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2024

Is it time for Sony to panic? Astro Bot launched on PC using a PS5 emulator
AppWizard
July 14, 2026

Is it time for Sony to panic? Astro Bot launched on PC using a PS5 emulator

Sony has announced it will cease the production of PlayStation game discs, leading to increased interest in PS5 emulation projects among tech enthusiasts. These projects are in early development stages, with current emulators allowing access only to game menus. A notable breakthrough occurred when a tech enthusiast named RSantila successfully launched the PS5 exclusive title, Astro Bot, on a PC using the SharpEmu emulator. This achievement marks significant progress in PS5 emulation, as it demonstrates that a game scheduled for a 2024 release is operational on a non-console platform. The evolution of emulation technology is highlighted by the success of the shadPS4 emulator, which now runs demanding titles like Bloodborne, and the RPCS3 emulator for PlayStation 3, which has improved to handle resource-intensive games.
Steam Machine compatibility checks are here, though not every game on the store enjoys a rating
AppWizard
July 13, 2026

Steam Machine compatibility checks are here, though not every game on the store enjoys a rating

Steam users can now check a game's compatibility with Steam Machine and SteamOS directly from the store page. This feature was introduced after the Steam Machine's June release. Players can click 'learn more' next to the Steam Deck compatibility rating for an overview of compatibility across Valve's hardware and software. The game Black Myth: Wukong has an 'unknown' compatibility status with the Steam Machine, while it runs successfully on SteamOS. Valve is investigating compatibility for titles like Dragon’s Dogma 2 and Elden Ring Nightreign. Some games, like 007: First Light, can achieve a 'Verified' rating on the Steam Machine. Currently, the Steam store does not allow filtering by Steam Machine or SteamOS compatibility, but this feature is expected soon.
Palworld pulled in almost 900,000 players over the weekend, its second-highest peak ever
AppWizard
July 13, 2026

Palworld pulled in almost 900,000 players over the weekend, its second-highest peak ever

Palworld has transitioned from early access to its 1.0 launch without a price increase, resulting in a peak of 855,525 concurrent players on Steam. The game's all-time peak player count is 2.1 million, surpassing titles like Counter Strike 2 and Dota 2, with only Black Myth: Wukong and PUBG having higher records. Players have requested additional content and improvements, while some have raised concerns about game stability and mechanics. The developers aim to maintain a solid player base following the successful launch.
Microsoft is killing 15 products in 2026, including Windows 11 24H2 and Office 2021
Winsage
July 12, 2026

Microsoft is killing 15 products in 2026, including Windows 11 24H2 and Office 2021

Microsoft will discontinue support for several products in 2026, including: 1. Windows 11 24H2 (Home and Pro) - End of servicing on October 13, 2026. 2. Office 2021 and Office LTSC 2021 - End of support on October 13, 2026. 3. Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 - Final ESU year ending on October 13, 2026. 4. SQL Server 2016 - Extended end of support on July 14, 2026. 5. SharePoint Server 2016 and 2019, Project Server 2016 and 2019 - Support ends on July 14, 2026. 6. Microsoft Publisher - Retired after October 2026. 7. Exchange Server 2016 and 2019, Skype for Business Server - Final ESU cutoff on October 31, 2026. 8. Windows 11 Enterprise and Education 23H2, .NET 8, .NET 9, PowerShell 7.4 - End of servicing on November 10, 2026. 9. Windows 10 2016 LTSB and IoT Enterprise LTSB 2016 - Extended support ends on October 13, 2026. 10. Windows 11 SE - Support ends on October 1, 2026. 11. Dynamics CRM 2016 and older versions - Lost support earlier in January 2026. 12. Microsoft Configuration Manager, version 2409 - End of support on June 6, 2026. 13. Visual Studio 2022 LTSC channels, versions 17.10 and 17.12 - End of support in January and July 2026, respectively. 14. InfoPath 2013, SharePoint Designer 2013 - End of support on July 14, 2026. 15. Azure service retirements - Occurring in late 2026. Organizations are advised to review their software landscape and plan for transitions to avoid disruptions.
Microsoft filing shows total ZeniMax layoffs at 379, with over half coming from Elder Scrolls Online studio that's lost at least 60% of its staff in the past year
AppWizard
July 12, 2026

Microsoft filing shows total ZeniMax layoffs at 379, with over half coming from Elder Scrolls Online studio that’s lost at least 60% of its staff in the past year

ZeniMax Online Studios and ZeniMax Media have undergone significant restructuring, resulting in the layoff of 379 employees—213 from ZeniMax Online and 166 from ZeniMax Media. There is no separate notice for Bethesda Game Studios, suggesting that some layoffs may include Bethesda personnel. The ZeniMax Online Union's membership has declined from 461 to approximately 186 employees, indicating a reduction of about 40% in workforce over a year and a half. Despite The Elder Scrolls Online generating substantial monthly revenue for over a decade, the decision to reduce the workforce raises questions about the strategic direction of ZeniMax Online.
Steam has raked in an estimated $11.1 billion gross revenue so far this year, says market analyst—its 'biggest-ever six months'
AppWizard
July 11, 2026

Steam has raked in an estimated $11.1 billion gross revenue so far this year, says market analyst—its ‘biggest-ever six months’

Steam generated .1 billion in gross revenue in the first half of 2026, a 14.5% increase from the same period in 2025. Since 2017, Steam's annual earnings have risen from .5 billion to an estimated billion in 2025. In 2026, only 21% of Steam's revenue came from games released that year, down from 29% in 2024. The top five new games generating the most income in 2026 are Forza Horizon 6, Resident Evil Requiem, Crimson Desert, Slay the Spire 2, and Subnautica 2.
Windows Central Podcast: Copilot OS leaks and Microsoft Layoffs
Winsage
July 11, 2026

Windows Central Podcast: Copilot OS leaks and Microsoft Layoffs

Microsoft is undergoing significant changes, including layoffs of 4,800 positions primarily in the Xbox division. An internal memo by Asha Sharma revealed 14 layers of middle management within Xbox, raising concerns about leadership effectiveness. The podcast discussed the reasons for the layoffs and management's failure to leverage franchises like Fallout and Minecraft. Additionally, a leak regarding "Project Aion," an experimental web-native operating system for 2024, was mentioned. The hosts also addressed consumer pushback against AI technologies and the associated costs. The anticipated launch of the Surface Laptop 8 and Surface Pro 12 will feature a 24 GB RAM option, while Microsoft has canceled the Surface Go and Surface Laptop Go lines.
Выпуск qBittorrent 5.2.3
TrendTechie
July 10, 2026

Выпуск qBittorrent 5.2.3

qBittorrent 5.2.3 was released on July 7, 2026. It is an open-source torrent client developed using the Qt toolkit, available for Linux, Windows, and macOS under the GPLv2+ license. The project began with version 4.0 in November 2017, followed by versions 5.0 in September 2024, 5.1 in April 2025, and 5.2 in May 2026. Notable features include an integrated search engine, RSS feed subscriptions, remote management, sequential downloading, and advanced settings for torrents. The 5.2.3 update focuses on bug fixes and improvements, including corrections to plugin counting, file renaming issues in Windows, RSS feed intervals, HTML link parsing, peer address input analysis, web seed encoding, torrent tracker conversion, database transaction failures, transfer filter clearing, MIME header encoding, and updated libraries for performance enhancement.
Microsoft's new Windows 11 recovery tool is the ultimate Undo button
Winsage
July 10, 2026

Microsoft’s new Windows 11 recovery tool is the ultimate Undo button

On July 19, 2024, at 12:09 AM EDT, 8.5 million Windows PCs, including devices from half of the Fortune 500 companies and the leading U.S. cybersecurity agency, experienced a catastrophic failure due to the Blue Screen of Death, leading to reboot loops. IT teams had to physically access each machine to resolve the issue by removing a problematic CrowdStrike file. CrowdStrike released an automated remediation tool three days later, on July 22. Microsoft pledged to improve Windows' resilience, introducing Quick Machine Recovery nearly a year later. Microsoft unveiled a new recovery feature called Point-in-time Restore, which allows users to revert their PCs to a previous state when functioning correctly. This feature generates daily snapshots of the entire system using the Volume Shadow Copy Service, retaining the three most recent snapshots and consuming minimal disk space (typically 2% of the system drive). Users can access the restore point through the Windows Recovery Environment after three failed startups, with the restoration process taking 30 to 45 minutes. Point-in-time Restore differs from System Restore, which creates less comprehensive snapshots and preserves document files. Point-in-time Restore is automatically enabled for systems with at least 200 GB drives in retail or OEM editions of Windows Home or Pro, while it must be manually activated for smaller drives. In Windows 11 Enterprise edition, it is disabled by default and may require administrative approval to activate. The feature intelligently manages disk usage, discarding older snapshots as needed, but users must enter a BitLocker recovery key if their system drive is encrypted. Users are warned about the risk of losing unsaved work when applying a restore snapshot, and reversing the operation is not straightforward.
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