Density Archives

AppWizard

May 14, 2025

Minecraft snapshot 25w20a explained: New features and updates – The Times of India

Minecraft snapshot 25w20a introduces the ability to craft saddles using three pieces of leather and one iron ingot. It also features a new music disc titled “Tears,” composed by Amos Roddy, along with five ambient tracks for various biomes. Players can now use shears to remove saddles, horse armor, harnesses, and carpets from animals, but not if the mob has a rider or if the player is crouching. Saddles will no longer be found as loot in structures, replaced by leather. Visual updates include fog effects on 3D HUD elements and reduced fog density during thunderstorms and rain. Additionally, players using Minecraft Realms will see new region indicators on the loading screen.

Winsage

May 13, 2025

Microsoft shows off the cool Windows Start concepts we never got

Microsoft's design team explored various concepts for the Windows 11 Start menu that were not included in the final product. These concepts aimed to enhance user experience by integrating notifications and functionalities from different Windows features. Key principles guiding the designs included easy access to the app library, personal customization, maximizing utility, and maintaining familiar iconography. The team engaged with 300 Windows 11 enthusiasts and used eye-tracking heat maps for feedback. One concept featured a slide-out phone dashboard for users of the Phone Link feature, restructuring recommended apps and documents for creativity and productivity. Another concept resembled earlier Windows versions, offering an expandable list of apps and shortcuts. Some designs expanded the Start menu significantly, while one focused on app visibility and timely information like meeting reminders. None of these designs were implemented in the current version of Windows 11, with some considered cluttered or confusing. Third-party developers like Stardock Software are providing customization options through solutions like Start11.

AppWizard

May 4, 2025

Xbox Game Pass Just Quietly Added The Most Chill Way To Play God In A Classic City Builder

Anno 1800 is a city-building game by Ubisoft set in a Victorian-inspired industrial era, recently launched on Xbox Game Pass. Players colonize resource-rich islands, managing production chains and trade networks while balancing the needs of a growing populace. The console version maintains the depth of the original PC experience with a redesigned user interface that features clean menus and a radial menu system for easier navigation. The game offers a rewarding loop of expansion, optimization, and strategic planning, encouraging immersive gameplay with vibrant visuals and smooth performance. It is designed for players willing to invest time in its complexities, with a campaign mode providing a structured introduction for newcomers.

AppWizard

April 6, 2025

Dishonored and Prey’s director says ‘I could see myself working on Dishonored 3 right now’ but the chances of that happening is in the realms of ‘science fiction’

The original Dishonored is highly regarded by gamers, and Dishonored 2 is considered one of the best games ever made. However, a third installment has not been developed due to Dishonored 2's sales not meeting Bethesda's expectations. Arkane Lyon is currently working on a new title related to the Blade franchise, while Arkane Austin faced closure after Redfall's poor performance. Raphaël Colantonio, a key figure in the Dishonored series, initially preferred to explore new concepts but has become more open to the idea of Dishonored 3 after thirteen years. He mentioned that discussions about the game are still hypothetical and that multiple concepts for Dishonored 3 exist, although there are no concrete plans. After leaving Arkane, Colantonio founded WolfEye Studio and is developing an unnamed first-person action RPG that aims to maintain the immersive qualities of his previous work.

Tech Optimizer

April 2, 2025

Improve PostgreSQL performance using the pgstattuple extension

PostgreSQL is an open-source relational database management system known for its extensibility, which allows developers to enhance its capabilities through various extensions and plugins. The pgstattuple extension provides detailed statistics at the tuple level from PostgreSQL tables and indexes, revealing key metrics such as the number of live tuples, dead tuples, average length of live tuples, total free space, and percentages of free space and dead tuples. These metrics help database administrators identify potential health and performance issues, such as excessive table bloat or index fragmentation. Both Amazon Aurora and Amazon RDS support the pgstattuple extension, which can be activated using the command CREATE EXTENSION pgstattuple;. Functions like pgstattuple(relation) and pgstatindex(index) can be used to analyze physical storage and index statistics. Bloat occurs when unused space is left behind after UPDATE and DELETE operations, and the autovacuum process in PostgreSQL automates the cleanup of dead tuples. However, if autovacuum fails, manual intervention may be necessary. Regular monitoring of bloat is essential for maintaining performance, and metrics from pgstattuple can help optimize autovacuum settings. The pg_cron extension can automate VACUUM operations to manage bloat proactively. Index bloat can also be detected using pgstatindex, and significantly bloated indexes can be rebuilt using REINDEX or pg_repack. Best practices for using pgstattuple include estimating bloat with check_postgres, analyzing physical storage, monitoring dead_tuple_percent, and avoiding interference on highly active tables.

AppWizard

March 26, 2025

Discord unveils brand-new overlay for PC, promises better game support and performance

Discord has released a significant update to its PC client and overlay, featuring a complete overhaul aimed at improving user experience. The overlay has been rebuilt for smoother interactions during gameplay, with a new rendering method that enhances performance and expands compatibility with a wider range of games. The desktop client now offers four themes (Light, Ash, Dark, and Onyx) and three UI density settings, along with resizable server channels and improved voice and video settings. A new widget-based overlay allows for customizable positioning of settings, and an action bar simplifies the management of voice and video controls. The update is being rolled out to PC users, and a restart of the app may be required to access the latest version.

AppWizard

March 25, 2025

Discord revamps overlay and desktop to make PC gaming easier

Discord has released updates for its desktop application to improve the gaming experience for PC players. The new Game Overlay has been redesigned for better performance and now includes individual widgets for easier access to voice and video controls, as well as the ability to view friends' game streams. The update supports a wider range of games and includes a help section for users. Additionally, the desktop interface has been refreshed with new customization options, including four free themes and three UI Density settings. Users can now resize the channel list for better navigation, and there are improved controls for voice and video during calls, along with enhanced visual indicators for active devices. These updates aim to enhance legibility and reduce visual clutter, with ongoing improvements planned throughout the year.

BetaBeacon

March 22, 2025

This overkill Android Game Boy is better than my memories of the real thing

The AYANEO Pocket DMG is a luxury, Game Boy-styled handheld device that offers a classic vertical format for enjoying retro games.

Tech Optimizer

February 20, 2025

EDB Postgres® AI Significantly Outperforms Oracle, SQL Server, MongoDB, and MySQL in New Benchmark Study

EnterpriseDB (EDB) has released findings from a benchmark study by McKnight Consulting Group, showing that EDB Postgres AI outperforms Oracle, SQL Server, MongoDB, and MySQL in various workloads, including transactional, analytical, and AI tasks. Key performance metrics include being 150 times faster than MongoDB in processing JSON data, 4 times faster than MySQL in handling insert operations, and outperforming Oracle by 17% and SQL Server by 30% in processing New Orders Per Minute (NOPM). EDB Postgres AI also offers 7 times better price performance than Oracle and 6 times better than SQL Server. The study highlights the challenges enterprises face with legacy systems consuming 55% of IT budgets, which hampers modernization efforts. EDB Postgres AI aims to address these challenges by streamlining data infrastructure, reducing total cost of ownership, and facilitating AI capabilities in a secure environment.

AppWizard

February 14, 2025

Ubisoft Releases Assassin’s Creed Shadows PC & New-Gen Features Trailer

Ubisoft has announced that Assassin’s Creed Shadows will be released on March 20, 2025, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, set in 16th-century feudal Japan. The game features two protagonists: Yasuke, a historical African samurai, and Naoe, a skilled shinobi. It will not be available on older consoles like PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Key features include uncapped frame rates on PC, multiple performance modes on consoles, ray tracing, AI-driven upscaling techniques, and spatial audio technology. The game is powered by the new Anvil engine, designed exclusively for current-generation hardware, and will run at 60 FPS on consoles. Minimum and recommended system requirements for PC have been specified, and the game requires a constant internet connection for activation and online features. Pre-orders are open with multiple editions available.