employee Archives

AppWizard

July 2, 2026

Former Call of Duty frontman launches new studio with a ‘Stop Killing Games’-style mission statement: If the game bombs, it goes open source

Robert Bowling, former strategist of the Call of Duty franchise, has co-founded a new studio called //18.bravo after the closure of his previous venture, Midnight Society, in 2025. The studio aims to foster a collaborative environment by aligning leadership compensation with employee success and introducing a royalty program for employees and profit-sharing with external talents. //18.bravo's debut project will not support live service models, focusing instead on creating a sustainable gaming experience with dedicated servers and optimized peer-to-peer architecture. This approach prioritizes longevity over immediate financial success, addressing gamer concerns about game shutdowns.

AppWizard

June 29, 2026

Android 17 ‘sneak peek’ at a foldable gaming mode has my attention—and then some

Mishaal Rahman, an employee at Google, revealed that Android 17 will feature a new foldable gaming mode designed to enhance gameplay on foldable devices. This mode will split the screen, displaying the game on the top half and a customizable virtual gamepad on the lower half, equipped with buttons similar to those on PlayStation or Nintendo controllers. The gaming mode is set to launch with the Android 17 platform release in the coming months. Additionally, Android 17 includes a multitasking tool called "Bubbles" and is currently undergoing testing with QPR1 Beta 5, which addresses various fixes.

AppWizard

June 28, 2026

Quantic Dream’s Star Wars: Eclipse is struggling: ‘We’re understaffed,’ say devs

Quantic Dream employees have raised concerns about staffing and project viability for Star Wars: Eclipse, following significant layoffs of 115 employees after the cancellation of their live-service game, Spellcaster Chronicles. Remaining staff believe these layoffs threaten the game's future and staged a strike during a LucasFilm visit to seek support. Employees are frustrated with management's lack of communication with parent company NetEase regarding project resources. They plan further protests, called the “Summer Strike Fest,” to advocate for additional staff needed to complete the game.

BetaBeacon

June 28, 2026

Foldable gaming mode is coming with Android 17

A new feature called Foldable gaming mode is coming to Android 17. It allows for a customizable virtual controller to appear on the bottom half of a foldable device while the game plays on the top half. The virtual gamepad supports various controller inputs and has customization options such as button size and layout. The feature will become part of AOSP, allowing Android manufacturers to adapt it for their foldable devices.

Winsage

June 26, 2026

Microsoft Stock Clings to 52-Week Low as Cloud Security Boost and Windows 10 Extension Fall Short

Companies are adapting to new challenges and opportunities in a dynamic market characterized by innovation and resilience. Investors are monitoring shifts in consumer behavior due to the acceleration of digital transformation, particularly with the rise of e-commerce and remote work. Businesses are focusing on enhancing customer experiences and optimizing supply chains. Technological advancements include the use of artificial intelligence and data analytics for decision-making and operational efficiency. There is an increasing emphasis on sustainability initiatives aimed at reducing carbon footprints and promoting eco-friendly products. The shift to hybrid work models is changing talent acquisition and employee engagement strategies, fostering flexibility and inclusivity. The ability to pivot and innovate is essential for businesses to thrive in this evolving environment.

Tech Optimizer

June 23, 2026

Meta pauses controversial employee-tracking program after security review

Meta has suspended its employee-tracking program after an internal security review revealed excessive accessibility to sensitive data collected from staff laptops. The program, part of the Model Capability Initiative (MCI), aimed to gather detailed information on employee interactions with work devices, including mouse movements, click locations, keystrokes, and screen content. Concerns arose regarding the privacy and security of the collected data, which included AI prompts, transcriptions, private conversations, and performance-related information. The initiative faced backlash, particularly after an engineer criticized "laptop surveillance," leading to a petition for its termination. The monitoring software was deployed on US workers’ laptops without an opt-out option, capturing comprehensive behavioral datasets. The situation highlighted significant legal and regulatory challenges, as well as the risks associated with managing sensitive data. Access controls, data minimization, and retention policies are critical to mitigate potential breaches.

Tech Optimizer

June 20, 2026

PostgreSQL 18 on Amazon Aurora and Amazon RDS: Performance enhancements

PostgreSQL 18 addresses common performance challenges for users, including managing query performance across composite indexes, diagnosing memory spills in materialized Common Table Expressions (CTEs), and upgrading major versions without plan regressions. Key enhancements include skip scan optimization for multicolumn indexes, improved EXPLAIN functionality, and optimizer statistics that persist through major version upgrades. Skip scan optimization allows PostgreSQL to efficiently utilize multicolumn B-tree indexes even when leading columns are not specified in the WHERE clause, significantly improving query performance. The EXPLAIN command has been enhanced to include buffer statistics by default, providing deeper insights into query execution and resource usage. PostgreSQL 18 also introduces visibility into the storage of materialized nodes in query plans, indicating whether intermediate results were stored in memory or spilled to disk. A new metric, Index Searches, has been added to EXPLAIN ANALYZE output, indicating how many times the database traversed the index tree during query execution. Additionally, Self-Join Elimination (SJE) automatically detects and removes unnecessary inner joins of a table to itself, optimizing query performance. The autovacuum mechanism has been improved with the introduction of autovacuum_vacuum_max_threshold, which caps the number of dead tuples that can accumulate before autovacuum triggers a VACUUM, addressing issues with large tables. The vacuum_truncate parameter provides a server-wide control point to disable VACUUM’s file truncation behavior, reducing locking issues on busy systems. PostgreSQL 18 also separates the allocation of autovacuum worker slots from their usage, allowing for dynamic adjustments to autovacuum_max_workers without requiring a server restart. Finally, new columns in pg_stat_all_tables track cumulative time spent on maintenance operations, providing better insights into maintenance overhead for each table.

Tech Optimizer

June 19, 2026

How Cybersecurity Services Have Evolved Beyond Antivirus and Firewalls

Businesses traditionally relied on antivirus software and firewalls for cybersecurity, which were effective when threats were simpler and data was mostly stored on-site. However, the cybersecurity landscape has evolved, with cybercriminals employing advanced tactics that traditional methods cannot adequately address. Antivirus software is limited to detecting known threats, while modern malware can evade detection by altering its code or executing in memory. Firewalls also struggle when authorized users' credentials are compromised, allowing threats to infiltrate networks. Contemporary security strategies advocate for a multi-layered approach, incorporating tools like Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), Zero Trust Architecture, Dark Web Monitoring, and Security Awareness Training. Compliance with regulatory standards is increasingly important, and cyber insurance providers now require businesses to demonstrate comprehensive security measures. Managed security providers are becoming essential for small and mid-sized businesses, offering expertise and resources to manage complex security tools and processes effectively. Organizations should assess their current security status and adopt a layered approach to address vulnerabilities, recognizing that traditional solutions alone are insufficient in today's threat landscape.

AppWizard

June 16, 2026

Malaysia’s AI agent-powered messaging app Respond.io raises $62.5M, eyes acquisitions

In 2017, Respond.io was founded to help businesses adapt to customer shifts towards messaging applications. It is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur and recently raised million in a Series B funding round, following a million Series A round in 2022. The company reported an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of million, a 169% year-over-year increase, with a 30% profit margin. Co-founders include Gerardo Salandra (CEO), Hassan Ahmed (CTO), and Yaroslav Kudritskiy (COO), who initially started the company in Hong Kong before relocating to Malaysia. Respond.io's platform caters to mid- to large-sized B2C enterprises, facilitating customer interactions across various messaging channels and utilizing AI for efficiency. The target market consists of "high-consideration" businesses, with an ideal customer profile of companies having 200 to 10,000 employees. Respond processes 2 billion messages quarterly and has a unique pricing model based on conversation volume rather than per user. The company emphasizes a data flywheel effect that enhances AI capabilities through increased message volume. Plans for growth include hiring, organic expansion, and strategic acquisitions, particularly in Europe and North America, which are projected to become larger revenue segments. Currently, revenue is distributed with 30% from APAC, 30% from Latin America, and 20% from the Middle East and Africa, with the remaining 20% from North America and Western Europe. Salandra expressed a cautious approach to growth and aspirations for a future public offering on Nasdaq.

Winsage

June 16, 2026

Microsoft Teams will auto-detect when you’re at the office via Wi-Fi, roll out confirmed, but you can opt-out

Microsoft is rolling out a feature called "Workplace check-in" that allows organizations to track employee presence in the office through Wi-Fi connectivity, integrated with Microsoft Teams and configured via Microsoft Places. This feature, first noted in September 2025, will not be enabled by default. It logs an employee's location when they connect to the company’s Wi-Fi, such as when they arrive at the office. The rollout was delayed due to privacy concerns, but Microsoft is moving forward, ensuring users can control their participation. The feature does not provide real-time tracking like mapping services but indicates presence based on Wi-Fi connection. Users must grant location access through their operating system, and if they decline, IT policies cannot override this choice. Teams’ Workplace check-in is disabled by default and can be activated by IT administrators with two options: Inform mode, which notifies users of the feature and allows opting out, and Ask mode, which requests permission to share location data. Microsoft clarifies that the feature is not intended for surveillance and does not track movements over time. Employees can choose whether their presence is visible to others while on-site. The initial rollout is tied to organizations using the Microsoft Places directory, and as organizations set up the feature, more users will likely be affected. Additionally, Microsoft is enhancing Teams with improvements for speed and a new user interface for meetings.