initiatives Archives

AppWizard

February 22, 2025

Ex-Amazon Gaming Exec Explains Why No One Has Beaten Steam

Valve's Steam has dominated the PC gaming market for nearly two decades, despite various attempts by companies like Amazon to challenge its supremacy. Ethan Evans, former VP of Prime Gaming at Amazon, shared insights on their unsuccessful efforts to disrupt Steam, which included acquiring Reflexive Entertainment, developing a PC game store leveraging Twitch, and launching the Luna game streaming service. Other major publishers such as EA, Ubisoft, and Bethesda also failed to establish competitive storefronts. The Epic Games Store, launched in 2017, has not positioned itself as a true rival to Steam. Evans noted that Amazon underestimated the reasons consumers use Steam, which combines a store, social network, library, and trophy case. Despite criticisms of Steam, its ecosystem and features have reinforced its dominance, while alternatives have struggled to gain traction.

AppWizard

February 21, 2025

From an Aztez god to Minecraft star. Why does Mexico love the axolotl so much?

The axolotl, scientifically known as Ambystoma mexicanum, is a critically endangered amphibian that serves as a symbol of identity and resilience for the native people of Mexico. It is particularly significant in the context of the chinampas, ancient floating gardens in Xochimilco. The axolotl has gained international fame through popular culture, including its inclusion in the video game Minecraft and its depiction on the 50-peso bill by the Central Bank. In Mesoamerican mythology, the axolotl is linked to the god Xólotl and the myth of the Fifth Sun. Biologically, the axolotl can regenerate parts of its heart, spinal cord, and brain, and has dual breathing capabilities through gills and skin. It can live up to 15-20 years in captivity, compared to a few years in the wild due to habitat degradation. The health of the axolotl is closely tied to the condition of its habitat, which faces pollution and urbanization threats. Conservation efforts are essential for both the axolotl and the chinampas, highlighting the importance of community involvement in preserving these cultural and ecological treasures.

AppWizard

February 21, 2025

Amazon Shuts Down Appstore for Android Phones After 14 Years: No More Apps Coming to the Platform

Amazon will close its Appstore for Android smartphones on August 20, marking the end of its mobile app initiatives after over a decade of challenges. The Appstore, launched in 2011, struggled to compete with Google Play Store and had only 0.1% installation on Android devices by its shutdown announcement. Existing users can continue to use downloaded apps until at least August 2025, but Amazon has stopped selling Amazon Coins. The closure coincides with ongoing antitrust scrutiny of Google. Amazon will still operate its Appstore for Fire devices, which use a modified version of Android.

Winsage

February 20, 2025

The Surface you know and love (or hate) is dead — Microsoft’s Windows hardware enters a new era

The Surface division at Microsoft has experienced significant internal changes over the past 18 months, including the departure of Panos Panay and new leadership. This has led to a strategic refocusing of the Surface portfolio, moving away from experimental hardware designs to more conventional offerings aimed at a broader audience. The company has discontinued extravagant devices like the Surface Studio and Surface Duo, favoring products that resonate with business customers and general consumers. Last year, Microsoft introduced AI-powered Windows computers known as Copilot+ PCs, which emphasize continuity and refinement of established designs rather than radical innovations. The Copilot+ PC initiative has allowed Windows on Arm to demonstrate its viability, with Snapdragon chips competing effectively in the Windows ecosystem. Surface continues to play a crucial role in shaping the Windows ecosystem, but with a more cautious approach that prioritizes ecosystem health over creating new markets. Future form factor experimentation will likely be delegated to OEM partners, while Microsoft focuses on transitioning users to Windows 11 and promoting Copilot+ PCs. Stakeholders can expect a steady stream of sensible Surface devices and incremental updates in the near future.

AppWizard

February 20, 2025

Xbox announces ‘a generative AI model for gameplay ideation’ called Muse, but don’t get too excited: Machines aren’t about to make games for you just yet

Microsoft announced its latest generative AI model, Muse, developed in collaboration with Microsoft Research and Ninja Theory. Muse is described as a "world and human action model (WHAM)" trained on Ninja Theory's Bleeding Edge. Microsoft aims to enhance the gaming experience by using AI to enrich player engagement and support game developers' creative processes. The company emphasizes that AI is intended to empower human creativity rather than replace it. A report in Nature provides insights into Muse's technical aspects, highlighting the importance of human agency in the creative process and identifying key capabilities for AI development. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella envisions AI's capabilities extending to interactive environments like video games. However, some experts, like Dr. Michael Cook, caution against overhyping Muse, noting that the research focuses more on human interaction with AI tools than on generating gameplay. Despite reservations, Cook acknowledges AI's potential as a design tool. Microsoft has promised further announcements on how AI will enhance experiences for game creators and players. Muse will debut in Copilot Labs, signaling new immersive AI gaming experiences.

Tech Optimizer

February 20, 2025

Magaya enhances performance with Tessell’s PostgreSQL

Magaya Corporation enhanced its database infrastructure by using Tessell's managed PostgreSQL solution, improving database performance and operational efficiency. After being acquired by a private equity firm in 2023, Magaya migrated customers from the Classic system to the Blue Ivory platform but faced initial performance issues with Blue Ivory's database. The original PostgreSQL setup was not optimized for high-volume queries, leading to bottlenecks, and reliance on a single PostgreSQL expert posed operational risks. Tessell's managed PostgreSQL platform transformed Blue Ivory, achieving a tenfold improvement in query execution speeds and enhancing logistics operations to handle tens of thousands of rows per second. The migration to AWS was seamless, with optimizations in partitioning strategies, memory buffers, and disk I/O. Tessell provided 24/7 expert support, reducing dependency on a single in-house DBA. The optimizations prepared Magaya's Blue Ivory platform for sustainable growth, enabling quicker customer onboarding and smoother migrations, and allowing support for both multi-tenant and single-tenant deployments. This transition to a cloud-native solution met ROI expectations for private equity investors, enhancing growth and profitability. The partnership with Tessell modernized Magaya's database infrastructure and strengthened its position in the logistics and supply chain technology sector.

Tech Optimizer

February 19, 2025

EDB Expands Partner Program to Drive Global Postgres & AI Growth

EnterpriseDB (EDB) has expanded its Partner Program to support businesses and solution providers in utilizing an enterprise-grade Postgres data management platform for AI-driven data innovation. Over 35% of organizations are seeking enterprise-grade Postgres capabilities, with more than 67% of data workloads being hybrid. A McKinsey survey indicates that 65% of organizations are using generative AI in at least one business function. The enhanced EDB Partner Program offers on-demand support throughout the sales lifecycle, exclusive training and certification, increased go-to-market commitments, a personalized digital experience through the EDB Partner Portal, and showcases customer success stories. EDB aims to empower partners to help customers innovate and scale effectively in an AI-driven environment.

AppWizard

February 18, 2025

Dead by Daylight delays its existing update plans for a ‘substantial quality of life initiative’, which includes adding a surrender mode and cracking down on ‘extreme hiding’

Behaviour Interactive has announced a pause on several upcoming features for Dead by Daylight to focus on a 'substantial quality of life initiative' that will extend throughout 2025. The studio is delaying character updates, limited-time events, and event modifiers to address longstanding player concerns. This decision reflects a trend in the gaming industry to prioritize player experience over new content. Issues such as bot problems and unsportsmanlike conduct are among the challenges being addressed. The game's current rating on Steam is "Mixed."

AppWizard

February 18, 2025

X is blocking links to Signal, a secure messaging platform used by federal workers

Elon Musk's platform, X (formerly Twitter), has imposed restrictions on links to Signal.me, a URL shortener for the encrypted messaging service Signal. This affects direct messages, public posts, and user profile pages. In response to the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) actions targeting federal agencies, many federal employees are using Signal for secure communication. DOGE's initiatives have led to the dismissal of nearly 10,000 federal workers, with some agencies, like USAID, potentially facing shutdowns. Users attempting to share links to Signal.me on X encounter error messages indicating that the action cannot be completed due to spam protection measures.

AppWizard

February 15, 2025

The Sims has always been a little broken, and the Legacy Collections are preserving the experience of ’00s PC gaming warts and all

The exploration of the Legacy Collection versions of The Sims 1 and 2 revealed that both EA's official updates and fan-patched versions provide remarkably similar gaming experiences, making it difficult to declare one superior to the other. The author had a positive experience after six hours of playing the Sims 2 Legacy Challenge, encountering only a few sporadic crashes and interface quirks. In contrast, a colleague experienced persistent crashing issues despite using a high-end PC, highlighting disparities in gaming experiences. Overall, the essence of gameplay remains intact across both versions, reflecting the community's passion for the games.