hosting Archives

AppWizard

February 19, 2025

PebbleHost review

PebbleHost, established in 2017, specializes in Minecraft server hosting and offers three plans: budget, premium, and extreme. The budget servers are designed for cost-conscious users. The company also provides VPS and dedicated server hosting, as well as Discord bot hosting services. The server hardware includes Intel i9-9900k and Ryzen 5700X CPUs for budget and premium plans, while the premium plan uses the Ryzen 7900 CPU and DDR5 memory. The extreme plan features dedicated CPU threads. The budget server starts at a low quarterly price for 1GB of RAM, while the premium server with 5GB of RAM is priced monthly. The extreme server starts at a higher price for 6GB of RAM and 3 threads. PebbleHost offers a 72-hour refund policy and various payment methods, including cryptocurrencies. The signup process is straightforward, providing immediate access to passwords and the control panel. The user-friendly control panel allows easy management of server settings, including switching between server versions. PebbleHost has server locations in North America, Europe, and the UK, with premium users also accessing servers in Australia and Singapore. Performance varies by plan, with the budget option potentially insufficient for active users. The premium plan is recommended for better gameplay. Support is available through a ticketing system and an active Discord server, with a positive response time for tickets. An advanced support package is offered for additional assistance. PebbleHost maintains a knowledge base and a server status page showing a 7-day average uptime of 99.992%.

AppWizard

February 17, 2025

Epic Games Store hits 295m PC users in 2024

The Epic Games Store has over 295 million users on PC, with an increase of 25 million accounts from the previous year. Epic Games reported a total of 898 million cross-platform accounts, a rise of 94 million year-on-year. PC players spent .09 billion on the store, a 15 percent increase from the prior year, although spending on third-party titles declined by 18 percent, totaling 5 million. The store averages 67 million monthly active users and 32 million daily active users. The highest-performing games of 2024 include Genshin Impact, Rocket League, Honkai Star Rail, Grand Theft Auto 5, and Fortnite Battle Royale. The next tier of successful titles includes EA Sports FC 24, Destiny 2: The Final Shape, Alan Wake 2, Fall Guys, and Wuthering Waves.

AppWizard

February 16, 2025

9 PC games that are perfect to play at a LAN party

Counter-Strike 2 is a staple in the LAN community, allowing for various player counts and often hosted on dedicated local servers. Rocket League combines football and cars, accommodating up to six players in fast-paced matches. Minecraft allows players to easily open their worlds to LAN clients for shared creativity. Stardew Valley is a farming simulator for up to four players, known for its lightweight requirements. Left 4 Dead 2 is a four-player survival shooter focused on teamwork against zombies, with community mods available. Terraria is a 2D sandbox game that allows for straightforward multiplayer sessions. Unreal Tournament is an arena shooter designed for local multiplayer with skill-based gameplay. Mario Kart: Double Dash features a two-player-per-kart mechanic and can be played using the Dolphin Emulator. Age of Empires II is a real-time strategy game that supports skirmishes, cooperative campaigns, and has a Definitive Edition for easier LAN setup.

AppWizard

February 16, 2025

Weekend PC Game Deals: Co-op festival grabs, fresh bundles, and much more

The Epic Games Store is offering F1 Manager 2024 for free until Thursday, February 20, at 8 am PT. Fanatical has launched the "Build Your Own Capcom Bundle" with iconic titles available at various pricing tiers. Humble's new Deckbuilder Bonanza includes three tiers of games, available for three weeks. Steam is hosting a festival for cooperative games with discounted prices. GOG is running a "Love At First Pixel" promotion with DRM-free games on sale. Availability and pricing may vary by region.

AppWizard

February 15, 2025

Weekend PC Download Deals for Feb. 14: Steam Couch Co-op Fest

Steam is hosting the Couch Co-op Fest, featuring games like Baldur's Gate 3, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles titles, and Vampire Survivors. Additionally, Steam is running a sale called Hits You Missed, showcasing hidden gems from the previous year at discounts. The Epic Games Store is having its Winter Sale with top-tier games at reduced prices. GOG.com is offering special deals for Valentine's Day, while Humble Bundle has a collection of classic Capcom arcade hits. Humble Choice subscribers can access games like Immortals of Aveum and Trepang2 for .99 a month, with additional discounts on the Humble Store. Various tiered offers for Destiny 2 content are available, and players can acquire games like For The King Deluxe Edition and Cat Quest 2 in higher tiers.

AppWizard

February 14, 2025

Elden Ring Nightreign network test starts this weekend; you can save 12% on PC if you pre-order the full game today

Elden Ring Nightreign will be released on May 30, 2025, for PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. A network test for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S users will take place from February 14 to February 17, 2025, in three-hour sessions. PC gamers can pre-order the standard edition on Steam for £30.79. Console players have various editions and bonuses available, including a gift card at Best Buy. The game features a new Nightfarer system with preset heroes instead of custom character creation. It will include iconic bosses from previous FromSoftware titles, such as Dark Souls’ Centipede Demon and the Nameless King.

Winsage

February 12, 2025

4 reasons Rainmeter is the best way to customize your Windows PC

Rainmeter is a free tool for Windows 11 that allows users to deeply customize their desktop experience. It fosters community collaboration by enabling developers to create and share skins, which can fundamentally change the aesthetics and functionality of a PC. Users can mix and match a wide variety of skins, each with adjustable .ini files, to create a personalized desktop environment. The platform offers an extensive library of skins and encourages exploration and experimentation, ensuring users remain engaged and can continually enhance their desktop experience.

AppWizard

February 8, 2025

Weekend PC Download Deals for Feb. 7: Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 free trial

Activision has released Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 for purchase with Season 2 starting last week, and a free trial is available on Battle.net. Steam is hosting its Idler Fest with discounts on games, while last-minute savings for the Lunar New Year and the 2K Games 20th Anniversary Sale are still ongoing. Various games are available for activation on Steam, and a coupon code FEB15 offers a 15% discount on PC games at select retailers. Humble Choice subscription for .99 per month provides access to several titles that activate on Steam, along with various Destiny 2 packs available at tiered pricing.

AppWizard

February 8, 2025

Weekend PC Game Deals: An idling fest, new Choice bundle, anniversary sales, and more

Humble has released two game bundles: the Better with a Friend Co-op Adventures bundle, which includes Tribes of Midgard, Cat Quest II, and For the King: Deluxe Edition at a lower tier, and additional titles like Risk of Rain Returns and Trine 4 at a higher tier. The Destiny 2 The Story So Far 2025 bundle offers seven pieces of DLC across four tiers. The Humble Store's Choice bundle features eight games, including Immortals of Aveum and Trepang2, available for a set price, with the next refresh on March 4. The Epic Games Store is offering free games Beyond Blue and Humankind until February 13, after which F1 Manager 24 will be available for free. Free events this weekend include a beta for Monster Hunter Wilds, a trial for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 on Battle.net, and a free weekend for Green Hell on Steam. Promotions include an anniversary sale from 2K and the idler games festival on Steam, along with various deals on Disney classics. The GOG store's New Year sale has ended, but standard weekend specials are back. Availability and pricing may vary by region.

Winsage

February 7, 2025

Installing Ubuntu on WSL Just Got Much Easier

A new tar-based distribution format for Ubuntu has been introduced for the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), allowing developers and system administrators to install and manage Ubuntu WSL instances without using the Microsoft Store. This format enables local hosting of images, providing enterprises with more flexibility and simplifying deployment. Users can install Ubuntu by executing the command wsl --install ubuntu in the Windows Terminal or by downloading an image and double-clicking the .wsl file. Both methods require WSL version 2.4.8 or higher. The new tar-based format will become the default, while the older appx format will still be supported.