consolidation Archives

AppWizard

March 26, 2025

Why Sensor Tower acquired VG Insights and how consolidation of data sources could hurt games market

Sensor Tower acquired Video Game Insights, marking its third M&A move following the acquisitions of Pathmatics in 2021 and data.ai in 2024. The company aims to consolidate its position in gaming analytics, expanding its services to include PC and console market intelligence. The acquisitions were partially financed by Riverwood Capital and involved credit-based financing from Bain Capital Credit. VG Insights, founded in 2020, aims to provide comprehensive analytics tools for indie PC game developers, addressing a gap in the market compared to mobile game analytics.

AppWizard

March 20, 2025

United Videogame Workers union launches with CWA backing

United Videogame Workers has been launched as a new initiative for professionals in the gaming industry, backed by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the American Federation of Musicians (AFM). The union aims to empower marginalized workers, including laid-off employees, contractors, and freelancers. Its mission is to reclaim the contributions of the workforce from higher-ups. Tom Smith, CWA’s senior director of organizing, emphasized that the union's creation is a collective effort by video game workers. CWA president Claude Cummings Jr. noted the significance of the union in helping video game workers build power amid troubling trends of consolidation in the industry, which have led to layoffs and the sidelining of creative workers.

Winsage

March 16, 2025

Microsoft Paint has a new Copilot hub, and it’s now rolling out on Windows 11 for everyone

In January 2025, Microsoft began rolling out Paint's Generative Erase feature, followed by the Image Creator in February. These features have been consolidated under a new "Copilot" hub button in the Paint toolbar, available to all Windows 11 users without needing to join the Insider program. Upon updating Paint, users will find the Image Creator shortcut replaced by the Copilot button, which offers three options: Image Creator, Generative Erase, and Background Removal. A fourth feature, "Cocreator," is available only on devices with NPU-based processors and allows users to turn sketches into polished artwork. The Image Creator enables users to generate images through generative AI by describing the desired artwork and selecting from various artistic styles, including Charcoal, Ink Sketch, Watercolor, Oil Painting, Digital Art, Photorealistic, Anime, and Pixel Art. Users can save or copy the generated images, but a Microsoft account and AI usage credits are required. The Generative Erase feature allows users to remove objects from images by drawing over the area to be erased. The background removal option lets users eliminate backgrounds from images and save the results as transparent PNGs. The introduction of the Copilot menu enhances accessibility to these tools for all Windows 11 users.

Winsage

March 11, 2025

Microsoft’s Remote Desktop app is going away

Microsoft is transitioning from the Remote Desktop app to a new solution called the Windows App, starting in September 2024, to streamline remote connectivity. Support for the Remote Desktop app will end on May 27, 2025, and users are encouraged to migrate to the Windows App to maintain access to services like Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop. Users will need to continue using Remote Desktop Connection until its features are integrated into the Windows App and should utilize RemoteApp and Desktop Connection for Remote Desktop Services until those capabilities are available in the new application.

AppWizard

March 10, 2025

Google follows through with killing off Play Store app sharing; here’s what to use instead

Google has removed the app-sharing feature from the Play Store in the latest version, 45.2.19-31, following an announcement made last December. Users can still share apps using Files by Google as an alternative.

AppWizard

February 12, 2025

Report: Unity makes further layoffs

Unity is planning another round of layoffs, as communicated by CEO Matthew Bromberg via email. The Chief Technology Officer and teams focused on Engine Product and Ads will be affected, although the exact number of layoffs is not specified. The layoffs are attributed to an overwhelming workload on the engine team and the need for restructuring following Unity's merger with Ironsource, which requires consolidating advertising teams into the Runtime business. Unity will provide support to impacted employees, including access to mental health benefits through Lyra.

AppWizard

February 11, 2025

T-Mobile has finally pulled the plug on its legacy app

The T-Mobile app has reached the end of its lifecycle and is now non-functional. T-Mobile removed the app from the Play Store and App Store in November. Users are prompted to update to the new T-Life app, which reflects T-Mobile's strategy to enhance online support for account management. The transition to the T-Life app indicates a shift towards digital solutions, with concerns about potential reductions in physical store locations. Downloading the T-Life app is now essential for managing accounts without visiting a store.

Winsage

February 4, 2025

Microsoft Paint brushes up on AI

Microsoft Paint is receiving an upgrade with a Copilot AI feature, currently available only to Windows Insiders. This feature includes tools such as Image Creator, which generates images from text prompts using OpenAI's DALL-E model, and Cocreator, which combines user doodles with text inputs to create unique artwork. The Generative Erase function allows users to remove objects from images while maintaining the background. Microsoft previously integrated Cocreator and generative fill into Paint in 2023. Additionally, Microsoft is enhancing its AI-powered search capabilities to include cloud storage, enabling users to find OneDrive photos by describing them.

Tech Optimizer

December 10, 2024

Top Database Technologies to Consider in 2025

The landscape of database technologies is transforming due to the rise of Generative AI (GenAI), with modern enterprises requiring unlimited storage, intelligent data consolidation, and real-time querying. The effectiveness of AI systems depends on high-quality data storage that overcomes organizational silos. Key factors in selecting database solutions now include developer experience, serverless architecture, and adaptability to trends like Postgres. Neon has received a million-dollar investment from M12 and aims to simplify launching Postgres databases through its serverless platform, with over four thousand databases created daily. Neon Authorize enhances security with granular access controls using Postgres Row-Level Security. ClickHouse is recognized as a leading live data repository for large enterprises, with clients like Deutsche Bank, eBay, and Spotify. It recently acquired PeerDB to improve change data capture and replication for Postgres, promising speed enhancements of up to 10x. Timescale has extended PostgreSQL for time-series data and analytics, allowing efficient application development while managing costs. It claims to deliver queries that are 1,000 times faster than MongoDB, with virtually limitless scaling through the separation of storage and compute resources. MongoDB has enhanced its integrations with Microsoft Azure to support real-time data analytics and generative AI applications, integrating MongoDB Atlas with Azure OpenAI services and launching MongoDB Enterprise Advanced on the Azure Marketplace for increased flexibility in data development.

AppWizard

November 26, 2024

Google is redesigning its News app to streamline your feed (APK Teardown)

Google is refining its News app user experience with a new home screen layout in version 5.120.0.696279761. The update merges the “For You” and “Headlines” tabs into a single “Home” tab to simplify navigation. Interactive buttons, or chips, have been added to filter news feeds by preferences, including the merged categories and sections like World, Business, and Technology. The “Following” and “Newsstand” tabs remain unchanged. The updated interface is not yet available in the stable version, but a broader rollout may be imminent.