We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.Whether you just finished your big spring cleanup or you're waiting until the last minute, a robot vacuum can help you toward your mission of keeping a cleaner home. It can either keep the place tidy after you finish all the hard work, or help you whip your home into shape while you focus on other things. But for maximum results, you're going to need a good one.You can get a cheap robot vacuum that will do a decent job, or spend big bucks on a technological behemoth that can also mop your floors and even automatically clean. Today, during Amazon's Big Spring Sale, one of the best brands, Roborock, has solid sales on a whole range of models, so you can get a reliable robot vac for less. Roborock vacuums discounted during Amazon's Big Spring Sale What's the deal with Roborock, you ask? The brand consistently puts out solid machines. For instance, the S8 Max V Ultra really wowed Lifehacker's Amanda Blum with its easy setup, substantial suction power, and elevated mopping performance, while the S8 Pro Ultra impressed her with its autonomy, Lidar laser-enabled self-direction, and maneuverability. Here are the models on sale right now. roborock Qrevo Master Robot Vacuum and Mop, 10000Pa Suction, FlexiArm Design Side Brush & Mop, Auto Mop Washing & Drying, Self-Emptying & Refilling, Dock Self-Cleaning, Dual Brush, Obstacle Avoidance $799.99 at Amazon $1,599.99 Save $800.00 Get Deal Get Deal $799.99 at Amazon $1,599.99 Save $800.00 roborock S8+ Robot Vacuum and Mop With Self-Empty Dock (Black) $549.98 at Amazon $999.99 Save $450.01 Get Deal Get Deal $549.98 at Amazon $999.99 Save $450.01 Roborock Q8 Max 5,500Pa Robot Vacuum and Mop (Black) $339.99 at Amazon Get Deal Get Deal $339.99 at Amazon Roborock S8 Robot Vacuum and Mop Cleaner $399.99 at Amazon $749.99 Save $350.00 Get Deal Get Deal $399.99 at Amazon $749.99 Save $350.00 Roborock Q8 Max+ Self-Emptying Robot Vacuum and Mop (White) $399.99 at Amazon $819.99 Save $420.00 Get Deal Get Deal $399.99 at Amazon $819.99 Save $420.00 Roborock Q5 Pro+ Self-Emptying Robot Vacuum and Mop (Black) $299.99 at Amazon $699.99 Save $400.00 Get Deal Get Deal $299.99 at Amazon $699.99 Save $400.00 roborock Q7 Max+ Robot Vacuum and Mop with Auto-Empty Dock Pure, Hands-Free Cleaning for up to 7 Weeks, APP-Controlled Mopping, 4200Pa Suction, No-Mop&No-Go Zones, 180mins Runtime, Works with Alexa $359.99 at Amazon $869.99 Save $510.00 Get Deal Get Deal $359.99 at Amazon $869.99 Save $510.00 SEE 4 MORE The Roborock Qrevo Master is great for pet ownersTypically $1,599.99 but marked down to $799.99 for the shopping holiday, the Qrevo Master is a vacuum-and-mop combo with a bunch of interesting features. It comes with "Intelligent Dirt Detection" that enables it to detect and revisit heavily soiled areas, a dock that self-cleans and won't need to be emptied for seven weeks, a FlexiArm Side Brush that gets into edges and corners, 10,000Pa suction, and, interestingly, "real-time video calls and two-way voice interaction with your pets." The Qrevo Master automatically recognizes pets and you can even use its cameras to check on your animals (or whatever you want, really) while you're away. The S8+ is a cheaper option with solid specsIf you don't need 10,000Pa suction. Good for you! You get to save even more money. The S8+ has 6,000Pa suction and its self-cleaning dock needs to be refreshed every 60 days or so, but it's $499.99 instead of $999.99 right now. Per the company, it is, "smart enough to stay out of troubles," as it uses 3D mapping technology to map out your home as it cleans. The Q8 Max is a cheaper options that packs a big punch Try the Q8 Max or S8 if you only want to spend $259.99 (instead of the usual $599.99) or $349.99 (down from $749.99). Both map your house like the more expensive options and feature a DuoRoller brush that's perfect for picking up hair, but they lack a a self-cleaning dock, so you will have to empty it out after it vacuums or mops. The Q8 Max+ and Q5 Pro+ self-clean for lessIf you liked the price points on the Q8Max or S8 but really want that self-cleaning dock, consider the Q8 Max+, which is $399.99 right now (down from $819.99), or the Q5 Pro+, down to $299.99 (from $$699.99). For a few extra dollars, you get the DuoRoller brush, home-mapping, and object avoidance, plus that self-cleaning dock you don't need to touch for seven weeks. The power is lower5,500Pa suction on bothbut that's the biggest tradeoff compared to the more expensive models. The Q7 Max+ is right in the middleFinally, the Q7 Max+ is in the sweet spot in terms of price and function: Normally $869.99, it's $549.99 right now. Though you only get 4,200Pa suction, you don't have to empty the self-cleaning dock for seven weeks, it comes with a 30-level adjustable water flow for mopping, it uses Lidar navigation, and you can set no-mop and no-go zones to make sure it's staying out of those "trouble" spots. Shopping for tech? Lifehacker can help you make the right decision. Browse our tech reviews and head-to-head comparisons for everything from laptops and smartwatches to e-bikes and home gyms. Subscribe to our deals newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox, or browse our best-of lists directly on Amazon, including:The Best Over-Ear HeadphonesThe Best Wireless EarbudsThe Best Adjustable Dumbbell SetsThe Best Projectors

Waymo is continuing to expand its foothold across the US, having recently started offering paid robotaxi services in more parts of the San Francisco Bay Area. Next up are Atlanta and Miami, and now the company has revealed plans to offer its driverless Waymo One service in the nation's capital in 2026.Before that can happen, though, Waymo will need to get approval from regulators. The company says it will "continue to work closely with policymakers to formalize the regulations needed to operate without a human behind the wheel in the District." DC currently requires autonomous vehicles to have a human at the wheel, ready to take control if necessary.Our priority remains ensuring that any company operating in the District such as Waymo does so in a manner that prioritizes safety, aligns with our regulatory framework, and integrates seamlessly into DCs unique transportation ecosystem, German Vigil, a spokesman for the District Department of Transportation, told The Washington Post. He noted that the agency is refining its approach to regulation "based on public input, emerging best practices and lessons learned from other jurisdictions.Waymo has tested its vehicles in DC for several years and it plans to "continue introducing ourselves to DCs communities and emergency responders over the coming months." Per the Post, if and when Waymo One does become available in the District, the robotaxis would not take riders to any of the region's airports, as they wouldn't (at least at the outset) have a permit to cross into Maryland or Virginia.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/waymo-aims-to-offer-paid-robotaxi-rides-in-washington-dc-next-year-161523916.html?src=rss

Discord has begun rolling out a redesigned desktop app that adds more customization to the client. To start, the new app increases the number of free themes to four. Where previously you could choose between two skins light and dark if you weren't a Nitro subscriber, now your options are light, ash, dark and onyx. In short, everyone gets access to more dark themes. Discord has also added three new UI density options default, spacious and compact. These are separate from the app's existing message layout options, so it's another way to tweak the look and feel of the interface.With this redesign, the company is also finally giving users the option to resize the channel list. Discord has also redesigned the controls that appear when you're on a voice or video call. Now, more of the buttons you may want to press during a call will appear in the center bar along the bottom of the screen. At the same time, the mic and camera buttons feature more color, so you have a better indicator if you're muted or your camera is active."All of these updates are meant to enhance legibility, reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed by visual noise, and maintain consistency across desktop and mobile devices," Discord explains.DiscordSeparately, the redesigned app ships with a new overlay that Discord says is faster and won't impact game performance. Taking a page Valve's recent redesign of Steam, Discord has reworked the interface around widgets, meaning you can move around each individual element as you wish. The company has also re-engineered the overlay so that it doesn't "hook" itself into games. As a result, it's less likely to trigger anti-cheat systems like BattleEye. In turn, that means the new overlay is compatible with "a larger portion of the most-played games on Discord." It's even possible to watch a friend's stream directly from the new overlay.The redesigned app and overlay arrive after Discord CEO Jason Citron announced last May the company would refocus on building the best possible communications tool for gamers. In 2020, Discord briefly rebranded itself as a general purpose chat app after many young people turned to the platform to stay in touch with their friends during lockdown."After taking stock of the world now that the pandemic is largely behind us, and learning directly from you about how Discord can be even more useful, we've recognized the need to narrow our focus from broadly being a community-centric chat app to being a place that helps people deepen their friendships around games and shared interests," Citron wrote last year.The update also arrives at what could be a pivotal moment for Discord. According to a recent New York Times report, the company could go public as early as later this year. With 72 percent of Discord users regularly gaming on PC, ensuring those people are taken care of ahead of a potential IPO takes on a sense of urgency.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/discords-redesigned-pc-app-has-multiple-dark-modes-a-new-overlay-and-more-160019822.html?src=rss

OpenAI just launched an incredible free resource that will help you master ChatGPT and Sora.

New 4K TVs with next-gen lighting and some giant screen sizes.

The export restrictions come at a time when tensions between Washington and Beijing have been rising with the Trump administration ratcheting up tariffs against China.

How The Penguins driving plates included footage from driving around in the video game, Gotham Knights. An excerpt from issue #29 of befores & afters magazine.The Penguin features a vast amount of driving scenes, which VFX helped to complete via plate shoots and even a virtual driving solution based on a video game. We really tried to really distinctly say were going from point A to point B, to be clear about the geography, remarks visual effects supervisor Johnny Han. I said, Lets buy the biggest maps we can get. We put on the wall the five boroughs of New York. We knew we were going to shoot somewhere in these five boroughs. This is before we even knew exactly where our shooting locations would be. But we wanted to be ready to know where to shoot paths for our driving plates.Get issue #29 in print at Amazon from your local store:USAUKCanadaGermanyFranceSpainItalyAustraliaJapanSwedenPolandNetherlandsOr grab the digital edition at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/beforesandafters/shop/issue-29-penguin-digital-1313436You can also subscribe to the DIGITAL MAGAZINE tier at Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/c/beforesandaftersThe can-do attitude of the on-set VFX team came into play as a preparation stage before final driving plates would be filmed, as Han explains. Our PA had a production rental car, and all we did was strap an Insta360 camera on top. Then we waited until it was about 5pm in New York, when it got dark in wintertime, and we tried out some routes. Basically we were shooting 360 degree video. Erin Sullivan, our VFX editor, put it all together, and then wed show everyone. She cut it to time with text at the bottom that represented the dialogue to get the pacing right. We would get sign-off from executive producer Craig Zobel and Lauren in terms of tone, neighborhood and speed of car. We even acted out parts of the scenes, like, theres a moment in the script where they would stop at a red light and Oz throws a phone out the window. So, we actually integrated those beats into our driving footage.When it came time to shoot the real plates, PlatePros was enlisted to drive those predetermined paths and shoot with their multi-camera array. The resulting plates were then played back at Carstages Long Island City facility for scenes of actors inside vehicles.Then, in addition to these live-action plates where New York locations stood in for Gotham, some further driving scenes were realized that were virtual. For some scenes, says Han, we needed a bit more of a richer Gotham, something that felt a little bit more like were in the city. It can be too hard sometimes to get plates in Manhattan because its just too crowded. So, we had this idea related to the video game, Gotham Knights.The idea was to take the open world game in the Batman ecosystemwhich, like HBO, fell under the Warner Bros. Discovery group of companiesand collaborate in terms of rendered out driving plates that would again be played at Carstage. We got a PlayStation 5 and took screengrabs of certain moments as we drove along in the open world, explains Han. Then we asked Warner Bros. Games to render out gameplay through these driving paths via nine different cameras, as if they were driving plates. They had never done anything like this, and thus were so excited and eager to contribute.That process involved some reverse-engineering starting with the multi-camera array live-action results from PlatePros, and then replicating the lens values, height of the ground and angles for the game footage. We ran into an interesting problem where, describes Han, there were some non-deterministic aspects of the game, which is typical of game engines. Some of the traffic lights are randomized or people crossing the streets are randomized. Or, FX like steam from pipes, if you played it twice, its never exactly the same. We also had them turn off the lens flares from lamp posts as those were the kinds of things that would happen optically once we shot the actual scenes.One major benefit of the approach was that the plates could be orchestrated into a perfect loop. Since its a game, notes Han, we could link in right to the start of the path, so that you had this endless driving plate. In usual driving plates, this is actually often a problem. You never know when youre going to hit the end of your footage from traditional driving plates. You might be in the middle of an important line but then you see the background switch. That was one nice thing we avoided.The post We asked them to render out gameplay via nine different cameras appeared first on befores & afters.

Wt FX brings the epic Zero Gravity Battle Cave to life in Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, crafting Malenka Village as a fully CG environment. This colossal 55 km-long cave features ten unique terrains sculpted using Gaea, with each section meticulously designed to blend seamlessly with the surrounding environments. The caves intricate landscapes and key landmarks enhance the gravity-defying battle sequence, pushing the boundaries of digital world-building. This breakdown highlights Wt FXs technical expertise in creating immersive and expansive CG environments for the monster showdown.The post Building the Zero Gravity Battle Cave in Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire appeared first on Vfxexpress.

This showreel reveals the intricate user interfaces crafted to visualize the manipulation of bloodlines, genetic tracking, and archival mechanics. With a focus on futuristic design grounded in the Dune universe, Territory Studio blends advanced technology with the mystical lore of the Bene Gesserit. Their detailed and immersive UI elements bring the secretive workings of this powerful sisterhood to life, offering a glimpse into the hidden forces shaping the galaxy.Territory StudioThe post Dune Prophecy: UI Reel by Territory Studio appeared first on Vfxexpress.

An Elon Musk superfan (or a master of satire) has released a music video filmed on the back of a Tesla Cybertruckand its just as wild as you might imagine.Alessandra Basher, a self-described stay-at-home mom with dreams of becoming a stand-up comedian, posted the video on Sunday to her 56,867 followers on X. She explained that she felt compelled to write the song in response to the nonsense hate Musk has received for his role in dismantling federal agencies under the Trump administration.We thank you, Elon Musk. pic.twitter.com/6JwIgyB8Jy Alessandra Basher All in Tesla Humor (@alessandrajokes) March 24, 2025 Singing into a mic stand on the back of a Cybertruck, wearing a cowboy hat and a Dogefather T-shirt emblazoned with Musks face, Basher belts out the lyrics: SpaceX flies / Tesla self-drives / Starlink beams with laser dreams / hes got a master plan for our lives.Interspersed with clips of Musk speaking at Trump rallies, the song also credits the billionaire with eliminating woke pain and ensuring humanitys future by making kids to keep mankind alive. Other lines include: One more kid, one more brand, launching rockets with just one hand.Its hard to believe someone would unironically post a music video titled We Thank You, Elon Musk shot in and on a Cybertruckbut thats exactly the debate raging online. Launching rockets with one hand is either the most subtle, nearly undetectable satire, or an unintentional burn, one Bluesky user noted. I had a real moment of doubt at the line about more kids, more brands or whatever, but Im still thinking its sincere, another user added.After facing backlash from Tesla haters who questioned whether this was a leaked audition video from a woman hoping to bear Elons 53rd child, Basher fired back in a follow-up post: Im not trying to have a baby with Elon, she wrote on X. Im just having fun creating and performing a song to say thanks for what he did and is doing for this country and the world.While Musk himself has yet to respond, the reception on X was notably warmer than on Bluesky. Alessandra, you are a star. That is fantastically good. Superbly done. On point and uplifting. Terrific! one user gushed. Another Musk fan added, I now listen to it every time I drive my CT. Thank you again.