figures Archives

AppWizard

April 22, 2025

Samsung’s weather app in One UI 8 is getting a dramatic makeover

Samsung is redesigning its Weather app in the upcoming One UI 8, introducing immersive, full-screen animations that illustrate real-time weather conditions. The app will feature animated scenes with characters interacting with the environment, such as tiny figures using umbrellas during rain and sunlight breaking through clouds on sunny days. Other weather phenomena like snow and wind will also be animated. The app allows for seamless transitions as weather conditions change. The updated Weather app is currently available for download via an APK for compatible devices.

AppWizard

April 20, 2025

‘Sinners’ Surges Past ‘Minecraft’ at Box Office With $45.6 Million Opening Weekend

Ryan Coogler’s horror film, “Sinners,” is projected to secure an impressive .6 million opening weekend, overtaking “A Minecraft Movie.” “Sinners” is on track to surpass the .3 million opening of Jordan Peele’s “Nope,” establishing itself as the highest opening for an original film since the pandemic began. The film received a straight A on CinemaScore, the first for a horror film since 1986, and boasts a 5/5 rating on PostTrak, with 84% “definite recommend” score. It has Rotten Tomatoes ratings of 98% from critics and 97% from audiences. Approximately 60% of Friday's tickets sold were walk-up purchases. Black audiences made up 49% of the opening night viewers, followed by 27% white and 14% Latino. “Sinners” has a reported budget of million, excluding marketing costs. “A Minecraft Movie” secured .3 million in its third weekend, bringing its domestic total to 5 million and a global tally of 0 million. The success of both films accounted for 64% of the weekend’s total grosses. Warner Bros. plans to continue its slate of original films, with Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” set to debut in late September and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride!” in March 2026. Angel Studios’ “The King of Kings” garnered .2 million in its second weekend, bringing its 10-day total to .3 million.

AppWizard

April 20, 2025

Once promising developer Tequila Works is auctioning off the rights to its games, including 4 still in development

Tequila Works, a Spanish game studio founded in 2009, has declared insolvency following staff reductions and the cancellation of an unannounced project. The studio's intangible assets, including notable video game intellectual properties like Rime and Gylt, are currently up for auction on the European platform Escrapalia, with bids ranging from 10,000 to 20,000 euros. General manager Térence Mosca stated that prolonged market conditions forced the company into this situation.

AppWizard

April 19, 2025

A New Pack Of Minecraft Movie Figures Is Up For Preorder

The Minecraft movie has become the second-highest-grossing video game adaptation in cinematic history shortly after its release. The Minecraft Ultimate Movie Pack, featuring eight figures inspired by the film, will launch on July 1 and is available for preorder on Amazon. The pack includes figures such as Steve, Creeper, Garrett, Henry, Dawn, Natalie, Dennis the wolf, and Skeleton, each with unique accessories. Additionally, various Blu-ray editions of the film are available for preorder at Amazon and Walmart, including a limited 4K steelbook edition and a Walmart-exclusive Collector's Crafting Table Edition. Release dates for the Blu-ray versions have not been announced.

Winsage

April 18, 2025

Microsoft still has a massive Windows 10 problem – and there’s no easy way out

Microsoft's Windows 10 will reach its end-of-support date on October 14, 2025, after a standard 10-year support lifecycle. Most editions, including Home, Pro, and Enterprise, will stop receiving updates, although PCs running Windows 10 will continue to function without updates. Windows 10 Enterprise Long Term Servicing editions have different end dates, with some extending support until 2029. Current data indicates that approximately 1.6% of Windows 10 PCs are replaced by Windows 11 each month, suggesting that around 35% of the 1.4 billion Windows devices will still be using Windows 10 by the end-of-support date, equating to over 500 million PCs potentially vulnerable to cyber threats. As of April 2025, about 54% of PCs globally are still running Windows 10. Users likely to remain on Windows 10 include those with incompatible hardware, corporate environments that have standardized on Windows 10, and users resistant to upgrading due to dissatisfaction with Windows 11. Microsoft faces challenges related to a significant number of unsupported PCs, and while extended support options exist for enterprise customers, consumer adoption is expected to be low. Users unable or unwilling to upgrade may consider non-Microsoft operating systems or continue using Windows 10 without official support, which poses security risks.

AppWizard

April 16, 2025

Touhou Spell Carnival Game’s PC Version Launches on May 7

Idea Factory International plans to release the game Touhou Spell Carnival for PC users via Steam on May 7. The game was launched in North America on November 19 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and PlayStation 4, with a simultaneous digital release in Europe and a physical edition debuting on December 3. A Digital Deluxe edition includes a digital art book and soundtrack, while a Limited Edition features a collector's box, figures, a hardcover artbook, a soundtrack, a reversible cover sleeve, and a trading card. The game includes Japanese audio and text options in English, French, and Spanish. It is scheduled to launch in Japan in June 2024 after a delay from April 2024.

Tech Optimizer

April 16, 2025

Transition a pivot query that includes dynamic columns from SQL Server to PostgreSQL

The text discusses the process of migrating workloads from SQL Server to PostgreSQL, specifically focusing on the implementation of the PIVOT function. It highlights the limitations of using CASE WHEN statements in SQL Server for dynamic reports and introduces the crosstab function from PostgreSQL’s tablefunc extension as a more flexible alternative. The solution involves creating a PostgreSQL function called get_dynamic_pivot_data that utilizes crosstab to dynamically generate columns based on query results. To test the function, users need to provision either Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL or Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL and install a PostgreSQL client tool. For those using C#, .NET SDK 8 and Visual Studio Code must be installed. The text provides detailed steps for creating sample tables and stored procedures in SQL Server, along with the equivalent setup in PostgreSQL, including the use of the crosstab function and cursor management. It emphasizes the need for security measures, such as storing database credentials in AWS Secrets Manager. The author encourages sharing experiences related to implementing PIVOT functionality in PostgreSQL.

AppWizard

April 16, 2025

I can’t believe I’m saying this but Skull and Bones Year 2 is real, and it’s live now

Skull and Bones, developed by Ubisoft, was initially intended as a multiplayer extension of naval battles from Assassin's Creed: Black Flag and faced multiple delays before launching seven years after its announcement. The game received a mixed reception upon release but has maintained a dedicated player base. In Year 2, Season 1, new features include Item Ascension, which allows gear upgrades, and a new world tier with increased challenges and rewards. The current concurrent player count on Steam is just over 400, an increase from earlier in the year, but still lower than other Ubisoft titles like For Honor and The Division 2. Critics have generally offered a positive view, noting the game's enjoyable experience despite some limitations. The game became available on Steam in August 2024, with hopes of increasing player engagement. Full patch notes for Year 2, Season 1 are available on ubisoft.com.

AppWizard

April 12, 2025

‘A Minecraft Movie’ On Pace For $80 Million Box Office In Weekend 2

Jack Black and Jason Momoa's A Minecraft Movie earned 3 million during its opening weekend from 4,263 locations in North America and surpassed the 0 million threshold domestically by Thursday. The film's global total exceeded 3 million within three days. For its second weekend, projections suggest it could earn around million, defying earlier estimates of million. Competing against five new releases, The King of Kings is expected to earn over million from 3,200 theaters, while The Amateur is projected to earn around million from 3,400 venues, and Warfare is expected to generate approximately million from 2,670 theaters. The mystery thriller Drop is anticipated to bring in .7 million from 3,085 theaters. Final box office figures will be released on Monday.

AppWizard

April 12, 2025

Signal App reveals need for more secure channels

Mike Waltz, national security adviser under President Trump, accidentally included Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, in a confidential military chat on Signal that involved senior officials discussing imminent U.S. military strikes on Yemen. This incident raised concerns about the administration's secure communication practices, particularly as it involved sensitive military strategies. Despite Signal's encryption, critics argue that public group chats should not be used for classified discussions, highlighting vulnerabilities in communication protocols. Secure rooms are designed for classified discussions with strict protocols, which were not followed in this case.