Tech Tips, Tricks & Trivia

Among the computing devices I use I find my assembled desktop PC the most comfortable to work on. I collaborated with a hardware expert to have it configured some seven years ago. After all these years, the time on that Windows PC kept going out of sync and behaved erratically. My AI assistant informed me that it was because of the CR2032 CMOS battery dying. A few years ago, I wouldn't have dared to meddle with the hardware but AI assistants & DIY YouTube videos gave me the courage to experiment. I learnt about how to replace a CR 2032 battery, bought it at a neighborhood hardware store for Rs 40 and replaced it in 5 minutes giving my PC a new lease of life.   YouTube video on how to change CR2032 batteries on the most common styles of battery sockets. The socket of my PC's motherboards is described at the 2:43 mark .   I now open up the PC cabinet from time to time to clean the insides, admire the components that keep everything running, and take satisfaction ...

In response to a question about the feasibility of effective code reviews for large (e.g., 500-line) AI-generated PRs like those from Claude, especially when reviewers lack deep codebase familiarity in new projects or fast-paced environments, Uncle Bob Martin and Grady Booch have contrasting views Uncle Bob Martin advocates metrics-based oversight (test coverage, complexity, dependencies) and higher-level management over line-by-line AI code review, while Grady Booch stresses manual verification for vulnerabilities, dead code, and performance factors. Uncle Bob Martin : " I don’t review code written by agents . I measure things like test coverage, dependency structure, cyclomatic complexity, module sizes, mutation testing, etc.  Much can be inferred about the quality of the code from those metrics. The code itself I leave to the AI.  Humans are slow at code. To get productivity we humans need to disengage from code and manage from a higher level." Grady Booch : "Unlike B...

Summary of an article on X by kaize - 1. Edit your prompt. Don't send a follow-up because Token cost per message = all previous messages + your new one. 2. Start a fresh chat every 15–20 messages: When a chat gets long → ask Claude to summarize everything → copy it → new chat → paste as first message. 3. Batch your questions into one message for fewer context reloads (that cost tokens). 4. Upload recurring files to Projects - Cached project content doesn't eat into your usage. 5. Set up Memory & User Preferences - Save your role, communication style, and settings once. Claude will automatically apply them to every new chat. 6. Turn off features (like Web search, Connectors, "Explore" mode, "Search and Tools", "Advanced Thinking") you're not actively using. 7. Use Haiku for simple tasks 8. Spread your work across the day as Claude uses a rolling 5-hour window.  9. Work during off-peak hours. Anything outside of peak hours: 5:00 AM to 11:00 ...