processing Archives

Winsage

October 15, 2026

We test the RTX Spark Superchip in Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Ultra — Nvidia’s Windows on Arm platform impresses in local AI, but gaming isn’t its strong suit

Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang introduced the RTX Spark platform at Computex 2026, which integrates the GB10 Superchip with a specialized version of Windows on Arm for local AI execution. Nvidia collaborates with Microsoft, Dell, HP, MSI, Lenovo, and Asus to create PCs that function as autonomous companions. The platform's local AI performance is assessed using a new benchmark called AgentPerf-local, focusing on completion time for AI tasks. The RTX Spark-powered Surface Laptop Ultra has shown good performance, though it comes with a high price of ,899 for 1TB of storage. The platform faces challenges due to rising DRAM and NAND prices and is still in development, with full software infrastructure yet to be established.

AppWizard

October 15, 2026

Ledger Atom: Ledger’s $849 Android Security Device Ships 2027

Ledger has introduced the Ledger Atom, a hardware signer designed to run standard Android applications while ensuring robust security features. It operates on a dual-mode system, using Android Open Source Project software for everyday tasks and Ledger OS on a Common Criteria EAL6+ certified Secure Element for sensitive operations. The device features a secure chip, a dedicated screen, and a Privacy Switch to disable the camera and microphone. It is equipped with a 6.77-inch AMOLED display, a 50 MP rear camera, a 32 MP front camera, and connectivity options including 4G and 5G via eSIM. The Atom is a data-only device that does not support traditional voice calls or SMS. It is priced at 9 for the Founders Edition, with shipping expected in the second quarter of 2027.

Winsage

October 15, 2026

Expert tips to speed up your Windows PC

A fast PC enhances productivity by allowing users to run complex software and multitask efficiently. The latest version of Windows, Windows 11 2024 Update Version 24H2, was launched in October 2024 and offers improved speed and usability compared to previous versions. To optimize a Windows PC's performance, users can take several steps: - Delete old files to free up space. - Remove unwanted startup programs through the Windows Settings app or Task Manager. - Update drivers via Device Manager to ensure optimal performance. - Pause OneDrive syncing to reduce RAM usage. - Use ReadyBoost with an external USB drive to increase memory storage. - Install antivirus software to detect and eliminate viruses. - Upgrade RAM for better performance under heavy usage. - Change power mode to "Best Performance" in settings. - Adjust Windows appearance by disabling visual effects. - Turn off unwanted notifications to minimize disruptions. - Uninstall unnecessary apps to free up resources. - Enable Game Mode for optimized gaming performance. - Restart the PC regularly to clear RAM and refresh resources. - Restore the PC to a previous setting if performance issues persist.

AppWizard

October 13, 2026

Huion Kamvas Pad 12 review: a budget Android drawing tablet that gets the small things right

Creative Bloq's review highlights the Huion Kamvas Pad 12 as a compact, entry-level Android art tablet priced at 9 / £449. It features the new PenTech 4.0 stylus with 16,384 pressure levels, a sturdy design resembling an iPad, and an etched glass surface for a paper-like feel. The tablet runs on Android 16, supports various drawing apps, and has a battery life of up to eight hours. While it offers good color accuracy covering 99% of sRGB, it may not match the precision of higher-end models like the iPad Pro or Wacom tablets. Palm rejection could be improved, and users may need a drawing glove to prevent unintended screen interactions.

AppWizard

October 12, 2026

OpenAI’s own advice during its October 9 Android outage: use ChatGPT on the web

On the evening of October 9, users attempting to access ChatGPT on Android devices encountered the message "This content is unavailable in this version of the app" due to an issue from OpenAI. The problem began at 21:00:39Z and lasted for three hours and 26 minutes, concluding at 00:26:44Z on October 10. OpenAI advised users to switch to the web version while they worked on a fix for older app versions. A second major incident occurred 48 minutes later, locking workspace administrators out of plugin settings from 21:48:34Z to 23:26:59Z on October 9, totaling one hour and 38 minutes. Both incidents overlapped entirely, with the Android issue persisting for an additional hour after the admin issue was resolved. As of 21:42 UTC on October 10, a third minor incident regarding "Delayed Costs data in the Compliance API" remained unresolved, having started at 17:23:18Z on October 9. OpenAI reported that some customers might experience incomplete Costs data while the backlog was addressed, with the catch-up process expected to continue through October 11. ChatGPT usage and API Platform requests were unaffected, and the overall status was designated as "Partial System Degradation." Additionally, a more significant outage occurred on September 29, lasting five hours and 22 minutes and affecting 30 components, which was more extensive than the incidents on October 9. Neither of the major incidents on October 9 impacted the API.

Tech Optimizer

October 11, 2026

Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL now supports direct querying of Apache Iceberg and Parquet data in your data lake

Amazon has introduced a new capability for Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL that allows users to query operational data alongside data stored in data lakes formatted in Apache Iceberg and Apache Parquet. This feature enables direct access to Iceberg REST Catalog-compatible catalogs, eliminating the need for data duplication or relocation. The integration of DuckDB within Aurora PostgreSQL allows users to query live operational data, including uncommitted writes, alongside data from data lakes using standard PostgreSQL syntax. This capability is available on Aurora PostgreSQL versions 17 (starting with 17.11) and 18 (starting with 18.6). Users must create an Aurora PostgreSQL cluster, attach an IAM role with the AuroraAnalytics feature, and enable the aurora_analytics extension to utilize this feature. They can create foreign tables referencing Iceberg or Parquet data in the data lake, and query them using familiar PostgreSQL commands. Aurora optimizes query performance through techniques like predicate pushdown and column pruning, and users can monitor query behavior with metrics provided by aurora_analytics_stat_statements(). Direct querying of Apache Iceberg and Parquet data is available across all commercial AWS Regions and AWS GovCloud (US) Regions without additional charges, aside from incremental Aurora compute and Amazon S3 request costs.

Tech Optimizer

October 10, 2026

AWS embeds DuckDB in its PostgreSQL DBMS to speed queries of live and historical data

Amazon Web Services Inc. has enhanced its Aurora PostgreSQL database management system to allow users to query the Apache Iceberg data lake directly. This feature integrates the DuckDB analytical engine, enabling seamless access to live transactions and historical records without data duplication or complex ETL processes. Customers can use existing PostgreSQL applications to query data in Amazon S3, including S3 Tables. The integration aims to reduce the engineering workload associated with data pipelines and supports real-time applications. DuckDB processes analytical scans within Aurora, eliminating extra network hops and allowing single queries to access both live and archived data. The feature supports external catalogs compliant with the Iceberg REST Catalog specification and can create foreign tables referencing data across multiple catalogs. Aurora optimizes query performance by filtering records and caching frequently accessed data. Customers can combine recent transactions in Aurora with historical data from S3 without manual schema definitions. For low-latency workloads, selected data can be copied into native Aurora tables using standard SQL. This capability requires the aurora_analytics extension and an AWS IAM role for S3 and Glue access, and is compatible with Aurora PostgreSQL versions 17.11 and 18.6. The feature is available across all AWS regions at no additional charge, with costs incurred only for Aurora computing resources and S3 requests.

Tech Optimizer

October 10, 2026

Designing a Concurrent Donation Ledger With FastAPI and PostgreSQL

Every year, billions of dollars flow through online crowdfunding platforms, leading to donor concerns about the allocation of funds. Traditional crowdfunding applications lack transparency, often leaving funds in unverified balances without real-time auditability or guarantees against double-allocations. GoodCause, a social impact platform, aims to address this issue by creating a system that ensures financial integrity and atomic fund distribution. Its architecture is based on mobile-first delivery, atomic auditability, and strict data isolation, utilizing technologies such as React Native, FastAPI, and PostgreSQL. The platform incorporates a mobile client for cross-platform navigation, a backend API for domain-driven routing, a database with Row-Level Security, and a payment gateway for secure transactions. A significant engineering challenge is preventing race conditions and double-spending in concurrent donation scenarios.

Tech Optimizer

October 10, 2026

Russian software taught to work more easily with large data arrays

Russian Postgres Professional has released an update to Postgres Pro AXE, version 2.0, which allows users to handle analytical data using standard SQL queries instead of specialized stored procedures. This update improves accessibility to analytical data, which is stored in Parquet format and managed through a dedicated metadata catalog. The system is designed for analytical workloads, supporting Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) and hybrid workloads. The first public version of Postgres Pro AXE was launched in January 2026, featuring vectorized analytical queries and compatibility with columnar storage. In the Russian market, alternatives to Postgres Pro AXE include Arenadata DB, optimized for corporate data warehouses, and Arenadata QuickMarts, a clustered columnar DBMS based on ClickHouse for rapid analytics.

Tech Optimizer

October 10, 2026

How Telangana’s MeeSeva migration to open source could make governments rethink software costs

In April 2026, Telangana's MeeSeva platform migrated from the Oracle database to the open-source PostgreSQL database after 15 years of reliance on Oracle. This transition aimed to reduce annual costs of approximately ₹10 crore associated with Oracle licensing and maintenance. The initiative began in 2023, and the migration was executed with less than four hours of downtime, processing around 80,000 transactions daily. The migration involved over 85 microservices, three Oracle servers, and 1,939 tables, with the process automated by the Ora2Pg tool, which handled 60-70% of the transition. The migration cost was below ₹10 lakh, and after the switch, MeeSeva processed nearly 200 million transactions without data loss. The new architecture includes automatic failover capabilities to minimize disruption.