product design Archives

AppWizard

June 2, 2025

The Sims co-creator Tim LeTourneau has passed away

Tim LeTourneau, a significant figure in the creation of The Sims, passed away, as announced by his wife, Donna. He began his career in the gaming industry in 1998 at Maxis, where he served as a senior producer for eight years and contributed to the success of The Sims franchise. In 2006, he moved to Electronic Arts, becoming an executive producer and later Vice President and General Manager of The Sims Studio in 2008. In March 2011, he joined Zynga as Vice President of studios and was promoted to Chief Creative Officer within two years. After a brief stint at Storm8 as Chief Creative Officer, he returned to Zynga as Senior Vice President of games. In March 2017, he became Director of Product Design at Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment until his departure in 2021. He then served as Senior Advisor at Fortis Games. Following his passing, a former Maxis team member shared a tribute on Reddit, highlighting the familial atmosphere LeTourneau created at the studio.

AppWizard

May 16, 2025

Google to give app devs access to Gemini Nano for on-device AI

Google is preparing to unveil new mobile AI tools at the upcoming I/O event, including a suite of APIs that will enable developers to use Gemini Nano for on-device AI applications. The ML Kit SDK will be updated to support on-device generative AI functionalities through Gemini Nano, which integrates with existing models and offers predefined features for ease of implementation. The ML Kit’s GenAI APIs will allow applications to perform tasks such as summarization, proofreading, rewriting, and image description without cloud data transmission. However, Gemini Nano's capabilities are limited compared to cloud-based options, with summaries restricted to three bullet points and image descriptions available only in English. The standard version, Gemini Nano XS, requires about 100MB of storage, while the smaller Gemini Nano XXS is text-only and occupies a quarter of that size. ML Kit is compatible with devices beyond Google's Pixel lineup, including the OnePlus 13, Samsung Galaxy S25, and Xiaomi 15, providing developers opportunities to enhance applications with generative AI features.

Winsage

July 10, 2024

Microsoft Windows Hyper-V EoP bug under active exploit

Microsoft's July Patch Tuesday includes more than 130 CVEs, with at least two bugs actively exploited. One bug is a Windows Hyper-V elevation of privilege flaw, while the other is a Windows MSHTML platform spoofing vulnerability. Five critical Microsoft CVEs are identified, including RCE bugs in Windows Remote Desktop Licensing Service. Adobe's patch dump addresses seven critical bugs, while SAP released 18 new and updated patches, including a high-priority fix for a missing authorization check vulnerability. Fortinet fixed cross-site scripting and IP address validation vulnerabilities, while Citrix addressed privilege-escalation flaws. Google released patches for 27 CVEs in Android, with the worst being a critical security vulnerability in the Framework component.

Winsage

April 23, 2024

Microsoft wants to bolster the manufacturing process of future Surface devices with AI and machine learning

Microsoft's Surface and Azure teams are using Azure's high-performance computing capabilities to accelerate the design process of Surface devices, transitioning product-level structural simulations to the Azure HPC environment.