Wednesday, October 29, 2025

installing python modules on Linux and Windows

For trying out LLM-generated python scripts for "warping", (still works in progress)

On Windows, various python modules can be installed with 
pip install modulename
where we sometimes have to do an internet search to find the exact modulename. 


pip install pillow

On my Linux Mint machine, where I've installed python using the default deb package with apt, 

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'imageio'
and when trying to install with pip,

× This environment is externally managed
╰─> To install Python packages system-wide, try apt install
    python3-xyz, where xyz is the package you are trying to
    install.

sudo apt install python3-imageio # this worked.

Sunday, October 19, 2025

handwriting recognition - ChatGPT is still the best

Uploading a page from my diary and checking how good the various LLMs are at handwriting recognition - ChatGPT is good for regular snaps.

ChatGPT -
JUN 7 FRI
 Social service instead of jogging as you're coming – making the Ashoka trees straight.
 Afternoon no class – we went to Mandir ~ 1:45, You came ~ 3:15. Vedaṁ, balloons, exerts, song – W/N pg writing & study this time Krishnamoorthy, IMI – problems in C...

Claude had done well at coding - better than ChatGPT and Gemini, but fared worse in handwriting recognition - Claude's version -
JUN 7 FRI
Bowl Service instead of dragging so forth coming - making the little trees sharply. Afternoon no class - we went to Nandu ~ 1:45, Su came ~ 3:15. Yadav, balloons, esotts, songs N/N pg writing & study his tone. Kishnamathy I/W - problems in C...

My corrected version - 
Social service instead of jogging as You're coming - making the Ashoka trees straight. Afternoon no class - we went to Mandir ~ 1:45 pm, You came ~ 3:15 pm. Vedam, balloons, escorts, song – WIN prg  during waiting at Mandir & study hours time. Krishnamoorthy, 1st MSc - problems in C...

Edit - 9 Nov - But when I edited together 5 pages to form a single long page, ChatGPT started hallucinating instead of transcribing!

Excerpt from ChatGPT's version of July 5-14 - 
JUL 5, FRI
 Toured Siddalingeshwar Plantation.
 Found good crop condition — 4½ acres of Amlan.
 Evening went to A.P.S. meeting at old students’ association.
 9:45 P.M. came home.
 Supper.

Actual corrected version,
"Pseudo heterodyning" - frustrating as could get only π phase change. Used signal analyzer to acquire data. S4 again seminars on 902...

Timetable again reverting to old schedule, 9 to 3, from Monday.




Saturday, October 18, 2025

claude is good at coding

Pleasantly surprised to find that Claude.ai, running the Sonnet 4.5 model, with just a free plan and a single prompt, created a usable UI for a timeline editor in html / javascript, when supplied with javascript helper functions copy-pasted along with the prompt - the initial commit is at




Edit - Subsequent commits were needed to make it actually functional, connect to OpenSpace, etc. using code copied from Jeff Nee,


The "finished product" is here,

Friday, October 03, 2025

hidden restrictions in Airtel's "unlimited 5G" plans

According to this youtube video, there are some terms and conditions which are shown only in the Airtel app, by which

  1. If Airtel thinks it is being used for commercial purposes, they can restrict the "unlimited 5G"
  2. If the data transferred exceeds 300 GB in a month, they can consider it "commercial"
  3. Tethered use of 5G data - using a mobile hotspot - is not included in the "unlimited 5G"
And one of the comments in that video pointed out that the reason why at some times the 4G data cap gets used up even though 5G is displayed in the status area on the top right of Android phones, is because of Airtel's use of 4G infrastructure to deliver 5G - in which case, the 4G billing gets used. And apparently, the difference can be noticed on Samsung phones with the 5G logo which is displayed. 

It seems 5G with a white background = true 5G.




And 5G with white text = 4G masquerading as 5G.

And this seems to be confirmed by this page, 
https://androidsrc.net/android-samsung-phone-symbols/