls and system performance.

That becomes more difficult when projects are still conceived as separate engineering packages. The building, power architecture, cooling strategy, controls, telemetry and operating model all need to work together, yet valuable data often sits across different platforms, vendors, formats and levels of access. The result can be an asset that meets the design brief but is harder for the operator to understand and adapt once live.

For owner-operators, this creates a long-term issue. They need confidence not only in the design, but in the data and systems that show how the facility is performing. They also need to know where constraints are emerging and how future demand can be accommodated without compromising or restricting future choices.

Land, power and water still dominate data center development, but they do not show how much usable capacity a facility really has once it is running. That comes from visibility into performance and constraints. Without it, operators can run too cautiously, leave capacity unused or make decisions later than they should.

This is why intelligence and insight are becoming the new data center currency. They help operators understand where capacity exists, where the limits are, and what they can safely offer commercially.

2. Keeping control of data, systems and future decisions

Owner-operators are now giving more attention to their operational data and future technology choices. This is not just about the platform they use, but who controls the information needed to run the asset, who can access it, how it’s structured and whether it supports changes later in the life of the facility.

Vendor platforms have an important role to play, but owner-operators also need to protect their ability to access, structure and use their own operational data. If data is difficult to extract, poorly structured or locked into a proprietary environment, it can limit future decisions and make it harder to compare performance, bring in new tools or respond to changes in workload.

That becomes more important as AI demand develops. The sector is still learning what long-term AI infrastructure requirements will look like, with density profiles, cooling strategies, redundancy models and customer expectations still changing. Operators need architectures that leave them room to adapt, rather than forcing decisions that narrow their choices too early.

If they can’t access and use their own operational data, it becomes harder to understand performance, compare different approaches or adjust the operating model as workloads develop. Data ownership, access and structure need to be considered much earlier, rather than left for the operations team after handover.

3. Operational intelligence must influence design and delivery

Operational intelligence can’t be treated as something separate from the design and delivery process. If owner-operators need better visibility once a facility is live, they must make the decisions that make that possible much earlier.

That includes the controls strategy, the way telemetry is captured, how data is structured and how different systems will share information in operation. These decisions can seem secondary during a build program, particularly when speed to market is under pressure, but they influence what the operator can see, understand and change later.

This is where the link between design and operation becomes more important. A facility can meet the brief at handover and still be difficult to manage if the operational model hasn’t been thought through properly. Operators need assets that they can monitor, adjust, and improve as workload demands change, without reducing future flexibility or limiting future operational choices.

Demand for new space and power is still strong, and that will continue to drive the sector. The next question is how that capacity is understood, controlled and used once it is built. That is why operational intelligence is now part of the capacity conversation.

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Mainframes continue to underpin a vast share of the global economy, handling roughly 70% of the world’s core transactions.

The idea that AI-powered code translation will enable enterprises to modernize the platform or even move away from these systems seemed an innovative approach—but it’s fundamentally flawed.

Translating code is not the same as modernizing a business-critical platform and conflating the two risks underestimating their complexity and destabilizing the systems businesses still depend on most.

Rather than rendering the mainframe obsolete, AI, cyber resilience, and hybrid cloud are fundamentally changing how it fits into the enterprise.

The digital backbone quietly powering critical industries

These systems sit at the heart of the world’s most critical industries - from banking and insurance to government and transportation – where performance, security, and resilience are non-negotiable.

Far from being relics of a past era, they function as foundational IT infrastructure: deeply embedded, continuously operating, and shaped by decades of accumulated business logic that cannot simply be rewritten without risk of disruption.

This is why, according to IBM’s Institute for Business Value, 75% of organizations still expect mainframe applications to remain central to their digital transformation, while 60% see them as essential to enabling AI.

Therefore, it’s about evolving what already works at global scale.

What is often overlooked is how significantly the platform has already changed. Today’s mainframe is no longer an isolated environment, but an integrated part of modern enterprise architecture – one that connects seamlessly with cloud platforms, AI and supports developers working across systems with consistent tools and practices.

Ultimately, driving innovation into the transactional world.

Where transformation is really happening

Modernization is not a question of programming languages, but of resilience, efficiency, and future readiness. As such, it has moved beyond the CIO agenda and into the wider C-suite conversation.

At the center of this shift is a fundamental rethink of how organizations work with their most valuable asset: data.

Rather than extracting data from the mainframe, many enterprises are bringing applications and innovation closer to where that data already resides. This “data proximity” model allows teams to work directly with accurate, real-time information, without duplicating datasets or introducing additional risk, cost, and complexity.

At the same time, modern integration approaches ensure that sensitive data remains tightly governed and controlled - accessible where needed, but never indiscriminately exposed across environments. In an era of increasing regulatory scrutiny, this balance between accessibility and control is becoming a decisive advantage.

AI isn’t replacing core systems - it’s extending and embracing them

AI is becoming a powerful accelerator of this transformation, helping organizations unlock more value from their core systems. It enables faster decisions, real-time insights, and new digital services built on trusted enterprise data.

A good example comes from the banking sector, where a leading player’s modernization efforts are helping support advanced fraud detection capabilities by analysing 100% of transactions in real time. AI is integrated into the core platform, improving performance and decision-making where the data lives, while providing a robust foundation to scale workloads, productivity, and innovation.

It is also reshaping the developer and engineering experience. Tasks that once required deep, specialized knowledge - such as working within COBOL-based applications - are becoming more accessible. This enables a new generation of developers to work with mainframe systems as naturally as they do with other enterprise platforms.

Crucially, organizations are combining the core strengths of the mainframe with a diverse set of AI models including smaller, more efficient models trained on their own enterprise data. The ability to choose the right model for each use case delivers a more secure, scalable, and effective experience.

Security moves to the boardroom

As cyber threats, operational risks, and regulatory pressures intensify, resilience is no longer just an IT concern, it is a board-level priority.

Against that backdrop, mainframes remain central to enterprise security strategies. They underpin encryption, secure transaction processing, ransomware resilience, and regulatory compliance, providing a trusted foundation for critical operations.

Increasingly, they are also being used to prepare for emerging threats: For example, incorporating digital certificates to better handle access in an agentic world, anticipating possible fraud in instant payments, and getting ready for a post-quantum security landscape, where sensitive data intercepted today could be decrypted in the future as computing capabilities advance.

Hybrid cloud reshapes the role of the mainframe

The mainframe no longer operates in isolation, but as part of a hybrid cloud architecture.

Through APIs and modern integration, organizations are enabling mainframes to participate fully in enterprise-wide digital ecosystems - combining the flexibility of cloud environments with the reliability, performance, and governance required for mission-critical workloads.

This is not about migration for its own sake, but about interoperability and architectural balance. For example, one of Europe's largest financial technology providers is using hybrid cloud capabilities within their own data centers to support hundreds of financial institutions, strengthening resilience, digital sovereignty, and scalability at national scale.

This reflects how critical systems are being designed so that connectivity and control are no longer opposing goals.

Modernization with intent

The mainframe continues to evolve alongside new environments and operational demands, extending its role beyond the traditional back office and allowing broader workload consolidation.

In the transport sector, for example, infrastructure modernization has improved a logistics hub’s operational performance while reducing CO₂ emissions by hundreds of metric tons, demonstrating how established systems can support both efficiency and sustainability goals.

Taken together, these developments challenge the idea that modernization means replacement. In practice, it is about keeping critical systems relevant as business needs change.

That matters because modernization is not a one-off program. Instead, it is an ongoing discipline shaped by operational priorities and supported by technology evolution.

The organizations doing this best are not focused on exit strategies. They focus on evolution - preserving resilience at the core while enabling innovation around it. Because when the digital core is trusted and stable, everything built on top of it can move faster.

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Loath as I am to say it, the future of gaming platforms isn’t looking so rosy right now. Windows is increasingly becoming more recalcitrant, constantly throwing hurdles in the faces of PC gamers in the form of performance-ruining updates and unsolicited AI implementations. And in the console world, Sony has irked everyone by ditching physical games from January 2028, while the recent bout of mass layoffs at Xbox belies its ‘back on track’ messaging.

Meanwhile, Valve appears to be going in the opposite direction. It already has a big advantage in the form of Steam, near enough the default storefront and launcher for PC gamers everywhere. Why, it’s generated an estimated $11.1bn in gross revenue in the first half of this year already. With pockets as deep as these, and without having to divert its earnings to shareholders (given it’s still, for now, a private company), that’s cash it can invest in expansion.

So is now the perfect time for Valve to break out, capitalize on its competitors’ floundering and shoot its shot at making SteamOS the next big platform?

SteamOS vs Windows

(Image credit: Shutterstock / Future)

There’s no question that SteamOS has been quite the success already. This is almost entirely thanks to the success of the Steam Deck, Valve’s hugely popular device that launched in 2022 and kickstarted a mini revolution in handheld gaming. It runs SteamOS 3, which is based on the Arch Linux distribution and far superior to its initial Debian iterations. These were used on the original Steam Machines of 2015, and are no doubt part of the reason for the discontinuation of the units in 2018.

The big advantage of SteamOS 3 is its support for Proton, the compatibility layer that allows Windows games to run on Linux devices. Although it predates the Steam Deck, Proton found its calling on the handheld, proving a lot of doubters wrong by running a large library of modern games well on a small, portable device. Even AAA titles such as 007 First Light and Cyberpunk 2077 are perfectly playable, along with plenty of others.

But Valve is no longer confining its operating system to the Steam Deck and Steam Machine. It’s recently expanded support to ARM, AMD and Intel devices, which means it can run on more devices such as the Lenovo Legion Go S and the Asus ROG Ally. Chris Hewish, a former Executive Producer at Activision and current President of gaming MoR Xsolla, explains the advantages of running SteamOS on such devices over Windows 11.

“With the SteamOS 3.8 release in June, Valve officially took the OS beyond the Steam Deck to the ROG Ally line, and Lenovo's Legion Go family, and early Intel support is starting to pull devices like the MSI Claw into the fold," he tells me. "On the same hardware, reviewers keep finding it ahead of Windows 11 where handheld players actually feel it: battery life, sleep and resume, and an interface built for a controller instead of a desktop squeezed onto a seven-inch screen.”

So, does the continued success of SteamOS rely on expanding to more hardware? Greg Weller, Head of Gaming Partnerships at Generation Media, and someone with over 20 years of industry experience — which includes stints at Rockstar Games and Bethesda Softworks — thinks so.

“The opportunity is significantly bigger if SteamOS continues to be device agnostic," he says. "The Steam Deck proved Valve could build a fantastic hardware experience, but the bigger strategic opportunity is allowing consumers to carry their Steam ecosystem across multiple devices rather than tying it to one piece of hardware.”

He continues: “We're seeing the same evolution across other entertainment sectors, like music, film and television, which have largely moved beyond device-specific experiences. People increasingly expect their content to follow them rather than the other way around. So, Valve hardware can absolutely remain the benchmark experience, but if SteamOS becomes the connective layer between a player's library, identity and multiple devices, that's a much bigger opportunity.”

However, not everyone in the industry shares this view. “SteamOS’ success largely depends on Valve's hardware for now and how far they actually push the OS itself,” says André Pimenta Ribeiro, CEO and co-founder of Anybrain, whose behavioral AI tools are used in popular online games such as Arc Raiders and The Finals.

He adds: “SteamOS’ success largely depends on Valve's hardware for now and how far they actually push the OS itself. I think Valve’s best case here is to grow to a broader, more casual audience through its own hardware and by offering its massive library to the mainstream player base, rather than exporting SteamOS to more devices in general. Once Valve hardware or SteamOS reach more mainstream adoption, then opening up the ecosystem makes sense. For now it feels mostly like a development play.”

Sticking points

(Image credit: Shutterstock / aslysun)

If SteamOS wants a larger slice of the gaming pie, though, there are certain obstacles it needs to overcome. Hewish points to one of the system’s major sticking points: its incompatibility with games requiring anti-cheat tools.

“Kernel-level anti-cheat either does not run on Linux or has not been enabled there," he says. "Until the biggest competitive games work reliably through Proton, SteamOS is not a no-compromise choice. It is an 'as long as you don't play those games' choice, and those games are some of the most played in the world.”

Another problem is what Hewish calls “hardware breadth,” explaining that: “Windows still has the deepest compatibility layer for the long tail: niche peripherals, capture cards, VR headsets, external GPUs. If the reports about official GeForce support come to pass, that closes a meaningful piece of the gap, since SteamOS has effectively been an AMD platform until now.”

Of course, the other advantage of Windows is that once you’re done gaming, you can switch to using it as an everyday computer. “SteamOS is deliberately narrow, a console-like shell, and that focus is a strength on a handheld,” says Hewish. “But if it wants to take on Windows more broadly, the path into desktop mode for a browser, schoolwork, or a spreadsheet has to get smoother.”

SteamOS vs consoles

(Image credit: Microsoft / Sony / Future)

But what about SteamOS as a console competitor? The revitalized Steam Machine launched in June this year was hotly anticipated, and looked like a serious contender to the PlayStation-Xbox-Nintendo triumvirate. Russell Kay, a former Grand Theft Auto developer and Head of popular 2D engine GameMaker, believes it was a success in bringing SteamOS to a wider audience.

“In the living room, SteamOS is now a proper alternative to a console,” he says. "The library is already there, and so is the audience. Millions of people have a huge digital collection sitting on Steam, and SteamOS finally gives them a way to put that under the TV instead of on a console. That's a real advantage no other platform has.”

However, he says: “The real problem is the price — Steam Machines cost more than a console. A gap that’s unlikely to close anytime soon thanks to the rising cost of RAM and hardware.”

And there are other issues for SteamOS in the console space. Hewish explains: “The Steam Machine needs reasons to exist beyond ‘runs your existing library’. Consoles win on curation and exclusives as much as hardware. That fight is about habit and content, not benchmarks. Close the anti-cheat gap and keep the hardware momentum, and ‘the default handheld OS’ is realistic within a couple of years. [But] the living room is a longer climb no matter what the software does.”

Ribeiro, meanwhile, thinks: "[Valve] can make a splash against this weaker console market, but right now it's still a niche system for a specific subset of people — growing beyond that depends on where they take it. Valve is known for doing its own thing, and that’s not always conducive to serving the broader global ecosystem of casual players. I think it makes sense from the perspective that they want to grow beyond a distribution platform, but the extent of impact and its longevity is still to be seen.”

He concludes: “I already see Steam devices akin to consoles, such as the Steam Deck and Steam Machine. I wouldn’t replace my Windows PC or mobile device with it, but vs the existing console ecosystem, that’s more a toss-up.”

The future of SteamOS

(Image credit: Valve)

It seems fairly clear-cut, then, that SteamOS is clearly leading the way when it comes to handheld gaming. But a push beyond that realm to usurp Windows or seriously challenge consoles is less certain.

Ultimately, Hewish sees it this way: “Windows still wins in two places: games with kernel-level anti-cheat, and anything you want to do that is not gaming. And in the living room it is early days. The new Steam Machine only started shipping at the end of June. So I would put it this way: [SteamOS is] a genuine competitor on handhelds today, and a credible but very young challenger in the living room.”

Of course, the high price of the Steam Machine certainly dampened its appeal. The consensus seems to be that while it was a capable device, it was too expensive to present a viable challenge to the living room market. Of course, the seemingly interminable RAM crisis threw a spanner in the works, even crashing the Steam Deck’s party thanks to a price hike that put a serious dent in its sales. But the fact remains the PS5, Switch 2, and Xbox Series X|S all undercut the Steam Machine considerably.

But perhaps there’s hope yet for the Gabecube and other SteamOS implementations besides handhelds. After all, Hewish makes the point that having one platform dominate isn’t especially useful for game developers.

He says: “If you make games for a living, you do not actually want any single platform to win outright, even one you like. Concentration is where leverage goes to die. When one storefront or operating system controls the path to players, it eventually controls the terms, the fees, and the relationship. The healthiest ending to this story is not SteamOS replacing Windows. It is real competition at the platform layer, because that is what forces every gatekeeper to treat developers and players better. SteamOS taking a real share does exactly that.”

He further adds: “My bet is SteamOS becomes the preferred choice for people buying a device specifically to game, and Windows holds wherever one device has to do it all.”

(Image credit: Valve)

Weller sees another benefit to the gradual permeation of SteamOS.

He says: “SteamOS has already established itself as a credible competitor, but not in the way people traditionally define competition. Rather than trying to replace Windows or persuade console players to switch overnight, SteamOS is reducing friction between players and the game libraries they've already invested in, allowing people to take their Steam ecosystem into more places and devices.”

“This reflects a much bigger shift happening across entertainment. Historically, consumers bought hardware first and then built a content library around it. Now, they're increasingly buying into ecosystems. Players care less about the operating system they're using and more about whether their games, saves, achievements, friends and purchases move seamlessly between devices.”

Gaming ecosystems have become important for another reason. “Our research found 72% of players discover games through social media, 67% through YouTube and 53% through platform stores such as Steam, PlayStation Store and Xbox Store," Weller explains. "Platform ecosystems have become both the storefront and the discovery engine. So SteamOS isn't simply an operating system but another touchpoint within a much broader ecosystem.”

“Valve's long-term competitive advantage has never been selling games, but focusing on the surrounding ecosystem: community features, recommendations, cloud saves, and overall experience of staying connected to your library. Those are the areas where Valve can continue to differentiate, rather than relying on exclusivity.”

The point about community features is an important one. The community around Steam has played a major role in the platform cultivating its loyal fanbase and the general good will of gamers. Its openness to mods and add-ons via its Workshop is a large part of this. And, as Kay points out, although games purchased on its storefront do contain DRM, “[it has] been one of the better stories when it comes to DRM". So if SteamOS wants to expand its horizons beyond handhelds, it needs to retain the element that sets it apart from other, closed-off gaming platforms.

Do you think SteamOS is going to be the next big platform in gaming? Vote in the poll below, and if you want to say more, why not leave a comment as well?

Racing to scale AI requires massive capital investment in data centers, with McKinsey recently estimating that global data center spending could reach $7 trillion by 2030. Perhaps more importantly, though, scaling AI requires massive architectural investment from a technology standpoint.

Modern data center infrastructure was not designed to power the cloud computing revolution and the massive surge in AI usage and development on a global scale simultaneously.

This architectural strain is driven by rising expectations – the more AI is adopted, the more demand of it there is. Enterprises are excited by AI’s promise as a time-saver that can automate and streamline employee workflows and increase productivity. To facilitate the growing complexity of AI models and datasets, GPU density and bandwidth have increased in data centers.

These increases mean AI models that can be trained faster, have lower latency interference and more. As these chips and data centers continue to increase the amount of data transferred between chips, though, cooling efforts are also needed to make sure the chips and data centers do not overheat.

As a result, while today’s data centers continue to power the AI boom, their operational runway is quickly shortening. Powering AI and the growing demand for AI capabilities is incredibly resource intensive. The technology relies heavily on electrons for computational capabilities and for moving data between chips in larger AI models. This requires vast amounts of electricity, water, rare materials, and overall technological innovation.

As operational bottlenecks persist, silicon photonics has proven an underappreciated solution to help further advance AI. Using light combination with electrons, silicon photonics enables faster, more energy-efficient data transmission. These abilities can both advance AI and scale GPU clusters and AI data centers.

The SiPh adoption delay

Photonics have been around for decades, spanning more than 40 years of research and innovation. In the 1980s, researchers realized the technology's potential due to its ability to allow the integration of photonics and electronics on a single chip.

Where before, photonic and electronic components lived on two separate chips that had to be combined, silicon photonics made it possible for both components to be functional on one single chip, resulting in increased speed, bandwidth, energy efficiency and more.

Today, silicon photonics are integral to the commercial production of communications transceivers in data centers. Fiber-optic communication predates the current AI wave by an entire generation, as does the basic principle of transmitting data as light rather than an electrical current.

The challenge of leveraging this technology in a broader setting, however, has always been its manufacturability and the need for optical components to be small and cheap enough to compete with legacy conventional solutions.

Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) compatibility makes this possible.

CMOS

Silicon Photonics-based circuits converts electrical signals into optical ones, transmits them as infrared light pulses through microscopic waveguides etched into silicon, and converts them back to electrical signals at the destination.

CMOS platform unlocks efficient and high-scale integration of passive and active devices onto Photonics Integrated Circuits (PICs), used to make optical transceivers. The physics of light propagation delivers far lower loss than copper interconnects do at the data rates modern AI workloads demand.

With CMOS, silicon photonics can be fabricated using the same processes semiconductor fabs use for conventional chips. This process allows optical and electronic components to coexist on a single silicon die, with limited use of rare materials or separate production lines, enabling scalable production.

Discussions of silicon photonics tend to focus on the transceiver or circuit design. While these conversations are essential, the substrate is equally important, delivering bandwidth and energy efficiency. Leveraging substrates to help meet growing data demands has been shown to decrease energy consumption by 30-50% on average.

Engineered substrates are silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platforms designed for photonic or high-frequency applications that support a range of markets, including mobile communications, edge AI, cloud AI, Internet of Things and data centers. With the latter, there are a variety of engineered substrates that improve different performance metrics, including Photonics-SOI, PD-SOI and RF-SOI.

Substrate selection is foundational to silicon photonics performance, not incidental to it. The choices made early in the design process determine whether a photonic chip delivers its theoretical efficiency and performance or falls short in deployment.

Scaling data centers requires scaling silicon photonics—now

The semiconductor industry must accelerate silicon photonics production to keep pace with the growth of demand for tomorrow’s data centers.

The technology works. The physics is proven. The manufacturing pathway exists. What's missing is widespread industry alignment and investment to produce silicon photonics at the pace AI infrastructure will require.

Coordinated investment in silicon photonics must happen across chipmakers, substrate suppliers, packaging specialists, and hyperscalers whose data centers will ultimately run on this technology. That coordination is currently happening in pockets, and it needs to be prioritized — the AI buildout is not slowing down.

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I've been bereft without a new Taylor Sheridan show to watch over the last month, but Lioness season 3 is finally on hand to save the day.

Frankly, all hell could be about to break loose if the trailer is anything to go by. As the official synopsis explains, "Joe walks the line between duty and home as unseen forces circle her world. Patterns appear where they shouldn’t, names vanish, and paths rearrange.

"Guided by Kaitlyn and Westfield, Joe confronts enemies operating in the shadows, leaving her to reckon with a war that now reaches into every part of her life."

That could literally mean anything seeing as Joe doesn't know the meaning of an easy day at work. Regardless, when does Lioness season 3 episode 1 land on Paramount+?

What time can I watch Lioness season 3 episode 1 on Paramount+?

Lioness season 3 episode 1 will drop on one of the world's best streaming services on Sunday, August 2.

Like The Madison and Dutton Ranch, we can expect the episode to arrive at 12am PT. Here's when it will be released in other nations globally:

• US – 12am PT / 3am ET
• Canada – 12am PT / 3am ET
• UK – 8am BST
• India – 1:30pm IST
• Singapore – 4pm SGT
• Australia – 7pm AEDT
• New Zealand – 9pm NZDT

When do new episodes of Lioness season 3 come out?

(Image credit: Paramount+)

Lioness season 3 will have a total of eight episodes, airing weekly from the premiere onwards. That gives us the following schedule:

• Episode 1: August 2
• Episode 2: August 9
• Episode 3: August 16
• Episode 4: August 23
• Episode 5: August 30
• Episode 6: September 6
• Episode 7: September 13
• Episode 8: September 20

AV Insider

On the Record is a new series of interviews and explainers with influential voices in the music industry. From artists to execs, to those behind audio technology we love, we aim to bring you a fresh, focused perspective on sound. Music to your ears? Make sure you follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source.

Things music-lovers enjoy about Qobuz: it was the original hi-res music streaming service and it also offers 24-bit hi-res downloads on demand (ie., no need to subscribe to buy) alongside a regular streaming model. Then, there's the digital Qobuz Magazine, human-first playlists over algorithms, a more ethical payment at significantly higher average per-stream royalties than mainstream competitors, the fact that it refuses to run a free ad-supported tier that devalues music, it continues to transparently publish its financial payout data, it recently added in-track lyrics… I could go on.

But I'm not here to talk to Managing Director Dan Mackta about any of those aspects of Qobuz today, admirable though they are. No, I want to talk to him about generative AI, and Qobuz's strong stance on it, as set out in its February-release AI charter.

If you haven't read the document, the following quote may be enough for now. It reads as follows.

'Our conviction: AI can be a value amplifier, never a substitute for human judgment. The heart of Qobuz is and will remain human; editorial curation, music expertise, content creation'

Qobuz, AI Charter

Dan Mackta has made time to speak to me from a hotel room in Connecticut, at 9:30am local time, before setting off on the 100-or-so miles to Rhode Island and the Newport Folk Festival.

Anyone who speaks to Mackta will find a music lover from the Big Apple first and foremost — a businessman not afraid to talk openly and honestly about an industry he knows and loves deeply.

Right now, Mackta is hoping the rumors are true and that Lauryn Hill will indeed make a rare appearance to play a set (she did), adding with no small amount of excitement, "I've wanted to go my whole life, and this is the year it's finally happening".

(Image credit: Qobuz)Ready or Not

Yes, all of these sub-heads are now going to be Lauryn Hill tracks, because I'm jealous of Mackta's upcoming weekend of live music. I ask Mackta how long Qobuz has been concerned with AI-generated audio infiltrating the platform's otherwise notably human-centric offering. It's clear he's not a fan.

"It was a couple of years ago that we noticed the volume of AI content, fake music, whatever you want to call it. It was a problem from the beginning because of the volume of stuff that was being delivered.

"There was already a fraud problem in music streaming — basically content uploaded just for the purposes of fraudulent streaming, money laundering, organized crime and all of that crazy stuff — but generative AI allowed scammers to create this stuff at crazy scale. They do it to hide their tracks; create so much stuff that nobody can even really tell what the heck is going on. So we knew it was a problem.

"We also knew that this content did not fit into our vision for what our music service should be focusing on. So early on, the guys in France — because all of our tech is in France — looked at a few detection solutions that were on the market at the time, about two years ago, and decided to create their own detection methodology.

"So, we started analyzing. The thing is that the analysis takes a long time, so it's being rolled out in stages. All new releases are now analyzed."

Mackta is also refreshingly open about where the company's at with the rollout. "The actual tagging piece of it, which is where we notify the user if something has been detected as AI, hasn't rolled out yet, although it's planned for September. We shall sell no wine before its time!"

'There was already a fraud problem in music streaming — basically content uploaded just for the purposes of fraudulent streaming — but generative AI allowed scammers to create this stuff at crazy scale'

Dan Mackta

(Image credit: Qobuz)DDEX (That Thing)

I ask Mackta about the relevance (or effectiveness) of voluntary AI self-identification as a solution to the problem of 100% AI tracks — the 'Hey, here's an AI content badge; we've created it and given it to labels and distributors, so they'll use it' approach, because it's one we've seen in the form of 'Transparency Tags' on rival sites. Mackta is quick to clarify that actually, it is a new development and does have some value.

"I mean, the DDEX, (Digital Data Exchange, which is the metadata standards-setting organization upon which the music industry is run) recently added some fields to its structure. But it's basically voluntary for the person setting up the music for release.

"They fill in these fields in the DDEX. So it's 'you' and 'title' and the ISRC (International Standard Recording Code — a 12-character unique digital fingerprint that identifies a specific sound recording or music video) and UPC (Universal Product Code, which is similar but for the whole product) and other areas for credits. It's a whole elaborate standard.

"So, they added fields for AI where you're supposed to say if something is 100% generated by AI or if the lyrics were AI-generated.

"Now, some of the DSPs (Digital Service Providers, ie., rival sites) said, ‘All right, we’re starting to get this information from our suppliers, so we're going to surface it in a way that the users can see’ — and we'll have that too; we get the same information. But obviously, big problem: why would a scammer admit? If it's voluntary, it's a partial solution."

'Big problem: why would a scammer admit? If it's voluntary, it's a partial solution'

Dan Mackta

The Miseducation

Mackta is keen to impress upon me that while detection is a big part of the issue, it's not just about AI detection when it comes to Qobuz — or for the wider music industry. The company has thought deeply about what it's going to do with this content. "That's why the AI charter was a very comprehensive doc; it wasn't just about AI content", Mackta confirms.

What is the bigger picture? "It was about our philosophy as a company about AI and as a tool in our business — our everything. When we're going to use it and when we're not, and transparency around that. So that was about more than just the AI content."

Mackta sighs. He's ready to pin his colors to the mast. "You'll notice I do not call it 'AI music' because I don't think it's music. I think it's a simulacrum of music to get, you know, critical theory. But it's… it ain't music."

'You'll notice I do not call it 'AI music' because I don't think it's music. I think it's a simulacrum of music but it's… it ain't music'

Dan Mackta

Everything is Everything

I want to know more about the different types of machine learning in music we accept, versus generative AI audio for fraudulent use.

Mackta is incredibly open about the versions of machine learning Qobuz does use. "Listen: there are a lot of tools in music creation workflow that have been around for a long time that are essentially versions of AI. But it's very different when you're using creative tools as a musician versus a scammer saying, 'Give me 10,000 things that sound like music that I can upload, for fraud.'

"Our number one most requested feature was autoplay. Right? When your cue ends, the Qobuz user wants the music to keep playing. So, that's machine learning! That's AI that looks at what you were listening to, and runs an algorithm to figure out what it should play next.

"So, we have that. Users wanted that. We have a few playlists now that are algorithmically generated based on your listening and your favorites. But that's like two clearly marked playlists, and if you don't want that, you never have to look at it.

"The thing is that some people — especially as Qobuz has been getting thankfully bigger and starting to poke into the mainstream — those people are used to those kinds of features and they don't realize it’s AI. We'll always make it clear what's been selected by humans versus what hasn't."

(Image credit: Qobuz)Lost Ones

I posit the idea that some have suggested — that AI is here, it's not going away, and there's an argument for not even trying to stem the slop. Mackta laughs, but he gets it. "I mean, let's be real. We're doomed! But let’s also try to hold it at bay, however we can.

"To me, the whole thing is just a really, really big bummer. You know, it just is so different from ‘why am I in the music business’? Why, really though, do I do this? Having to deal with this issue on top of all the other issues that were already there in music just makes me really sad, and so much time and energy and resources wasted.

"It’s largely an unintended consequence of the streaming business model, with the way revenues are shared; it's always been a target for fraudsters. It's like if every man, woman, child, and dog released three albums last year on the planet, it still wouldn't be as much music as the fake music that’s being shoved down our pipes."

'If every man, woman, child, and dog released three albums last year on the planet, it still wouldn't be as much music as the fake music that’s being shoved down our pipes'

Dan Mackta

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Ex-Factor

I muse that perhaps as long as it's human beings making content for the emotional appreciation of other human beings (which is what Deezer's head of research recently offered, when I interviewed him), perhaps we'll be OK? Mackta is quick to jump in. "Well, and that's what music is! It's the whole thing that makes it all go!

"It's unique. It's a form of communication that taps directly into emotions of humans. So we can take humans out on either side of that equation — it ain't music anymore. What makes music music? You know, if you ask those questions, I think it all becomes pretty clear that this AI stuff may sound like music, but…"

Quite right. So what's the future for Qobuz? And can he speak to the music industry at large? Mackta is less certain, but he definitely isn't keen on one possible development.

"It's not really clear what's going to happen with this generative AI stuff. I thought the music industry would do its usual thing and try to stamp it out. But instead, now these companies are basically licensed by the major labels; if everybody's getting rich off of it, they're not going to try to stamp it out.

"But I do think, in terms of the fraud piece (of the puzzle) and the massive amounts of content that's just being generated purely for the purposes of fraud, the industry is going to come to some kind of resolution about it, because it's just not kosher.

"I don't know exactly what it's going to look like, but Qobuz is part of a trade group, the Music Fights Fraud Alliance (along with other DSPs and distributors and aggregators), and we're all trying to come together — the way the banking industry has come together to share certain information to be able to stop fraud. It's kind of like herding cats."

All Falls Down

And there's another 'what if?' Mackta wants to share. "At Qobuz, we sometimes talk about, like, what if AI fake music becomes something that most people want to listen to, you know? What if that's what's considered music in 10 years? Are we still going to have our philosophy? I would say I hope so. I hope that we stick to our guns and the stuff that makes music special is not going to change.

"And I do think that 90-whatever-percent of people probably could be played AI content and be told it's music, and they wouldn't know. They wouldn't care! And that's a shame. But that's reality.

"However, for people who are just even a little bit into music, I don't think we're going in that direction. I think, if anything, there'll be a backlash coming soon that really values human curation, human creation, and actual artistry and emotion and communication. You know, you just can't fake it."

I tell Mackta that I agree, and that as an occasional performer myself I really hope he keeps up the good fight. He laughs. "Yeah, I mean, if anything, it's gonna force us to dig in even more on these principles. And from a business standpoint, I think that's just fine. I think that success for us is going to be in how we differentiate and stay focused on what we think is important. And so far, so good!"

Agreed. As a loyal Qobuz fan myself, I'd go so far as to say it's a case of so far, so very good.

Last year, I brought on a new specialist in search engine optimization (SEO) to drive backlinks and business, only to find the contractor used black-hat practices to generate toxic, irrelevant results. Worse, the content was AI-written and keyword-stuffed.

I fired him three months later but made the big mistake of not immediately revoking access. Out of revenge, he deindexed 200 product pages and blog posts, causing a 90% drop in traffic and devastating sales.

Unfortunately, I quickly realized that marketing is both a growth engine and an attack surface. This is a cautionary tale about handing over the keys to your business backend and what it takes to rebuild from the brink.

From onboarding to sabotage

In hindsight, there were several red flags. This marketing “professional” talked a big game but relied on outdated techniques that didn’t translate well in the online world. We’re in hemp wellness e-commerce so digital marketing is essential. However, keyword stuffing, AI slop content, and low-quality backlinking can quickly ruin search engine rankings.

It was quickly evident this wasn’t a marketing fit. The contractor scored external media mentions for products we didn’t sell (lying that it would bring more traffic) and focused heavily on blog volume (promising that posting several times a day would break through, when in reality it was off-brand and off-voice). Other times, he bought backlinks in bulk to fake traction, showing us legitimate-looking domains that ultimately did nothing.

I’d seen enough. He was fired in October but, foolishly, retained access. This was my mistake and I paid for it – the contractor retaliated and manually deindexed nearly all of our pages, one by one, thereby telling Google that they no longer exist and not to return them. The fallout was immediate with a 90% traffic drop, 50% sales drop, and the erasure of multiple years of branding and marketing progress.

A site-wide audit and rehabilitation

Untangling the mess was a job in and of itself. Beyond reindexing the website, we didn’t know what else had changed, so we needed to audit everything. Here we found something strange in the backend: a security plugin quietly emailing daily activity to an unknown contact. We still don’t know the what or the why of this tool, but it only further cemented that we’d lost control.

First, we needed to lock the doors, revoke stale logins, and restrict access to those who needed it. Then the fake wins and bad results had to go. After all, backlinks mean nothing if they ignore site health and audience relevance. We disavowed each toxic reference and began repairing the damage to the company’s voice and positioning one link at a time.

We scrubbed poorly written copy, errant mentions of non-existent products, and even image alt text stuffed with keywords. We also removed the incoherent, AI-written blog archive in its entirety. From top to bottom, we needed to rebuild our experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (EEAT) in both the eyes of search engines and customers.

It took the better part of four months to realign our external and internal communications, and complete the manual, page-by-page reindex. Today, our traffic is back up, though it hasn’t fully returned to its peak. Frustratingly, SEO sabotage is fast but the recovery is slow.

Protect your marketing, protect your business

As a result of this nightmare, I’ve learned several marketing lessons the hard way.

Never overlook access. Onboard with least privilege from day one, offboard as soon as someone’s off the project. Be selective about admin roles and don’t blindly trust newcomers (no matter how well they sell themselves). Likewise, go the extra mile with security whenever someone departs on bad terms.

Review anything they could touch for injected scripts, rogue plugins, or unfamiliar integrations. Malicious code can sit dormant or masquerade as legitimate for months, so the cost of a review is worth it in the long run.

Second, particularly for companies in a trust-sensitive or regulated sector, shortcuts cost twice as much. Backlinks count for naught if they’re irrelevant or inaccurate, and they actually work against you if your company falls into Your Money or Your Life (YMYL). Google more heavily scrutinizes this segment and SEO snake oil salesmen threaten to undermine your positioning faster than they can build it.

Third, embed checks and balances from the get-go. Even before the sabotage, we lost marketing momentum because no one was closely overseeing the contractor. Insource enough knowledge to audit your vendors and demand method transparency from the jump. Anyone selling overnight spikes warrants stricter inspection and guardrails.

This was a wake-up call. Until now, I didn’t truly appreciate how SEO in the wrong hands can be a single point of failure that takes revenue with it. For B2B and B2C companies, search presence is business-critical. I encourage leaders and admins to protect it like the infrastructure it is. No one person with ill intent should be able to dictate your digital success or failure.

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Boardrooms across every sector are running the same play right now: deploy AI faster, automate more, cut operational costs, and call it transformation. The metrics look compelling on paper. Response times drop. Headcount ratios improve. Executives check the "AI strategy" box and move on to the next priority.

But underneath those dashboards, something quieter is happening. Customers are disengaging. Employees are skeptical. Digital adoption is stalling in places where it shouldn't be.

The reason isn't the technology. It's the assumption behind it , that faster, smarter systems automatically create stronger relationships. They don't. And the organizations that recognize this distinction first are the ones pulling ahead.

The gap nobody is measuring

When businesses evaluate AI performance, the dominant lens is operational. Efficiency gains, cost reductions, throughput improvements. These are real and worth measuring. But they capture what the system does , not how people feel about depending on it.

Customers don't evaluate digital systems the way executive dashboards do. They evaluate them through a different set of questions: Can I understand what this system is telling me? Can I challenge it if it seems wrong? Is there a human accountable for this outcome if something goes wrong?

When those questions go unanswered , when AI recommendations feel opaque, impersonal, or impossible to question , trust quietly erodes. An instant automated response feels fast. But if the logic behind it is invisible, the interaction still feels like it came from a machine that doesn't care.

That gap between technical performance and perceived trustworthiness is where many AI investments quietly fail.

Trust is designed, not delivered by default

The organizations genuinely succeeding with AI tools at scale aren't necessarily deploying the most advanced models. They're the ones treating AI as a trust design challenge, not a technology deployment challenge.

This distinction has concrete implications. Trust architecture , the deliberate design of explainable, human-centered systems , requires answering questions that most AI roadmaps don't ask. Can users see how automated decisions are being made? Are there visible layers of human accountability when the system gets it wrong? Does the system behave consistently enough to be predictable?

Building explainability into AI systems from the start isn't just an ethical position. It's a retention strategy. When customers understand why a recommendation was made , even at a high level , they engage differently. When employees can see and override AI-generated outputs, skepticism converts into productive collaboration. Accountability structures, made visible, become competitive differentiators.

Accessibility reveals who you're actually building for

There's a second dimension of AI trust that organizations consistently underestimate: accessibility.

Most companies still treat accessibility as a compliance checkpoint , something reviewed near the end of product development, checked against a regulatory standard, and filed away. In practice, this approach produces digital environments that technically pass audits but fail real users at critical moments.

AI-powered systems are now embedded in every touchpoint of the customer and employee experience: portals, mobile apps, onboarding flows, support interfaces, communication platforms.

When these systems lack adaptive navigation, voice compatibility, screen-reader support, or simplified cognitive pathways, businesses aren't excluding a niche user segment. They're reducing the overall reliability and usability of the entire environment, for everyone.

Accessibility built into architecture from the beginning, rather than layered on afterward, consistently outperforms the bolt-on approach on the metrics that matter: customer satisfaction, retention, and support cost reduction. Inclusive design improves the experience for the majority while specifically serving those who need it most.

The sustainability blind spot

There's a third dimension that rarely surfaces in AI strategy conversations until it becomes an operational problem: sustainability.

Intelligent systems require expanding infrastructure. More storage, heavier compute cycles, continuous data processing, and increasingly complex integration layers. Most enterprise AI growth is happening without equivalent attention to energy efficiency, architectural waste, or long-term infrastructure viability.

This creates a contradiction that's easy to miss in the short term: businesses investing in intelligent futures while building increasingly inefficient digital backbones beneath them. Sustainable architecture , optimized design, reduced redundancy, responsible infrastructure decisions , isn't just an ESG consideration. It's a question of whether AI transformation remains economically viable over time.

What the next generation of AI leaders will need

The leaders who delivered value in the first wave of enterprise AI were rewarded for speed and automation. The leaders succeeding now are being asked to deliver something harder: intelligent ecosystems that people are willing to depend on over the long term.

That dependence can't be manufactured through innovation messaging alone. It has to be earned through design decisions users can actually feel , systems they can trust, interfaces they can use, and governance structures they can see.

Organizations still treating AI as a pure technology deployment challenge are building faster systems. The ones treating it as a trust design challenge are building something more durable: digital relationships that hold under pressure.

That is, ultimately, what businesses compete on.

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UK organizations are ramping up investment in artificial intelligence (AI).

From automating repetitive tasks and powering chatbots to delivering personalized customer experiences, AI is becoming integral to daily business operations.

However, many leaders are still struggling to see a clear return on their investment and are looking towards AI’s next evolution – agentic AI – with trepidation.

This next iteration will see systems operating with a high degree of autonomy – making independent decisions and taking actions with minimal or no human intervention.

However, if enterprises focus exclusively on what’s next, they risk overlooking the essential stepping stone that will make it possible – contextual AI – which underpins whether those autonomous systems can actually work in practice.

Context-aware AI provides the foundation on which agentic AI will be built. While large language models (LLMs) and generative AI have driven the current wave of innovation and automation, contextual AI is emerging as the key differentiator between success and failure of AI implementation.

Correlation vs contextualization

Currently, many AI systems operate primarily on correlation. They identify patterns and statistical relationships with data but often lack a deeper understanding of what those patterns actually mean. Contextual AI takes this a step further by interpreting data within a real-world context, considering factors like user intent, environment and specific timing.

By embedding diverse data within context, AI can move beyond identifying correlations and begin to understand meaning. This leads to insights and outputs which are more accurate, more relevant and better aligned with the actual situation at hand to inform an actionable approach.

For example, an airline using a correlation-based AI model might detect rising system load during peak travel periods and recommend increasing server capacity. While this may help address immediate demand, it doesn’t take into account the broader ecosystem in which airline operating systems function, with factors like regulatory requirements, flight-planning cut-off times, cybersecurity needs and the significant financial impact of even brief downtime.

Contextual AI can interpret these operational realities and make recommendations that reflect real-world constraints and goals. Rather than simply suggesting additional capacity, it can make recommendations like rerouting traffic around known bottlenecks, scheduling updates during ultra-low-risk windows or prioritizing critical functions like dispatch and crew allocation when resources are strained.

The move to contextual AI enables organizations to move from reactive analytics to proactive, high-quality decision making, helping ensure mission-critical operating systems remain stable and available, even when under pressure.

The importance of high-quality data

Contextual AI relies on four key pillars: rich data, intelligent reasoning, real-world awareness and actionable integration. Underpinning each one of these pillars is high-quality data. Without reliable, comprehensive data, contextual AI cannot deliver meaningful outcomes and many enterprises’ attempts to implement more advanced AI systems will likely fall short.

This is why a strong, singular data lakehouse is crucial. Acting as a single source of truth for all AI operations, a lakehouse ensures that data remains accurate, consistent and accessible across the organization.

Unlike traditional data architectures, a lakehouse combines the best of bold worlds. Businesses can benefit from the performance and reliability of data warehouses, which provide fast, scalable analytics, and the flexibility of data lakes, which can store vast amounts of structured and unstructured data. This hybrid model enables organizations to manage data more efficiently, conduct advanced analytics and scale machine learning operations in a cost-effective way.

The availability of high-quality data remains one of the biggest barriers to the adoption of agentic AI. By establishing a robust data foundation, enterprises can unlock the benefits of contextual AI, while also developing the necessary high-quality data for deploying agentic AI. This ensures AI can act reliably, intelligently and in alignment with real-world business goals.

Creating the right foundation

As organizations race to demonstrate AI’s ROI, many are rushing toward agentic AI without first laying the right foundations. Without contextual AI and the high-quality data it is built on, agentic AI efforts are unlikely to ever reach their full potential.

Organizations should therefore focus efforts on understanding the value of contextual AI over correlation-based models and ensuring they have the infrastructure required to support it. At the same time, businesses must also ensure all data flows through a single, trusted data lakehouse. Acting as the definitive source of truth, this foundation enables accurate, secure and actionable AI insights while preparing organizations for more advanced autonomous systems.

Ultimately, success with AI will not come from chasing the latest hype cycle, but from building systems that truly understand the context in which they operate. Contextual AI bridges the gap between raw data and meaningful action, providing a critical foundation for the intelligent, autonomous systems businesses aspire to deploy.

By investing in contextual AI today, organizations can improve outcomes in the short term, while laying the groundwork for a future shaped by autonomous systems and rapidly evolving real-world demands.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today.

The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit

For years, residential solar power in the UK has focused primarily on larger installations, comprising photovoltaic (PV) panels on the roof and an inverter for converting DC (direct current) power into AC (alternating current) for use in the home. Indeed, according to government data, the UK now has approximately 1.7 million residential rooftop installations with 2025 the strongest year on record with around 269,000 installations completed.

It’s remarkable progress. Yet for many in the UK, this type of installation remains out of reach for several reasons, including cost, or lack of roof access if they live in a block of flats. If they’re renting, their landlord/landlady might not allow them to install solar panels permanently on the roof.

That’s all set to change with new government legislation. Under Statutory Instrument 2026/848, which formally comes into force on August 27, 2026, legal and regulatory hurdles that previously blocked self-installed, ‘plug-in’ solar systems are set to be cleared.

By officially creating a legal category for what are officially called 'plug-in microgenerators', this landmark legislation allows standard UK BS 1363 three-pin plugs to be approved for feeding electricity into a home socket. As a result, for the first time, millions of people living in flats with balconies will have a viable, low-cost option to generate their own clean electricity.

Plug-in solar panels are already mainstream in much of continental Europe (Image credit: Getty Images / Westend61)Looking to Europe: the rise of Balkonkraftwerk

Of course, while plug-in solar is new to the UK, it is already well-established across the rest of Europe. In Germany, for example, where these installations are known as Balkonkraftwerk (or balcony power plants), there are officially 1.2 million registered balcony installations — though the actual figure is probably nearer 1.5 million when you take into account unofficial installations.

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Balcony installations are proving particularly popular with renters – those who were historically excluded from rooftop solar power until reform to German tenancy law in 2024 gave them the explicit right to install balcony panels without needing landlord approval. As a result, reports German news site Denkstrom, waiting lists emerged in big cities such as Munich and Berlin for equipment in the months following the reform.

Nor is Germany the only European country to have embraced balcony installations. In Spain, where two thirds of people live in apartments, balcony solar power is also taking off, saving up to 30% on a household’s typical electricity bill. “The beauty of the solar balconies is they are flexible, cheap and plug straight into the domestic network via a converter, so you don’t have to pay for the installation,” Santiago Vernetta, CEO of Tornasol Energy, one of Spain’s main suppliers, told The Guardian.

Gaining UK industry support

Whether balcony solar power technology proves as popular in the UK as other European countries remains to be seen. However, with millions of flats across the UK, including an estimated 380,000 homes in England with a balcony, plug-in solar power certainly has the potential to expand renewable generation beyond rooftop installations.

Driving the rollout of plug-in solar within the UK government is Martin McCluskey, Minister for Energy Consumers within the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). In June he met up with high street retailers and supermarkets including B&Q, Currys, Amazon, Lidl, Asda, Screwfix and Wickes to prepare market-compliant kits for the official August launch. "We’re delighted to be working with DESNZ to bring plug-in solar panels to the UK market. With energy bills continuing to rise, enabling the safe roll-out of these products will mark an important step for consumers across the UK,” said Michelle Gorringe-Smith, Director of New Categories at Currys in a recent press statement.

Every solar panel, heat pump and battery cuts bills

Greg Jackson, Octopus Energy

“This is a fantastic opportunity to make renewable energy more accessible to people around the UK," Added John Boumphrey, Amazon’s UK and Ireland Country Manager. "Amazon is the largest corporate buyer of carbon-free energy in the UK.. Enabling households to generate their own power with self-install plug-in solar panels is a practical step that supports household budgets and delivering against net zero goals.”

Major energy providers have also welcomed the regulatory change. Chris Norbury, Chief Executive of E.ON UK, describes the removal of regulatory red tape as an “encouraging step toward giving consumers more control over their energy use”.

Similarly, Greg Jackson, Founder and CEO of Octopus Energy said in a UK government statement: “Every solar panel, heat pump and battery cuts bills and boosts Britain’s energy independence.” Furthermore, these industry perspectives align with the wider objectives set out in the UK Government's Solar Roadmap, which details plans to expand solar capacity across domestic, commercial and ground-mount sectors to meet national clean power targets.

Payback time

Under the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero's (DESNZ) interim product specification, compliant solar power consumer kits must meet very strict criteria. This includes a microinverter (which converts direct current electricity into alternating current electricity) which can’t feed more than 800 VA (Volt-Amperes), roughly 800W, into the home at any one time.

Three to five years is a realistic payback period for many sensibly priced, well-positioned systems

Ben Bowyer, PluginSolarCalculator.com

Systems must connect via a standard BS 1363 three-pin UK socket using a manufacturer-supplied, non-rewireable moulded plug with a fuse rated at no more than 5A. Typically, most kits will comprise two 400W panels, each measuring around 1.7m x 1m in size and weighing around 20Kg. However, the regulations allow up to four panels with a combined rating of 2,000W. The inverter still limits the output to around 800W, but the extra panels can help the system generate more power during weaker sunlight.

While working out exactly how long it will take to get a return on a solar panel investment is far from an exact science, most of the commentators I spoke to for this article thought it would take under five years for a system costing between £300 and £600.

“Our modelling suggests that three to five years is a realistic payback period for many sensibly priced, well-positioned systems,” Ben Bowyer, creator of PluginSolarCalculator.com told TechRadar. “The government’s own estimate is around £70 to £110 a year in savings, but I think that’s actually quite cautious. Our figures suggest many suitable 800W installations could save closer to £95 to £155 a year,” he added.

Andreas Pierrie, founder of bespoke solar installation price comparison site Go Solar Today, was even more optimistic about ROI when asked. “For someone with a south facing balcony, you're looking at a payback of roughly two to three years, which is genuinely good for a solar product,” he asserted.

The experts we asked suggested that your plug-in solar panel could pay for itself in two to three years (Image credit: Getty Images / imageBROKER / Robert Poorten)Lack of battery storage

However, it’s not all good news. While the new legislation will help consumers save some money by turning their systems into ‘plug-in microgenerators’, one key limitation is that batteries are excluded from the initial plug-in framework. Instead, the product specification covers generation-only systems and does not permit integrated battery storage.

The government likely adopted this cautious approach to prioritize safety, as lithium batteries store chemical energy and require strict compliance to prevent hazards such as thermal runaway. Including battery storage would also inevitably have slowed down the roll out of the initial phase of the technology. Go Solar Today’s Andreas Pierrie explains the reasoning behind the phased rollout by noting that the UK is simply following the German approach.

“The UK is copying the German playbook by starting narrow, getting the simple version working and trusted, then widening the rules over time,” he said. “Walking before you run is reasonable when you're opening up self-generation to millions of homes for the first time... The instinct to be careful with batteries is completely understandable.”

How long the lack of battery storage in the solar panel specifications will last is open to debate. Just a few weeks before the final specification was revealed, Octopus Energy announced the Nook Cube — a 2KW battery that plugs into a standard socket - which perhaps indicates a future opening up of the legislation to include battery storage.

Exporting energy for free?

For now at least, one of the main limitations is that any solar energy generated during the day that isn't used immediately by household appliances flows back out into the local grid. Because these small microgenerators do not automatically qualify for the Smart Export Guarantee at launch (unlike solar-powered rooftop installations), this means you are potentially exporting daytime energy to utility companies for free.

“That battery storage can’t form part of a compliant plug-in solar system during this first stage of the rollout is probably my biggest disappointment with the rules announced by the government so far,” admits PluginSolarCalculator’s Ben Bowyer. “A battery would let households store spare solar power generated during the day and use it later in the evening, when electricity use is often higher."

The biggest limitation is the lack of integrated battery storage, meaning any electricity you don't use immediately is typically exported rather than stored for later

Robin Edwards, Curetons

"The biggest limitation is the lack of integrated battery storage, meaning any electricity you don't use immediately is typically exported rather than stored for later," adds Robin Edwards, Property Buying Agent at property-finding company Curetons. "That reduces the financial benefit significantly, particularly for people who are out at work during the day when panels generate the most power.”

However, while disappointed by the lack of battery storage, PlugIn Solar Calculator’s Ben Bowyer admits people often underestimate how much power their home uses even when nobody is actively switching anything on. “Fridges, freezers, routers, and standby devices, create a constant background demand known as the household baseload that a well-positioned plug-in solar system can frequently cover during brighter parts of the day.”

To maximize savings without a battery, consumers can shift flexible energy use, such as running washing machines or dishwashers in daytime hours when the sun is shining.

Simon Turek, Chief Executive of graphene nanomaterials company Haydale, also explained how households can pair plug-in solar with heating solutions. “By moving to efficient forms of electric heating, it’s possible to achieve savings within your overall energy cost, because generation during the day could be used for heating purposes in winter months,” he told TechRadar.

If in doubt, it's best to enlist professional help to install plug-in solar panels (Image credit: Getty Images / Westend61)Cladding exclusion

Unfortunately, lack of battery storage isn’t the only limitation of the new legislation. Before purchasing a plug-in solar kit, consumers must consider several practical and regulatory rules. For example, users cannot mix and match panels, cables and inverters from different suppliers. Systems must be purchased as complete tested, manufacturer-certified packages listed on the Energy Networks Association Type Test Register. This requirement ensures that all connected hardware meets rigorous domestic electrical standards.

Balcony installations still give me the shivers, especially the thought of someone lifting one of these panels over a railing 10 floors above the ground

Ben Bowyer, PluginSolarCalculator.com

Kits must also plug directly into a wall socket using the manufacturer-provided cable. The use of extension leads, multi-way block adapters, travel adapters, or plug-in RCDs (Residual Current Drives) is strictly prohibited to avoid electrical overloads. Furthermore, installation is prohibited on timber balconies, timber cladding, aluminium composite cladding, high-pressure laminate cladding, or buildings undergoing fire safety remediation. Understandably, these restrictions are designed to mitigate fire and safety risks across high-density residential properties.

Renters and leaseholders must also obtain permission from their landlord or freeholder before installing panels on shared or exterior structures. Users are also legally required to notify their local Distribution Network Operator via a G98 notification form when connecting a system. This notification process ensures that regional network operators maintain accurate records of micro-generation capacity across local distribution grids. Compliance with these administrative steps is mandatory for all system owners.

Beyond administrative rules, there are also practical considerations around installing heavy solar panels. Because individual panels weigh around 20kg each, experts strongly recommend treating the setup as a two-person job, advising consumers to get professional help if there's any uncertainty regarding structural anchoring, working safely at height, or load-bearing capacity. Makeshift fasteners like cable ties, string, or tape are strictly banned and approved mounting hardware rated for UK wind and snow loads must be used.

As Ben Bowyer candidly admits: "Balcony installations still give me the shivers, especially the thought of someone lifting one of these panels over a railing 10 floors above the ground."

Power to the people

With the cost-of-living crisis showing no signs of ending any time soon, the push to legalise plug-in solar technology is welcome news to millions of flat dwellers and renters wanting to reclaim some control over their mounting utility bills. Importantly, by enabling households to create their own microgenerators by connecting small-scale panels straight into standard wall sockets, the framework provides an accessible route to lower electricity costs. With solar power in place, users could save up to 30% on their electricity bills with typical kits paying for themselves within three to five years

The energy transition is ultimately about people taking control of their own power

Christopher Burd, SPS PowerBuild

.However, the legislation is far from perfect. Because the initial rollout focuses purely on daytime generation without integrated battery storage, users must adapt their daily routines to make the most of the power while the sun is shining. What’s more, by establishing an 800W AC output limit and capping panel capacity at 2,000W, the framework really only covers continuous household baseload demand from refrigeration and standby appliances, rather than being able to power your entire home with solar.

Still, it’s a decent start and it’s likely the legislation will be expanded to include battery storage over time. As Christopher Burd, Managing Director of solar installation company SPS PowerBuild told TechRadar: "The energy transition is ultimately about people taking control of their own power. Enabling households to generate clean electricity directly from their living spaces represents a fundamental shift in how we think about urban resilience and domestic independence." Literally, power to the people.

Smart TVs have long been in controversial waters as far as privacy goes. From claims that your TV is a "privacy nightmare" to accusations of some models being a "mass surveillance system", you probably haven't failed to notice the periodic storms that have erupted around what televisions get up to in terms of data and telemetry. The latest lightning strike that hit last week was a development around LG TVs (and PC monitors) whereby voice features (and a McAfee pop-up ad in Windows) came under fire.

LG has defended its position in no uncertain terms, it should be noted (although the mentioned Windows 11 pop-up has since been retracted). But regardless of the rights or wrongs here, this affair was enough of a reminder to prompt me to finally take action on something I've been meaning to do for quite some time anyway.

Namely, to take my smart TV offline, once and for all. This means I can ensure that I know for certain that my television isn't get up to any online 'shenanigans' with whatever data may (or may not) be getting sent here or there — because it isn't online at all. And I don't need it to be online, either.

Maybe this is something you'd like to do, as well, so if you're thinking of following in my footsteps, I'm going to break down everything for you. That includes whether you actually need to have your smart TV online, and how to go about disconnecting it from the internet while still installing updates for the television manually, should you wish, which is possible in many — but not all — cases.

Do you really need to have your smart TV online?

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

I'd argue that you don't need to have your smart TV online, although that said, answering this question isn't exactly straightforward and there are caveats depending on your personal situation.

Obviously, if you use the TV maker's smart hub for any of your viewing needs, and the apps therein for streaming (or anything else), then clearly, you will need the television to remain online. Although these days, most people use a streaming stick to watch all their content and don't ever go near the smart TV hub, such as the Fire TV Stick (most commonly). It's just a much better way of working. (And yes, I do realize that any such hardware may come with its own privacy-related nuances and issues, but I'm not going to get into all that here – except to say that you'll want to consider Apple TV as an option if privacy is high on your list of priorities for streaming devices).

Assuming your viewing is done via a separate stick or box of some kind, then, the only real reason to keep your TV online is to get updates from the manufacturer. In my case, I have a Sony TV that's now four years old, and at this point, updates have reduced to a trickle – and they're mostly trivial tweaks and the like.

There's nothing I really need, and arguably, firmware updates are as much of a risk as they are a potential benefit at this stage of the TV's life. I like the way my Sony runs now, the picture is great, and everything's good – and who's to say an update might not throw a spanner in the works and break something? These things happen, even if it's something as simple as resetting my TV settings, which isn't fatal, but is annoying (and it has happened before).

Okay, so one thing I won't get that's regarded as vital is security updates and fixes. And I understand why these are thought of as critical, but hey, guess what: I'm taking my TV fully offline, so I won't need them. (There's no greater assurance of security than ditching online connectivity, anyway).

Granted, there are other online features I'll lose too – voice command functionality with the TV, for example, but it's all minor stuff in the great scheme of things, and none of it matters to me personally (I use my streaming stick's voice search, anyway).

If you have an older smart TV, you're likely in a similar boat to me, although if you have a newer model, then maybe your television is still receiving firmware updates which are important, with fixes or new features you actually want.

In that case, you may still want to jump online to download and install those upgrades, but you only need to hop on temporarily to do so (maybe once every few months).

However, there is another way to get updates for your smart TV while keeping it offline permanently. Admittedly, it's a bit of a hassle compared to a seamless update within the TV's interface itself, but it does avoid going online at all, while still ensuring your smart TV is kept fully up-to-date. So, let's look at how to do that — but first, it's worth quickly touching on how to take your TV off the internet in case you're in any doubt.

How to take your TV offline

(Image credit: Future)

If your TV is online and you wish to revoke that internet access, it's a simple matter of turning off the Wi-Fi in the television's settings. (Assuming you're connected via Wi-Fi to your home router, of course — if you have an Ethernet connection, it's just a case of unplugging that cable from the TV).

You'll find the wireless network options somewhere in your TV's settings menu, generally under a category called 'network' or 'internet'. Head here and there'll likely be a slider or some kind of choice to turn off the Wi-Fi, and it should be as easy as flicking that switch. Of course, the method may vary slightly from TV to TV, as ever (consult your instruction manual if you get stuck).

You'll also see your home Wi-Fi network listed under available networks (or similar), and you can generally go into that option and select the choice to 'forget' the network (remove it permanently from the TV's memory). It's probably worth exercising that option as the safest way of fully disconnecting your television (although it does mean that if you want to add the wireless network again in the future, you'll have to re-enter the password).

How to install a firmware update with your smart TV offline by using a USB stick

(Image credit: Future)

The way you install an update with the TV offline is to do so via a USB stick. This means using another device that's online (your PC or laptop) to download the TV firmware update you want, then you copy it onto the USB stick, and plug that into your TV, piping the update through locally from there.

How this works may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, as you might expect, but it's broadly the same. Follow the general instructions below, but bear in mind that you may have to adapt them slightly based on exactly which firm makes your TV.

1. Find out your exact TV model

First things first: you should note down the exact model name of your TV. You'll find this on the invoice (from when you bought it), or on the back of the TV set itself, or it'll often be in the settings in the TV menu (generally under Settings > System > About, or similar – or find it via the Help button on your TV remote, under system information or the like).

When I say full name, you'll need that to search for the correct firmware and ensure you download the right file. You can't just search for 'Sony Bravia 55-inch TV', you'll need the exact model with the full complement of letters and numbers, such as 'Sony K55XR80PU' which I'll use here as an example.

(Image credit: Sony)

2. Download the latest firmware from your TV manufacturer's website

On your PC, run a Google search (or your preferred search engine) for the model name and firmware, so in our example here, we'll search for 'Sony K55XR80PU firmware'. You should get a link that takes you directly to the support web page where the manufacturer provides the relevant firmware download.

At that page, you may find the model name is truncated — it's the Sony K-55XR80 in this case, as the 'PU' bit at the end is regional model info relating to the UK. (Note that you can search directly for the firmware on the manufacturer's support site, but due to variations in the model names as observed, the site might fail to find it, so it's generally best to try Google first).

When you reach the support page for the relevant TV model, you should see the latest firmware update listed with its release date and notes about what it does. It may be referred to as 'firmware' or a 'software update', and in some cases, it might come with instructions. (Samsung calls its firmware downloads 'upgrade file USB type', for example — catchy, huh? — and LG includes a PDF guide with some downloads).

Click on the file to download it to your PC (and the instructions, too, if present).

(Image credit: Sony)

3. Put the update files on a USB stick

Once downloaded, you need to put the firmware files onto the USB stick, so insert that USB drive into your PC, and copy them across. Exactly what you do here may vary slightly — and if you have instructions from the manufacturer you can, of course, follow these — but let's continue with our Sony example to give you an idea of what's involved.

With the Sony K-55XR80 firmware update, what's downloaded to the computer is a ZIP (compressed archive) containing three files. Extract those three files to a temporary folder on your system drive, then copy them over to the root drive of the USB stick (meaning just copy it straight onto the stick — don't put it into a folder). Note that the USB stick doesn't have to be empty, it can have other files on it (the TV will ignore them and pick up what it needs — although you will need enough room for the firmware update files to fit on the USB drive, naturally).

(Image credit: Future)

4. Insert that USB drive into a free port on your TV

Turn on the TV and plug the stick into an available USB port, and the television should detect the update, and start the installation process. (Sony suggests not having any other USB devices connected, by the way, and also rebooting your TV first, but the latter isn't really necessary — you can just turn it off, then on again, assuming it isn't off in the first place).

Slight variations with different TVs

(Image credit: Future)

Depending on your TV, you may have to proceed a bit differently — as noted, you can follow the instructions provided by your manufacturer on the firmware download page (or the downloaded installation guide, if you get one).

For example, with LG TVs, you need to put the update files in a correctly named folder on the USB stick as detailed in the provided PDF guide (and not the root of the USB stick, as with a Sony TV). Samsung TVs require the files to go in the root of the USB stick — not in a folder — like Sony, although with a Samsung model, the update may not kick off automatically when you plug in the USB drive, and you might need to trigger it manually. (Go to Settings > All Settings > Support > Software Update in the Samsung TV's menu, then select 'Update Now').

But broadly, whatever your TV, the idea is the same: download the update files (or file), put them on the USB stick, then plug the stick into a free USB port on your TV, where the update should be automatically detected and installed. The main differences will likely lie in the number of files you may have to download, and whether or not they need to go in a folder on the USB stick. At any rate, be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully.

Done and dusted

(Image credit: iStock)

As ever, once a firmware update has begun, don't ever turn off the TV, unplug it (or remove the USB drive), or otherwise interfere with the process, as that runs the risk of seriously messing up your precious television. Sit tight and watch the update run its course, with the TV rebooting itself automatically at some point – and then you're done and dusted.

In many cases, then, there's no need to connect your smart TV to the internet ever, even to get firmware updates. Although don't forget that you'll need to manually keep tabs on when the latest updates emerge, regularly checking the manufacturer's website, as your TV won't flag update availability for you if it isn't online.

There's a final caveat to remember here, namely that some TV manufacturers may not provide updates for download and manual installation with certain models. In that case, you're rather stuck, and indeed Panasonic is notable in this respect, because this TV maker has ditched manual updates entirely for its newer models, with firmware only available via a direct download on the TV. However, even in these scenarios, you can still keep the TV off the internet most of the time, periodically venturing online just to grab the latest firmware (should you want to).

• 31.7% of surveyed employees admit to scrolling on their phones during meetings
• Distraction habits are taking over the workplace, with potentially devastating consequences for long-term employment prospects
• Directors are over 4 times more likely to arrive late for a meeting than an entry-level employee

Scrolling through your phone is now considered preferable to engaging in discussion in meetings, with almost a third (31.7%) of employees admitting to looking at their phone instead of the daily PowerPoint, new research has claimed.

Digital distractions in the workplace are costing employees of all ages opportunities to progress, while Gen Z employees are struggling with time management. The findings of a Careerminds UK survey of 600 UK employees highlight meetings, emails, and notifications delivering distraction from the focused task, with completion or attention to personal tasks while at work by 37.2% of respondents.

Time management challenges are affecting employees across the workplace, with Gen Z particularly singled out as struggling to get organized and engage.

“Career-damaging habits”

The survey found chronic laziness, ignored messages, and phone scrolling in meetings among the bad habits, with 44.2% of respondents admitting to indulging in 3 or more “career-damaging habits” every month.

Meanwhile, the threat of “quiet habits” can potentially have the biggest impact on any chance of progression with your current employer.

If you’re prone to avoidance behavior such as staying silent in meetings (31%), venting about a line manager to a colleague (19.2%), or saying yes to a task you cannot complete (5.7%) then you also need to look at ways to break the habits that are holding you back.

"None of these behaviours is likely to derail a career on its own, but together they influence how reliable, engaged and ready for greater responsibility you appear to the people making decisions about promotions and pay rises," noted Amanda Augustine, a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC) and resident careers expert at Careerminds UK.

"The encouraging news is that these aren't fixed personality traits; rather, they're everyday habits that can be identified, addressed and improved upon with consistent effort.”

Gen Z: struggling with time management

Perhaps the most concerning data emerging from the survey, however, involves Gen Z. Careerminds UK found found that over a quarter (26.7%) of employees in the 18-29 age group arrived late to meetings in the previous month, far more than the 3.3% rate in the over 55s group. Additionally, the younger cohort is more likely to “pull a sickie” (26.7% versus 12.2%) for extra time off.

However, there is perhaps an opportunity for directors to set an example and arrive at meetings on time, with 38.0% more likely to arrive late for meetings, as opposed to 9.2% of entry-level employees.

Advice from Careerminds UK includes becoming more organized at work, putting time aside for dealing with messages, being present, engaged, and communicative, and admitting to challenges to deadlines before they become an issue.

• Verizon signs $1 billion dark fiber data center connectivity deal with Google
• The telecoms company plans to use its fiber assets to connect AI data centers across the US
• Fiber network growth is replacing copper lines and activating previously unused dark fiber lines

Verizon has completed a $1 billion deal with Google to provide data center connectivity using pre-existing dark fiber infrastructure. The move appears to be the first of several arrangements to leverage dark fiber and the desire for AI data centers to collaborate on compute tasks.

CEO Dan Schulman highlighted how copper is being ripped out of central offices to replace the outdated cabling with modern fiber to meet AI demand in workplaces. Verizon previously announced its AI Connect initiative, which aims to support AI infrastructure growth, and the Google deal appears to be the first step in that initiative.

Verizon expects its AI Connect deals to grow over the next decade.

Verizon’s renewed momentum

Verizon has made some strong moves in the past few months, completing the $20 billion purchase of Frontier Communications earlier in 2026, giving it an expanded fiber footprint across 31 states (up from 15), as well as Washington, DC.

Meanwhile, the company has also been experimenting with trials to support smaller AI-driven businesses, such as autonomous robotaxi fleets, where Schulman reported (during an earnings call) the company “sold out capability in 24 hours. So we’re seeing a large demand for that as well.”

Focusing on its existing dark fiber infrastructure, some of which was installed in the 1990s and early 2000s, allows Verizon to focus on deals with Google and other AI companies and reduce capital outlays.

Much of the dark fiber has remained largely untapped for years, ending up within Verizon’s portfolio as the result of acquisitions such as the MCI buyout in 2006.

Is a turnaround on the Verizon?

Verizon has undergone a transformation under Schulman, one that could put it in a strong position against T-Mobile and AT&T.

New Street Research’s David Barden observed that Verizon’s recent moves and Q2 results are “adding incremental pressure on T-Mobile and AT&T to defend share rather than take it. It also may suggest that cable's wireless push and cable's own broadband churn is where the next leg of competitive pressure is coming from.”

Beyond the churn of domestic and commercial mobile and broadband, Verizon’s strategy to support the growth of AI data centers seems to be a strong bet.

With more installations being approved and coming online with almost weekly regularity, the $1 billion Google deal would seem to be the first of many, with Verizon in a position to potentially dominate direct fiber links between AI data centers.

Wasn't streaming entertainment much easier when Netflix first pioneered the idea? It had a host of new and classic content to stream on demand, to any device, at any time. It felt like the future, and in many ways it was.

However, the 2026 streaming experience is much more frustrating. Movies and shows are now siloed across a multitude of platforms, run by the likes of Apple, Amazon, HBO, and Disney, as well as Netflix. The cost of keeping up keeps on rising, and even if you sign up to multiple subscriptions, there's no guarantee of finding everything you want.

I had a bit of an epiphany a few weeks ago, when I realized the number of streaming subscriptions I had was into double figures — and I still couldn't find anything I wanted to watch. The dishes the algorithms were serving up weren't particularly appealing, and I was wasting money on services I wasn't using.

With that in mind, I decided to hit cancel on a few of these streaming apps, and go back to Plex: while it does offer a streaming component, it also lets you stream local media across your devices, so you can put together your own Netflix — without necessarily having to pay for another subscription.

How Plex works

Plex runs on a freemium model (Image credit: Plex / Future)

Open the Plex website today, and the service looks a lot like other FAST (free ad-supported streaming television) services, such as Pluto TV or Tubi. You can tune into plenty of shows and movies for free, but if you look closely there's also a My Media section that you can use to build a library from your own files.

Plex can work with video, but also audio and photos. You set up a Windows or macOS computer as a server where all your media lives, and then the software takes care of streaming it to other laptops, desktops, tablets, consoles, and phones. There's a Plex app for just about every device out there, including Android phones and iPhones.

Streaming content around your home is free, and that's enough for me. If you want to watch something remotely while you're away, that's where the subscriptions come into play. They start at $2.99 / £2.99 / AU$4 a month for a single user streaming content over the internet, and go up from there if you need more features (like offline downloads).

Clearly this means you need to have your movies and TV shows in digital form — which is the case with me after years of buying DVDs and Blu-rays. There is some legal uncertainty around ripping these discs, but personally I've got no qualms about creating backups of movies and shows that I've paid good money for, so that I can watch them on my own on more devices more easily.

Getting back into Plex

Sometimes the old shows are the best (Image credit: Plex / Future)

I was a serious Plex user years ago, but haven't opened the app for quite some time: so I was faced with having to find my old media library again, remember my Plex username and password, and get everything set up properly as it was before. Thankfully, my movie and show files were still lurking on my main PC, ready to be used.

Google Password Manager remembered my Plex login details, so it was then a case of downloading the Windows server client and crossing my fingers. On Windows and macOS, the bulk of the app's operations are handled in a browser tab, and I was left waiting for several minutes before I was met with an authentication error. However, after a quick restart, I was back up and running.

(Image credit: Future)

Understandably, Plex hadn't remembered my media library library settings from my last login (which I think was on an entirely different PC), so I had to point it towards the relevant folders on my system again. However, once this was done, the scanning took less time than I expected, and my films and shows soon popped up, ready to be accessed.

There were plenty of old favorites that I haven't watched in years that I was keen to revisit, all free from adverts and subscription fees, and available to any device in any room — you can simply carry on watching where you left off as you jump between devices. Getting back up and running was thankfully very straightforward indeed.

Plex vs the rest

It's like Netflix — but you can customize everything (Image credit: Plex / Future)

I'm happier now with my more Plex-centric setup, but there are pros and cons to it. You need to have your own media, and buying a DVD or Blu-ray can cost as much as a month of Netflix — so it's not always going to save you money, depending on how much new stuff you want to watch. A lot of shows made for streaming won't be available on physical media either, though some are (including Severance and Stranger Things).

What Plex does protect you against is shows or movies suddenly disappearing from digital stores and streaming services. Once you've bought something, you've got it for good. All the big streaming platforms have a rotating library of content that changes month to month, but that's not something you need to worry about with Plex.

Another big advantage is how much customization you get. Whether you want to change the thumbnails used for library titles, or adjust the threshold beyond which a movie stays in your 'continue watching' row, Plex lets you personalize your viewing experience in a host of ways. It's a library that you've actually got control over.

It's fair to say it's not for everyone, and setting Plex up from scratch takes significantly more time and effort than I put in going back to it — you need to do a lot more in the way of media organizing and tagging when you first get started, to get everything just right. However, having mostly abandoned Plex, I'm now glad to have it back amidst the rising prices and changing catalogs that come with the big streaming apps.

KitchenAid KF3: Two-minute review

The KitchenAid KF3 Fully Automatic Espresso Machine is the middle child of the company’s 2026 release of a trio of compact bean-to-cup coffee machines, sitting below the KitchenAid KF4 and above the KF2. Because of its slim build, it’s a great option for smaller kitchens, but it can easily service a larger household thanks to four customizable user profiles and a solid selection of over 15 coffee-based drink recipes.

It benefits from KitchenAid’s IntelliGrind system — also featuring on the company’s larger machines like the KF8 and KF6 — that automatically determines the best grind size depending on the beans you pour into the top-mounted hopper. During my testing, I found it consistently delivered a well-extracted and tasty espresso.

The KF3’s automatic milk system uses a hose that you need to place into your own container (the KF4 uses a similar system but includes a container), letting you make a variety of drinks including lattes and cappuccinos. Despite not claiming to work with non-dairy milks, I found it delivered a good level of foam when using a barista-style oat milk.

KitchenAid has given the KF3 a couple of iced coffee recipes too. As with the KF4, and other machines I’ve tested such as the Philips LatteGo 4400 Series, you need to put some ice cubes in your glass or cup first, and KitchenAid claims that the machine will brew espresso at a lower temperature. However, when checking the temperature of a regular shot at 'medium' temperature and an iced-espresso shot with a food-grade thermometer, both registered at around 40ºC / 104ºF, meaning the iced espresso was still hot enough to melt the ice, resulting in a lukewarm and diluted drink.

The other slight niggle I have with the KF3 is that it goes through water quite quickly as it performs a rinse cycle on startup and shutdown. I can understand the latter process to clean out the internals, and the rinsing of the milk hose to keep everything hygienic, but the start-up rinse cycle seemed unnecessary. Fortunately the rear-mounted water tank is quite large at 1.8L, but if you have a larger household or you drink a lot of coffee each day, you'll be refilling it regularly.

Overall, however, the KitchenAid KF3 is a fantastic mid-range automatic espresso machine that’s well made, brews delicious drinks and is ultimately easy to maintain. In fact, I'd say that it does more than enough to compete with the best coffee makers.

(Image credit: Future / Max Langridge)KitchenAid KF3: Specifications

Name

KitchenAid KF3 Fully Automatic Espresso Machine

Type

Bean-to-cup

Dimensions (H x W x D)

14.2 x 7.7 x 18.5 inches / 361 x 196 x 470mm

Weight

19.8lbs / 9kg

Water reservoir capacity

1.9 quarts / 1.8 liters

Milk frother

Yes (automatic)

Bars of pressure

15

Noise level

72dB grinding, 60dB brewing

User profiles

4

KitchenAid KF3: Price and availability

• Launched in UK and US April 2026, Australia in July 2026
• List price $999.99 / £749 / AU$1,349

The KitchenAid KF3 Fully Automatic Espresso Machine launched first in the UK and US in April 2026, and eventually made its way to Australia in July 2026. It has a list price of $999.99 / £749 / AU$1,349, meaning it’s one of the company’s more affordable machines, while being classified a mid-range option in the grand scheme of things.

Only the lower-spec KF2 is cheaper at $799.99 / £699 / AU$1,099 if you want an automatic machine, while the Semi Automatic Espresso Machine is cheaper still, although that naturally requires a bit more hands-on involvement.

The top-tier model in this latest series, the KF4 ($1,299.99 / £899 / AU$1,599) offers much of the same functionality as the KF3, albeit with a wider selection of recipes, a bigger touch display and ships with a milk carafe.

The similarly specced Philips LatteGo 4400 Series is also worth considering in this price range, with its list price of $799.99 / £599.99 / AU$1,199.

• Value score: 4 / 5

KitchenAid KF3: Design

• Compact size makes it great for smaller spaces
• Milk system is simple to use and clean
• No dishwasher-safe components

At first glance, the KitchenAid KF3 looks very similar to other models in the company’s lineup, from the KF4 and up to the KF8 (there’s currently no KF5). It’s more compact than the KF6-8, but the same size as the KF4 and KF2, at 14.2 x 7.7 x 18.5 inches / 361 x 196 x 470mm (H x W x D), making it easy to slide onto a kitchen counter. And slide it you can, as there are two small wheels on the bottom at the rear, so you can lift from the front and move it forwards and backwards with ease.

(Image credit: Future / Max Langridge)

Looks-wise, it adopts a similar aesthetic as the rest of its siblings. It’s boxy, with rounded corners, and is available in either Porcelain White or Matte Black. To cut manufacturing costs, KitchenAid has ditched the predominantly metal build of the larger models, replacing it with plastic. It still looks and feels very much a premium product though.

The clearest indicator that lets you know this is the KF3 is the small 2.4-inch / 6cm color display. The KF2 doesn’t have one at all, while the KF4’s color screen is larger and touch enabled. It’s a relatively low-resolution screen compared to the likes of the Philips Café Aromis, but is still bright and clear, and the use of color helps to identify the drink you want to make.

(Image credit: Future / Max Langridge)

The KF3's display is flanked by 10 touch buttons: four that provide quick access to user profiles, drinks menu, rinsing cycles and machine settings; two to initiate and cancel brewing; and four to cycle forward and back through menu options, return and select.

The top-mounted hopper is large enough to accommodate 250g of coffee beans and, as with the other compact machines in the series, it features a removable opaque lid with a silicone seal. This means you can’t easily see the amount of leftover beans (there’s a clear audible indication if it doesn’t have any to grind) but, then again, the beans aren’t exposed to light and air, keeping them fresher for longer.

Future / Max LangridgeFuture / Max LangridgeFuture / Max Langridge

Furthering its benefits for smaller kitchens, the lid is removable rather than hinged means it’s easy to fill the hopper if you have the KF3 positioned under a wall cabinet. There’s also a small chute for pre-ground coffee, and a scoop is included in the box.

The 1.8L water tank slides in and out the rear of the machine and has an integrated handle to make the process simple, although I personally prefer the side-mounted tank on the Philips LatteGo 4400 as it makes refilling a little bit easier. However, the KitchenAid’s tank features a hinged lid, so more often than not I would leave it in place and pour water in from a jug.

KitchenAid supplies a water filter with the KF3 that it says is good for around two months of use. It was initially a little fiddly to install, but the included coffee scoop doubles up as a tool that clips onto the filter, giving you the extra length needed to screw it into place.

The drip tray is deep and extends virtually the full depth of the KF3, and has a large spout at the back for easy emptying. Used coffee grounds are deposited into a removable bin in the center that can be tipped out when full — you'll see a notification on the display when it's time to do so.

(Image credit: Future / Max Langridge)

The KF3’s milk system uses a silicone hose that connects to the side of the dispenser located on the front of the machine. You need to insert one end of the hose into a small socket, while the other end drops into a tall glass or bottle. KitchenAid offers a sealed container with a double-ended hose as an optional extra for $59.99 / £39 / AU$59, which is included with the KF4 by default.

The KF3 features a thorough rinsing cycle for the hose to ensure it’s kept clean, but note that none of the removable parts are dishwasher safe.

Lastly, the height of the coffee dispenser can be adjusted to suit a variety of cup sizes, including large mugs and tumbler glasses. I found I needed to use a little bit of force to move it, but this is a minor niggle.

• Design score 4.5 / 5

KitchenAid KF3: Performance

• Well-extracted espresso time after time
• Good, but not great, milk foaming
• ‘Iced’ drinks still hot
• Four customizable user profiles

The best thing about the KitchenAid KF3 Fully Automatic Espresso Machine is that you can confidently rely on it to deliver an excellent espresso with every use. The IntelliGrind system automatically determines the best grind size depending on your chosen beans to ensure it brews a tasty shot with good crema. I used medium-roast and dark-roast beans during my testing period and I was more than satisfied with the results in each case.

The fact that you don’t have to worry about grind size makes this a fantastic option for coffee novices who aren’t sure how to get the best results. If you're not entirely satisfied, then you'll find a lever hidden behind the side compartment (which provides access to the brewing unit) that you can use to adjust grind size to a finer or coarser level. I ultimately left it at the default setting in the middle.

That being said, the KF3 does give you the option to adjust the strength and body of the espresso. Strength is denoted on a scale of one to three, with the difference being the dose of coffee that’s ground into the brewing head — 7g being the lightest strength and 14g being the strongest.

Future / Max LangridgeFuture / Max LangridgeFuture / Max LangridgeFuture / Max LangridgeFuture / Max Langridge

You can also select light, medium or strong body, which relates to the rate at which water flows during extraction. A strong-bodied coffee, for example, takes the longest, as the water flows through slowly to extract the most amount of flavor.

You’re also able to adjust the volume of coffee delivered for each drink and the water temperature.

Auto Milk is KitchenAid's milk-foaming system and it works well, although I’m of the opinion that a steam wand will always produce superior results. I was, however, pleased to find that it worked well with plant-based milks, despite not having a dedicated option. Coffee machines that cater specifically to plant-based options, such as the KitchenAid KF8, will heat it to a lower temperature compared to dairy for optimal results.

When I made a cafe latte using a barista-style oat milk, I found the KF3 produced a good level of foam with a silky texture, and at a drinkable temperature. I achieved similarly good results with full-fat dairy.

(Image credit: Future / Max Langridge)

There are four user profiles on the KF3 for you and your household to store their own drink preferences. While the KF4 lets you name them, they’re fixed at User Profile 1, 2, 3 and 4 here.

KitchenAid understands that iced drinks are popular, even at home, and has given the KF3 dedicated presets for cold coffees. In theory, the shot the machine dispenses is brewed at a lower temperature, although you do still need to put ice in your cup or glass, but that didn't seem to be the case in reality.

I used a thermometer to measure the temperature of both a regular espresso shot and an iced espresso shot and found them to be similar. The regular shot was around 50ºC when brewed at a medium temperature, while the iced shot was around 45ºC. I conducted this test twice, with the same results both times.

As such, the iced espresso shot was still too hot and melted the cubes in my cup relatively quickly, resulting in a diluted drink. If you like your cold coffees, you'd be better off considering other machines like the De’Longhi Dedica Duo and the Jura J10 that offer proper cold-extracted espresso.

The KF3, like other KitchenAid espresso machines, is QuietMark-certified, indicating it should be whisper-quiet in use. That’s something I can certainly attest to, as I recorded around 70dB while grinding and 60dB when brewing, using the decibelX app on my iPhone and standing next to the machine in a relatively quiet space. That puts it on par with the KF4, although we found the flagship KF8 to be quieter still with an average of 44dB during the entire coffee-making process.

Future / Max LangridgeFuture / Max Langridge

Keeping the KitchenAid KF3 clean is incredibly simple. Not only does it automatically complete a rinse cycle on startup and shutdown (which, as I mentioned does mean the water tank can empty relatively quickly), but it will also prompt you when it’s time to empty the ground container and drip tray. It will also ask you to rinse the milk system after every use. You can skip this process at first, but when you turn the machine off — or it automatically shuts down after a predetermined amount of time — it won’t do so until the hose has been flushed.

There are further and more thorough cleaning procedures within the settings menu for washing the brewing unit with special cleaners, and a couple of tablets are included in the box. You will need to buy descaler and a milk system cleaner separately.

There’s also an option to evaporate all the water from the system entirely, which my colleague Cat Ellis has previously expressed as being a feature she wishes all automatic espresso machines had. This is particularly useful if you know you’re not going to be using the machine for an extended period of time and keep it hygienically dry for the duration.

Future / Max LangridgeFuture / Max LangridgeFuture / Max Langridge

• Performance score: 4 / 5

Should you buy the KitchenAid KF3?KitchenAid KF3 score card

Attribute

Notes

Score

Value

Well-priced considering the features and functionality.

4/5

Design

An attractive design that’s compact enough to suit all kitchens.

4.5/5

Performance

Excellent performance for hot coffee-based drinks, and milk foaming is good. Iced options aren’t quite up to scratch, however.

4/5

Buy it if...

You have a smaller kitchen

The KitchenAid KF3 is compact enough that it should fit into most homes, especially those that are short on space.

You want fuss-free coffee

The KF3 does virtually all of the work for you. All you need to do is select your preferred drink and it will be delivered perfectly each time.

You want value for money

The KitchenAid KF3 is well priced considering its features and the fact it’s from a premium, well-known brand.

Don't buy it if...

You want to really fine tune your coffee

The KF3 has options for adjusting various aspects of a coffee, but if you want to get really hands on, then you’ll need to look elsewhere.

You want authentic cold brew

The KitchenAid KF3’s iced coffee options aren’t as cold as they should be, with brewed espresso being hot enough to quickly melt ice.

KitchenAid KF3: Also consider

If you're not sure whether the KitchenAid KF3 is the right espresso machine for you, here are three other options to keep in mind.

Philips Cafe Aromis

This machine is more expensive than the KF3, but the investment is worth it. It brews delicious espresso, has a more legible screen, can brew proper cold-extracted coffee and foam cold milk, and has a genuinely useful app. It’s not available in Australia, however.

Read our full Philips Cafe Aromis review

Philips LatteGo 4400 Series

I’ve mentioned this Philips machine several times in this review for good reason. It performs similarly to the KF4 and is equally compact. It too falls short where iced coffee is concerned, and there are only two user profiles, but it can often be found at a cheaper price.

Read my full Philips LatteGo 4400 Series review

Ninja Luxe Café

This bean-to-cup espresso machine can not only make hot coffee drinks, but it can even do drip filter coffee and cold brew. It’s super easy to master and is regularly discounted.

Read our full Ninja Luxe Cafe review

KitchenAid KF3: How I tested

I used the KitchenAid KF3 for two weeks, and having already spent time with the KF4, I was well versed with what to expect from the slightly lesser-specced machine. I prepared a wide range of drinks with and without milk, and used two different styles of coffee beans to test the IntelliGrind feature on the KF3.

I used a barista-style oat milk and full-fat dairy milk to test the automatic milk-foaming system, and ran the machine’s recommended cleaning cycles.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed July 2026

• Google Threat Intelligence Group is replacing its inherited Mandiant and TAG identifiers with two-word cryptonyms, starting with several dozen of its most-tracked groups
• The second word encodes attribution or motive, with CASTLE for China, ION for Iran, NEPTUNE for North Korea, RELIC for Russia, and COMET for criminal crews not visibly tied to a particular country
• The scheme standardizes naming inside Google but adds another convention to an industry that agreed on a shared alias mapping only last year

The Russian military intelligence crew that most of the security industry knows as Sandworm has picked up another name - it is Sandworm Relic, at least when Google is doing the talking.

Google Threat Intelligence Group has announced plans to retire the tangle of identifiers it inherited from two separate teams and replacing them with two-word cryptonyms, starting with several dozen of the groups it tracks most closely and continuing on a rolling basis.

Google has recently argued against its old approach of using sequential identifiers like APT1, on the grounds that a number tells a defender nothing about who they are dealing with. It has begun replacing them with a schema it says is more intuitive and makes it easier to determine where an attack comes from and what motivates it.

Rationalizing Google's need to change an already-established order

The mechanics are simple enough. Every tracked actor gets a pair of words. The first is meant to be distinctive and memorable, and where the security community has already settled on a moniker, Google says it will keep it. Where no such term exists, the word is generated at random to remove bias, then checked by analysts before it goes into use.

The second word does the categorizing, sorting clusters by motivation, attribution or activity type. The sample table Google published maps CASTLE to groups tied to the People's Republic of China, ION to Iran, NEPTUNE to North Korea, RELIC to Russia and COMET to financially motivated criminals.

The approach, as CyberScoop points out, closely echoes CrowdStrike's long-running practice of pairing a unique term with an animal keyed to country or motive: PANDA for China, BEAR for Russia, SPIDER for criminals, JACKAL for hacktivists. Google has simply swapped the animals for words like CASTLE and NEPTUNE.

The move is the latest step after Google announced its $5.4 billion acquisition of Mandiant in 2022, which it eventually combined with its in-house Threat Analysis Group to form GTIG.

The merger brought together two tracking systems that had evolved independently for years, meaning the same activity could appear under two different Google labels depending on which team wrote the report.

For now, Russia-linked Sandworm Relic is the only new name to have surfaced publicly, and Google is hardly the first to attempt this.

Microsoft has settled on weather, and countries such as China have publicly disputed the attributions sitting behind those labels. Google's move to "streamline" threat names could still make things simpler if it catches on with the rest of the world.

Alternatively, it could just add to the confusion in an industry where no standards are yet completely agreed upon. Google and Mandiant signed on to a Microsoft and CrowdStrike alias-mapping effort in June 2025, and The Register reported that sources at the time indicated both were keen to adopt the Microsoft-led scheme. Last week's announcement makes no mention of it. However good Google's intentions, defenders are still being handed one more system to learn.

Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Wednesday, July 29 (game #1647).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1648) — hint #1 — VowelsHow many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 5*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1648) — hint #2 — repeated lettersDo any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 0.

Quordle today (game #1648) — hint #3 — uncommon lettersDo the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1648) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1648) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• M

• I

• C

• L

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1648) — the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1648, are…

• MODAL
• IDLER
• CHUMP
• LUMPY

After a long run of easy games I am now on back to back days where I came very close to losing.

Today, I had to take the game very slowly in order to get three words in three guesses and fortunately it paid off with the letter M in MODAL unlocking the final two words.

Daily Sequence today (game #1648) — the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1648, are…

• KAYAK
• NERDY
• STINK
• LOFTY

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1647, Wednesday, 29 July: GAWKY, ALLOY, AUDIT, LATCH
• Quordle #1646, Tuesday, 28 July: SMITE, ROACH, RUDDY, GLOBE
• Quordle #1645, Monday, 27 July: TAFFY, FIGHT, GUILD, WAGER
• Quordle #1644, Sunday, 26 July: STOMP, LIMIT, FUNKY, STEAD
• Quordle #1643, Saturday, 25 July: SALON, SHEEN, BURST, GOURD
• Quordle #1642, Friday, 24 July: DOLLY, EDIFY, LAGER, PRANK
• Quordle #1641, Thursday, 23 July: LADEN, EVICT, WOVEN, SHIRE
• Quordle #1640, Wednesday, 22 July: COYLY, SINGE, AWASH, AWOKE
• Quordle #1639, Tuesday, 21 July: TRUSS, AXIAL, SWINE, THING
• Quordle #1638, Monday, 20 July: ICING, SLICK, GAILY, RISEN
• Quordle #1637, Sunday, 19 July: SPURT, ACRID, THRUM, BLEEP
• Quordle #1636, Saturday, 18 July: KNAVE, TIGHT, BLEAT, CHAOS
• Quordle #1635, Friday, 17 July: CUMIN, PALER, GRASS, INBOX
• Quordle #1634, Thursday, 16 July: IGLOO, PLAIT, YEAST, AROMA
• Quordle #1633, Wednesday, 15 July: PROXY, BRICK, BROTH, SURGE
• Quordle #1632, Tuesday, 14 July: EBONY, AVOID, RODEO, CUTIE
• Quordle #1631, Monday, 13 July: VOICE, BISON, BURNT, BUILT
• Quordle #1630, Sunday, 12 July: STAIN, BINGO, LARVA, DICEY
• Quordle #1629, Saturday, 11 July: WORTH, PRONG, DINGO, DRUID
• Quordle #1628, Friday, 10 July: GREET, STEAK, DUSKY, HAUTE

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Wednesday, July 29 (game #1144).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #1145) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• JUGGLING
• CARNIVAL
• DOT
• FAIR
• BINGO
• RIGHT
• POOL
• NOSE
• MONEY
• GOOD
• BEER PONG
• CELEBRITY
• VIKING
• MARK
• PRINCESS
• JUST

NYT Connections today (game #1145) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: Doing the correct thing
• GREEN: Many spherical objects are involved
• BLUE: Big ship fleets
• PURPLE: Expressions meaning exact

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #1145) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: VIRTUOUS
• GREEN: ACTIVITIES WITH MULTIPLE BALLS
• BLUE: CRUISE LINES
• PURPLE: ON THE __, TO MEAN "PRECISE"

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #1145) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #1145, are…

• YELLOW: VIRTUOUS: FAIR, GOOD, JUST, RIGHT
• GREEN: ACTIVITIES WITH MULTIPLE BALLS: BEER PONG, BINGO, JUGGLING, POOL
• BLUE: CRUISE LINES: CARNIVAL, CELEBRITY, PRINCESS, VIKING
• PURPLE: ON THE __, TO MEAN "PRECISE": DOT, MARK, MONEY, NOSE

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 mistake

Apart from CRUISE LINES, which I saw immediately, this was a game where I sort of knew what the groups were about, but also sort of didn’t.

My mistake came in collecting VIRTUOUS and thinking that this was all about alignment and making something measure up correctly — so I had RIGHT, JUST, GOOD, and NOSE, as in “on the NOSE”, which I never considered could be a group.

Then I collected the four ACTIVITIES WITH MULTIPLE BALLS, but thought they were something about games that happen at parties; not that I have ever been to a party where a game of BINGO broke out.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Wednesday, July 29, 2026, game #1144)

• YELLOW: FASTENERS: NAIL, RIVET, SCREW, STAPLE
• GREEN: NONDESCRIPT: BASIC, MID, PLAIN, VANILLA
• BLUE: UNITS OF WISDOM: GEM, NUGGET, PEARL, WORD
• PURPLE: ____BOARDS IN A CLASSROOM: BLACK, CHALK, CORK, WHITE

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.