investment Archives

AppWizard

September 7, 2026

Xbox Cloud Gaming Caps Hours: 15 for Ultimate [2026]

On September 3, 2026, Microsoft announced that Xbox Game Pass subscribers will see a shift in cloud gaming access. Starting November 2026, unlimited cloud streaming will be replaced by a tiered hour bank system: 15 hours for Ultimate, 10 for Premium, and 5 for Essential subscribers. Once a subscriber exhausts their allotted hours, they must wait for the next billing cycle or purchase additional time. This change is the most significant since the beta launch of Xbox Cloud Gaming in 2019. The announcement was made on Xbox Wire, and the new structure is reflected on Xbox’s product pages. The new tiered system introduces a scarcity model, with every paid tier now having its own cloud gaming quota. Essential subscribers, who previously had no cloud access, will now receive 5 hours per month. The pricing for the Game Pass tiers is as follows: Ultimate at .99 for 15 hours, Premium at .99 for 10 hours, and Essential at .99 for 5 hours. The free ad-supported tier remains unchanged at 5 hours per month. Microsoft's rationale for the change is based on usage data indicating that most subscribers do not heavily utilize cloud streaming, coupled with the rising costs of operating cloud gaming services. The company has stated that additional hours can be purchased once a subscriber's monthly allotment is used up, although pricing details for these add-ons have not yet been disclosed. The new hour caps will take effect in November 2026, following a shorter notice period compared to NVIDIA's GeForce NOW service, which implemented a 100-hour monthly cap earlier in 2026. The response from gaming communities has been largely negative, with concerns about the limits falling short of typical usage patterns and conflicting with the marketing of Game Pass as offering unlimited access. The introduction of hour caps could impact Game Pass's subscriber base, particularly among those who rely on cloud gaming as their primary access point. Microsoft's internal usage data will determine the extent of this impact, as the company aims to control costs without raising subscription prices.

Winsage

September 7, 2026

Working or studying on Windows? Get Office 2024 Pro Plus for $50

Microsoft Office 2024 Professional Plus is available for a one-time payment of .97, reduced from 9.99, offering a lifetime license for essential applications like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint without ongoing subscription fees. The suite includes desktop versions of popular tools and specialized applications such as Outlook, OneNote, and Access, and is compatible with Windows 10 and 11 PCs. Prices on StackSocial may vary.

AppWizard

September 6, 2026

The Blood of Dawnwalker sold 1 million copies in just 3 days

On September 5, Rebel Wolves announced on Twitter that their RPG, Blood of Dawnwalker, sold over one million copies within three days of its launch on September 2. The game received positive feedback, with Australian editor Shaun Prescott rating it 83% and praising its storytelling and combat mechanics. Blood of Dawnwalker has 8,296 reviews on Steam, while Zero Company has 15,562 reviews and a "Very Positive" rating. Despite the success of Blood of Dawnwalker, 80% of Bit Reactor's staff is reportedly on furlough, highlighting challenges in the gaming industry.

Winsage

September 6, 2026

Ditch recurring costs with this $10 Windows 11 Pro lifetime deal

A lifetime license to Microsoft Windows 11 Pro is available for .97, reduced from 9. Key features of Windows 11 Pro include Azure AD support, BitLocker Encryption, and Hyper-V. The offer ends on September 10 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

Winsage

September 4, 2026

Announcing Project Zenith: The ready-to-code Windows experience on developer-class devices

Windows announced Project Zenith, a developer-optimized Windows 11 experience designed for devices with over 64 GB of unified memory and memory bandwidth exceeding 250 GB/s. The project will initially launch with AMD’s Ryzen AI Halo and will include preconfigured Windows setups and a curated selection of development tools. Devices under Project Zenith will allow developers to run models with over 30 billion parameters locally, reducing reliance on cloud resources. Enhancements to Windows 11 include improved performance and a cleaner workspace tailored for coding, with features like pinned Windows Terminal and Visual Studio Code. Project Zenith also integrates the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) and provides a secure environment for developing agentic applications, leveraging OS-enforced identity and Microsoft Execution Containers (MXC). The initiative aims to offer a consistent ready-to-code experience across various devices while responding to developer needs and evolving with advancements in AI and software development.

Tech Optimizer

September 4, 2026

EDB Postgres® AI Gains Momentum as Customers Tell Us the Future of Their Own AI and Data Platform

Organizations are increasingly aiming to establish their own governed AI and data platforms, with 95% of enterprises planning to develop such platforms within the next three years, though only 13% have done so. EDB has reported significant traction for its EDB Postgres® AI (EDB PG AI) platform, which unifies transactional, analytical, and agentic workloads into a single system. PAC 2000A Conad has revamped its data infrastructure using EDB PG AI to support over 1,600 stores and 7,000 connected devices, ensuring compliance with NIS2 regulations. C Platform in Korea is experiencing a surge in demand for hybrid and on-premises capabilities, driven by significant investment in sovereign AI and the AI Basic Act mandating governance for AI deployment. Notable adopters of EDB PG AI include the Industrial Bank of Korea, Shinhan EZ Insurance, NTT East, MNTN, Euronext FX, and Kyobo Book Centre.

AppWizard

September 3, 2026

I replaced Samsung Edge Panels with this free app — and I’m not going back

Panels is a free sidebar launcher app for Android that allows users to swipe in from the edge of the screen for quick access to apps, contacts, widgets, and settings. It features three main pages: Favorites, Shortcuts Panel, and Widgets, which can be expanded with additional pages. The app enhances multitasking by allowing apps to launch in windowed mode, creating app pairs for split-screen viewing, and providing website shortcuts. Customization options include adding new panels, repositioning them, adjusting panel width and height, and changing icon styles and colors. Panels reduces the need to visit the home screen and improves one-handed usage by placing shortcuts within easy reach. However, it has some flaws, such as potential conflicts with Android's gesture navigation and the presence of ads, which can be removed with a one-time payment of .50 for the premium version.

TrendTechie

September 2, 2026

Sony и Warner подают в суд на Anthropic из‑за обучения Claude на пиратских песенниках

Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell Music have filed a lawsuit against Anthropic, claiming that the company used pirated songbooks and song lyrics from "shadow libraries" to train its AI model, Claude. The lawsuit cites approximately 7 million books obtained through torrent downloads and web scraping, including unauthorized sheet music and songbooks. The plaintiffs are seeking statutory damages of up to 0,000 for each work that is found to have been willfully infringed. The lawsuit was filed on August 28, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, naming Anthropic and its co-founders as defendants. The plaintiffs allege that the data sources used for training included 5 million books downloaded from Library Genesis and 2 million from Pirate Library Mirror, as well as scraped song lyrics from licensed platforms Musixmatch and LyricFind. The use of BitTorrent for downloads introduces legal risks due to the simultaneous distribution of files. The lawsuit emphasizes the distinction between legally purchased and pirated materials, with prior cases indicating that downloads from pirate libraries constitute significant copyright infringement.

AppWizard

September 2, 2026

Adobe just released a Premiere beta for Android, but Googlebook will need much more

A leaked render from Lenovo suggests that Adobe Premiere may be coming to the upcoming Googlebooks. An Early Access version of the Premiere app is currently available for Android, but the experience on a Chromebook is subpar, resembling a mobile app that hasn't been optimized for larger screens. The app opens but has issues such as a stretched user interface and metadata errors during file imports. Adobe's early build is primarily aimed at Android phones, and there are concerns about whether a fully optimized version for Googlebooks will be available at launch. The anticipated price for the first Googlebooks is expected to start at 9+, and for it to compete effectively, a robust, desktop-class version of Premiere is essential.

Winsage

September 1, 2026

Don’t miss Windows 11 Pro for one PC for only $7.97

Windows 11 Pro is available for .97, reduced from its regular price of 9. This limited-time promotion expires at 11:59 p.m. PT on September 1. The upgrade offers a modern interface, improved multitasking, and robust security features, including Hyper-V, Windows Sandbox, BitLocker encryption, and Azure AD integration. It also includes Copilot, an AI-powered assistant for various tasks. The offer is available through StackSocial.