play Archives

AppWizard

June 30, 2025

Minecraft Java Edition Update 1.21.7: New Features and How to Download It

Minecraft has released update 1.21.7 for Java Edition, featuring a "Good Boy" painting by artist Sarah Boeving and a "Lava Chicken" music disc by Hyper Potions. Players can obtain the Lava Chicken music disc by defeating a Chicken Jockey (a Baby Zombie riding a Chicken). The update also includes bug fixes and performance enhancements, such as resolving issues with moon and map displays, correcting text and sign rendering, fixing crashes on specific AMD graphics, addressing texture leaks and memory issues, improving underwater fog effects, and fixing breaking animations for various blocks. To download the update, players should open the Minecraft Launcher, navigate to the Installations tab, enable Snapshots, and select version 1.21.7. It is recommended to back up current worlds when using test updates.

AppWizard

June 30, 2025

This week in PC games: Mecha Break, ICE protest charity bundles and vibrant ostrich farming

This week, several new PC gaming releases are available as a way to escape the heat in the UK. Notable titles include: - LEO: Low Earth Orbit: Features lounge jazz and unique gameplay where guns propel players away from targets. - Rekindled Trails: Focuses on wilderness exploration and grid-puzzle trading. - Monster Hunter Wilds: An update is launching today for this title. - Seven Days Until Morning: An artsy horror game set on Pluto, exploring the end of humanity. - Mecha Break: A free-to-play game about dismantling mechs with customizable anime girl pilots. - FLOWorlds: Players terraform hexagonal planets by dropping frozen shards from orbit. - No ICE in California Charity Bundle: Launching today, proceeds will benefit organizations supporting migrants in the USA. Additionally, the Treehouse team is dealing with various challenges during the heatwave, including investigating the fall of Hytale and exploring new features.

Tech Optimizer

June 30, 2025

‘PostgreSQL Eats the World, But CockroachDB Digests It’

The database market is shifting due to increasing demands for scalability, resilience, and AI integration. CockroachDB, led by CEO Spencer Kimball, focuses on distributed SQL databases built on PostgreSQL, emphasizing horizontal scaling capabilities. CockroachDB is designed for high operational data volumes, aiming to support hundreds of terabytes to petabytes. The company prioritizes operational databases over analytical ones, catering to both human and AI access for high concurrency and strong consistency. Kimball envisions AI enhancing observability and support, potentially reducing issue resolution times significantly. CockroachDB is also developing vector indexing for nearest-neighbor searches in high-dimensional spaces but does not aim to compete with general-purpose vector databases. Cost reduction is a priority, with potential improvements in utilization and cloud cost efficiencies projected to reduce costs by 10 to 16 times. CockroachDB's geographic scalability allows it to serve customers across multiple regions, ensuring compliance with data locality laws. The database is cloud-agnostic, supporting hybrid deployments, and is positioned as a solution for self-hosted enterprise customers. Kimball highlights the challenges of integrating AI into distributed systems and notes that cloud vendors view CockroachDB as both a competitor and a partner. CockroachDB maintains a PostgreSQL-like experience while adapting for distributed environments, particularly in ID generation. The company was founded in 2015 by former Google employees, inspired by Google’s Bigtable and Spanner databases, and aims to combine the benefits of SQL with the scalability of distributed systems.

AppWizard

June 30, 2025

This is what I’m buying from the Steam Summer Sale

Every summer, the Steam Summer Sale offers substantial discounts on a wide range of PC games. The sale provides an opportunity for gamers to purchase titles they may have missed or explore new ones at reduced prices. Notable titles from the Steam Summer Sale of 2025 include: 1. RoboCop: Rogue City - A first-person shooter priced at .99, capturing the essence of the original films. 2. Star Wars Battlefront 2 - Available for .99, this game has a thriving online multiplayer experience despite its rocky launch. 3. Legacy of Kain: Defiance - Priced under , this title concludes the series with rich storytelling and engaging gameplay. 4. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor - Offered at .99, it features challenging combat and a captivating storyline, along with a vibrant modding community. 5. DOOM Eternal - Available for .99, it promises thrilling gameplay with stunning visuals. The Steam Summer Sale allows gamers to expand their libraries significantly while enjoying considerable savings.

AppWizard

June 29, 2025

At CTC, students build skills and imagination through Minecraft

Central Texas College is hosting a summer program called College for Kids, featuring a Minecraft course for elementary and middle school students. The course, led by instructor George Lander, focuses on creativity and collaboration, allowing students to build characters and environments while developing skills in design, planning, and teamwork. Participants engage in STEM learning and creative problem-solving through the game, demonstrating how gaming can be an effective educational tool.

AppWizard

June 29, 2025

Can Your PC Handle That Game? A Look at Online Game Checker Tools

A PC game checker tool evaluates a computer's specifications against a game's system requirements, assessing components like the processor, graphics card, RAM, and storage capacity. Users can enter a game's name to see if their PC meets the minimum and recommended specifications, either through automatic scans or manual input. These tools help save time and money by preventing the download or purchase of incompatible games, avoiding poor performance, and providing insights for potential upgrades. The process involves visiting a website, selecting a game, scanning the system or inputting specifications, and receiving results quickly. Tips for gamers on a budget include focusing on games with lower system requirements, adjusting game settings for better performance, maintaining system cleanliness, and prioritizing upgrades to RAM or the graphics card.

BetaBeacon

June 28, 2025

Why I keep coming back to this clamshell retro gaming handheld

Clamshell handheld gaming devices like the Anbernic RG34XXSP have become popular due to their unique form factor and affordable prices. These devices run on custom builds of Linux and offer a variety of games up to N64 and Dreamcast. The RG34XXSP features dual sticks for better control and is portable enough to be carried in a pocket without the need for a case or screen protector. These retro handhelds are easy to recommend due to their low cost and variety of form factors.

BetaBeacon

June 28, 2025

Android Set to Introduce a Game-Changing iPhone Feature Enhancing Your Call Experience

Google Contacts app version 4.55 may soon allow users to use images as contact photos and calling cards, potentially linking a user's profile image to a dynamic call screen. The feature could support full-screen images, custom fonts, and cloud synchronization for easy management across devices. This new feature aims to enhance the visual appeal of Android phone calls by allowing users to personalize their call displays with images and text. However, Google has not confirmed the existence of calling cards yet.

Winsage

June 28, 2025

Mercedes-AMG Might Be Having a Windows Vista Moment With These Four-Cylinder Hybrids

Microsoft's Windows Vista, released in 2007, faced significant user dissatisfaction due to performance issues, compatibility problems, and crashes, despite its advanced features. Similarly, Mercedes-AMG's introduction of four-cylinder plug-in hybrid vehicles has led to discontent among enthusiasts, who miss the auditory excitement typical of high-performance cars. Reports indicate that Mercedes is shifting back to inline-sixes and V8 engines due to this disconnect with traditional customers. The four-cylinder AMG models, launched in 2022, may have a short legacy, with fewer than 100,000 units sold. AMG's boss, Michael Schiebe, acknowledged the need for better communication about the technology to customers and salespeople. The criticisms of the new models highlight a lack of the expected sound experience that performance car enthusiasts value.

AppWizard

June 28, 2025

I’ve spent six hours exploring the Steam Summer Sale with our Games Editor, and these are the 10 best games on discount I’d recommend so far

The Steam Summer Sale is currently ongoing, offering discounts for a limited 14-day period. Notable titles include: - Grounded: Developed by Obsidian Entertainment, priced at .99 / £17.49, currently at a 50% discount. - Cult of the Lamb: Developed by Massive Monster, priced at .49 / £9.74, currently at its lowest price. - Disco Elysium - The Final Cut: Developed by ZA/UM, priced at .99 / £3.49, currently at a 90% discount. - Cyberpunk 2077: Developed by CD Projekt Red, priced at .99 / £17.49, now at a historical low. - Little Nightmares 2: Developed by Tarsier Studios, priced at .99 / £2.49, now at a historically low price. - Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy: Developed by Vicarious Visions, priced at .99 / £3.49. - Thank Goodness You're Here!: Developed by Coal Supper, priced at .99 / £10.39, with the largest reduction yet. - Borderlands 3: Developed by Gearbox Software, priced at .99 / £2.49. - Guardians of the Galaxy: Developed by Eidos-Montreal, priced at .99 / £5.04, now at a new low price. - Dead Space: Developed by EA Motive, priced at .99 / £9.99, now at a historic low. Honorable mentions include Control Ultimate Edition, Forza Horizon 5, Elden Ring, Blasphemous, REPO, Undertale, Resident Evil 4, Stardew Valley, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Helldivers 2.