scaling Archives

Tech Optimizer

August 21, 2025

Inside Quick Heal’s Journey: Building India’s First Antivirus to a Global Brand

Quick Heal Technologies was founded by brothers Kailash and Sanjay Katkar in Pune, focusing on antivirus solutions to combat rising computer viruses. It became India's first homegrown antivirus and is now a globally recognized company. Despite India's digital economy expanding, only 7% of organizations are mature in cybersecurity readiness, facing challenges such as a skills deficit, fragmented security implementations, and a disconnect between executive priorities and security realities. India needs over 800,000 cybersecurity professionals, and educational institutions must integrate practical threat scenarios into their curricula. The "Make in India" movement is fostering indigenous cybersecurity solutions that address local threats while being globally relevant. Quick Heal utilizes AI to enhance threat detection and response, analyzing vast amounts of data while emphasizing the irreplaceable role of human expertise in strategic decision-making. Emerging threats include AI-powered social engineering, supply chain attacks, and cloud misconfigurations. Organizations should adopt Zero Trust architectures, invest in continuous security training, and utilize integrated threat intelligence. Quick Heal's leadership emphasizes solving real problems for customers and encourages young engineers to gain practical experience in cybersecurity. Recommended strategies for CISOs include aligning security investments with business priorities, embracing automation, and establishing integrated threat intelligence for effective risk management.

AppWizard

August 15, 2025

Two Fantastic Classic ‘D&D’ PC Games Just Got Re-Released On Steam

Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone and Dungeons & Dragons: Dragonshard are now available on Steam for a modest price. Both games were previously available on GOG for over a decade. SNEG has made enhancements for modern gaming, including smoother startup times and improved graphics for Demon Stone, while Dragonshard features support for higher resolutions and other optimizations. Demon Stone offers hack ‘n’ slash gameplay with a unique narrative structure, while Dragonshard combines real-time strategy with RPG elements. SNEG plans to re-release The Temple of Elemental Evil in September and offers a D&D Classics bundle featuring various old-school titles.

Winsage

August 13, 2025

MS sells cloud VMs for when Windows 11 inevitably breaks

Microsoft has launched Windows 365 Reserve, a service that allows organizations to transition users to temporary virtual machines (VMs) in the cloud during device failures. This service provides employees with access to a secure Cloud PC for up to 10 days, minimizing downtime. The cloud-hosted VMs can be managed through Microsoft Intune, but accessing them requires a secondary device with a web browser or the Windows App. Scaling may be a challenge, as multiple simultaneous users could face resource limitations due to Azure capacity constraints. Applications for the gated beta are open to Microsoft customers, MVPs, or partners with specific licensing requirements, and successful applicants will receive complimentary access for up to 12 weeks.

Tech Optimizer

August 9, 2025

PostgreSQL Revolutionizes Durable Execution with Database Workflow Storage

Developers and enterprises are increasingly turning to PostgreSQL for durable execution, which allows workflows to withstand failures without losing state. PostgreSQL's strong transactional guarantees, adherence to ACID principles, and extensibility make it suitable for this purpose. By using Write-Ahead Logging (WAL), PostgreSQL can reliably record every step of a process, facilitating smooth resumption after disruptions. This approach eliminates the need for separate state management layers, simplifying cloud-native environments. PostgreSQL can manage both data persistence and execution logic, allowing for seamless recovery from failures. Recent advancements, such as integrations from Neon and Inngest, enable real-time workflows based on database changes without requiring complex orchestration services. Updates in PostgreSQL 16 and beyond, including improved logical replication and the anticipated asynchronous I/O in PostgreSQL 18, enhance performance for durable tasks. Adoption of PostgreSQL for durable execution is rising among tech giants and startups, with examples like Figma's scalable Postgres database and AWS’s Aurora DSQL service. This trend reflects a movement towards disaggregated architectures, where databases become active participants in application logic. However, challenges remain in balancing speed and durability configurations. Overall, PostgreSQL is evolving as a resilient solution for durable execution in modern applications.

AppWizard

August 7, 2025

YouTube Android Bug Resets Playback Speed, Frustrating Users

A glitch in the YouTube app for Android prevents users from adjusting playback speeds, leaving them stuck at the default 1x speed. This issue has been reported by users globally and mirrors a similar problem from the previous year, indicating a recurring vulnerability in YouTube’s Android codebase. YouTube has acknowledged the issue and is investigating it, with speculation that it may be linked to recent Android OS updates or changes to internal APIs. The bug affects both stable version 20.28.39 and beta version 20.29.39, while YouTube Music's podcast controls remain unaffected. Users have shared workarounds, such as uninstalling app updates to revert to a functional version, although this may pose security risks. The incident raises concerns about Google’s quality assurance processes and the balance between innovation and reliability in app development.

AppWizard

August 7, 2025

Warner Bros. Discovery built its Q2 on A Minecraft Movie

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) reported a revenue of .8 billion for Q2, stable compared to .7 billion last year. The Minecraft Movie contributed to a 38% increase in theatrical revenue, leading to a 54% rise in the studios segment revenue to .8 billion. WBD added 3.4 million global subscribers, totaling 125.7 million, with streaming revenue increasing by 8% to .8 billion. However, revenue from global networks declined by 9% to .8 billion, with a 13% drop in advertising revenue due to a 23% decrease in domestic audience numbers. WBD plans to separate its networks business from streaming and studios operations. The company aims for 12 to 14 theatrical releases annually and is focusing on expanding the DC franchise across various media. CEO David Zaslav noted progress in returning studios to leadership, scaling HBO Max globally, and optimizing global linear networks.

Tech Optimizer

August 5, 2025

Building a job search engine with PostgreSQL’s advanced search features

Job search platforms connect employers and candidates through advanced search engines that analyze structured and unstructured data. These platforms require robust database technologies for executing complex queries, full-text and semantic searches, and geospatial functionalities. A modern job search engine consists of a data repository that stores job listings and candidate profiles, and a search engine that facilitates bidirectional searches. Key features of an effective job search engine include: - **Full-text search**: Provides lexical matching for job titles and skills, supporting exact phrase matching and typo-tolerant searches. - **Semantic search**: Uses vector-based similarity to understand context and relationships beyond literal terms. - **Geospatial search**: Incorporates geographic considerations to find opportunities within specific distances. PostgreSQL serves as both a data repository and search engine, supporting full-text search, semantic search via the pgvector extension, and geospatial queries using the PostGIS extension. The job search engine utilizes PostgreSQL to manage job listings and candidate profiles, enabling real-time searches across millions of entries. The data model for a job search engine includes tables for jobs and resumes, with columns for full-text search vectors, semantic vectors, and geographical locations. PostgreSQL's full-text search capabilities include tokenization, dictionaries for language-aware parsing, and ranking functions for relevance. Advanced features such as proximity search, simple and weighted ranking, and fuzzy matching enhance search accuracy. Vector embeddings represent text in high-dimensional space, allowing for semantic searches that recognize similar roles or skills. PostgreSQL supports vector similarity searches with specialized indexing methods like IVFFlat and HNSW for efficient querying. Geospatial search capabilities in PostgreSQL enable location-aware job searches, allowing candidates to find jobs within commuting distances. Combining different search techniques, such as full-text and semantic searches, provides more relevant results. Performance optimization features in PostgreSQL address challenges related to computational complexity, indexing overhead, and concurrent query loads. The architecture discussed is applicable to various applications beyond job search platforms, including e-commerce, real estate, content recommendation systems, travel, and healthcare provider matching.

Winsage

August 4, 2025

Valve’s SteamOS is slowly but surely replacing Windows 11 for gaming, as more users make the big shift

Valve's SteamOS has increased its market share by 0.32%, while Microsoft's Windows 11 has decreased by 0.44%. Approximately four million players are now using SteamOS out of Steam's 132 million user base. This growth is linked to the popularity of handheld gaming devices, particularly following the launch of Valve's Steam Deck in 2022. Valve plans to enhance SteamOS's compatibility with various devices, while Microsoft is introducing a 'full-screen experience' for its Xbox PC app.

Winsage

July 31, 2025

One of the best ways to dodge Windows 11’s system requirements gets a new look, a new purpose, and a funny new name

Microsoft prefers users to invest in new PCs for upgrading from Windows 10 to Windows 11, as many existing machines do not meet the new system requirements. Unofficial methods to install Windows 11 on older hardware have emerged, with tools like Rufus and Flyby11 (now rebranded as Flyoobe) facilitating this process. Flyoobe focuses on enhancing the out-of-box experience (OOBE) for users, offering expanded personalization options, improved visual customization, and refined navigation controls. The latest update includes features such as clearer feedback on Windows Update and fixes for display scaling issues. Rufus remains popular for quick installations, while Flyoobe targets users seeking a more customizable setup experience.

Winsage

July 31, 2025

Popular tool for bypassing Windows 11 requirements check gets rebrand and new OOBE features

Windows 10 is nearing its end-of-life date, impacting many users who cannot upgrade to Windows 11 due to hardware requirements. A third-party tool called Flyby11 has been rebranded as Flyoobe, now at version 0.35, focusing on improving the out-of-the-box experience by debloating Windows and bypassing Windows 11's requirement checks. The new features in Flyoobe version 0.35 include: - An expanded Personalization page for independent theme mode switching. - Enhanced visual customization broadcasting for instant changes across the system. - An option on the Getting Started page for adding devices to a domain. - A revamped Windows Update page for clearer feedback on downloads and installations. - Refined navigation controls for a more intuitive interface. - Resolved issues related to custom display scaling. Flyoobe may trigger alerts from Microsoft Defender, which the developer claims are false detections. Users can download Flyoobe from its GitHub page, but should be cautious as modifying a Windows image carries risks.