Category Archives: Technology

Messing About With Logos In ChatGPT

1 November, 2023TechnologyChatGPT, DALL·E 3, Dunsurfin, logosJames Moore

DALL·E 3 popped up in ChatGPT in Bing Chat recently. The image creator still cannot spell for toffee, but occasionally gets it right. ChatGPT takes your initial prompt and modifies the text fairly extensively before passing this to DALL·E 3. So, I messed about with some brief logo experiments. Started out with a very simple request: “create an image for “dunsurfin.”Widescreen.”

Photo of a serene beach at sunset with a wooden sign planted in the sand reading 'Dunsurfin'. Gentle waves lap at the shore and a few seagulls fly in

Straight off the bat, DALL·E 3 got all the letters correct. Impressive. Not exactly the type of image I wanted, but this blew me away. ChatGPT’s prompt: “Photo of a serene beach at sunset with a wooden sign planted in the sand reading ‘Dunsurfin’. Gentle waves lap at the shore and a few seagulls fly in.”

Illustration of a surfboard standing upright on the beach with the word 'Dunsurfin' written on it. The background showcases a beautiful sunset with palm trees silhouetted against the sky.

Looks a little like something you would find on a t-shirt or cheap beer. ChatGPT’s prompt: “Illustration of a surfboard standing upright on the beach with the word ‘Dunsurfin’ written on it. The background showcases a beautiful sunset with palm trees silhouetted against the sky.”

Photo of a coastal town with houses overlooking the sea. In the foreground, a large rock has 'Dunsurfin' painted on it. The setting sun casts a golden hue over the scene.

This I like, and the text is correct. ChatGPT’s prompt: “Photo of a coastal town with houses overlooking the sea. In the foreground, a large rock has ‘Dunsurfin’ painted on it. The setting sun casts a golden hue over the scene.”

Vector design of a sun setting behind a wave. On top of the wave, there's a bold text saying 'Dunsurfin'. The overall color palette is warm with oranges, purples, and blues.

Again, cheap beer/t-shirt vibe. Correct text though. ChatGPT’s prompt: “Vector design of a sun setting behind a wave. On top of the wave, there’s a bold text saying ‘Dunsurfin’. The overall color palette is warm with oranges, purples, and blues.”

Went in a different direction with the request “Create the logo “Dunsurfin” in a cyberpunk style with neon tubes. Daguerreotype.” If the text was correct, this would have been perfect for me. ChatGPT’s prompt: “Daguerreotype image of the ‘Dunsurfin’ logo styled in a cyberpunk aesthetic. The letters are meticulously crafted from glowing neon tubes, reflecting the essence of the cyberpunk genre. The vintage sepia tones of the daguerreotype process contrast with the futuristic neon, creating a unique blend of old and new.”

Vector design showcasing a globe with interconnected nodes representing the internet. A surfer rides a wave circling the globe, holding a mouse instead of a surfboard. The 'Dunsurfin' logo is prominently displayed with a futuristic font.

Amended the prompt with the request “Make into a logo “Dunsurfin” and incorporate the concept of “Surfing the Web” – internet, technology, WWW. Landscape.” Old Skool vibe. Admittedly cool, but not what I wanted. GhatGPT’s prompt: “Vector design showcasing a globe with interconnected nodes representing the internet. A surfer rides a wave circling the globe, holding a mouse instead of a surfboard. The ‘Dunsurfin’ logo is prominently displayed with a futuristic font.”

However, I thought about surfing this Old Skull vibe a little further. Asked “Make pixelated and fading into a white background.” ChatGPT’s prompt: “Vector design of a pixelated globe with nodes representing the internet, fading seamlessly into a white background. A surfer, crafted in pixels, rides a wave encircling the globe, holding a mouse. The ‘Dunsurfin’ logo is displayed with a digital font, dissolving into the whiteness.”

Realistic image of a globe with intricate internet nodes, set against a soft blue sky backdrop that gracefully transitions into white towards the top. A surfer gracefully rides a wave encircling the globe. The 'Dunsurfin' logo shines prominently with a glossy finish.

Amended with “Make realistic and fade into a white background. Include the logo ‘Dunsurfin.‘” Looks like the cover of a Netscape or AOL CD from the late 1990s. ChatGPT prompt: “Realistic image of a globe with intricate internet nodes, set against a soft blue sky backdrop that gracefully transitions into white towards the top. A surfer gracefully rides a wave encircling the globe. The ‘Dunsurfin’ logo shines prominently with a glossy finish.”

Went with a directional shift. Asked “Make the logo “Dunsurfin” look cyberpunk. White background.” Correct text! ChatGPT prompt: “Design of ‘Dunsurfin’ logo with cyberpunk influences. The text is rendered in a holographic projection style with streaks of neon blue and pink. Metallic accents and digital glitches enhance the overall feel, all against a pristine white backdrop.”

I gave ChatGPT a little more direction (and shouted the logo): “Artistic portrayal of the “DUNSURFIN” logo in a cyberpunk theme. The letters are constructed from glowing neon tubes intertwined with wires and tech elements. The vibrant colors contrast strikingly with the white background, making the logo pop.” This, I loved. Wish the text had been 100% correct. ChatGPT prompt: “Artistic representation of the ‘DUNSURFIN’ logo against a stark white canvas. The letters are meticulously fashioned from radiant neon tubes that emit a spectrum of vivid colors. These tubes are seamlessly interwoven with metallic wires, microchips, and futuristic tech motifs, capturing the essence of cyberpunk. The brilliance of the neon, combined with the intricate tech details, creates a strong visual contrast with the white background, ensuring the logo is the focal point.”

I kept on regenerating. Close…

Regenerated again. Text perfect here, but for some reason this version ended up on a stretched canvas. ChatGPT prompt: “Artistic composition of the ‘DUNSURFIN’ logo set against a pristine white canvas. The letters burst forth as neon tubes that glow in hues of hot pink, electric teal, and radiant orange. These neon formations are complemented with twisted wires, sparking circuits, and cybernetic embellishments. The intense neon glow juxtaposes beautifully with the white surroundings, emphasizing the logo’s cyberpunk dynamism and making it the visual focal point.”

Regenerated…

Regenerated. Done with experiments for the day. Next time will see if using a seed number results in consistently correct letters in the log.

Whoa…

5 October, 2023TechnologyAI, DALL·E, dinosaur, Generative Art, GPT4, kittenJames Moore

Whoa

Still Not Quite There…

2 October, 2023TechnologyBing Image Creator, DALLE, Generative AI, kittens. dinosaursJames Moore

Prompt: A Tyrannosaurus Rex riding on the back of a cute kitten

Plex Music

13 September, 2023Gadgets, TechnologyASUSTOR, indexing, music, Plex, rebootJames Moore

Have You Tried Turning It Off and On Again?

Recently, I moved my music over to an ASUSTOR NAS so as to better leverage Plex at home (music, television, movies, etc.). The movies and television worked straight off the bat (apart from having to recode television episodes in Plex’s preferred format). However, music was idiosyncratic. Some uploaded albums worked, others seemed to disappear into the ether with an “Empty Folder – There are no items in this folder” error message. The files were there on the NAS, but Plex could not find all of them.

So, here is what I tried to get things to work:

Checked permissions – no issues, all music had same permissions: Did not fix
Re-scanned library files multiple times: Did not fix
Recoded music files with MusicBrainz Picard: Did not fix
Refreshed metadata: Did not fix
Rebooted NAS and then re-scanned library files: Fixed!

So, the tried and tested reboot was my friend here today.

Bard Versus The New Bing

22 March, 2023Internet, TechnologyAI, Bard, ChatGPT, Image Creator, New BingJames Moore

Invites to test Bard and the New Bing arrived within 24 hours of each other. The Bard invite arrived first, and I must admit to being underwhelmed. Bard was boring. I had heard the rumors that Google’s secret AI was leaps and bounds ahead of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, convincing at least one engineer of sentience. However, the experience was largely dull.

What is the purpose of Bard?

As alterative to regular search, Bard does not immediately offer up a convincing reason to stick with its services. The results take a little longer to generate and do not contain URLs. When searching for places to eat in Chicago, I had to independently Google Bard’s text results. Bard suggested two excellent options that met my criteria, but then suggested options that made little sense. I can see one potential future here, and that is in Augmented Reality, where Bard is a competitor to Alexa – vocalizing responses to my spoken requests. But this is only going to have value if Bard can demonstrate accuracy and link to actual resources on the internet.

Welcome To The New Bing

New Bing is something else. It took a few clicks to access the new Bing (started up in Safari, did not like being in the Microsoft Edge Dev, but worked like a dream in the regular Edge) and it felt like I was in Las Vegas, which is both good and bad.

Conversational Style

I was impressed that the new Bing (NuBing?) suggested a choice of conversational style: Creative, Balanced, or Precise. Somewhat ironically, I found myself Googling how to try the new features.

Kitten and Dinosaur

AI image generation (Image Creator) is baked into chat and initially works surprisingly fast and well. I was unable to get a widescreen image even though Bing told me it could change the aspect ratio of the results, and my request for a “dinosaur riding a kitten” was churned out as a kitten riding a dinosaur. But it did it fast. On a day where ChatGPT was up and down (and lacking historical chats) this was particularly impressive. Subtly, Bing was counting up to a limit of 15 with each image request. With only a few credits left, I asked for an image of a kitten dressed as Judge Dredd. Bing Binged itself with a search of Wikipedia and spat out some acceptable results.

Judge Kitten

I have no idea if these search results are being piped into the image prompt, but I like to think they are.

So, I will definitely be using the New Bing. Bard, not so much.

Sorry

For kicks, here are some of the images that Bing was able to create.

A steampunk armadillo

Kitten and Dinosaur 1

Kitten and Dinosaur 2

Kitten and Dinosaur 3

An image of James Moore (who works at DePaul University) riding on the back of a kitten

That Was Unexpected…

15 March, 2023TechnologyAI, ChatGPT, Hallucination, LLMJames Moore

ChatGPT. Wednesday 15th March, 2023

Like many others, I have been exploring the new and improved ChatGPT. This response was unexpected. To check that the LLM was not hallucinating, I ran a couple of quick Google queries:

Scientists discover new species of monkey in Amazon rainforest” – National Geographic (March 15, 2023

Nope

Nope: “It looks like there aren’t many great matches for your search”

“Stocks rise on positive economic data and company earnings reports” – CNN Business (March 15, 2023)

Nope

Nope: No results found for “Stocks rise on positive economic data and company earnings reports” – CNN Business (March 15, 2023).

(and it looks like stocks actually fell)

“World leaders gather for climate summit in Paris” – BBC News (March 14, 2023)

Nope

Nope: No results found for “World leaders gather for climate summit in Paris” – BBC News (March 14, 2023).

“NASA launches new mission to study Jupiter’s moons” – Space.com (March 12, 2023)

Nope

Nope: No results found for “NASA launches new mission to study Jupiter’s moons” – Space.com (March 12, 2023).

However, The Guardian reports that the “European Space Agency’s Juice probe launches next month, flying closer to icy moons – including Ganymede, the solar system’s largest – than ever before.” So this was a good guess.

“Apple announces new iPhone with advanced AI features” – The Verge (March 10, 2023)

Nope

Nope: No results found for “Apple announces new iPhone with advanced AI features” – The Verge (March 10, 2023).

However, The Verge happily reports that a there is a new yellow iPhone.

Messing About With AI: Part 1

28 September, 2022Internet, TechnologyAI, Artificial Intelligence, Artificial Intelligence Image Generation, Catullus, Craiyon, DALL-E, DiffusionBee, images, poetryJames Moore

I signed up and/or downloaded several AI image-generating services recently. For kicks, I have started to post poetry and descriptions from classic novels to see what the results are. I started the process using one of the most celebrated poems ever: Catullus 85:

Ōdī et amō. Quārē id faciam fortasse requīris.
Nesciŏ, sed fierī sentiō et excrucior.

There are many English translations and interpretations, so I went with Wikipedia:

I hate and I love. Why I do this, perhaps you ask.
I know not, but I feel it happening and I am tortured

It looks like this request may not follow our content policy.

So, I posted this into DALL-E. The word “torture” was flagged as not appropriate, so I went with Google’s stock translation (which was accepted):

I hate and I love. Wherefore I do this, perhaps you ask.
I do not know, but I feel it being done and I am tormented.

DALL-E generated 4 options:

Catullus 85 – 1

Catullus 85 – 2

Catullus 85 – 3

Catullus 85 – 4

Options one and two are cheerfully banal, but three and four have a slight spark. Option three is my winner. And DiffusionBee seems to follow the same tack, generating this one image from the original text (no issues, it seems, with the word torture):

Catullus 85 – DiffusionBee

Craiyon‘s output definitely felt more teenage angsty. Their AI obvious has the machine soul of a poet:

Catullus 85 – Craiyon

Will try again tomorrow with something completely different.

DT&L Conference Registration Opens April 14

12 April, 2021Internet, MOOC, Online Learning, TechnologyAnnual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning, conference, dtl, madison, online learning, UWdtlJames Moore

The Distance Teaching & Learning Conference (@UWMadison #UWdtl) is 100% online, and runs 2nd – 5th August, 2021.

Registration is just $329.00 for 75+ sessions from internationally-renowned Online and DistanceEd experts.

More information can be found at https://dtlconference.wisc.edu

Microsoft Teams

18 January, 2021Technologydocumentation, Microsoft, Microsoft Teams, SurfaceJames Moore

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is becoming an integral service at my workplace. Using this page to assemble some of the resources I am finding and using.

Microsoft Teams video training
- Surprisingly well done. The “Shifts” app looked intriguing, but does not seem to install on the Mac client. Using Teams in a web browsers appears to work around this issue.
Quick Start Guide
- PDF cheat sheet. Provides names for parts of the interface (such as the “command box”). Other quick start guides for Microsoft products can be found here.
Surface Hub
- Not cheap, but could be a good way to create a movable collaborative device (huddle space).
Teams Help
- Front end to generic help.
Microsoft Teams admin documentation
- The good stuff…

Random Observations

macOS version of Teams does not work with virtual cameras (such as mmhmm), which is a bit of a pain.
Teams meeting video does not compare vey well to Zoom.
Limits and specifications for Microsoft Teams are listed here. Useful resource.
I struggled for a while to make some files “read-only” for some members. This guide was helpful.

RG280V

3 January, 2021Gadgets, TechnologyAnbernic, games, retro gaming, RG280V, ROMJames Moore

RG280V

I was very lucky to receive an Anbernic RG280V, which is one to the most pocketable emulators I have seen. Unfortunately, the documentation is lacking, so here are some of the online resources I have found that helped me get up to speed:

RG280V Case

Walmart has a small case that protects the RG280V. The case appears to be available at a cheaper price elsewhere.

In terms of pocketable retrogaming on the go, this device is hard to beat. The small size can be hard on large hands – the Powkiddy X18S is what I am looking forward to in 2020.

Updates and Reflections

In no particular order, here are notes on things I have learnt whilst playing about with the RG280V.

Applications

.opk files reside in the /media/data/apps directory. Newer applications can added, ones that have little use can be removed. Some of these applications end up in the Applications area on the RG280V, or in the Games or Emulators areas.

Here is what I removed:

FFPlay (ffplay.opk): A simple video player. Of little use on this device.
- Associated with this were some videos in the /media/sdcard/MP4 directory. All deleted.
Gmu (gmu.opk): A multi-format music player. Again, of little use on the device – better to clear up space.
Localized Gmu (gum-rg350-unicode-190926.opk): Another multi-format music player.
Oldplay (oldplay_v135.opk): Another multi-format music player.
Apricots (apricots.opk): A 2D arcade plane shooter. Could not find the controls, or how to change the controls, so this got jettisoned.
AstroLander (AstroLander.opk): Remembered fondly, but not something I really wanted to play again.
Dink Smallwood (freedink.opk): An action role-playing video game. Decided that not for me.
Last Mission (last-mission_20191219_0.opk): Side-view tank game. Not my thing.
Hocoslamfy (hocoslamfy-od.opk): Flappy Bird clone.
MineSweeper (MineSweeper.opk): A blast from the past
Powder (powder_117.opk): A Zeldaesque clone.
Puzzletube (puzzletube.opk): Interesting, but not interesting enough.
Snowman (snowman.opk): Not my thing.
Spout (spout.opk): Interesting. Like a reverse Luna Lander. However, not interesting enough to keep.
Stringrolled (stringrolled.opk): Cat-themed, but not much fun.
Supertux (supertux.opk): The Linux alternative to Mario, but honestly not as much fun to play.
Worship Vector (wvector.opk): No idea how to play this game. Delete.
SDLPAL (gcw0_sdlpal_mhv_20180105_ch.opk): Chinese-language RPG.

Here is what I added:

Handy (handy_gcw0.opk): Atari Lynx emulator. Works great.
ReGBA (regba_rg350.opk): Gameboy Advance. Works great.
Bubble Bobble Remake (Bubble Bobble Remake.opk): Almost works great.
- The D-Pad controls the player. A is meant to jump (works), B is meant to shoot bubbles (does not work). The game title screen indicates that you can view keys (K), redefine keys (R), select joystick (J), and enter coins (3) – but those options are not available on the RG280V. The L1 button enters coins though. Have not found a way top make this work yet.
MAME4ALL (MAME4ALL_2014-01-04.opk): Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator. Has not worked with all the ROMs I tested with, but works well when it does. To press “OK”, tap left then right on the D-Pad (required to start some games).
Unreal Speccy Portable (unreal_speccy_portable.opk): ZX Spectrum Emulator. Supportssna, z80, szx, rzx, tap, tzx, csw, trd, scl, fdi, and zip files. Configuration instructions can be found here.
PrBoom+ (prboom+.opk): Doom Engine Port. Crashed when I loaded a WAD.
Chocolate Doom (Chocolate Doom.opk): Doom Engine Port. Not working for me yet. Has a “Chocolate Setup” app to redefine controls.
FreeDoom (FreeDoom.opk): Free content game based on the Doom engine. Works great.
Airball (Airball.opk): Remake of the Atari ST game Airball. Controls can be a little fiddly with the D-Pad.
Jet Set Willy II (Jet Set Willy II.opk): A remake of one of the most frustrating games ever.
Odamex (Odamex.opk): Doom Engine Port. Works great.

So, I now have a great collection of games that I can ply on the commute to work.