donations Archives

AppWizard

January 16, 2026

An 81-year-old grandma has been streaming Minecraft to pay for her grandson’s cancer treatment, and he is now “cancer free”

An 81-year-old grandmother from Arizona, Sue Jacquot, started a YouTube channel called GrammaCrackers to support her grandson Jack, who was diagnosed with sarcoma in 2024 and has undergone over 200 chemotherapy treatments. The channel has nearly 200,000 subscribers, with proceeds directed towards Jack's medical expenses. The family has raised over 0,000 through a GoFundMe campaign for Jack's treatment. Recently, Jack has been declared "cancer free" and is "feeling great."

AppWizard

January 14, 2026

81-year-old grandma’s Minecraft YouTube channel pays for grandson’s cancer treatment

Sue Jacquot, an 81-year-old woman, started a YouTube channel called Gramma Crackers in 2024 to support her grandson Jack Self during his cancer treatment. The channel focuses on her gaming adventures in Minecraft and has attracted over 150,000 followers and 564,000 views on her first video. Each video includes a link to Jack's GoFundMe page, which raised significant funds for his treatment. The gaming community has shown overwhelming support, contributing to the campaign and providing encouragement. Sue's experience highlights the growing trend of elderly individuals engaging in gaming, as seen in other stories like a 92-year-old woman winning a Tekken 8 tournament in December 2025.

Tech Optimizer

December 22, 2025

Biscuit PostgreSQL Extension Accelerates LIKE Queries with Roaring Bitmaps

Biscuit is an open-source project developed by CrystallineCore, available on GitHub, that introduces a specialized index access method for PostgreSQL to enhance query speed for pattern matching in LIKE queries. It addresses limitations of traditional indexing methods like B-tree and GIN indexes, particularly in complex LIKE or ILIKE operations and multi-column searches. Biscuit uses in-memory bitmap structures to reduce query times by precomputing bitmap representations of string patterns, allowing for rapid filtering without scanning entire rows. The project has a vibrant community contributing to its optimization and performance improvements, especially for ARM architectures. Independent tests show that Biscuit can outperform PostgreSQL's pg_trgm by factors of 5-10x on wildcard-heavy workloads. Real-world applications include significant reductions in query latencies for e-commerce and log processing pipelines, with a reported 40% reduction in ETL job times for error pattern detection in server logs. Biscuit faces challenges such as the initial time required to build indexes on large tables and limited compatibility with older PostgreSQL versions, but the maintainers are actively addressing these issues. The design of Biscuit encourages integration with other open-source tools, and community feedback is shaping its future development.

AppWizard

November 18, 2025

Legendary game designer, programmer, Space Invaders champion, and LGBTQ trailblazer Rebecca Heineman has died

Rebecca Heineman, a pioneering figure in the gaming industry, passed away at the age of 62 following a recent cancer diagnosis. She was the first officially recognized U.S. champion of a video game, winning a national Space Invaders tournament in 1980. Over her career, she contributed to 67 games and was known for her programming skills, including porting titles like Wolfenstein 3D and Baldur's Gate. Heineman publicly embraced her identity as a transgender woman and was an advocate for LGBTQ+ inclusion and diversity in technology. She faced an aggressive cancer diagnosis in early 2024, prompting her to seek support through GoFundMe for treatment costs. After her passing, tributes from the gaming community highlighted her contributions to foundational games and her kindness towards others.

AppWizard

November 12, 2025

Your PC backlog is going to grow as Digiphile enters the PC games bundle market

Digiphile is a new digital gaming platform founded by former Humble Bundle professionals, focusing on community engagement and innovative features. It allows users to contribute to monthly game bundles and includes a credit exchange system for trading games. The platform also incorporates a charitable aspect, offering exclusive physical items for donations. Digiphile's inaugural bundle, "The Return of the Immersive Sim," includes titles like System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster and proceeds will support the Arbor Day Foundation. The platform aims to provide competitive pricing and diverse offerings in the digital gaming market.

AppWizard

October 13, 2025

Green Man Gaming’s first bundle has 8 Steam Deck-friendly games worth $210 for just $12

Green Man Gaming has launched a dedicated website for game bundles, starting with the ‘One Special Day’ bundle to support the UK charity SpecialEffect, available from October 1 to 22. The bundle, priced at a modest amount, includes eight games compatible with Valve’s Steam Deck, with RoboCop: Rogue City as the standout title. The games included are RoboCop: Rogue City (Playable), Battle Shapers (Verified), Knights in Tight Spaces (Playable), Old World (Playable), Border Pioneer (Playable), Citizen Sleeper (Playable), Moonscars (Playable), and Model Builder: Complete Edition (Playable). The bundle is valued at 9.92, allowing customers to contribute more to the charity if they wish.

AppWizard

October 5, 2025

It took 14 years for a streamer to walk to the Far Lands in Minecraft, but his long journey is finally over

Players in Minecraft experience "the jitters" when moving far from their starting points, which leads to the Far Lands, an area with bizarre terrain and colossal structures. Kurt J. Mac, known as kurtjmac, began his journey to the Far Lands in March 2011 and reached it on October 4, 2025, streaming his adventure on Twitch under "Far Lands or Bust" while raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for various charities. Upon arrival, he climbed the formations, humorously noted his character's dark appearance, and erected a sign marking his achievement. He continues to explore the Far Lands with his dog, Wolfie, encountering unique creatures and challenges.

AppWizard

October 4, 2025

Ahead of Bloodlines 2, save $950 and immerse yourself in the best the World of Darkness has to offer

The author expresses a deep passion for tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs), particularly Vampire: The Masquerade, which they have been drawn to since playing the original Bloodlines and Bloodhunt. They have created a new character in the game and engaged with its lore through various media while preparing for the release of Bloodlines 2. The physical copies of Vampire: The Masquerade books are expensive, with core rulebooks around £40 and auxiliary guides ranging from £25 to £36.50. A Humble Bundle is currently offering 57 digital books related to Vampire: The Masquerade and its sister titles for £18.54, with a total value of £724.90. This bundle will be available until the end of October. Smaller bundles are also available at lower prices but may lack some essential texts for newcomers.

AppWizard

September 30, 2025

Holy data grab Meet Zosima, Russia’s Orthodox Christian messenger app no one asked for

Zosima, an Orthodox Christian messaging app from Russia, briefly appeared on Google Play in late September before being removed. Officially launching on October 30, the app is designed for believers to connect with local parishes, receive updates about churches, request prayers, and interact with church leaders. Initially conceived as a project for the Yaroslavl region, Zosima's vision expanded to create a nationwide platform. It was intended for a limited trial launch in November 2024 but faced delays, with no official launch occurring by summer 2025. Zosima resurfaced on Google Play in September 2025, although access was restricted after media interest. The app is developed by a team of about 30 people, with Denis Osipov listed as the developer. Promised features include personal and group chats, photo and video sharing, livestreaming, and donation capabilities for churches, but many functionalities are currently unavailable, and testers found the app unfinished. Registration options include email, VK accounts, or the Gosuslugi portal, but the app's privacy policy raises concerns about data collection. Comparisons to Russia's state-backed Max app highlight Zosima's lack of functionality and potential security issues, with some users mocking it in reviews. Agapov insists it is an "Orthodox" messenger, welcoming all faiths, but its future remains uncertain amidst concerns over user privacy and data security.

AppWizard

September 10, 2025

Tor Project Launches Experimental Beta VPN App for Android

The Tor Project has released a VPN app for Android, allowing users to route their internet traffic through the Tor network. This app, labeled as a beta version on the Google Play Store, is intended for feedback and development rather than for critical privacy needs. The app's development started in January 2022 and is open source under the BSD 3-Clause license. It utilizes Arti, a Rust-based implementation of the Tor protocol, and offers features such as IP and location obfuscation, per-app routing, censorship resistance, and support for .onion domains. However, users are cautioned that the app is not production-ready and may leak identifying information, making it unsuitable for sensitive activities. The Tor Project, a nonprofit organization founded in the early 2000s, aims to enhance mobile privacy with this new offering.