2024 Pleasant Surprises

I was thinking about technology and the new things that have come my way in 2024. Surprisingly only four has to do with AI. There is no ranking at all in what is below.

1. I just love Typora. Nothing gets in my way when writing. It is very pure. I used to use NotePad. One of the best thing is it is NOT Word!
2. PostgreSQL and pdAdmin, can build a great database in ways I never knew.
3. Brave has been wonderful. I think its use of AI[‘Summarizer‘] to summarize searches makes it even better!
4. Thurrott.com and the Forum! What can I say, I like it and it compliments Paul’s posts. It will never replace Paul!
5. ChatGPT and CoPilotPro [AI] have helped me write better plant description summaries for my database vs. what I could ever do on my own. My organization is better. My words are spelled correctly, as their spellcheckers are sane. However, AI actually makes me a worse writer in articulating my thoughts! Strange is I do like the Rewrite feature in NotePad.
6. AI and making images is really a lot of fun. I can only say it is similar to John Lennon’s song ‘Instant Karma‘, as it knocks you right in the brain, sometimes, if it is done a certain way. I often think is it on ‘drugs’ at other times, or it is really ‘not listening’ or its uncooperative. However, I still think it is fun! So kudos to MS Designer and now the images made by Chat GPT.
7. I purchased a refurbished Lenovo desktop and just love it. It is powerful and is of great value. I do not have to worry about October 2025 and my two old Windows 10 desktops(soon to be Linux or have “non-official installations” of Windows 11 on them)
8. FotoSketcher makes manipulating images fun as I can take a photo and turn it in to a painting or pencil drawing! Pure fun!
9. Proton Pass! Nothing more to say!
10. I purchased a refurbished HP Printer and it came with a 6 months free subscription to ink, I will continue it as it is really cheap to do so. In my business I still need hard copies of things. I really wanted to avoid a new printer. The printer itself has had zero problems in 5.5 months. Printing photos has been sheer fun.
11. Search in Open AIs ChatGPT is really a nice feature! I really like it so much. So now besides Brave search, my search is a better endeavor.

That is it! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!