Singapore Archives

AppWizard

March 27, 2025

English is no longer the biggest language on Steam as Chinese gamers embrace PC gaming even harder after Black Myth: Wukong

Mandarin is the most widely used language on Steam, with 33.7% of users selecting it as their primary language, followed closely by English at 33.5%. Over 66% of Steam users have chosen a primary language other than English. The popularity of games developed by Chinese companies, such as Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail, has contributed to this trend. Chinese game developers often have significantly larger budgets and workforces compared to Japanese developers. Additionally, Mandarin speakers are not only from mainland China but also from Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia, with reports of the language being encountered in South Korea and Vietnam in 2023.

AppWizard

March 26, 2025

Is McDonald’s holding out on ‘Minecraft’ Happy Meals? See the items the US may not get

A McDonald's location in Brooklyn now requires patrons under 20 to present ID or be accompanied by a parent. McDonald's is launching a new Happy Meal in collaboration with "A Minecraft Movie" on April 1, ahead of the film's release on April 4. This collaboration will introduce new desserts in Canada, the UK, and Singapore, including an apple cake McFlurry in the UK, an apple shake in Canada, and a cotton candy McFlurry, sundae, and ice cream cone in Singapore. The 'Minecraft' meal will feature a Big Mac or 10-piece Chicken McNuggets with medium fries and a drink, served with a new Nether Flame Sauce. The themed meal includes twelve Block World toys or six exclusive collectibles that unlock unique skins in the Minecraft Marketplace. Customers can purchase Happy Meal toys separately, and Happy Meals typically include a choice of hamburger, cheeseburger, or McNuggets, fries, apple slices, and a drink. The price of a Happy Meal varies by location. Ohio has 613 McDonald's restaurants, ranking fifth in the nation.

AppWizard

March 26, 2025

Google Play is working on new categories of badges for Android’s very best apps

Google has been managing the Play Store for over a decade, focusing on the safety and functionality of Android apps. Recently, the company introduced new badges in the Play Store to signify official government applications and trustworthy VPN services, with plans to expand these badges to other app categories. In response to the vulnerability of financial services apps to cyber threats, Google launched a program in Singapore to automatically block sideloaded apps that may indicate financial fraud, with plans to expand this measure to more markets. Additionally, Google is simplifying the app submission process for developers by enhancing education on policy updates and implementing more pre-review checks.

AppWizard

March 16, 2025

New messaging app hopes to get travellers to fill idle time on flights by talking to others

Wingle is a mobile application that enables passengers to communicate with each other during flights without needing an internet connection, utilizing Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The app allows users to send messages and book airport lounge services, and it was launched in Europe in July 2024, with a global rollout planned for January 2025. It has attracted over 20,000 active users, primarily from Europe. Users create profiles that include personal information and a personality diagram, and conversations are temporary, disappearing after the flight. Wingle generates revenue through commissions from booking services, and its reception has been mixed, with some users appreciating the opportunity for social interaction, while others express concerns about privacy and potential misuse.

AppWizard

March 6, 2025

Android App With 220,000+ Downloads From Google Play Installs Banking Trojan

A sophisticated Android banking trojan campaign, known as Anatsa or TeaBot, has been downloaded over 220,000 times from the Google Play Store before its removal. The malware targets global financial institutions using a multi-stage infection process, deploying fake login overlays and exploiting accessibility services to steal user credentials and perform unauthorized transactions. The malicious app disguised itself as a "File Manager and Document Reader" and acted as a dropper, retrieving additional payloads from remote servers. It uses reflection-based code execution to evade detection and conducts anti-emulation checks to confirm it is on a genuine device. Anatsa requests critical permissions, including accessibility services and SMS access, to log keystrokes and bypass two-factor authentication. The campaign primarily targets users in Europe, especially Slovakia, Slovenia, and Czechia, but has the potential to expand to markets like the U.S., South Korea, and Singapore. It targets over 600 banking and cryptocurrency applications, enabling on-device fraud through automated transaction systems. Users are advised to avoid sideloading apps, audit app permissions, and monitor for updates from official stores. Google has removed the identified dropper, but similar threats persist. Indicators of compromise include specific network URLs and an MD5 hash for a sample.

AppWizard

March 4, 2025

GTA 5 Enhanced PC release date and expected time (all regions)

GTA 5 Enhanced PC is set to release on March 4, 2025. This version will include exclusive features from the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S editions and will be available for free to existing owners of Grand Theft Auto 5 on PC. The pre-load size is approximately 90 GB. Anticipated release times for various regions are as follows: - US Pacific Time: 3:00 am PST - US Mountain Time: 4:00 am MST - US Central Time: 5:00 am CST - US Eastern Time: 6:00 am EST - Brazil: 8:00 am BRT - United Kingdom: 11:00 am GMT - Germany: 12:00 pm CET - Russia: 2:00 pm MSK - UAE: 3:00 pm GST - India: 4:30 pm IST - Singapore: 7:00 pm SST - China: 7:00 pm CST - Japan: 8:00 pm JST - Sydney, Australia: 10:00 pm AEDT - Perth, Australia: 7:00 pm AWST - New Zealand: 12:00 am NZDT Additionally, the GTA Online Oscar Guzman Flies Again update will also launch on March 4.

Tech Optimizer

February 25, 2025

APAC enterprises shifting towards open source in database strategies

Enterprises in the Asia-Pacific region are increasingly transitioning from proprietary databases to open-source alternatives, with PostgreSQL being favored due to high licensing costs and vendor dependencies. IT leaders are reassessing database strategies to meet performance, cost, and scalability needs, particularly for applications requiring transactional, analytical, and AI workloads. Hybrid IT models are gaining traction, especially in countries like Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines, while Japan and Korea show strong on-premises demand, and India is moving away from legacy systems due to cost pressures. PostgreSQL is evolving to support hybrid IT and emerging workloads, including AI and analytics, with enhancements like lakehouse architecture for managing structured and unstructured data and the introduction of pgvector for AI applications. Data sovereignty regulations are prompting enterprises to deploy PostgreSQL in hybrid cloud environments to balance control and scalability. EDB has developed a hybrid control plane for unified management across on-premises and cloud deployments. Many enterprises are opting for a gradual transition to PostgreSQL due to legacy dependencies and operational risks, often starting with specific use cases before migrating legacy workloads. An example includes an insurance company in Hong Kong that migrated from Oracle to PostgreSQL, achieving reduced costs and improved performance. Successful migration depends on database mobility and application portability, with EDB planning to integrate GPU support and develop tools for faster AI application deployment, with expectations for rollout by the second quarter of 2025.

AppWizard

February 19, 2025

PebbleHost review

PebbleHost, established in 2017, specializes in Minecraft server hosting and offers three plans: budget, premium, and extreme. The budget servers are designed for cost-conscious users. The company also provides VPS and dedicated server hosting, as well as Discord bot hosting services. The server hardware includes Intel i9-9900k and Ryzen 5700X CPUs for budget and premium plans, while the premium plan uses the Ryzen 7900 CPU and DDR5 memory. The extreme plan features dedicated CPU threads. The budget server starts at a low quarterly price for 1GB of RAM, while the premium server with 5GB of RAM is priced monthly. The extreme server starts at a higher price for 6GB of RAM and 3 threads. PebbleHost offers a 72-hour refund policy and various payment methods, including cryptocurrencies. The signup process is straightforward, providing immediate access to passwords and the control panel. The user-friendly control panel allows easy management of server settings, including switching between server versions. PebbleHost has server locations in North America, Europe, and the UK, with premium users also accessing servers in Australia and Singapore. Performance varies by plan, with the budget option potentially insufficient for active users. The premium plan is recommended for better gameplay. Support is available through a ticketing system and an active Discord server, with a positive response time for tickets. An advanced support package is offered for additional assistance. PebbleHost maintains a knowledge base and a server status page showing a 7-day average uptime of 99.992%.

Tech Optimizer

February 3, 2025

Phone Antivirus Software Market 2025 Growth Analysis by Market Size, Share, Manufactures and Forecast till 2033

The Phone Antivirus Software Market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.4% through 2033. Key growth drivers include technological innovations, shifts in consumer behavior, and evolving market demands. The market is segmented by type (Free to Use and Pay to Use) and application (Individual Users and Enterprise Users). It covers various regions, including the United States, Europe, China, Japan, India, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. Potential limitations to growth include regulatory challenges and economic fluctuations. Businesses are encouraged to identify growth opportunities, understand market dynamics, and implement data-driven strategies.

AppWizard

February 3, 2025

Google blocked 2.36 million risky Android apps from Play Store in 2024

Google blocked 2.3 million Android app submissions to the Play Store in 2024 due to policy violations that posed risks to users. The company also banned 158,000 developer accounts for attempting to introduce harmful applications, including malware and spyware. The number of blocked apps increased from 2,280,000 in 2023 and 1,500,000 in 2022, aided by AI assistance in 92% of human reviews. Google prevented 1.3 million apps from gaining excessive permissions and upgraded Google Play Protect, which scanned over 200 billion apps daily and identified over 13 million new malware apps from outside Google Play. The Google Play SDK index added 80 trusted SDKs, and the Play Integrity API adoption led to an 80% reduction in abuse from untrusted sources. Google's untrusted APK installation blocking system expanded to several countries and thwarted 36 million installation attempts of 200,000 unique apps from reaching 10 million Android devices.