scale Archives

AppWizard

July 31, 2026

Total War: Warhammer 40k’s siege reset is one of the things I’m looking forward to most

The author experienced a frustrating siege battle in Total War: Warhammer 3 due to a gate bug that immobilized their unit. Historically, the series has faced technical issues with sieges, including the "gate bug" and unreliable pathfinding. The author speculates about siege mechanics in the upcoming Total War: Warhammer 40k, noting the presence of monumental structures and specialized Space Marine legions. They mention the absence of conventional siege towers and ladders in a recent livestream, suggesting potential changes to siege map designs. The author expresses a preference for battles in streets rather than relying on walls, which could lead to more dynamic gameplay. They anticipate that any siege-related bugs from previous games may not carry over to the new game due to the introduction of the War Core engine, fostering optimism for improved siege mechanics.

AppWizard

July 31, 2026

Gamers compress 80TB map of Minecraft’s oldest anarchy server down to a 15TB download — custom .zvcr compression format and 28 bots map 1 million blocks on infamous 2b2t server

A group of Minecraft enthusiasts has mapped the entire 2b2t server, resulting in a 15TB download that unpacks to an 80TB archive. The project, known as the 2b2tplace preservation project, began in 2024 and concluded in April 2026 after 22 months of work using 28 bot accounts to document over one million blocks across the Overworld, Nether, and End dimensions. The team developed a custom compression format called .zvcr to manage the large dataset, differing from the traditional .mca format.

AppWizard

July 31, 2026

Gamers compress 80TB map of Minecraft’s oldest anarchy server down to a 15TB download

A team of Minecraft enthusiasts has mapped the entire 2b2t server, resulting in a 15TB compressed download that can expand to an 80TB archive. The project, known as the 2b2tplace preservation initiative, began in 2024 and concluded in April 2026 after 22 months of work using 28 bot accounts to map over one million blocks across the Overworld, Nether, and End dimensions. The team developed a custom compression format (.zvcr) to achieve an 81.25% space savings, allowing the data to be stored more efficiently. The 2b2t server, which has been operational since 2010, is known for its lack of rules and moderation, fostering a unique anarchic environment. Despite preservation efforts, concerns exist among players about the server drifting from its original spirit.

Tech Optimizer

July 30, 2026

Generating Referentially Consistent Synthetic Test Data for PostgreSQL in .NET Application Modernization

Satyajit Gokhale, Aiswaryaa Venugopalan, Ruchi Agarwal, Nits Jeganathan, Khurram Khawaja, Vijay Mandadi, and Luke Huan contributed to this article. AWS Transform offers a .NET application modernization service that allows enterprise customers to migrate from Microsoft SQL Server to Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL Compatible Edition. This migration reduces licensing costs and enhances scalability while utilizing an open-source ecosystem. Schema conversion tools can assist in translating DDL to PostgreSQL-compatible definitions, but correctness must be verified by teams to ensure performance under real-world workloads. Traditional testing methods, such as using production data or manual checks, are not scalable and raise privacy concerns. Therefore, there is a need for realistic synthetic data generated at scale that adheres to the migrated schema's constraints. AWS Transform for SQL Server modernization employs an AI agent to generate constraint-respecting synthetic data at scale during the migration workflow. This process involves loading the PostgreSQL schema into a live database, constructing a dependency graph for data generation, and distributing tasks across multiple sub-agents. The agent validates each generated INSERT against the live database, ensuring compliance with constraints and providing error diagnostics for any violations. The synthetic data generation workflow consists of four stages: schema analysis, establishing generation order, distributing tasks across sub-agents, and validation with error recovery. The agent extracts metadata from the PostgreSQL schema, determines a valid table generation sequence, parallelizes data generation while maintaining referential integrity, and generates and validates data row-by-row against the live database. Each successful insertion enriches the context for subsequent generations, while errors are handled through structured diagnostics and iterative regeneration. The process ensures referential integrity and preserves the generation state, allowing for recovery from interruptions without data loss.

Tech Optimizer

July 30, 2026

EDB Says Postgres AI Tops Enterprise AI Data Platform Benchmarks

EnterpriseDB (EDB) has released benchmark results for its EDB Postgres AI (EDB PG AI), showing superior performance compared to various AI data platforms, including vector databases and managed Postgres platforms. The independent testing by McKnight Consulting Group indicated that EDB PG AI outperformed competitors in all evaluated metrics, including query speed, accuracy, and cost efficiency. Key findings include: - EDB PG AI achieved a median query latency of 50 milliseconds at 50 million vectors, making it the fastest platform tested, 80 times faster than Databricks and 21 times faster than MongoDB Atlas. - It demonstrated the highest accuracy for core vector search with a recall rate of 0.911, outperforming MongoDB by 26% and Databricks by 17%. - In a concurrent agent loop test, EDB PG AI completed tasks in 27 milliseconds, significantly faster than MongoDB Atlas (699 milliseconds) and Databricks (5.1 seconds). - EDB PG AI provided 76 times better price performance than Databricks and 34 times better than MongoDB. - The platform integrates vectors, structured data, and analytics within a single operational database, enhancing efficiency and reducing the risk of data inconsistency. The benchmark study assessed the performance of EDB PG AI against Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL, Databricks, Crunchy Bridge, MongoDB Atlas, and open source PostgreSQL, all standardized on equivalent enterprise hardware.

AppWizard

July 30, 2026

Video: Here’s 19 minutes of Gears of War: E-Day Horde Siege mode gameplay running on the ‘Ludicrous’ PC preset

Gears of War: E-Day features a new multiplayer mode called Horde Siege, where 12 players are divided into three squads with unique objectives on the same map. The gameplay includes large-scale events like Boss Invasions that encourage cooperation among squads. A preview session showcased the 'Blitz' variation on the Golden Quarter map, using high-end PC specifications. Players who pre-order the game will access an open beta from August 6-10, which will include one Horde Siege map and a level cap of 10. The beta will also feature two Versus modes and two maps, while the full game will launch on October 6 with additional content. The Premium Edition offers five days of early access starting October 1.

AppWizard

July 30, 2026

Russia accuses Telegram CEO Pavel Durov of aiding terrorism in its latest digital crackdown

Russian authorities have charged Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of Telegram, with aiding terrorism, amid a crackdown on online freedoms since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The Federal Security Service (FSB) accused Telegram of failing to remove channels used by Ukrainian intelligence and extremist groups, leading to human casualties. Durov, residing abroad, is on international wanted lists and could face a life sentence if convicted. Telegram has over 1 billion global users and has not commented on the charges. Under President Putin, Russia has enforced strict internet censorship, banning major social media platforms and blocking messaging apps like Signal and Viber. Despite restrictions, many Russian officials still use Telegram. Durov was also arrested in Paris in 2024 for allegedly allowing illicit activities on the platform, and he remains under investigation in France. Additionally, Russia has been accused of using Telegram for its own recruitment efforts related to sabotage.

Tech Optimizer

July 29, 2026

EDB Postgres® AI Outperforms Vector Databases, Lakehouses, and Document Stores for Agentic AI on Speed, Accuracy, and Cost

EDB Postgres AI is a pioneering solution that integrates intelligence and data on a unified sovereign foundation, eliminating the need for ETL processes, data duplication, and separate vector stores. Independent benchmarks show that EDB Postgres AI outperforms competing platforms in speed, accuracy, and cost-effectiveness. A study by McKnight Consulting Group indicates that EDB Postgres AI excels in key performance metrics, including query latency, accuracy, cost, and data freshness, outperforming specialized vector databases and other managed Postgres platforms. EDB Postgres AI achieves median query latencies of 50 milliseconds at a scale of 50 million vectors, making it 80x faster than Databricks, 21x faster than MongoDB Atlas, and up to 2x faster than alternatives like Aurora and Crunchy Bridge. It also delivers the highest recall rates for core vector searches, surpassing competitors like MongoDB and Databricks. In tests involving concurrent retrievals, EDB Postgres AI completed a three-arm agent loop in 27 milliseconds, significantly faster than other platforms. In terms of cost efficiency, EDB Postgres AI offers 76x better price performance than Databricks, 34x better than MongoDB, and 23%–28% better than the nearest managed Postgres competitors when considering query speed. The architecture of EDB Postgres AI allows for the integration of vector, filtered, and full-text retrieval in a single query path, ensuring real-time data access and eliminating the need for separate systems.

AppWizard

July 29, 2026

Just 40 minutes from Chicago: the largest immersive venue in the Midwest, spanning 26,000 square feet, is hosting Minecraft’s first real-life challenge

The Minecraft Experience: Villager Rescue has opened at EXP Rosemont, the largest immersive venue in the Midwest, located 30 minutes from downtown Chicago. This interactive adventure, available until September 7, allows participants to save villagers from a zombie invasion in an approximately 55-minute experience through eight interactive rooms. Players use a handheld device called the Orb of Interaction to engage with the environment, tackle challenges, and confront game-related foes. Successful participants receive a limited-edition Minecraft: Bedrock Edition in-game cape. EXP Rosemont is a 26,000-square-foot venue designed for large-scale interactive experiences, located at 9900 Berwyn Avenue in the Pearl District of Rosemont.

Winsage

July 29, 2026

Microsoft reportedly using TPM chips to weed out Windows piracy

Microsoft's Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 has been integral to Windows 11's security since its launch in 2021. TPM is now standard in most CPUs, allowing Microsoft to enhance device activation security. The current Key Management Service (KMS) model has vulnerabilities that hackers exploit, prompting the need for stronger device identity and activation integrity assurances. TPM provides a hardware-level security mechanism for the activation process, where KMS hosts must present TPM credentials to validate their hardware identity and confirm they are uncompromised. Starting with upcoming Windows Server releases, KMS hosts will be required to prove they run on verified hardware before activating clients. By August 2026, Windows Server 2025 will help administrators prepare for these changes.