store Archives

AppWizard

July 23, 2026

Steam Adds Handy Gifting And Wishlist Updates

Valve has updated Steam's gifting and wishlist functionalities. Users can now gift games via email without requiring the recipient to have a Steam account, provided both are in the same country, and gifts not accepted within 30 days will be refunded. For international gifting, users must be friends on Steam, and the game price will be automatically adjusted for the recipient's region. The wishlist feature has been enhanced to allow users to categorize saved games with custom names, filter by categories, and manage notifications for sales on individual categories. Additional features include generating shareable links to categories, checking for available demos, and previewing trailers by hovering over wishlist titles.

Winsage

July 23, 2026

LG monitors are reportedly automatically installing bloatware on Windows 11 PCs, but there’s an apparent fix

LG monitors are automatically installing McAfee bloatware on Windows 11 PCs without user consent, as indicated in the changelog of the LG Monitor App Installer on the Microsoft Store. This installation occurs when an LG monitor is connected, leading to a McAfee pop-up due to automatic installation triggered by Windows Update, which is logged by the Windows Reliability Monitor. Users can prevent this by enabling a setting in the Group Policy Editor to stop automatic downloads of applications linked to device metadata. It is recommended that users who have manually installed the LG monitor app remove it, as McAfee is a core component of the application. Microsoft has not commented on this issue.

AppWizard

July 22, 2026

Original Xbox Games Are Coming to PC Starting With Four Fan Favorites

Microsoft has launched its Xbox Backward Compatibility preview, enabling four original Xbox games—Blinx: The Time Sweeper, Conker: Live and Reloaded, Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, and Fuzion Frenzy—to be played on PC and handheld devices. These games feature enhancements such as 4x resolution upscaling, VSync support, multiple display modes, anisotropic filtering, and improved anti-aliasing. They are available for purchase on the Xbox Store and can be accessed on PC or handhelds through Xbox Play Anywhere or Xbox Cloud Gaming. All four titles are also included in Xbox Game Pass. Minimum system requirements for playing these games include: - GPU: Nvidia GTX 950 or AMD Radeon RX 550 or Intel UHD 770 or Intel Arc A310 - CPU: Minimum 4 Cores Intel Core i3-8100 or AMD Ryzen 3 1200 or AMD Ryzen Z2 A Processor - RAM: 8GB - OS: Windows 11 - Drivers and Versions: Latest Version as of January 2026 Recommended specifications include: - GPU: Radeon RX 68005 or Nvidia GTX 1070 Ti or Intel Arc A770 - CPU: 6 cores and 12 threads Intel Core i5-10400 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600 or AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme - DirectX Version: DirectX12 API, Hardware Feature Level 11 - GPU VRAM: 8GB - OS: Windows 11 - Drivers and Versions: Latest Version as of January 2026

AppWizard

July 22, 2026

Gardaland Resort Launches Minecraft Meet The Mobs — an Italian exclusive event, coming to real life for the first time this summer

Gardaland Resort is hosting the Minecraft Meet the Mobs event, running until 28 August 2026, making it the only location in Italy and one of two in Europe to feature this event. Guests can interact with Minecraft characters like Steve, the creeper, and the chicken jockey, and participate in themed activities. The event includes the Minecraft Hub, where visitors can take photos and enjoy themed snacks, and the Baby Mobs Trail, an interactive adventure across six areas featuring baby mobs. Completing the trail rewards guests with a digital prize. Additional activities include Mob Hunt and Zombie Freeze, and exclusive merchandise is available for purchase.

Winsage

July 22, 2026

You can stop LG monitors that are reportedly installing bloatware on your Windows 11 PC, but the fix shouldn’t require this much effort

LG monitors are reportedly installing unwanted software, specifically McAfee bloatware, on Windows 11 systems without user consent when connected. This issue has been highlighted by Windows Latest, and the changelog of LG's monitor app on the Microsoft Store confirms the installation. A complex workaround exists for users to remove the software.

AppWizard

July 22, 2026

Google is this close to bringing third-party app stores to the Play Store

Google is testing new features in the Play Store, including Play Labs, which allows users to experiment with new functionalities. The company is also exploring the integration of third-party app stores, allowing users to install alternative app stores directly from the Play Store, although this feature is not yet available to the general public. Users have reported limited access to these experimental features through adjustments in the latest Play Store version. Additionally, Google has confirmed the rollout of a revamped search experience, featuring a new two-row search bar for longer queries and a prompt labeled “Ask Store” to enhance search capabilities. These updates aim to improve user experience and accessibility in the Play Store.

Tech Optimizer

July 22, 2026

Google boosts AlloyDB vector search with HNSW preview

Google has introduced a preview of its columnar engine-accelerated HNSW feature for AlloyDB, enhancing vector search throughput by up to four times for users of the pgvector extension in PostgreSQL. This improvement is aimed at approximate nearest neighbor searches using HNSW across large datasets. AlloyDB utilizes a columnar engine that allows HNSW indexes to reside in memory, improving throughput and recall metrics. In benchmark tests on the GloVe 100 Angular dataset, queries per second increased by approximately 4.2x to 4.9x, with recall improving from about 0.78 to over 0.94 at a throughput of around 350 queries per second. The columnar engine's design bypasses traditional PostgreSQL buffer management bottlenecks, enhancing efficiency during graph traversal. The memory architecture is distinct from basic caching techniques, and the feature requires no changes to application code. Users must enable the columnar engine and index caching flags to utilize this feature. Benchmarks were conducted on an AlloyDB C4A machine with 16 virtual CPUs.

AppWizard

July 22, 2026

Darkest Dungeon—the original—is getting surprise DLC in August

Darkest Dungeon is set to expand with a new DLC titled The Fire's Edge, releasing on August 18th. This DLC introduces two new hero classes, the Duelist and the Runaway, along with new Trinket mechanics and three additional districts. The Duelist is a complex damage dealer, while the Runaway features a new Burn damage type. Both heroes are re-envisioned from their appearances in Darkest Dungeon II. The game has received an 88% review score and won the "Best RPG" award in 2016.

Winsage

July 21, 2026

LG admits its monitor app installs bloatware via Windows Update, and Microsoft is letting it happen

A growing number of LG monitor users have reported that connecting their devices to Windows systems results in the automatic installation of the LG Monitor App Installer, which prompts users with a McAfee trial advertisement. YouTuber Gamers Nexus found that connecting an LG UltraGear monitor led to the installation of LG's driver package and the LG Monitor App Installer, with the McAfee pop-up appearing 31 times over 32 boots. This automatic installation is facilitated by device metadata, which Windows uses to download associated applications without user notification. Users must be signed into the Microsoft Store and connected to the internet for this to occur, leading to frustrations about transparency. Reports of unsolicited McAfee pop-ups have been shared on platforms like Reddit, with users confirming the app's installation was logged as part of a Windows Update. LG has acknowledged the inclusion of McAfee in their app updates, promoting a free trial, which has raised privacy concerns. The app's rating on the Microsoft Store has dropped to around 1 out of 5 due to user dissatisfaction. Users can prevent automatic installations by adjusting Group Policy settings, while macOS requires manual approval for third-party applications. Neither Microsoft nor LG has formally addressed the concerns regarding silent installations and McAfee pop-ups.

Winsage

July 21, 2026

Persistent Telemetry: Permanent Microsoft Windows Identifier

Discussions about consumer privacy in the Windows ecosystem have focused on optional diagnostic settings and telemetry controls. Recently, the Global Device Identifier (GDID), a permanent device-level token embedded in the Windows operating system, was revealed in a U.S. Department of Justice complaint related to a cybercriminal investigation. The GDID uniquely identifies a Windows installation and is used by Microsoft services. It is generated when a device is linked to a Microsoft account and resides in the Windows registry, being included in data sent to remote servers. There is no option to disable or delete the GDID, and attempts to do so can disrupt essential features. This has led privacy-conscious users to consider alternatives like Linux, which offers more control over data and does not require persistent identifiers. For Windows users, strategies to minimize data linked to the GDID include using local accounts, disabling optional diagnostics, and reviewing cloud app sync settings. Privacy advocates are calling for better user controls and opt-out mechanisms for hardware tracking tokens.