senior vice president Archives

AppWizard

January 30, 2026

Amazon Games boss Hartmann reportedly leaving as firm retreats from PC and console

Christoph Hartmann, head of Amazon Game Studios, is leaving the company, which is shifting its focus from PC and console gaming to prioritize its Luna cloud streaming service. This change coincides with Amazon's layoffs affecting approximately 16,000 roles, following a previous round of 14,000 layoffs in October 2025. The gaming division may face challenges due to this strategic pivot, and significant reductions have already occurred in Amazon's gaming operations. The project New World Aeternum is scheduled to go offline in January 2027. Hartmann joined Amazon in 2018 and has over two decades of experience from 2K Games.

Winsage

January 13, 2026

CES 2026: Showcasing new Windows 11 PC innovations across the ecosystem

CES showcased significant advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) integrated into the Windows ecosystem, with various companies unveiling new products. Acer introduced the Copilot+ PCs, including the Swift 16 AI laptop with a haptic touchpad and Predator Helios Neo 16S AI gaming laptop. ASUS launched the Zenbook DUO, featuring dual OLED touchscreens, and the ROG Zephyrus Duo, a dual-screen gaming laptop. Dell refreshed its XPS brand with new laptops and monitors, while HP presented the EliteBook X G2 Series and the EliteBoard G1a Next Gen AI PC. Lenovo revealed several new Copilot+ PCs, and Samsung introduced the Galaxy Book6 series. AMD and Intel announced new processor lines, with AMD's Ryzen AI 400 Mobile Series and Intel's Core Ultra Series 3 processors. Qualcomm launched the Snapdragon X2 Plus for enhanced AI experiences in PCs.

Tech Optimizer

December 13, 2025

After PostgreSQL, DigitalOcean now adds MySQL and Redis to its managed databases’ offering

DigitalOcean has expanded its Managed Databases service to include MySQL and Redis, alongside its existing PostgreSQL support. This service offers fully-managed database instances with features such as simplified setup and maintenance, free daily backups, standby nodes for automated failover, end-to-end security, and scalable performance. The expansion was driven by demand from customers and the developer community. The new offerings are currently available in data center regions in New York, Frankfurt, and San Francisco, with plans for further regional support.

BetaBeacon

November 15, 2025

Apple TV Will Stream MLS Games At No Extra Cost Starting 2026

MLS access on Apple TV no longer requires an additional MLS Season Pass, adding value to the subscription.

AppWizard

October 17, 2025

BD CFO Chris DelOrefice leaving for new job

Chief Financial Officer Chris DelOrefice will leave BD on December 5 to become CFO at Ulta Beauty. He announced his resignation on October 9, and the company is seeking a permanent successor. Vitor Roque will serve as interim CFO following DelOrefice's departure. BD's preliminary fourth-quarter revenue is approximately .9 billion, an 8.3% increase year over year, while fiscal year 2025 revenue is about .8 billion, marking an 8.2% rise. Analysts described the fourth-quarter results as disappointing, citing a significant impact from the macro environment. BD plans to separate its biosciences and diagnostics business and will discuss earnings on November 6.

AppWizard

October 10, 2025

AMD just announced a new ray tracing gaming GPU core, promises big speed boost

AMD is introducing a new dedicated hardware block called the Radiance Core in its upcoming Radeon gaming GPU technology, developed in collaboration with Sony. This advancement aims to improve ray tracing performance by relocating ray traversal calculations from CPU and GPU shader cores to dedicated hardware, which is expected to enhance lighting performance in gaming. The Radiance Core allows the CPU to focus on geometry and simulation while the GPU concentrates on shading and lighting, resulting in a significant speed boost. Additionally, AMD is working on other features to further enhance ray tracing performance.

Winsage

September 24, 2025

Google says more on desktop Android, Qualcomm ‘incredibly excited’

At the Snapdragon Summit 2025, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon and Google’s Rick Osterloh discussed the collaboration between the two companies on the evolving landscape of desktop Android. Google announced in 2024 that ChromeOS would transition to a foundation built on Android, aiming to merge ChromeOS and Android into a cohesive platform. This initiative intends to enhance the ChromeOS experience by leveraging Android's technology and create a common technical foundation for products on PCs and desktop computing systems. The project aims to accelerate AI innovation within ChromeOS, streamline engineering efforts, and improve interoperability among devices. Qualcomm is expected to benefit from a new operating system for its PC-class chips, although specifics about the development of a desktop Android-first offering remain unclear.

Winsage

September 24, 2025

Google just teased its Android-powered PC project, Qualcomm CEO says he’s seen it

Google is collaborating with Qualcomm to unify the technical foundations of Android and PC systems, aiming to blur the distinctions between mobile and desktop computing. Rick Osterloh, Google's Senior Vice President of Devices and Services, emphasized the potential for integrating Google's AI capabilities into PCs. Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon expressed enthusiasm for this convergence initiative. Additionally, Google is reportedly working on a multi-year project to merge Chrome OS and Android into a cohesive operating system for various devices. Enhancements to Android for larger screens are already being implemented, suggesting future Chromebooks and possibly a new Pixel Laptop may run on Android instead of Chrome OS.

AppWizard

September 9, 2025

Overwatch GM Kong steps up to new head of development, live games/mobile role

Walter Kong has been promoted to senior vice president and head of development for live games and mobile platforms at Blizzard Entertainment. He joined Blizzard in 2011 as senior director for strategic initiatives, left for Epic Games in 2018, and returned in 2020 as an executive producer before becoming general manager for Overwatch. In his new role, he will oversee the strategic direction of Overwatch and other titles like Hearthstone and Diablo Immortal, although Blizzard has stopped developing new content for Warcraft Rumble and reduced staff in that area. Kong expressed gratitude for his opportunities at Blizzard and is committed to fostering a collaborative and growth-oriented environment.

AppWizard

July 14, 2025

DICE and Goodbye Kansas vet Loving takes over LEGO game arm

Fredrik Loving has been appointed as the Senior Vice President and global head of LEGO's gaming division. He previously served as president at Spin Master for over five years and has experience at Rovio and DICE, where he worked on the Battlefield franchise. Loving founded Goodbye Kansas in 2017 but left after two years. LEGO is shifting its video games division in-house, moving away from reliance on licensing agreements.