challenges Archives

AppWizard

February 22, 2025

How to Get Honeycomb in Minecraft? | Esports News – The Times of India

Honeycomb is sourced from beehives and bee nests in Minecraft and is used in crafting items such as candles, honeycomb blocks, beehives, and waxed copper. Bee nests can be found in various biomes, with the following probabilities: Meadow (100%), Plains and Sunflower Plains (5%), Flower Forest (3%), and Forest and Birch Forest (0.2%). To harvest Honeycomb, players need shears and optionally a campfire to calm the bees. The steps include placing a campfire beneath the nest, waiting for the honey level to reach 5, and then using shears to collect 3 Honeycombs. Players can also craft a beehive using 3 Honeycomb and 6 Wooden Planks or trade with farmer villagers for Honeycomb. Honeycomb can be used to create beehives, candles, waxed copper, and honeycomb blocks.

Tech Optimizer

February 22, 2025

How Mindbody improved query latency and optimized costs using Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL Optimized Reads

Mindbody utilizes a cloud-based platform for the fitness and wellness industry, offering services such as client booking, scheduling, payments, marketing, and analytics. Their email marketing platform is built on an Aurora PostgreSQL cluster, currently at version 13.8, with a size of approximately 17 TB and a workload distribution of 80% reads and 20% writes. Mindbody faced scaling and performance challenges due to architectural limitations and increasing data demands, leading to all workloads being directed to the writer node. The average BufferCacheHitRatio was below 80%, indicating frequent disk access rather than cache hits, contributing to higher query latencies and I/O costs. To address these issues, Mindbody adopted Aurora Optimized Reads, which enhances caching capacity and improves latency and throughput for I/O-intensive workloads. Transitioning required upgrading the database cluster to version 14.9 or higher, and extensive testing was conducted in a proof-of-concept environment. The upgrade process involved a blue/green deployment strategy to minimize production disruption. After implementing Aurora Optimized Reads, Mindbody experienced significant performance improvements, including a 50% reduction in average daily CPU utilization and a 90% reduction in ReadIOPS. The AuroraOptimizedReadsCacheHitRatio indicated that 85% of read requests were served from the optimized cache. Cost analysis revealed a 23% reduction in monthly Aurora costs post-transition, with potential for further savings by downsizing instances.

AppWizard

February 22, 2025

10 Of The Most GPU-Intensive Games On The Market Today

Nvidia's RTX 50 series graphics cards, including the RTX 5090 and 5080, provide significant performance enhancements, capable of handling nearly all current PC games at exceptional frame rates, even at 4K resolution. However, many game developers have not optimized their titles to match this surge in power, leading to performance issues for some gamers. A notable number of gamers still use older GPUs, making it difficult to enjoy GPU-intensive titles. "Alan Wake 2" has demanding hardware requirements, with a minimum recommended graphics card of GTX 1070 or RX 5600 XT, which may struggle on lower-end setups like the GTX 1650. Even high-end cards like the RTX 5090 can struggle to maintain frame rates at maximum settings without DLSS. "Black Myth: Wukong" features a free benchmarking tool on Steam, allowing players to test their system's compatibility. While its requirements are less stringent than "Alan Wake 2," it still poses challenges, as even high-end GPUs like the RTX 5090 may struggle to achieve smooth gameplay at 4K resolution.

AppWizard

February 21, 2025

Amazon Appstore on Android to be discontinued this summer

Amazon will close its Android Appstore on August 20, 2025, ending access for users on Android devices and discontinuing the Amazon Coins program. The Appstore, launched in 2011, struggled to gain a substantial user base despite various innovations. Users will be warned that apps downloaded from the Appstore may stop functioning after the closure, but they can migrate purchased apps to Amazon devices like the Kindle. Amazon has already stopped selling Amazon Coins as of February 20, 2025, and unused balances will be refunded after the closure. Users are advised to disable auto-renewals for subscriptions. The closure reflects the Appstore's failure to resonate with users and diminishing relevance in the market.

AppWizard

February 21, 2025

XCOM’s creator wants to know where XCOM 3 is just as badly as you do: ‘I’m sure there’s an audience for it’

XCOM 2 was released nearly a decade ago, and anticipation for a sequel, XCOM 3, has grown, but its release remains uncertain. Julian Gollop, the creator of the original XCOM, acknowledges that strategy games are still a niche market, which poses challenges for new titles like XCOM 3. He notes the mixed reception of Civilization VII as an example of how established franchises can struggle. Gollop highlights innovation in the indie game scene with titles like Factorio, Tactical Breach Wizards, and The Last Spell. Other games, such as Jagged Alliance 3 and Warhammer 40k: Rogue Trader, incorporate elements reminiscent of XCOM, reflecting its tactical depth and strategic gameplay. The future of XCOM 3 remains uncertain as the strategy gaming landscape evolves.

AppWizard

February 21, 2025

Minecraft sees release of “Dungeons & Dragons: A New Quest” DLC today

Players can immerse themselves in Dungeons & Dragons: A New Quest, where they join heroes Katra and Vaer on a journey to reclaim Vaer’s soul from dark forces. The adventure begins in Candlekeep, where they must find the powerful "Deck of Many Things." Players can choose from four classes: Barbarian, Rogue, Wizard, and Paladin, and customize their stats. The quest explores iconic locations like Candlekeep, Sword Coast, Icewind Dale, and Caer Dineval, featuring formidable foes such as owlbears and Mind Flayers. A complimentary Dragon Mask is also available in the Dressing Room. Dungeons & Dragons: A New Quest is available at the Minecraft Marketplace.

AppWizard

February 21, 2025

From an Aztez god to Minecraft star. Why does Mexico love the axolotl so much?

The axolotl, scientifically known as Ambystoma mexicanum, is a critically endangered amphibian that serves as a symbol of identity and resilience for the native people of Mexico. It is particularly significant in the context of the chinampas, ancient floating gardens in Xochimilco. The axolotl has gained international fame through popular culture, including its inclusion in the video game Minecraft and its depiction on the 50-peso bill by the Central Bank. In Mesoamerican mythology, the axolotl is linked to the god Xólotl and the myth of the Fifth Sun. Biologically, the axolotl can regenerate parts of its heart, spinal cord, and brain, and has dual breathing capabilities through gills and skin. It can live up to 15-20 years in captivity, compared to a few years in the wild due to habitat degradation. The health of the axolotl is closely tied to the condition of its habitat, which faces pollution and urbanization threats. Conservation efforts are essential for both the axolotl and the chinampas, highlighting the importance of community involvement in preserving these cultural and ecological treasures.

AppWizard

February 21, 2025

“If we can do it… This will be something groundbreaking”: PUBG creator Brendan Greene is five years into making a 10,000km “realistic Minecraft” – but there’s still a decade to go

Brendan Greene, known for creating PUBG, is working on a new project called Prologue, which tests innovative terrain generation technology for his larger vision, Project Artemis. Prologue aims to refine machine learning algorithms that can produce over 4 billion unique map configurations. Greene acknowledges past leadership challenges but credits CTO Laurent Gorga for fostering a collaborative development approach. He estimates that achieving Project Artemis could take up to a decade and emphasizes the importance of Prologue's commercial success for securing resources. Greene envisions Project Artemis as a vast, player-driven universe, inspired by games like Minecraft and No Man's Sky, with a world measuring 10,000 square kilometers. He aims to create an environment where players can craft diverse experiences and distances himself from commercial interpretations of the Metaverse, focusing instead on genuine user-generated experiences.

Winsage

February 21, 2025

Windows 11 24H2 RDP hangs on login, RDP session connecting issues reported

Windows 11 has a significant issue affecting Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) sessions during the login phase, potentially linked to the Windows 11 24H2 update or recent security updates KB5050094 and KB5051987. Administrators have reported difficulties in establishing RDP connections since the rollout of the 24H2 update, with issues persisting even when the RDP service is operational and firewall configurations are correct. Users have noted that changing the default RDP port from 3389 may resolve connection issues for some, although this workaround is not universally effective. Additionally, there are reports of RDP sessions hanging during the login process, particularly when reconnecting to previously disconnected sessions. To address the hanging issue, users can modify settings in the Group Policy Editor by enabling the "Select network detection on the server" policy and turning off Connect Time Detect and Continuous Network Detect. A system reboot is not necessary, but executing the gpupdate /force command is recommended. Alternatively, a Windows Registry script can be used to automate the process across multiple devices. As of February 21, Microsoft has not officially acknowledged these network issues, despite their widespread impact on users.

Winsage

February 21, 2025

Bill Gates says Microsoft’s $3 trillion success is a blend of — youthful late-night coding escapades, a premature Harvard departure, and a sprinkle of “laissez-faire treatment” from passers-by

Microsoft has a market capitalization exceeding a trillion dollars and is a key player in the tech industry. Last year, a significant IT outage caused by a faulty kernel driver from CrowdStrike affected approximately 8.5 million Windows devices, resulting in the Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) error. Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, shared insights in his memoir, "Source Code: My Beginnings," about his early passion for coding, which began at age 13. He would sneak out at night to access computers, crediting a local company, Computer Center, for helping him refine his skills. Gates left Harvard after three semesters to pursue Microsoft, a decision prompted by a visit from Paul Allen, who brought news of the Altair 8800 minicomputer kit. Gates reflected that had he stayed at Harvard, he might have missed the opportunity to co-found Microsoft.