1.13.1 is now available! It improves performance and fixes a bunch of bugs that made their way into 1.13. There’s also a few changes in this update that are listed below.
A full changelog for this release can be found on Minecraft.net.
CHANGES
Performance optimizations
Added dead coral
Fish now have a 5% chance of dropping bonemeal when killed
Squids now only spawn in rivers and oceans
Added a concept of force-loaded chunks to the game, and a command (/forceload) to toggle force-loading on and off
MC-119971 – Various duplications, deletions, and data corruption at chunk boundaries, caused by loading outdated chunks — includes duping and deletion of entities/mobs, items in hoppers, and blocks moved by pistons, among other problems
MC-135484 – Pressing Q + right click a block while holding a double block only shows the top of the block
MC-135816 – Trident does not return uppon reload of world
MC-135857 – Beacon effect icon doesn’t have a blue edge if it overwrites a potion effect
MC-135878 – Maps delete recently marked banners upon reopening world
MC-135893 – Upgrading from 1.12.2 to a newer version will cause trapped chests placed in 1.12.2 & earlier to stop triggering redstone through the floor
Open Source Akraino Edge Computing Project Leaps Into Action
The ubiquitous topic of edge computing has so far primarily focused on IoT and machine learning. A new Linux Foundation project called Akraino Edge Stack intends to standardize similar concepts for use on edge telecom and networking systems in addition to IoT gateways. The goal to build an “open source software stack that supports high-availability cloud services optimized for edge computing systems and applications,” says the project.
“The Akraino Edge Stack project is focused on anything related to the edge, including both telco and enterprise use cases,” said Akraino evangelist Kandan Kathirvel, Director of Cloud Strategy & Architecture at AT&T, in an interview with Linux.com.
The project announced it has “moved from formation into execution,” and revealed a slate of new members including Arm, Dell, Juniper, and Qualcomm. New member Ericsson is joining AT&T Labs to host the first developer conference on Aug. 23-24.
Akraino Edge Stack was announced in February based on code contributions from AT&T for carrier-scale edge computing. In March, Intel announced it was joining the project and open sourcing parts of its Wind River Titanium Cloud and Network Edge Virtualization SDK for the emerging Akraino stack. Intel was joined by a dozen, mostly China-based members including China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom, Docker, Huawei, Tencent, and ZTE.
The Akraino Edge Stack project has now announced broader based support with new members Arm, Dell EMC, Ericsson, inwinSTACK, Juniper Networks, Nokia, Qualcomm, Radisys, Red Hat, and Wind River. The project says it has begun to develop “blueprints that will consist of validated hardware and software configurations against defined use case and performance specifications.” The initial blueprints and seed code will be opened to the public at the end of the week following the Akraino Edge Stack Developer Summit at AT&T Labs in Middletown, New Jersey.
The project announced a lightweight governance framework with a Technical Steering Committee (TSC), composed of “active committers within the community.” There is “no prerequisite of financial contribution,” says the project.
Edge computing meets edge networking
Like most edge computing projects and products, such as AWS Greengrass, the Linux Foundation’s EdgeX Foundry, and Google’s upcoming Cloud IoT Edge, the technology aims to bring cloud technologies and analytics to smaller-scale computers that sit closer to the edge of the network. The goal is to reduce the latency of cloud/device interactions, while also reducing costly bandwidth delivery and improving reliability via a distributed network.
Akraino will offer blueprints for IoT, but it is more focused more on bringing edge services to telecom and networking systems such as cellular base stations, smaller networking servers, customer premises equipment, and virtualized central offices (VCOs). The project will supply standardized blueprints for implementing virtual network functions (VNFs) in these systems for applications ranging from threat detection to augmented reality to specialized services required to interconnect cars and drones. Virtualization avoids the cost and complexity of integrating specialized hardware with edge networking systems.
“One key difference from other communities is that we offer blueprints,” said AT&T’s Kathirvel. “Blueprints are declarative configurations of everything including the hardware, software, operational and security tools, security tools — everything you need to run production in large scale.”
When asked for further clarification between Akraino’s stack and the EdgeX Foundry’s middleware for industrial IoT, Kathirvel said that EdgeX is more focused on the intricacies of IIoT gateway/sensor communications whereas Akraino has a broader focus and is more concerned with cloud connections.
“Akraino Edge Stack is not limited to IoT — we’re bringing everything together in respect to the edge,” said Kathirvel. “It’s complementary with EdgeX Foundry in that you could take EdgeX code and create a blueprint and maintain that within the Akraino Edge Stack as an end to end stack. In addition, the community is working on additional use cases to support different classes of edge hardware.”
Meeting new demands for sub-20ms latency
Initially, Akraino Edge Stack use cases will be “focused on provider deployment,” said Kathirvel, referring to telecom applications. These will include emerging, 5G-enabled applications such as “AR/VR and connected cars” in which sub 20 millisecond or lower latency is required. In addition, edge computing can reduce the extent to which network bandwidth must be boosted to accommodate demanding multimedia-rich and cloud-intensive end-user applications.
Akraino Edge Stack borrows virtualization and container technologies from open source networking projects such as OpenStack. The goal is to create a common API stack for deploying applications using VNFs running within containers. A VNF is a software-based implementation of the networked virtual machines implemented via closely related NFV (network functions virtualization) initiatives.
In a May 23 presentation (YouTube video) at the OpenStack Summit Vancouver, Kathirvel and fellow Akraino contributor Melissa Evers-Hood of Intel, listed several other projects and technologies that the stack will accommodate with blueprints, including Ceph (distributed cloud storage), Kata Containers, Kubernetes, and the Intel/Wind River backed StarlingX for open cloud infrastructure. Aside from EdgeX and OpenStack, other Linux Foundation hosted projects on the list include DANOS (Disaggregated Network Operating System) and the LF’s new Acumos AI project for developing a federated platform to manage and share models for AI and machine learning.
Akraino aligns closely with OpenStack edge computing initiatives, as well as the Linux Foundation’s ONAP(Open Network Automation Platform). ONAP, which was founded in Feb. 2017 from the merger of the earlier ECOMP and OPEN-O projects, is developing a framework for real-time, policy-driven software automation of VNFs.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 08-23-2018, 02:18 PM - Forum: Windows
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Skip user research unless you’re doing it right — seriously
Is your research timeless? It’s time to put disposable research behind us
“We need to ship soon. How quickly can you get us user feedback?”
What user researcher hasn’t heard a question like that? We implement new tools and leaner processes, but try as we might, we inevitably meet the terminal velocity of our user research — the point at which it cannot be completed any faster while still maintaining its rigor and validity.
And, you know what? That’s okay! While the need for speed is valuable in some contexts, we also realize that if an insight we uncover is only useful in one place and at one time, it becomes disposable. Our goal should never be disposable research. We want timeless research.
Speed has its place
Now, don’t get me wrong. I get it. I live in this world, too. First to market, first to patent, first to copyright obviously requires an awareness of speed. Speed of delivery can also be the actual mechanism by which you get rapid feedback from customers.
I recently participated in a Global ResOps workshop. One thing I heard loud and clear was the struggle for our discipline to connect into design and engineering cycles. There were questions about how to address the “unreasonable expectations” of what we can do in short time frames. I also heard that researchers struggle with long and slow timelines: Anyone ever had a brilliant, generative insight ignored because “We can’t put that into the product for another 6 months”?
The good news is that there are methodologies such as “Lean” and “Agile” that can help us. Our goal as researchers is to use knowledge to develop customer-focused solutions. I personally love that these methodologies, when implemented fully, incorporate customers as core constituents in collaborative and iterative development processes.
In fact, my team has created an entire usability and experimentation engine using “Lean” and “Agile” methods. However, this team recognizes that letting speed dictate user research is a huge risk. If you cut corners on quality, customer involvement, and adaptive planning, your research could become disposable.
Do research right, or don’t do it at all
I know, that’s a bold statement. But here’s why: When time constraints force us to drop the rigor and process that incorporates customer feedback, the user research you conduct loses its validity and ultimately its value.
The data we gather out of exercises that over-index on speed are decontextualized and disconnected from other relevant insights we’ve collected over time and across studies. We need to pause and question whether this one-off research adds real value and contributes to an organization’s growing understanding of customers when we know it may skip steps critical to identifying insights that transcend time and context.
User research that takes time to get right has value beyond the moment for which it was intended. I’m betting you sometimes forgo conducting research if you think your stakeholders believe it’s too slow. But, if your research uncovered an insight after v1 shipped, you could still leverage that insight on v1+x.
For example, think of the last time a product team asked you, “We’re shipping v1 next week. Can you figure out if our customers want or need this?” As a researcher, you know you need more time to answer this question in a valid way. So, do you skip this research? No. Do you rush through your research, compromising its rigor? No. You investigate anyway and apply your learnings to v2.
To help keep track of these insights, we should build systems that capture our knowledge and enable us to resurface it across development cycles and projects. Imagine this: “Hey Judy, remember that thing we learned 6 months ago? Research just reminded me that it is applicable in our next launch!”
That’s what we’re looking for: timeless user insights that help our product teams again and again and contribute to a curated body of knowledge about our customers’ needs, beliefs, and behaviors. Ideally, we house these insights in databases, so they can be accessed and retrieved easily by anyone for future use (but that’s another story for another time). If we only focus on speed, we lose sight of that goal.
Creating timeless research
Here’s my point: we’ll always have to deal with requests to make our research faster, but once you or your user research team has achieved terminal velocity with any given method, stop trying to speed it up. Instead, focus on capturing each insight, leveling it up to organizational knowledge, and applying that learning in the future. Yes, that means when an important insight doesn’t make v1, go ahead and bring it back up to apply to v2. Timeless research is really about building long-term organizational knowledge and curating what you’ve already learned.
Disposable research is the stuff you throw away, after you ship. To be trulylean, get rid of that wasteful process. Instead, focus your research team’s time on making connections between past insights, then reusing and remixing them in new contexts. That way, you’re consistently providing timeless research that overcomes the need for speed.
Have you ever felt pressure to bypass good research for the sake of speed? Tell me about it in the comments, or tweet @insightsmunko.
The Command Line Interface (CLI) is now available for Microsoft Library Manager (LibMan) and can be downloaded via NuGet. Look for Microsoft.Web.LibraryManager.Cli The LibMan CLI is cross-platform, so you’ll be able to use it anywhere that .NET Core is supported (Windows, Mac, Linux).
Once the LibMan CLI is installed, you can start using LibMan from the root of your web project (or any folder).
Using LibMan from the Command Line
When using LibMan CLI, begin commands with “libman” then follow with the action you wish to invoke. For example, to install all files from the latest version of jquery, type:
> libman install jquery
Follow the prompts to select the provider and destination. Type the values you want, or press [Enter] to accept the defaults.
The install operation creates a libman.json file in the current directory if one does not already exist, then adds the new library configuration. It then downloads the files and places them in the destination folder. See the example below.
To learn more about the LibMan CLI, refer to the LibMan CLI documentation on the Library Manager Wiki.
Happy coding!
Justin Clareburt, Senior Program Manager, Visual Studio
Justin Clareburt is the Web Tools PM on the Visual Studio team. He has over 20 years of Software Engineering experience and brings to the team his expert knowledge of IDEs and a passion for creating the ultimate development experience.
Swipe the Knee: Game of Thrones Reigns on the way?
The developers of Reigns & Reigns: Her Majesty could be bringing us a Game of Thrones-inspired sequel/spin-off/license game in the near future.
Our eagle eyed brethren over at Pocket Gamer spotted a tweet from the official Reigns account yesterday afternoon that was nothing but an image – a map of Westeros (as imagined by the TV Show), rendered in the familiar art style of Nerial’s innovative narrative game.
There’s really nothing else to say without needless speculation, although PG noted we’re approaching the 1 year anniversary of Reigns: Her Majesty’s release date.
What do you guys think? Would you get behind a Games of Thrones skinned reigns? Do we think this is officially licensed or perhaps just inspired? Answers on a post-card!
CryTek have just released several assets from the game Ryse Son of Rome. The content pack consists of Egyptian level data from that game and includes several models, textures and a sample level showcasing the included assets.
The Egyptian themed assets in the pack provide large and small-scale elements for dressing your own Egyptian setting with statues and hieroglyphics set next to giant modular pyramids.
Enter the Chaos-infested Caligari Sector and purge the unclean with the most powerful agents of the Imperium of Man. Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor Martyr is a grim Action-RPG featuring multiple classes of the Inquisition who will carry out the will of the Emperor even in the darkest reaches of the Imperium. THE NEXT MILESTONE IN THE EVOLUTION OF ARPGS. The first Action-RPG set in the grim future of the 41st Millennium takes the genre to its next level: an open-world sandbox game with a persistent universe with a huge variety of missions, tactical, brutal combat encounters in destructible environments and a storyline influenced by the community of players. Use the cover system for tactical advantage, shoot off limbs and perform executions in epic boss battles and become a Protector of any solar systems with your glorious actions!
INQUISITORS: SECRET AGENTS AND SPECIALISTS
Forge your own playstyle with different character classes and specializations: hold your ground with the Crusader Inquisitor while enemies close in on you, bring in your finesse and cunning with the Death Cult Assassin background, or use the unspeakable powers of the Warp with the Primaris Psyker background. Choose from three specializations for each classes that fit your playstyle.
TRAVERSE A WHOLE GALACTIC SECTOR
Explore the Star Map of the vast Caligari Sector, travel in different subsectors and explore an immense amount of solar systems, visit a growing number of unique points of interests: investigate on different planets with distinctive terrain conditions, fight your way through corridors of infested Void Stations, abandoned Star Forts and other diverse environments!
FIGHT THE CORRUPTION TOGETHER
You can go solo as a lonely Inquisitor, but you can also assemble a team of your friends! Play missions in co-operative mode with up to 4 team members, blast away your foes together claiming great rewards, and form Cabals to gather your close allies! Inquisitorial Cabals are groups of Inquisitors working together. Cabals can progress just like characters do, and being a member can often grant special missions. The Inquisition has a lot of different factions with different agendas, and Cabals sometimes clash with each other in the shadows.
IMPROVE YOUR WEAPONS, CRAFT MISSIONS AND TWEAK YOUR SKILLS
Looking for a specific loot or reward? Use Uther's Tarot to set the conditions of your next mission, collect Blueprints and use Crafting to improve your equipment, and use the Inoculator to fine-tune your different skills. Choose your loadout to your advantage for each mission!
A LIVING, EXPANDING WORLD
Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor Martyr is an ever-growing, long-lasting experience. Expansions and regular free updates will introduce new enemy factions, new terrain settings, new missions and mission types, new story-driven investigations and new gameplay features. Seasons are big, free updates that will introduce longer story arcs in which players can shape the persistent world of the Caligari sector with their actions. Daily Quests, Tiers and Power Levels ensure new challenges there's always something new to explore or to collect!
SoulCalibur 6 Gets A Second Story Mode And A Series Veteran Makes Her Return
During Gamescom 2018, Bandai Namco announced the second story mode for SoulCalibur 6. The company also revealed a gameplay trailer for Tira, a new DLC fighter.
The new story mode is called Libra of Souls, and it allows you to play as your own custom character through a single-player campaign. You'll have 16 different races to choose from for your character before customizing how they look, from their body type to facial features. You'll even be able to pick what type of fighting style they specialize in, and choose the armor and weapon that you think best fits that style.
After making your character, you'll fight your way through a unique campaign that pits you against an evil mastermind bent on gathering the Soul Edge shards. Familiar faces from SoulCalibur 6's main campaign, Chronicle of Souls, will show up to either help or hinder you. Chronicle of Souls takes you back to the beginning of the SoulCalibur franchise and revisits the events of the first game. Like the fighters you play as in Chronicle of Souls, your custom Libra of Souls character will be available to play in both online casual and ranked matches.
At Gamescom, Bandai Namco also revealed a gameplay trailer for DLC fighter Tira. First introduced in SoulCalibur 3, Tira has since become a veteran of the franchise and appeared in both SoulCalibur 4 and SoulCalibur 5.
In both SoulCalibur 4 and 5, Tira's fighting style was transformed to match how her personality unexpectedly changes. She has two different states, Gloomy and Jolly, with the former allowing her to dish out more powerful attacks at the cost of her own health. Some of her moves allow you to switch Tira's states on the fly, but she can also just change whenever she feels like it or after she's struck by certain attacks. The new trailer suggests Tira maintains this fighting style in SoulCalibur 6, but Bandai Namco hasn't confirmed whether or not that is the case.
SoulCalibur 6 is launching for Xbox One, PS4, and PC on October 19.
Head back to the Mexiverse in this sequel to Guacamelee! Uppercut your way to victory across stunning new hand-crafted levels. Featuring full 4-player co-op, fancy new wrestling moves, sassy new bosses, twice the enemies, and 300% more chickens.
Azeroth paid a terrible price to end the apocalyptic march of the Legion's crusadebut even as the world's wounds are tended, it is the shattered trust between the Alliance and Horde that may prove hardest to mend. As this age-old conflict reignites, join your allies and champion your faction's causeAzeroth's future will be forged in the fires of war.
RECRUIT ALLIED RACES
Explore Azeroth as new playable Allied Races, including four you've encountered in your campaign against the Legion. Embark on a quest to earn their favor and unlock each race, adding their strength to your faction. Create a new character and complete the full leveling experience to earn a distinctive Heritage Armor set.
KUL TIRAS
As a hero of the mighty Alliance, journey to the seafaring kingdom of Kul Tiras, home of Jaina Proudmoore. Untangle a web of betrayal and dark magic as you encounter power-hungry pirates, witches wielding death magic, mystical sea priests, and more. Explore the stony peaks of Tiragarde Sound, trek across Drustvar's high plains and red forests, and navigate the intricate inland canals of Stormsong Valley as you convince this fractured kingdom to join your cause.
ZANDALAR
Prepare the Horde for war by recruiting the ancient empire of Zandalar. In this troll-dominated territory, ancient evil waits to be unleashed on the world as you battle crazed blood-troll worshippers, gargantuan dinosaurs, and titan constructs. Discover Zuldazar, the oldest city in Azeroth; unveil the bleak swamps of Nazmir; and traverse the deadly deserts of Vol'dun.
PLUNDER UNCHARTED ISLANDS
Set sail for the previously unmapped isles of Azeroth. Battle in groups of three as you race against cunning rival intrudersor enemy playersto collect the island's resources. Constantly evolving challenges await as you traverse frozen landscapes near Northrend, open the gates of an abandoned Gilnean castle, navigate a war between elementals and more.
STORM THE WARFRONTS
Head to the frontlines and take part in a large-scale 20-player cooperative Warfront to claim a key strategic location. Build up your faction's forces, lead the charge as your troops lay siege to the objective, and battle the enemy commanders as they make their last stand in this new PvE mode inspired by classic Warcraft RTS battles.
INFUSE ARMOR WITH TITANIC MIGHT
Take control of the Heart of Azerotha legendary neck piece entrusted to you by Magni Bronzebeard. Imbue it with Azerite, an invaluable resource that's emerged in the Legion's wake, to customize your armor with new powers and traits.
ENTER A WORLD DIVIDED
Experience the relentless conflict at the heart of the Warcraft saga. Play through six new zones filled with new World Quests, new World Bosses, new raids and more as you determine whether the Horde or Alliance will shape Azeroth's future.
* NEW LEVEL CAP
Stop the spread of the Blood God's corruption, unearth the secrets of a lost titan vault, and much more as you quest to level 120.
* NEW DUNGEONS & RAIDS
Fight through all-new dungeons like the golden city of Atal'Dazar, and the outlaw town of Freehold!
* CHARACTER BOOST
Advance a new or existing hero character to level 110 instantly, and be ready to join your new allies in battle!
* COMMUNITIES
Find adventurers who share common interests through in-game Communities and join cross-realm social groups.
Justin Clareburt is the Web Tools PM on the Visual Studio team. He has over 20 years of Software Engineering experience and brings to the team his expert knowledge of IDEs and a passion for creating the ultimate development experience.
