industry standard Archives

BetaBeacon

August 7, 2025

Epic Games Store reveals new free mobile game for Android and iOS gamers to keep forever

Epic Games Store offers a curated selection of PC and Mac games, with a revenue sharing model that only takes a 12% cut of sales compared to the industry standard of 30%. The store has attracted indie developers and smaller studios, leading to a diverse library of games. Epic Games Store also releases exclusive games for a limited time, attracting players and generating both praise and criticism. Despite controversy, the store continues to grow in popularity with a user-friendly interface, regular sales, and a commitment to supporting developers.

AppWizard

August 1, 2025

EA finally listens: Battlefield 6 scraps a decade-old requirement on Steam — a major win for new players and veteran fans

EA clarified that players on Steam will not need to use the EA App to access Battlefield 6, but an EA account is required. Players who purchased Battlefield 6 via the Epic Games Store will need both the EA App and an EA account to play. Additionally, Battlefield 6 will not carry a price tag of , adhering to the industry standard.

AppWizard

July 10, 2025

One of the Best Star Wars Games Is Now Free

Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, originally released in 1997, is available for free through Prime Gaming for Amazon Prime subscribers until August 11. Players need a PC capable of running the game and a free GOG account to access it. The game is a first-person shooter set in the Star Wars universe, featuring Kyle Katarn and includes ten weapons and over twelve Force powers. It has a Metacritic score of 91 and is recognized as one of the finest games of its time. Once redeemed, the game remains accessible indefinitely.

BetaBeacon

July 3, 2025

Epic Games Store: First July 2025 free game giveaway now available on Android and iOS

The Epic Games Store offers a revenue sharing model where they only take a 12% cut of sales, compared to the industry standard of 30%.

BetaBeacon

April 4, 2025

Google will require new Android 16 devices to support this game-changing graphics feature

Most Android devices now support Vulkan, with the latest version, Vulkan 1.4, introducing a feature called Host Image Copy that can greatly improve game performance on upcoming Android 16 devices. Host Image Copy allows for faster app loads, reduces stutter, and lowers GPU memory usage by enabling the CPU to copy image data directly between host memory and GPU image memory.

Winsage

February 26, 2025

9 reasons why Windows is still better than macOS for most people

Windows OS offers extensive customization and upgradability, allowing users to personalize their systems and easily replace components like RAM and storage. It has vast software compatibility, supporting a wide range of applications not available on macOS. Windows is the preferred platform for gaming, with extensive support for games and hardware compatibility. It supports a variety of hardware components, making it more accessible and affordable compared to macOS, which is limited to Apple devices. Windows devices are easier to repair and maintain, with widely available and affordable replacement parts. Additionally, Windows provides better support for power users, allowing advanced control and flexibility in system settings and applications.

Tech Optimizer

February 15, 2025

Simplify database authentication management with the Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL pg_ad_mapping extension

Authentication is essential for security in enterprise environments, protecting sensitive data and resources from unauthorized access. Kerberos authentication is utilized for Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL-Compatible Edition with AWS Directory Service for Microsoft Active Directory, particularly through the pg_ad_mapping extension, which enhances access control management. Aurora PostgreSQL supports multiple authentication methods, including password authentication, AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) database authentication, and Kerberos authentication. By default, password authentication is enabled, while IAM and Kerberos can be used independently. Users are assigned specific roles based on the authentication method: rds_iam for IAM, rds_ad for Kerberos, and no specific roles for password authentication. Kerberos authentication integrates with Microsoft Active Directory, allowing centralized authentication and single sign-on (SSO) capabilities. With versions 14.10 and 15.5, Aurora PostgreSQL introduced the pg_ad_mapping extension, which allows administrators to manage access through Active Directory (AD) security groups instead of provisioning individual users. This extension checks AD group memberships upon user login and assigns corresponding database roles, prioritizing roles based on assigned weights. The pg_ad_mapping extension includes functions such as pgadmap_set_mapping to add mappings between AD security groups and database roles, pgadmap_read_mapping to list existing mappings, and pgadmap_reset_mapping to delete or reset mappings. To deploy the solution, a CloudFormation stack is used to create necessary resources, including an AWS Managed Microsoft AD server, an Aurora PostgreSQL database cluster, and a Windows EC2 instance. Users can be added to AD groups, and roles can be mapped to facilitate access management. Security best practices for Aurora PostgreSQL include using IAM policies for resource management, implementing security groups for database access control, utilizing encryption for data protection, and employing Transport Layer Security (TLS) for secure connections. For auditing, the pg_stat_gssapi view can be used to identify authenticated users, and enabling the log_connections parameter will log session establishments, including AD user identities.

Tech Optimizer

February 11, 2025

Microsoft bolsters PostgreSQL with NoSQL-like extensions

Microsoft introduced two new open-source extensions for PostgreSQL: pg_documentdb_core, which supports BSON, and pg_documentdb_api, which allows MongoDB-compatible commands for CRUD operations. These extensions will operate on the Azure Cosmos DB PostgreSQL database service and can also be used with FerretDB, an open-source alternative to MongoDB. FerretDB's latest version features performance enhancements of up to 20 times for specific workloads. Andrew Pavlo from Carnegie Mellon University noted that the distinction between document databases and relational systems is diminishing. MongoDB expressed skepticism about Microsoft's offerings, stating that adding an API to a relational database is not true innovation. FerretDB aims to provide a solid foundation for users seeking alternatives to MongoDB. Analysts suggest that while Microsoft's extensions may enhance PostgreSQL's market position, they are unlikely to significantly undermine MongoDB's established presence.

Winsage

February 6, 2025

Windows 11 and MIDI 2.0: The Biggest OS Update Since 1983 is Coming Soon!

Microsoft is releasing Windows 11, which includes a significant update to the MIDI system, introducing native support for MIDI 2.0. This is the first major update to the MIDI standard since 1983. The new Windows MIDI Services enhance MIDI 1.0 functionality on ARM-based devices and improve communication between electronic instruments and computers. MIDI 2.0 offers increased speed, better transmission quality, more precise control, and advanced two-way communication capabilities. Microsoft collaborated with the Association of Musical Electronics Industry of Japan (AMEI) to develop a robust MIDI class driver and introduced a new networking protocol for MIDI 2.0. Extensive SDK support will facilitate integration of third-party software and hardware. The MIDI architecture is currently being tested and will be included in upcoming Windows updates. Additionally, the latest Canary build of Windows 11 features improvements such as new OneDrive functionality, optimized File Explorer, and options to disable backup reminders.

Tech Optimizer

December 13, 2024

Benchmark Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL with Dedicated Log Volumes

Organizations face challenges in maintaining the performance of mission-critical databases under demanding workloads. Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) offers a managed, cost-effective, and scalable solution. In PostgreSQL, transactions are logged in a Write-Ahead Log (WAL) buffer before being stored in a WAL segment, which is crucial for data recovery and replication. The performance of these transactions is linked to the storage system for WAL segments. By default, PostgreSQL stores all files, including WAL, in one location, but separating WAL storage can enhance performance. Amazon introduced the Dedicated Log Volume (DLV) feature, allowing users to store WAL segments on a separate volume of 1,024 GiB with 3,000 Provisioned IOPS. DLV features write coalescing, reducing IOPS demand by consolidating log writes into larger operations, improving throughput and efficiency while potentially lowering costs. A benchmarking solution involves executing a script on an Amazon EC2 instance to evaluate performance across two RDS for PostgreSQL instances: one with DLV enabled and one without. To benchmark, prerequisites include launching an Amazon EC2 Linux instance, installing pgbench, and creating two RDS instances—one with DLV and one without. The benchmarking script resets WAL statistics and simulates a workload with 64 concurrent clients processing half a million transactions each. The infrastructure for benchmarking includes an EC2 instance with 16 vCPUs and 128 GiB memory, and two RDS instances with 64 vCPUs and 512 GiB memory each, using IO2 storage with 10,000 PIOPS. Key database configuration parameters impact performance, particularly those related to commit, checkpoint, and WAL settings. The benchmarking script uses pgbench to create a TPC-B-like workload and measures performance metrics such as transactions per second (TPS) and latency. Results indicate that enabling DLV significantly reduces runtime from 77 minutes to 40 minutes (a 92.5% improvement), increases TPS by 91.83%, and reduces latency by 95.56%. Key WAL statistics show improvements in write and sync times, confirming DLV's effectiveness in enhancing database performance. Monitoring techniques for DLV include using Amazon CloudWatch for metrics like IOPS and latency, and PostgreSQL's pg_stat_wal for detailed WAL activity statistics. The DLV feature is compatible with PIOPS storage types and supported in specific PostgreSQL versions across all regions.