conflict Archives

AppWizard

June 13, 2025

I’m glad Sony PlayStation finally got rid of PC game region locks

Sony has begun to reverse its policy of region-locking PC games, allowing titles such as Helldivers 2, God of War Ragnarök, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 to be purchased in previously restricted regions. This change follows backlash against the region locks implemented over a year ago, which had led to negative reactions from players. While many restrictions have been lifted, seven countries—Belarus, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria, and Vietnam—remain blacklisted.

AppWizard

June 12, 2025

The Alters review

Players navigate a treacherous alien planet in "The Alters," a game by 11 bit studios that combines survival mechanics with a sci-fi narrative. The protagonist, Jan, is the sole survivor of a failed intergalactic mining operation and must repair his base, manage resources, and make strategic decisions to survive. The game introduces a unique element called rapidium, allowing players to create altered versions of Jan with different skills and personalities. Interactions with these Alters and other characters can lead to cooperation or conflict, impacting morale and mission success. Exploration involves gathering resources and managing environmental hazards, with a fast travel system facilitating navigation. The game emphasizes the importance of player choices, creating a deeply personal and immersive experience.

AppWizard

June 8, 2025

Cozy conversational campfire game Fireside Feelings for PC now available

Fireside Feelings, a cozy conversational campfire game developed by Team Empreintes and published by The CoLab, is now available for PC on Steam. The game aims to provide a serene escape from modern life's complexities, encouraging heartfelt conversations among players. Players can customize avatars from six animal options and engage in discussions guided by a sentient campfire named Spark, who poses thought-provoking questions. The game prioritizes player safety by anonymizing responses and using a moderated database for conversations. Players can also avoid sensitive topics by customizing discussion parameters. Additionally, the developers have partnered with Safe In Our World to support mental health awareness, providing resources within the game.

AppWizard

June 7, 2025

Steam Users Can Get 2024 Games for Free Right Now

Two PC titles from 2024 are available for free on Steam for a limited time. One game, "Soulbound," developed by Schmoovin Studios and published by Dink, was released on January 21, 2024, and has an 89% approval rating on Steam. It is categorized as “Playable” on Steam Deck and will be removed from Steam on June 30, 2025. The game is a 2D PvP platformer where players take on the roles of a ninja and a ghost. The second title, "Holy Clash Cards," developed by Mttsus and Randomkey Inc, was released on May 22, 2024, and has a “Mostly Negative” rating. Its compatibility on Steam Deck is marked as “Unknown.” Holy Clash Cards will be available for free until June 9, while Soulbound will be free throughout June.

AppWizard

June 7, 2025

Putin’s WeChat wager Moscow is betting on a super-app strategy to sideline foreign platforms and control digital communications

In late May, a significant amendment was introduced to a draft bill aimed at establishing a government-backed instant messaging platform, endorsed by President Vladimir Putin, which would have unique privileges compared to competitors. The proposed legislation includes features like document certification using electronic signatures and replacing physical identification with the platform's identification, which private enterprises would be required to accept. The platform is intended to function as an alternative to Russia's existing digital government services but will not replace them. The government will select an organization to manage the platform, which may be a private Russian company with over 500,000 users. VK, the company behind Russia's leading social network, is the frontrunner to develop the super-app called "Max," which offers various features and aims to integrate with external services. The Russian government may consider blocking competitors to Max, such as WhatsApp and Telegram, with the latter having a user base of 68 million daily users. President Putin has instructed his cabinet to promote the Russian messaging platform by migrating services from government agencies and financial institutions.

Tech Optimizer

June 4, 2025

Migrate Google Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL to Amazon RDS and Amazon Aurora using pglogical

PostgreSQL is a popular open-source relational database used by enterprise developers and startups, enabling rapid prototyping and supporting mission-critical applications. Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL and Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL-Compatible Edition facilitate easy setup, operation, and scaling of PostgreSQL deployments in the AWS Cloud, automating administrative tasks like software installation, storage management, and backups. The pglogical extension, compatible with PostgreSQL versions 9.4 and higher, allows for asynchronous replication and is supported on RDS for PostgreSQL and Aurora PostgreSQL from version 12. It uses a publisher/subscriber model for logical streaming replication. To migrate a PostgreSQL database from Google Cloud SQL to RDS for PostgreSQL or Aurora PostgreSQL, users must configure the primary database in Cloud SQL, create a PostgreSQL user with replication privileges, enable logical replication parameters, and create the pglogical extension. The RDS instance also requires a special user for replication, enabling logical replication parameters and creating the pglogical extension. Known limitations of pglogical include the inability to replicate primary key changes directly, the need to manually transfer extensions, and the lack of support for materialized views and large objects. Workarounds involve using surrogate keys for primary keys, manually creating extensions, and converting large objects to bytea columns or storing them in Amazon S3. DDL statements are not automatically replicated, but can be queued using the pglogical.replicate_ddl_command function.

AppWizard

May 30, 2025

New Minecraft Server “Marvelous Anarchy” Launches with No Rules

A new Minecraft server called "Marvelous Anarchy" launched in May 2025, accessible via the IP address marvelousanarchy.com. It operates on Minecraft Java Edition version 1.12.2 and allows the use of hacked clients and exploits like item duping. The server has an initial player capacity of 25 and offers a completely unregulated gameplay experience, lacking traditional elements such as land protection and anti-griefing measures. Players can engage in unrestricted exploration, conflict, and resource acquisition, with the environment characterized by volatility and emergent social dynamics. The use of hacked clients is expected, providing players with various advantages. Spawn points are dangerous, and survival requires escaping quickly and finding untouched land. The server offers a fresh start for players to explore and establish themselves before chaos ensues.

AppWizard

May 25, 2025

Helldivers 2 player embraces their inner Lisan al-Gaib, discovering a way to surf on the back of the game’s giant floating Leviathans: ‘I spent longer than I would like to admit setting this up’

Super Earth is under siege from an Illuminate invasion, threatening its democratic ideals. Illuminate thralls and colossal Leviathan creatures pose significant challenges to the Helldivers defending their home. A player named Beautiful-Injury7738 created a video showcasing "Leviathan Surfing," where they used a jetpack to land on a Leviathan while holding a flag of democracy. They managed to stay on the creature for two minutes before being killed by anti-desertion artillery after drifting beyond the combat zone. The video gained attention on Reddit, with comparisons to Dune's Lisan al-Gaib. Another player, Harvey, has been causing chaos by participating in Illuminate raves, leading to property damage. The Helldivers community has also welcomed new NPC SEAF troops.

Winsage

May 22, 2025

Microsoft fires employee who interrupted CEO’s speech to protest AI tech for Israeli military

An employee named Joe Lopez was terminated after protesting during Microsoft's Build developer conference, expressing concerns about the company's technology being used in the Gaza conflict. His disruption led to a series of pro-Palestinian protests at the event, resulting in multiple interruptions of executive talks and Microsoft cutting audio from a livestreamed session. Outside the venue, demonstrators gathered to amplify their message. Microsoft has a history of responding firmly to employee protests related to its operations in Israel and recently acknowledged providing AI services to the Israeli military but stated that there is no evidence of its technologies being used to target civilians. Following his protest, Lopez received a termination letter that he could not open, and an advocacy group claims Microsoft has restricted internal communications regarding terms like “Palestine” and “Gaza.” Microsoft has not commented on the protests during the conference.

Winsage

May 22, 2025

Microsoft fires employee who interrupted CEO’s speech to protest AI…

During Microsoft's annual Build developer conference in Seattle, software engineer Joe Lopez interrupted CEO Satya Nadella's address to protest the company's technology supply to the Israeli military amid the Gaza conflict. Lopez was escorted from the venue after shouting at Nadella. He later sent a mass email to colleagues challenging Microsoft's claims about its Azure cloud platform's use in Gaza. The conference saw multiple interruptions from pro-Palestinian protests, and demonstrators gathered outside. Microsoft acknowledged providing AI services to the Israeli military but stated there was no evidence linking its technologies to harm in Gaza. Lopez reportedly received a termination letter following his protest, and the advocacy group No Azure for Apartheid claimed Microsoft has restricted internal communications related to Palestine and Gaza.