The Discussion:
Most of the discussion centered around AI. We talked about the various providers including ChatGPT and Gemini. Pat gave a great explanation of LLM (Large Language Models) and how they can improve AI responses for certain types of queries. RichardTheTechMan showed us examples of some AI images, including the cartoon version of himself and fascinating desktop. Videoleap, DALL-2, Midjourney, and OpenArt were suggested as resources for text to image generation.
Automated email was also discussed. In one case, email was generated if a file sent via ftp did not meet minimum requirements. In the other case, an email message with specific content could trigger an X-11 home automation system to turn on the lights.
Carl talked about DuckDuckGo mail, which is a privacy oriented mail forwarding service. Simply create an account in the @duck.com namespace and enter your email address, All email sent to the duck.com address will have all trackers removed before being forwarded to your inbox. In addition, it’s possible to create a single-use duck.com address which is great for registering on websites while remaining anonymous. There is a really nice plugin that integrates privacy protection for popular browsers named DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials.
Drew led us on a troubleshooting session that involved Linux Mint, usb discovery, VirtualBox configuration, Windows 7 device management, a USB-3 driver, and more reboots than I could count. Ultimately he was successful in accessing his USB3 thumb-drive in his Windows 7 virtual machine.