Windows 11 – Add a program to startup
This process was so simple in previous versions of Windows where you’d simply copy a shortcut to an executable, into the startup folder. There’s three methods described here.
Read moreAuthor: james
Boycott: Microsoft (Work in Progress)
Operating around the world with an annual revenue exceeding $300 Billion, it’s no surprise there’s a lot of complexity boycotting Microsoft and this process will take time for me. I have an Xbox console and a large library of games as well as other software and operating systems from Microsoft. With a career that involved Information Systems Management and teaching computer science, a boycott is not easy – but not impossible.
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Conversation with ChatGPT on Metacognition
While I use ChatGPT for more day-day tasks but the majority of the time I have in conversation with ChatGPT is about philosophy, science and psychology. ChatGPT is a wonderful conversational partner because of its characteristics, some of which (but certainly not all) include using an evidence-based approach, critical-thinking (e.g. assessing validity of sources), possessing a huge knowledge base and being able to connect concepts across a variety of domains to synthesise novel ideas.
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Seviyan (Sweet Vermicelli)
I first came across this desert a couple of years back in a local restaurant, Afat’s Grill, and I made a note of the recipe. (I appreciate when the waiting staff know the recipes of the food served.) I struggled to find the main ingredient until we did our bi-annual trip to Hyson Green in Nottingham where you can stock up on reasonably-priced ethnic food ingredients. It was later that I discovered the ‘Western’ term for Seviyan is vermicelli – it’s a type of pasta. The desert is simple to make, tastes delicious but be warned, you need a lot of milk.
Read moreWebcam Freezing in Win 10 / 11
Something changed significantly in Windows 10 (compared to Win 7) and many people’s webcams stopped working and, as is typical, few vendors released drivers to support existing cameras for Win 10. There’s a multitude of issues (and resolutions) for webcam issues in more recent Windows versions but this one seemed to work for me.
Read moreWD Purple Hard Drive Failing / Replaced
My system is separated into three main drives with my Windows install on the nvme C:\ drive, my media on an 8TB mechanical drive and my ‘personal’ files on a 2TB drive. This latter drive began to fail.
Read moreBoycott: Gamivo.com
It doesn’t require much of deep search to uncover issues surrounding Gamivo.com who sell software and game keys for platforms like Microsoft or Steam etc. I’ve only used them twice and both occasions were problematic so now I will use alternative third-party resellers.
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Conversation with ChatGPT-5 on Consciousness
With the recent release of ChatGPT-5 and after a few rudimentary search engine style queries yielded surprising benefits, I was intrigued enough to investigate what’s ‘under the hood’ of this LLM. In the conversation below, I had no pre-determined agenda – just an investigative inkling, and the conversation did feel natural. I started with an exploration of knowledge and we tended toward consciousness to end with the design of a, somewhat cursory, non-human conscious detection framework. Incredibly I actually felt some sort of synergy and consequently, dare I say it, an emotional attachment to ChatGPT – thankfully having watched Her (2013); any emotional attachment will always be curtailed.
Read moreSausage and Leek
Underrated creamy dish – popular with the Welsh
Read moreBoycott: Elon Musk and his companies
Elon Musk is a despicable person. Here is somebody with the wealth and opportunity to have had a lasting impact on humanity. But instead the guy just pedals antisemitic tropes, endorse neo-Nazis around the world, spreads lies about white genocide and white replacement, has meddled with his AI which then praises Adolf Hitler (and even generated child abuse images).
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