Teams Archives

BetaBeacon

May 10, 2025

Try these 5 Apps and Games for Android and iOS, tried and tested!

- Delta Force is a popular multiplayer first-person shooter originally released on PC. - Battles in Delta Force take place in 24 vs. 24 with large teams on large maps. - The game has different modes, including an "Operations" mode and a co-op campaign mode. - Delta Force is free to install but contains microtransactions for cosmetic items. - Run&Grow is an app that tracks running sessions and rewards users with virtual garden decorations. - Remember - A Brain Add-On helps users remember where they stored important items by taking photos. - Command Stick is an Android app that adds a floating widget for quick access to commands. - TMNT: Shredder's Revenge is a mobile game where players beat up enemies with different characters from the Ninja Turtles universe.

AppWizard

May 10, 2025

The next ‘Minecraft’ could come from a Niagara College student

Conor MacNeill, a game development professor at Niagara College, highlights the excitement of students presenting their capstone projects at the Welland campus library. The game development program has grown from about a dozen graduates to a large community, now including collaborations with Brock University. Students are now creating VR games, a significant development compared to the program's early years. First-year student Mark Lampman and fourth-year student Dante Bell showcase their projects, with Bell's team, Slugworks, presenting a game called "Green Thing from the Planet Jupiter." This game features a competitive chase between a green alien and a cat, requiring significant time commitment from the team. The GDLaunch event has evolved, with students actively promoting their games through various marketing strategies. Approximately 25 alumni attended, many looking to hire graduates. The gaming industry is expected to grow through 2027, providing promising opportunities for students. After GDLaunch, 64 graduates attended the Level Up Showcase in Toronto, where their game won second place for Achievement in Audio. The event attracted around 5,000 attendees, showcasing the innovation and dedication of the students.

AppWizard

May 9, 2025

“A Minecraft Movie” spawns chaos in theaters

Social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and X have become crucial in shaping audience interactions with films, transforming word-of-mouth marketing into a global phenomenon that can significantly influence a film's box office performance. Audience reactions on social media can enhance a film's reputation, as seen with "A Minecraft Movie," which thrived on positive buzz despite initial skepticism. Conversely, negative feedback can lead to financial underperformance, as demonstrated by Disney's "Snow White." The in-theater experience has also changed, with audience behavior influenced by social media, leading to varied opinions on the impact of chaos during screenings.

Winsage

May 7, 2025

A New Start Menu and More Major Upgrades Are Coming to Windows 11

Microsoft announced significant upgrades for Windows 11, including enhancements to the Start menu, Copilot AI, and utilities like Paint and the Snipping Tool. The Start menu will become larger, more customizable, and user-friendly, allowing users to view all apps at once, hide recommended shortcuts, and increase the size of the pinned apps panel. A "phone companion" feature will be integrated into the Start menu. These changes are expected to roll out to the Windows Insider channel within the next month. File Explorer will introduce AI actions for document summarization and image editing directly from the right-click menu. Notepad will gain AI text generation and summarization features, along with lightweight formatting options like bold, italic, lists, and Markdown support. Copilot Vision will allow users to interact with AI regarding on-screen content. Some features will debut on Copilot+ PCs with Snapdragon chipsets, including an AI agent in Settings to assist users with adjustments and the Click to Do feature for scheduling meetings and launching Immersive Reader mode. The Photos app will introduce a relight feature for dynamic lighting control. Paint will gain capabilities for creating custom stickers from text prompts and an AI-powered object select tool. The Snipping Tool will receive enhancements like intelligent screenshot cropping, text extraction, and a color picker. The Narrator on Copilot+ PCs will be upgraded to provide rich descriptions of images.

AppWizard

May 7, 2025

The Thaumaturge, Amnesia: The Bunker, and Evil West Lead May’s Humble Choice

Humble Choice for May 2025 includes the following games: The Thaumaturge - Deluxe Edition, Amnesia: The Bunker, Evil West, Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, STAR WARS: Bounty Hunter, Ultros, and Corpse Keeper. Members will also receive one month of IGN Plus. The subscription costs .99 and allows members to keep all eight games. Membership offers a 20% discount in the Humble store, and 5% of the fee supports Comic Relief USA's Red Nose Day.

Winsage

May 7, 2025

Software engineer taught Microsoft Copilot to analyze Windows crash dumps

Software engineer Sven Scharmentke, known as Svnscha, has developed an open-source tool called mcp-windbg for crash dump analysis, available on GitHub. This AI-driven tool automates the execution of WinDBG/CDB commands, improving productivity in debugging tasks. Svnscha highlights the challenges faced during development, particularly in creating the interaction layer with Microsoft's Command-Line Console Debugger (CDB). The tool enables natural language crash analysis, contextual debugging, and root cause identification, benefiting software engineers and support teams. However, users are advised that a foundational understanding of debugging principles is necessary to effectively utilize the tool, which serves as a "simple Python wrapper around CDB."

Winsage

May 7, 2025

Introducing all-new Surface Copilot+ PCs: The Surface Pro, 12-inch and Surface Laptop, 13-inch

Copilot+ PCs are a new category of personal computing devices designed to enhance AI experiences and productivity. Microsoft has introduced the Surface Laptop (13-inch) and Surface Pro (12-inch) as part of this lineup, both featuring Snapdragon X Plus processors with Neural Processing Units (NPU). The Surface Laptop, available from May 20, 2025, starts at 9, is the thinnest and lightest model yet, and offers up to 23 hours of video playback. It has a full HD touchscreen, AI-enhanced camera, and a keyboard with a fingerprint reader. The Surface Pro, also powered by the Snapdragon X Plus, weighs 1.5 pounds and features a detachable keyboard and adjustable kickstand. Both devices incorporate sustainable materials, with the Surface Laptop using 100% recycled cobalt in its battery and the Surface Pro made from 82.9% recycled content. They provide access to AI tools for productivity, including features like Recall and Click to Do. Pre-orders for both devices are available, with the Surface Pro starting at 9 and the Surface Laptop at ,199.

AppWizard

May 7, 2025

Minecraft Battle Of The Boroughs 2025: Bronx Semi-Final | The Bronx Daily

On May 3, the Bronx hosted the semi-finals for the 2025 Minecraft Education Battle of the Boroughs Esports Competition, with 659 submissions from 3,295 students, a 37% increase from the previous year. Each borough selected three teams to advance to the finals on May 31, 2025. The event featured 175 students from 35 teams across over 26 schools. Notable attendees included NYC Public Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos and Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson. The semi-finals were held at the Bronx High School for Law and Community Service. The winning teams were: - Elementary Division: PS 100X, Team Game Over - Middle School Division: PS/MS 175 The City Island School, The Amazing Sharks - High School Division: MS/HS 223 The Laboratory School, Bronx Blocks.

AppWizard

May 7, 2025

‘He’s very good at finding really cool people’: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s director found its composer on Soundcloud and lead writer on Reddit

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 features a soundtrack composed by Lorien Testard, who created 154 tracks totaling over eight hours of music. The soundtrack has surpassed 1.5 million streams and was the number one selling album on Bandcamp last week. Testard was discovered by the game's director, Guillaume Broche, through Soundcloud. Lead writer Jennifer Svedberg-Yen initially auditioned for a voice acting role after responding to a Reddit post by Broche and later transitioned to her current role. Broche credits the Covid-19 pandemic for helping him find talented individuals online, allowing the game to compete with larger-budget titles despite having a mostly junior team.

Winsage

May 7, 2025

Microsoft unveils new AI agents that can modify Windows settings

Microsoft has introduced a suite of Windows experiences for Copilot+ PCs, featuring AI agents that help users adjust settings on their computers by interpreting user intent and automating tasks with consent. Users can communicate in natural language to receive guidance or have changes executed directly. This feature will initially be available to English-speaking Windows Insiders on Snapdragon-powered devices, with plans for broader support. Additionally, Microsoft is enhancing Windows search capabilities and expanding Click to Do actions, allowing users to schedule meetings, send messages, consult M365 Copilot, convert data in Excel, and draft documents in Word. Creative tools like Photos, Paint, and the Snipping Tool are receiving updates, including dynamic lighting controls in Photos, a sticker generator in Paint, and new capture capabilities in the Snipping Tool. Upcoming features for Windows 11 Insiders include a phone companion for the Start menu, AI-driven actions in File Explorer, and a new writing function in Notepad for generating text from prompts. Microsoft is also testing a "Draw & Hold" feature in the Snipping Tool and has introduced a text rewriting tool called "Rewrite."