performance optimizations Archives

Tech Optimizer

June 16, 2025

Databricks rolls out Lakebase Postgres and Agent Bricks for AI-era apps

Databricks has introduced the Lakebase Postgres database layer to enhance its lakehouse architecture, facilitating AI applications and analytics on operational data. The company also launched Agent Bricks to simplify the development of automated AI agents. During the Data + AI Summit, CEO Ali Ghodsi emphasized the importance of transitioning from outdated systems to modern solutions for AI. Lakebase, powered by Neon technology, is a fully managed, Postgres-compatible database that supports data loading from over 300 sources. Databricks aims to unify operational and analytical systems for real-time decision-making. The summit outlined a three-chapter framework: establishing the lakehouse, integrating AI, and introducing Lakebase. Agent Bricks enables business users to create AI agents without extensive technical knowledge, while Managed Iceberg Tables support external engines and promise performance optimizations. Databricks announced partnerships with Microsoft and Google Cloud for deeper integration and AI model usage. The company is investing 0 million in AI education and plans to release Lakeflow Designer for no-code ETL capabilities. Databricks anticipates reaching .7 billion in annualized revenue by July, with a growth rate of 50 percent and plans to hire 3,000 employees in 2025. Lakebase is currently in Public Preview.

AppWizard

June 10, 2025

Google details its future Android 16 plans this year, and highlights new features

Google's developer blog details the upcoming Android 16 SDK release, set for a significant update in Q4 2025, with a Q3 update introducing the Material 3 Expressive redesign. The official launch of Android 16 on June 10 includes features such as "outline text" for Accessibility settings, Adaptive Apps for foldable devices, and consistent progress notifications. Beta testers can opt out of the program to receive the stable version if they haven't joined the Android 16 QPR1 Beta. Key enhancements focus on app experiences on larger displays, including adaptive functionality and real-time tracking for activities. Improvements in mobile photography include night mode scene detection and UltraHDR capabilities. Accessibility is improved with the new "outline text," and privacy features include defenses against intent redirection attacks and location masking when pairing devices. Additional performance optimizations involve 16KB pages and updates to JobScheduler and Android Runtime. The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL features a 6.8-inch display, advanced AI software, and a larger battery.

AppWizard

June 3, 2025

Minecraft Movie Streaming Soon on Max With Sources Pointing To June Date

The Minecraft Movie is set to stream on Max, with a potential release date of June 20, 2025, although this has not been officially confirmed by Warner Bros. Discovery. The film, directed by Jared Hess and featuring Jason Momoa, premiered in theaters on May 30, 2025. It will be available for digital purchase or rental on platforms like Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home. Physical editions (4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD) are scheduled for release on June 24, 2025. In 2025, Minecraft modpacks are evolving, with a focus on technical modpacks and new gameplay experiences. Notable modpacks include "Biohazard: Project Genesis" and "Multiversal Archeology," which emphasize automation and resource gathering. Popular modpacks are introducing intricate quest systems, performance optimizations, and visual enhancements, including high-definition textures and dynamic lighting. Tools like CurseForge and packwiz are streamlining modpack creation and sharing. The Bedrock Edition has seen new modpacks like "Elemental Horizons" and "Survival Evolution." "Technological Frontiers 4" is currently the top-rated modpack on CurseForge. The 1.21 update has influenced modpack developments, leading to new dungeon exploration themes.

Tech Optimizer

May 21, 2025

Achieve up to 1.7 times higher write throughput and 1.38 times better price performance with Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL on AWS Graviton4-based R8g instances

Upgrading to Graviton4-based R8g instances with Aurora PostgreSQL-Compatible 17.4 in an Aurora I/O-Optimized cluster configuration results in significant performance improvements. The new instances provide up to 1.7 times higher write throughput, 1.38 times better price-performance, and reduce commit latency by up to 46% on r8g.16xlarge instances and 38% on r8g.2xlarge instances compared to Graviton2-based R6g instances. The Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL-Compatible Edition now supports AWS Graviton4-based R8g instances and PostgreSQL 17.4, which introduces performance enhancements for I/O-Optimized configurations, optimizing write operations and batch processing. R8g instances offer up to 192 vCPUs and 1.5 TB of memory, supporting larger configurations and providing up to 50 Gbps of network bandwidth. PostgreSQL 17 includes vacuum improvements, eliminates the need to drop logical replication slots during upgrades, and expands SQL/JSON standards. Aurora PostgreSQL-Compatible separates compute from storage, enabling independent scaling and maintaining six-way replication for durability, while processing changes as log records to reduce I/O operations. Performance benchmarks using HammerDB show improvements in throughput and commit latency across various workloads. For small workloads on 2xlarge instance size, throughput increased by 50.25% and commit latency improved by 33.87%. For medium workloads on 16xlarge instance size, throughput increased by 30% and commit latency improved by 17.44%. The most significant performance benefits arise from combining hardware upgrades from Graviton2 to Graviton4 with database engine upgrades from PostgreSQL 15.10 to 17.4. For small workloads, throughput increased by 70% and commit latency improved by 38.71%. For medium workloads, throughput increased by 70% and commit latency improved by 46.67%. Cost efficiency is also enhanced, with a 38% improvement in price performance and a 61.26% improvement in price-performance ratio when comparing Graviton2 and Graviton4 instances. Reserved Instances for Graviton4-based R8g instances offer additional cost-optimization opportunities.

AppWizard

May 21, 2025

Android 16 QPR1 Beta 1 starts rolling out with Material 3 Expressive

Google has begun the rollout of Android 16's first Beta, known as Android 16 QPR1 (BP31.250502.008), for enrolled users of the Pixel 6 series and newer devices, including Pixel tablets. This update features the new Material 3 Expressive UI, which enhances user experience with a focus on color, shape, size, motion, and containment. Notable features include Gemini's live notifications, improved screen recording, and a redesigned Settings app with color-coded icons. The update also includes bug fixes, performance optimizations, and August 2025 security patches. Users who have previously enrolled in the Android 16 Beta will receive this update automatically.

Winsage

May 17, 2025

Windows 11 Home vs Pro for Gaming: Which One Should You Choose?

Upgrading from Windows 11 Home to Windows 11 Pro does not yield significant benefits in gaming performance, compatibility, or features for most gamers. Both editions provide identical gaming performance, supporting the same core gaming technologies such as DirectStorage, Auto HDR, and Game Mode. Windows 11 Home supports up to 128 GB of RAM and one CPU socket with 64 cores, while Windows 11 Pro supports up to 2 TB of RAM and two CPU sockets with 128 cores. Pro includes additional features like BitLocker encryption, Remote Desktop hosting, Hyper-V virtualization, and Group Policy management, which are not typically utilized by gamers. The price of Windows 11 Home is lower than that of Pro, making it a more cost-effective choice for gaming. Both editions meet the hardware requirements for modern gaming, and compatibility with major games and platforms is consistent across both versions.

AppWizard

May 14, 2025

All 3 original Stalker games get ‘fully remastered and optimized’ versions next week, and I can’t wait to get shredded by an anomaly from the comfort of my sofa

GSC Game World announced plans to release "next-gen patches" for the original Stalker trilogy titles: Shadow of Chernobyl, Clear Sky, and Call of Pripyat, on PC. Potential enhancements may include higher-resolution cutscenes, improved visuals and performance, controller support, and Steam achievements. The studio is also continuing to develop Stalker 2.

Tech Optimizer

May 6, 2025

Crunchy Data Validates Postgres for Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization Workloads

Validation for Crunchy Postgres on Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization has been officially announced. Crunchy Data has expanded its collaboration with Red Hat to enhance support for Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization, enabling customers to deploy production-ready Postgres infrastructure. The validation allows Red Hat customers to implement Postgres for various applications within Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization-based virtual machines. Key features of Crunchy Postgres include automated deployment, comprehensive backups, disaster recovery capabilities, high availability, connection scaling, performance optimizations, and robust monitoring tools. This announcement continues the collaboration between Crunchy Data and Red Hat, which includes previous certifications and a shared commitment to open source software.

Tech Optimizer

April 24, 2025

TecentDB PostgreSQL will provide full support for PG 17

TencentDB for PostgreSQL has introduced robust security measures including data encryption, Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) isolation, and process monitoring for compliance with international standards. PostgreSQL 17.0 features enhanced logical replication with slot failover, performance optimizations such as batch I/O page read/write and improved Write-Ahead Logging, and operational enhancements like incremental backups and a transaction timeout parameter. Tencent has developed features for resource management, including fine-grained multi-tenant resource management with CPU resource isolation and process-level monitoring, as well as SQL throttling. Cold/hot data separation solutions include the 'cos_fdw' plugin for accessing cold data and the 'starocks_fdw' plugin for integrating with the StarRocks analytics engine. Security auditing has been improved with an Express Edition for basic needs and an Advanced Edition for broader audit coverage. These enhancements aim to balance performance and cost, maximize resource efficiency, and strengthen compliance.

Tech Optimizer

March 27, 2025

PostgreSQL Database Lands Initial Support For IO_uring: “Can Be Considerably Faster”

Initial support for IO_uring has been merged into the PostgreSQL Git repository as of March 26, enhancing asynchronous I/O capabilities. This feature is part of the upcoming PostgreSQL 18 release. To use it, developers must compile PostgreSQL with the --with-liburing option and set the I/O method to io_method=io_uring in the configuration. Recent commits included adding the liburing build dependency and integrating the io_method=io_uring option. Using IO_uring can significantly improve performance, especially for small I/O operations, due to reduced context-switch overhead and limitations of worker-based AIO. IO_uring is Linux-specific and requires the liburing library. Further performance optimizations are anticipated before the PostgreSQL 18.0 release in September.