Author: ytlim1

AI – ChatGPT Tools

Overview

If you’ve been paying attention to the tech world, it’s nearly impossible to avoid encountering terms like AI, OpenAI, and ChatGPT. With the increasing number of applications and websites utilizing the OpenAI API, it’s a challenge to stay updated with all of them. In this overview, I’ll provide a curated list of some AI tools that have been tested and found to be reasonably useful.

But first, let’s clarify what GPT stands for according to ChatGPT’s own description:

GPT stands for “Generative Pre-trained Transformer.” It is a type of artificial intelligence model that is designed to generate human-like text based on the input it receives. GPT models, such as GPT-3, are based on the Transformer architecture, which is a deep learning model architecture that utilizes self-attention mechanisms to capture relationships between different words or tokens in a sequence.

GPT models are pre-trained on a large corpus of text data, such as books, articles, and websites, to learn patterns and relationships in language. This pre-training enables the model to understand grammar, context, and even some level of semantic meaning. Once pre-trained, the GPT model can be fine-tuned on specific tasks or used to generate text in a variety of applications, such as chatbots, language translation, content creation, and more.

GPT-3, developed by OpenAI, is one of the most advanced and widely known versions of the GPT model. It has been trained on a massive amount of data and has demonstrated impressive capabilities in understanding and generating human-like text in a wide range of contexts.

Tools to access OpenAI

For the most authentic experience, there’s nothing quite like accessing OpenAI directly via the ChatGPT prompt. To get started, simply visit https://chat.openai.com/ using your preferred browser. Creating a free account is all it takes to dive right in. While a free account provides ample functionality for most users, there’s also an option to upgrade to a premium account for access to additional features. The premium account comes with a monthly fee of US$20. If your requirements exceed the capabilities of a free account, it’s worth considering the premium option.

In my own experience, I’ve encountered timeouts when asking ChatGPT to generate a response for a responsive landing page. It’s possible that the request took too long to process.

Here is a brief summary of a few tested tools.

ToolTypePlatform/ OSComments
ChatGPTBrowser basedAny browser loading https://chat.openai.com/The source. Free version will time out for long responses.
BingBrowser based

App		Bing browser on all OS’es

App is available for iOS and Android		Microsoft + OpenAI. Free version is limited to 15 questions per interaction and 150 conversations a day. Bing app accepts voice input (not in Chinese yet) which could be a great time saver.
PerplexityAppiOS only (will be available for Android a bit later)Totally free app. Will timeout for long responses.
ChatGPT tools (excluding browser extensions)

If you prefer using apps, I recommend trying out Perplexity and Bing apps. However, regardless of your preference, I highly recommend considering all three options. ChatGPT, in particular, should be your go-to reference whenever you have any doubts or questions.

Conclusion

The field of AI is evolving rapidly, with OpenAI currently leading the way and Google’s Bard following closely. The landscape is expected to change rapidly as new advancements emerge. Undoubtedly, we can anticipate the arrival of more tools at a similar pace. As they say, it’s essential to stay tuned and keep an eye on this space for exciting developments.

TransferKit – Free Unlimited Cloud File Storage

Summary

Another free cloud file storage system? Yes, free as free lunch and without storage space limitation. Maximum single file size is 32GB. Try it here.

Sounds too good, what’s the catch? Doesn’t look like there is one. No need to sign in to upload and share files. After a few trials, uploads were all successful but downloads had failed unpredictably.

Only time will tell if this new comer will suffer the same fate as the others came before it.

TransferKit compares itself to WeTransfer on its start page:

TransferKit vs WeTransfer

A few more details

  • TransferKit is built on (sponsored by?) FileCoin network, that is probably the main explanation of why it is totally free (read website Guide for more info) for all to use – at least for now. Note, there are still ongoing costs to host and maintain the website, so donations are welcomed there.
  • It is based on the decentralised blockchain technology, the same technology used in cryptocurrency.
  • The limit of 32GB per file is not really an issue as any file larger than 32GB can be split into smaller chunks before upload and rejoined back to a single file after download.
  • Once uploaded, the file will no longer belong to you, e.g. you can’t delete it. Anyone with the link can download the file. You will have NO access to the file if you lose the link and no possibility to search for it, however this might change later. Files will live on the FileCoin network “forever” or until FileCoin pulls the plug.
  • Great for file sharing with non-sensitive information. If you really want to store something important, encrypt it before upload but nothing can be guaranteed once it’s on the cloud.
  • Upload speed isn’t great. In a quick test, it took 90 mins to upload 590MB but only 7 mins to download the same file.
  • It’s advisable to send yourself the link after upload in order to keep a record of it, e.g.
Upload with email option

Conclusion

Use it while it lasts, at least in sharing large video and image files or any file with unimportant contents. Note: TransferKit can be unreliable at times.

Other than TransferKit, Mediafire is probably sufficient for most people to share large files. A free account with Mediafire will get you 10GB free storage.

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LANDrop – a cross-platform Apple AirDrop (Nearby Share in Android)

LANDrop – a cross-platform Apple AirDrop (Nearby Share in Android)

What is AirDrop?

AirDrop only exists on Apple platform. For the uninitiated, AirDrop is a device-to-device file transfer method among iOS devices and Mac computers. You will need to enable both Bluetooth and WiFi for AirDrop to work as Bluetooth is used to establish connection and WiFi for data transfer between two devices. In addition, the two devices must be on the same WiFi network. Read this excellent article for more. AirDrop uses the file Select/Share/AirDrop paradigm to share files. The receiver has the choice to accept or decline any file transfer requests. AirDrop is turned on by default.

This article is mainly about how to transfer files between iPhone and Windows PC without using iTunes.

What is Nearby Share?

In the Android world, the equivalent of AirDrop is Nearby Share. It uses the same paradigm of Select/Share/Nearby Share. However, Nearby Share is turned off by default. To activate, you need to go to Settings/Devices and sharing/Nearby Share to turn it on. Just like AirDrop, both Bluetooth and WiFi must be turned on for Nearby Share to work.

What is the problem?

Fig 1. Cross-platform issue due to incompatibility protocols

AirDrop is confined to the Apple eco system and Nearby Share to the Android devices only. Adding Windows PCs into the equation, we will get the problem in the diagram above. No default file sharing method exists among the three platforms.

One would argue that using a client-server protocol like ftp/sftp should resolve the problem above. But that would require a bit more technical know-hows. It gets even more complicated in the Apple environment. Wouldn’t it be nice if there exists something that looks like AirDrop or Nearby Share that works on all the platforms? In fact, something like that actually exists for all the platforms mentioned above, including Linux.

(Note: AirDrop and Nearby Share features are available by default in the respective systems, nothing needs to be installed for them to work.)

The Solutions

LANDrop

The best solution is to install LANDrop on the devices where you need to use it. That way you can perform Select/Share/LANDrop between any two devices. Once launched, you can also select files from within the app to share. Best of all, LANDrop is open source, so it is truly free and without any limitations. Platforms supported are iOS, Android, macOS, Windows (as a portable app) and Linux. LANDrop works on any WiFi network, including your personal hotspot. And now, we can share files easily between all platforms.

Fig 2. No Cross-platform issue with LANDrop running on all platforms
Fig 3. LANDrop iOS app

(Note: it has been noticed that the cached Documents & Data of LANDrop can grow very large and the only way to clear it is to uninstall and reinstall LANDrop.)

For the purpose of completeness, the following alternative file transferring methods have been included.

AirDroid

AirDroid ia very similar to LANDrop except it is not open source and there is a limitation of transferring 200MB in a month for the free version. Apart from the monthly limitation, the free version also carries annoying ads. If for whatever reason you aren’t happy with LANDrop or want to try something else, it’s worth giving AirDroid a go.

SMB Server (file transfer between iOS and Windows PC)

Ref: an excellent YouTube video by Kevin Stratvert.

The idea is to connect iphone (in File app) to Windows smb server using a local account with a shared folder.

  • On Windows PC:
  1. Create a local account (user name: transfer)
  2. Create a shared folder called transfer
  3. Get WiFi IPv4 address (192.168.1.115 in this case)
  4. Activate SMB as required
  • On iPhone: run File app
  1. Connect to SMB server 192.168.1.115
  2. Choose an image to share to SMB destination folder transfer

No Install Method (snapdrop.net)

This sounds like too good to be true but it does work. Just run https://snapdrop.net/ in a browser on the devices that require file transfer among them.

An identity will be given for each device, e.g. “Lime Mockingbird” in this case.

Once a nearby device has also loaded up snapdrop.net, it will show up on the screen, e.g. “Bronze Coral” in this example. Tap on “Bronze Coral” to start transferring files to it, i.e. “Lime Mockingbird” —> “Bronze Coral”. The same can be done on the other device in the opposite direction, “Bronze Coral” —> “Lime Mockingbird”.

The Hardware Method (USB memory stick)

This is probably the most straightforward method if you don’t mind spending some money in getting another piece of hardware for your iPhone. For Android phones, it would be simply getting a USB OTG cable and connect one end to the phone and the other end to a USB flash drive. However, iPhone doesn’t support OTG standard. For iPhone, there are special USB sticks with lightning and USB-A connectors for the same purpose as an OTG. One of such devices is Sandisk’s iXpand Flash Drive Go. Just install an app and plug the flash drive into iPhone. See descriptions below from the manufacturer.

Conclusion

It’s no secret that major software players intentionally make their products incompatible with their competitors in order to maintain market shares. That’s bad news for users who need to use multiple platforms. Luckily the open source community often comes up with clever solutions to fill such gaps, LANDrop is one of them.

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A Simple Aussie Financial Portfolio Sheet

Purpose

This is just a simple personal financial portfolio template written in Google Sheets to let you track your shares on ASX, cash, properties and cryptocurrencies. Share and cryptocurrency values are updated roughly every 20 minutes and corresponding trends are shown in graphs as well. The distribution of your investments and wealth are shown in doughnut charts for easy visualization.

The template was based on and modified from The-Flying-Sloth‘s post on reddit. Read it and compare to see how the original tool looks like.

Create Your Own Portfolio

The template is straightforward and self-explanatory. Make a copy of the template from here, start making changes to suit your needs and fill in information about assets. Since it is a spreadsheet, it doesn’t take much to add new calculations or tables to keep track of your investments.

Portfolio Template (sheet 1)

Financial Portfolio

This is where you build up your portfolio with your shares, cash, properties and cryptocurrencies. The cells in brown and light brown colours are for you to modify. Column 2 is minimized as it shouldn’t be modified.

Share Trends (sheet 2)

Share Trends

This is just a bigger display of the share trends compared to their counterparts on sheet 1. Add or delete trends as needed.

Transaction Tracking (sheet 3)

Transaction Tracking

This was taken pretty much as it was from the original template with added error checking for blank cells. Just fill in the data and the last four cells will be calculated for you.

Dividend Tracking (sheet 4)

Dividend Tracking

You will have to manually provide all dividend information and the total amount paid will then be calculated. One way to obtain the share dividends is to install Sharelight app on your mobile device and create your portfolio on it. The free version of the app will show the last 10 dividends which is sufficient for most people. The premium version with a monthly fee doesn’t have any limits.

Share + Others (sheet 5)

Shares + Others

Fill in the amount of your Super for the day → Super, grand total from sheet 1 → Shares + others. New Grand total will be calculated. Gain/Loss will be the difference between two adjacent rows.

Finally …

Have fun tracking 🙂

Smart Gate and Garage Door Opener

This is a simple introduction to two of the smart home devices that can help you open your gate and garage door.

WiFi-RF Gateway

The so-called smart gate or garage door opener is usually just a smart RF transmitting device which clones the fixed-code (generally 433MHz) RF remotes. It also has a 2.4G WiFi interface to connect to the Internet. Through a mobile app, the user can then remotely open a gate or a garage door from anywhere as long as there is an Internet connection.

The setup is straightforward, no installation is required. Just follow the instructions to install the mobile app, search for the smart device from the app, clone the remote and you are all set.

However, not all WiFi-RF gateways can clone all RF remotes, e.g. I purchased a no-brand WiFi-RF gateway from AliExpress and it supports only a limited number of RF chips (see list below). So, check before you buy.

Wall Switch Emulator

For a garage door that can be opened with a wall switch, there is an alternative – no need to clone the RF fixed-code. Instead, the smart device needs only to simulate the wall switch. Like all other smart home devices, there is also a 2.4G WiFi interface to connect to the Internet. Installation will include connecting two wires from the smart device to the motor – the same two points that go to the wall switch. Once the two wires are connected, the setup is pretty much the same as with any other smart home devices.

I bought a WOFEA Smart Garage Controller from AliExpress. Apart from emulating the wall switch with two wires, it also comes with a sensor that detects if the door is open. This feature makes it a better smart device than a simple WiFi-RF gateway. So if you feel comfortable connecting the two wires yourself, you should probably consider getting a device like this instead of a WiFi-RF gateway for your garage.

Here is a simple amateurish YouTube video to take you through the setup: https://youtu.be/OwztmvHQUXo

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Note: both devices mentioned here work with Google Assistant, Alexa, IFTTT and Chinese Tmall Genie.

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Cross-platform Password Manager – KeePass

Cross-platform Password Manager – KeePass

The aim of this article is to look at a free, open source and cross-platform password manager that runs natively on Linux/macOS/Windows/Android/iOS.

A bit about Keyring password manager

Keyring existed back in the PalmOS days. It was based on the source code of the Gnu Free Software Foundation. It uses 3-DES for encryption, the key is generated from a MD5 hash of your master password. The master password is not stored in the database. Instead, an MD5 hash of the password and a random 32-bit salt is stored and checked against entered values. The master password is analogous to the master key to a password chest.

Figure 1. Master key to open password chest (file)

Then Android came along. There is a Palm Keyring for Android app by Peter Newman which reads the same file format created by PalmOS. Just to confuse things, there is also another Android app called KeyRing Password Manager but it uses a different file format. Both apps have not been updated for quite a while now. So it’s time to move on…

Entering KeePass

KeePass is free and open source. See KeePass official site for its secure encryption algorithms used in encrypting the database files. KeePass supports multiple password database files and each file is locked by an individual master password. A database file can be stored locally or on cloud.

Most people use a computer and a phone these days. If your KeePass database file is stored locally, the only way to share the database file between different devices is to manually transfer it between them (e.g. ftp or sftp). See Figure 2, with iphone sharing its database file with other platforms. While many people feel safer without the cloud involvement, the database file can however get out of sync easily if it is used on more than one platform.

Figure 2. Non-cloud based password management – each device keeps a copy of the .kdbx file

The other option is to store the database file on cloud such as Google Drive, MS OneDrive, DropBox, etc.. That way, all devices can access the same database file directly from the cloud. See Figure 3, no database sync issue.

Figure 3. Cloud based password management – same .kdbx file is used by all devices

From the KeePass download page, a fully free iOS app for KeePass seems to be missing. Fortunately, AuthPass is such an iOS app to fill the void. It is totally free and open source and also is compatible with the KeePass database format (*.kdbx). It also supports biometrics. With that, we now have a complete password management system for all platforms which is free and open source and can either be cloud or locally based.

Pick one of the followings and install it on your device. You can then decide to use cloud or local storage for your database file. It’s a great time saver to turn on quick unlock with biometric authentication if your phone supports it. If these all sound too technical, you might want to take a look at the last section about LastPass.

  1. Linux – KeePass
  2. macOS – KeePass
  3. Windows – KeePass
  4. Android – Keepass2Android Password Safe, (Keepass2Android Offline)
  5. iOS – AuthPass
KeePass logo
Keepass2Android logo
AuthPass logo
Table 1. Logos for KeePass and AuthPass

KeePass vs AuthPass

Both KeePass and AuthPass are open source password management tools which use the same file format to store the encrypted passwords. However, not all features are implemented in both applications. In general, both implementations work quite well.

If you are looking for detailed comparisons between KeePass and AuthPass as well as other password managers, just Google for them…

KeePass vs LastPass

There is a fairly comprehensive and up-to-date comparison between KeePass and LastPass at this site. As it has rightly pointed out, KeePass could be quite daunting to use if you aren’t technical minded. While LastPass isn’t totally free, its free features are good enough for most people. In addition, its ease of setup and user-friendly UI have made it a great choice for non-technical users.

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UPDATE 1: Since this was written, LastPass has suffered a severe data breached. Perhaps this has put quite a few people off the cloud based password manager. Bitwarden is a flexible password manager that can either be cloud or non-cloud based, it provides free and premium versions of the product. Bitwarden could be something that suits your needs.

UPDATE 2: Proton Pass is a new comer to the password manager scene from the maker of Proton Mail. It offers a free version with little limitations. The password vault is stored on the cloud.

Windows Portable Packages with TotalCmd

Portable applications

Updated: Oct 31, 2022 (Download latest)

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A portable application is an application that requires no installation. All necessary files are packed into a single file for distribution. Installation is simply a matter of unpacking everything into a folder and then run the relevant executable. Please refer to each package for respective copyright license.

TotalCmd_portable_packages_Nov2020-01.zip (530MB unzipped to 1.5GB) is a collection of many useful portable applications packed into a big package with Total Commander, a powerful dual-pane file manager which also doubled up as an program launcher. The main aim of such a collection is to hopefully create a Swiss-knife toolbox suitable for software development and testing. Download the package and unpack it into a folder and run TOTALCMD64.EXE, all other portable applications are available on the button bar. Launch application by clicking on its icon.

TotalCmd 9.51
TotalCmd with button bar for portable apps highlighted

Here are the different categories of the tools included in the package:

Step-by-step setup of VSCode for remote development through SSH

Step 1: Run Mobaxterm

Step 2: On a MobaXterm local terminal, generate SSH key pair

/home/mobaxterm> ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096

Generating public/private rsa key pair.
Enter file in which to save the key (/home/mobaxterm/.ssh/id_rsa): /home/mobaxterm/.ssh/id_rsa_yourname
Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase): <left blank>
Enter same passphrase again: <left blank>
Your identification has been saved in /home/mobaxterm/.ssh/id_rsa_yourname.
Your public key has been saved in /home/mobaxterm/.ssh/id_rsa_yourname.pub.
The key fingerprint is:
SHA256:QbO+s2fue0r6w87U4vu0yZ4eRla1mOJFGvLvdYVTOsU somename@somemachine
The key’s randomart image is:
+—[RSA 4096]—-+
…
+—-[SHA256]—–+

Note: /home/mobaxterm/.ssh in Mobaxterm is c:\Users\Documents\mobaxterm.ssh under Windows

Step 3: Copy SSH pub key to server

/home/mobaxterm> ssh-copy-id -i /home/mobaxterm/.ssh/id_rsa_yourname.pub <username>@<server.name.com.au>

/bin/ssh-copy-id: INFO: attempting to log in with the new key(s), to filter out any that are already installed
/bin/ssh-copy-id: INFO: 1 key(s) remain to be installed — if you are prompted now it is to install the new keys
stty: standard input: Inappropriate ioctl for device
These computer resources, specifically Internet access and E-mail, are
provided for authorized users only. For legal, security and
…
…

IF YOU ARE NOT AN AUTHORIZED USER, PLEASE EXIT IMMEDIATELY

You are connected to:
Ambiguous output redirect.
stty: standard input: Inappropriate ioctl for device

Verify keys by logging in to server with private key

/home/mobaxterm> ssh -i c:\Users\Documents\mobaxterm\.ssh\id_rsa_yourname <username>@<server.name.com.au>

-OR-

/home/mobaxterm> ssh -i /home/mobaxterm/.ssh/id_rsa_yourname <username>@<server.name.com.au>

…
These computer resources, specifically Internet access and E-mail, are
provided for authorized users only. For legal, security and cost
…
You are connected to: <server.name.com.au>

Step 4: Set up VSCode for remote-SSH

Hit <F1> or click on bottom left corner to select “Remote SSH: Open Configuration file…”

Step 5: SSH config file setup

Step 6: Connect to remote SSH server

Hit <F1> or click on bottom left corner to select “Remote SSH: Connect to Host…”
  • You might need to pick the remote SSH server type: Linux/Windows/Mac
  • For the first time run, VSCode server will be automatically set up on the remote server
  • At this point, the setup is successful and complete!

Taylors Lakes的周圍, 二零二零

Taylors Lakes的周圍, 二零二零

(English version)

這是新冠狀肺炎的一年。

當新冠狀肺炎被命名為COVID-19後，3月11日世衛就宣布它為大流行病 (pandemic)。第一波到來的時候，維省政府不久就宣布了封城而且人與人必須要保持至少1.5米的距離。第二波的情況更嚴重，維省宣布進入緊急狀態實行最高階段封城。晚上八點到清晨五點戒嚴，每人只能離家五公里內買糧食或運動。年長於12歲的出門都必須戴口罩。

這段時間裡我剛好在休長假。每天在泰勒詩湖附近散步時用手機隨手拍下了一些相片。以下是稍微整理及分類後的相片：

枯萎的樹

也許是由於過於炎熱及乾燥的夏天，今年枯萎的大樹好像比往年多。

玩具熊和彩虹

許多家庭都響應 ‘bear hunt’ 運動，把玩具熊和彩虹擺在窗口以象徵好日子即將到來。有些也在地上寫下有趣或充滿正能量的信息。

Daniel’s rainbow

黑天鹅

天鵝的顏色: 北半球的天鵝都是白色的，只有南半球的天鵝是黑色的。

Black swans are located in Australia and New Zealand. Their feathers are black in color with a line of white flight feathers on the edges of their wings. The bill is bright red with a pale bar and tip.

Reference
Red, black and white
Elegant and graceful
The real Swan Lake 🙂
9 cygnets were born during lockdown (late June)
Cygnets at 3.5 months old
3 COVID ducklings
Standing on one leg
Social distancing

植物和花草

這些植物和花草都是靠 Google Lens 辨別出來的。

Said to represent change and hope
COVID-19 virus look-alike?
Red and pink flowers on same tree (grafted?)

天空和行星

在 2020 年裡，火星，土星和木星都會在不同時候接近地球而且肉眼可以看得見。從地球上觀看，12月16日將是土星和木星同時最接近太陽的日子 （reference)。

Sunrise
Sunset
Evening
Full moon, Oct 1 (Mid-autumn festival, 中秋節）

– The end –

Around Taylors Lakes, 2020

Around Taylors Lakes, 2020

（中文版）

It is the year of COVID-19.

I took some time off work at the end of 2019 and extended it into 2020 without knowing what would be coming up next. Then the Coronavirus was officially named COVID-19 and subsequently declared a pandemic. Our state government imposed lockdown and social distancing for the first wave. Then state of emergency and state of disaster were declared simultaneously for the more serious second wave outbreak. Facial masks have become mandatory in public.

With a lot of time at hand and a mobile phone in hand, a lot of happy snaps were taken while I took my daily walks around the Taylors Lakes neighbourhood and the Linear Park. Here is a collection of them.

Withered Trees

There seems to be unusually many dead trees this year perhaps due to the very hot and dry summer.

Teddy Bears and Rainbows

Many houses have followed ‘bear hunt’ by putting teddy bears and rainbows on display at the window to show that brigther days are not far away. Fun and positive messages also appear on windows and on pathways.

Daniel’s rainbow

Black Swans

Swan facts: White swans are only found in Northern Hemisphere and those found in the Southern Hemisphere are black.

Black swans are located in Australia and New Zealand. Their feathers are black in color with a line of white flight feathers on the edges of their wings. The bill is bright red with a pale bar and tip.

Reference
Red, black and white
Elegant and graceful
The real Swan Lake 🙂
9 cygnets were born during lockdown (late June)
Cygnets at 3.5 months old
3 COVID ducklings
Standing on one leg
Social distancing

Plants and Flowers

The plants and flowers were mainly identified using the Google Lens app.

Said to represent change and hope
COVID-19 virus look-alike?
Red and pink flowers on same tree (grafted?)

Sky, Stars and Planets

2020 is apparently a good year for star gazing. At various times, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter are close to earth and visible to naked eyes. According to EarthSky, Jupiter and Saturn will align (known as conjunction) on Dec 16.

Sunrise
Sunset
Evening
Full moon, Oct 1 (Mid-autumn festival, 中秋節）

– The end –

Resources during lockdown

Ebook download sites

  1. 460 Free Textbooks – Math, Science, and More
  2. PDF Drive – Search and download millions of PDF files for free
  3. Free 500+ textbooks across Springer Nature’s ebook collection
  4. Z-Library – The world’s largest ebook library

Wesane (微伞游戏）games on mobile phone

  1. Thousand flowers (play)
  2. Basketball game (play)
  3. Car exiting T-junction (play)

Programming courses

  1. 4 free Python courses @ RealPython