Optimization Archives

AppWizard

June 18, 2025

Discord makes your games and PC run worse. Here’s how to fix it

Discord is a popular voice and video application among PC gamers, but enabling hardware acceleration can negatively impact gaming performance by consuming excessive system resources. Disabling hardware acceleration can help optimize resource usage, as it allows Discord to use less of the GPU, which is important for gaming. Users often report high resource consumption from Discord, even with hardware acceleration turned off, which can still affect overall system performance. It is recommended to keep hardware acceleration disabled while gaming, particularly if not using Discord for communication.

Tech Optimizer

June 18, 2025

DataStrike Expands Open-Source Database Management Business by 600% as Demand for PostgreSQL Expertise Surges

DataStrike has reported a 600% increase in its open-source database management business over six months, largely due to the growing adoption of PostgreSQL. In response, the company has doubled its team of database management professionals, focusing on recruiting PostgreSQL-certified experts. PostgreSQL has surpassed MySQL as the most utilized database among professional developers, with 49% of developers reporting extensive experience with it. Additionally, 51% of organizations have seen increased PostgreSQL usage in the past year. DataStrike offers 24/7 U.S.-based support for various database platforms and has found that 54% of IT leaders feel they lack the resources for data infrastructure management. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, DataStrike serves over 200 clients across North America.

AppWizard

June 17, 2025

Android Automotive now lets apps show your food order status and more on your car’s home screen

Google is introducing a new feature called AppCard to its Android Automotive OS, which allows applications to display essential data and functionalities directly on the home screen. The design of these AppCards will be determined by car manufacturers, ensuring a consistent user interface across vehicles. AppCards can include images, text, tappable buttons, and progress bars, although space limitations may restrict the amount of information displayed. This feature may not be exclusive to Android 16 and could function independently of primary operating system updates. AppCards aim to optimize applications for automotive environments, encouraging developers to refine their apps for vehicle use.

AppWizard

June 16, 2025

Stutters and hitches in Unreal Engine 5 games should become rarer over time due to Epic’s continuous updates, but we’ll still see them for a while because of the way games are made

At Unreal Fest in Orlando, Epic Games showcased new features for Unreal Engine 5 through a tech demo of CD Projekt Red's Witcher 4 and hosted training sessions for developers. Key topics included shader compilation stutters and performance issues in Unreal Engine games, with a focus on optimization methodologies rather than the engine itself. Insights revealed persistent performance optimization challenges, particularly with shader compilation and traversal stutters. Developers were encouraged to implement PSO precaching in Unreal Engine 5.2 or newer, although neither solution is perfect. Obsidian's game Avowed began development in Unreal Engine 4 before transitioning to version 5.3.2, while aiming for specific frame rates on Xbox Series S and X. The team size for Avowed was 140, with only 15 in technical roles, which may have limited their ability to fully utilize new features. Unreal Engine 5.6 offers performance enhancements that require strategic implementation by developers. Attendance at Epic's sessions was high, indicating a growing awareness of performance issues among developers. The hope is that future titles will leverage the latest engine version to address these challenges effectively.

AppWizard

June 14, 2025

This Android app can make your virtual life a little bit easier, if you have patience

Android Central's Editor's Desk discusses the integration of virtual reality (VR) with everyday devices, highlighting advancements in VR headsets like the Quest 3, which features color passthrough. This allows users to remain aware of their surroundings while using VR. However, accessing smartphone notifications can be challenging in VR. To address this, Meta launched the Smart Connect app for the Quest 3, enabling users to stream and control their Motorola smartphones directly from the headset. Setting up Smart Connect involves downloading the app and syncing devices via a QR code. The app allows for app streaming, creating a phone-like interface in VR, and supports multiple apps. It also includes a desktop mode for a computer-like experience. However, users may face issues with app scaling, keyboard functionality, and navigation due to small interface elements. Overall, Smart Connect aims to enhance connectivity between smartphones and VR technology.

Tech Optimizer

June 11, 2025

Databricks Launches Lakebase: a New Class of Operational Database for AI Apps and Agents

Databricks has launched Lakebase, a fully-managed Postgres database that integrates operational and analytical systems for AI-driven applications. Lakebase is part of the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform and is currently in Public Preview. It utilizes Neon technology for continuous autoscaling, enabling low latency and high concurrency. Key features include separated compute and storage, an open-source foundation, AI optimization, lakehouse integration, and enterprise readiness. Early adopters are using Lakebase to enhance various business processes, and it is supported by a partner network for data integration and governance.

TrendTechie

June 11, 2025

Похоже, что мнения игроков тоже купили: вышедший экшен MindsEye получил низкие оценки геймеров, а игру тут же выложили на торренты

Build A Rocket Boy has launched its narrative-driven action game, MindsEye, available for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. The protagonist, Jacob Diaz, is a former special forces operative with a neuro-implant, involved in a conspiracy in the futuristic city of Redrock. The game features a cinematic storyline and fast-paced gunfights but has received a mixed reception, holding a 42% positive rating on Steam due to technical issues and poor optimization. MindsEye was released without anti-piracy measures, making it available on torrent sites.

Tech Optimizer

June 10, 2025

Why Instacart Moved to Postgres & pgvector to Boost Semantic Search

Instacart serves 14 million daily users and manages billions of products, necessitating advanced search capabilities that go beyond keyword matching to understand user intent. The search system must reflect real-time inventory changes, leading to significant workloads on the database. Instacart transitioned from Elasticsearch and FAISS to a hybrid architecture using Postgres and pgvector, improving search performance and reducing write workloads by tenfold. This normalization allowed for better storage of machine learning features and improved flexibility. Moving compute closer to storage with NVMe resulted in a twofold increase in search performance. Instacart's migration to pgvector eliminated data duplication and operational complexity, enhancing search quality and user satisfaction, evidenced by a 6% decrease in searches with zero results.

Winsage

June 9, 2025

Microsoft cuts the Windows 11 bloat for Xbox handhelds

Microsoft has streamlined Windows 11 for gaming handhelds, introducing the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X in collaboration with ASUS. This new approach eliminates non-essential components of the operating system to enhance the gaming experience. Key features not loaded during gameplay include the desktop wallpaper, taskbar, and various productivity-related processes. The idle power consumption of these handhelds is about one-third that of a traditional Windows desktop, freeing up around 2 GB of memory for gaming. Users can choose to revert to the full Windows 11 experience if desired.

Tech Optimizer

June 9, 2025

SQL Server vs. PostgreSQL query optimization: room for improvement?

The PostgreSQL community has developed tools like AQO and sr_plan extensions to enhance migration paths from Oracle, making PostgreSQL more appealing for transitions. PostgreSQL has been noted to outperform Oracle in certain scenarios, particularly in automatic re-optimization. Migrations from Oracle to PostgreSQL are generally smooth, aided by session variable extensions. However, migrating from SQL Server to PostgreSQL presents challenges, including significant query slowdowns. For example, a query that executed in 20 milliseconds on SQL Server took weeks on PostgreSQL due to an inefficient query plan. A specific JOIN operation involving GROUP BY on small tables showed a drastic difference in execution time: PostgreSQL took 4000 seconds while SQL Server completed it in 300 seconds. SQL Server employs a Hash Join and parallelizes execution across eight threads, enhancing performance. PostgreSQL's excessive time on hash calculations and tuple comparisons during this operation was noted, as well as its limitations in parallel processing due to temporary tables not being visible to parallel workers. Adjusting PostgreSQL settings for parallel workers improved performance, allowing it to match SQL Server's execution time. PostgreSQL's selectivity estimation for JOINs with multiple conditions often leads to underestimations, while SQL Server excels in this area by collecting extensive statistics. PostgreSQL's current extended statistics capabilities are limited, but the community is working on improvements. SQL Server's advanced parameterization and caching further enhance its optimization capabilities compared to PostgreSQL.