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GNOME VS KDE: THE WAR FOR THE LINUX DESKTOP INTERFACE [ANALYSIS]

What desktop UI does Ubuntu 24.04 use?
And why are people still fighting about it in 2026?

If you’ve installed Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Noble Numbat) recently, you might have noticed something: it looks incredibly polished, but also… kinda rigid?

That’s GNOME 46.

On the other side of the fence, you have users posting screenshots of their desktops that look like the flight deck of a spaceship, dripping with blur effects and neon.

That’s usually KDE Plasma.

In this post, I’m digging into why these two desktop environments look so different, the history behind the “war,” and which one actually makes sense for you (or your users).

TL;DR
  • Ubuntu 24.04 uses GNOME by default. It’s designed to be an “appliance” – stable, distraction-free, and hard to break.
  • KDE Plasma is the “enthusiast” choice (and what the Steam Deck uses). It offers total control and flashy visuals but can be overwhelming.
  • The difference isn’t lack of talent; it’s a difference in philosophy (Constraint vs. Agency).

The Philosophy Gap: Appliance vs. Cockpit

The reason the GNOME website (and desktop) looks “boring” compared to KDE’s “amazing” marketing isn’t an accident. It’s a deliberate design choice.

GNOME is an Appliance. Think of it like a microwave or an iPhone. You don’t want to re-wire the control panel of your microwave; you just want to heat your lunch. GNOME follows a philosophy of “Intentional Constraint.”

  • They remove settings to prevent you from breaking things.
  • They hide complexities to keep you focused on work.
  • The Vibe: Minimalist, Zen, Enterprise.

KDE Plasma is a Cockpit. Think of it like a fighter jet or a gaming PC. If you want to move the “Start” button to the top-right corner and make it transparent pink, KDE says, “Go ahead.” It prioritizes “User Agency.”

  • They expose every setting imaginable.
  • They embrace modern trends like blur, glass, and shadows.
  • The Vibe: High-tech, Cyberpunk, Power User.

A Brief History of the Desktop Wars

It wasn’t always just these two. The Linux desktop has gone through several “eras” of dominance.

1. The Golden Age (2002-2008): GNOME 2 Back in the day, GNOME 2 was the king. It was stable, efficient, and everyone loved it. It was the Windows XP of Linux.

2. The Great Schism (2011-2017): Unity & GNOME 3 This is where things got spicy. GNOME 3 launched and radically changed the interface (removing the taskbar, adding the “Activities” overview). Users hated it. Canonical (Ubuntu) famously said “No thanks” and built Unity – their own interface designed for “convergence” (one OS for phone and desktop).

  • In my humble opinion: Unity was ahead of its time. The side dock and HUD/glass feel were brilliant, but the community fragmentation was rubbish.

3. The Modern Duopoly (2024-Present) Ubuntu eventually dropped Unity and returned to GNOME, but they heavily customized it (giving us the Ubuntu Dock we have today). Meanwhile, Valve chose KDE Plasma for the Steam Deck, proving that Linux could be a consumer-grade gaming platform.

Which One Should You Choose?

If you are a SysAdmin deploying workstations for 50 employees? Stick with GNOME (Ubuntu Default).

  • Why: It’s predictable. You don’t want Bob from Accounting accidentally deleting his taskbar or changing his system font to Wingdings. GNOME is designed to “get out of the way.”

If you are a tinkerer, a gamer, or someone who misses the “Windows XP” layout? Install KDE Plasma (Kubuntu).

  • Why: It feels faster (even if it isn’t always) because of the animations. It respects your desire to customise.

How to switch on Ubuntu: If you want to see the difference without reinstalling, just open a terminal:

# To get the KDE FULL experience
sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop

# For basic KDE, no presets or tools
sudo apt-get install plasma-desktop --no-install-recommends 

# To get the vanilla GNOME experience
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop

# Then to fix it in place reboot to awaken your chosen Desktop Enviroment
sudo reboot

The reality?

Ubuntu uses GNOME because Canonical sells to the Enterprise, and Enterprise loves stability. KDE looks “better” because it’s selling to You, the user.

Personally? I respect GNOME’s discipline, and until recently I ran KDE on my personal rigs when a desktop GUI was needed, simply because I like my buttons exactly where I want them. However I have now grown older and maybe even a tiny bit wiser, and simply go with the flow now, using whatever my distro has selected as the integrated desktop environment for that release.

I have far fewer headaches, and its some extra time saved from customising when really I don’t interact with it all that much (CLI guy & Windows daily driver…).

My honest opinion: If you have time, do what looks best to you, else, stick to defaults.
Defaults are defaults for a reason, and have much better official AND community support.

Posted in: Linux, Ubuntu, Opinion Tagged: GNOME vs KDE, Ubuntu 24.04, Linux Desktop History, Unity Desktop, Noble Numbat

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The AI Generalist

A framework for thriving in the age of artificial intelligence

For decades, the advice was simple: specialise. Find a niche, go deep, and become the person everyone calls. In a world where knowledge expanded slowly and tools evolved at a human pace, that made sense. Depth was rare. Expertise took years. The specialist was rewarded.

We no longer live in that world. And honestly? That took me a while to fully accept.

The Observation

Artificial intelligence now learns faster, retrieves more, and adapts quicker than any individual can. In most domains, for most people, AI will outperform human specialists in raw knowledge, speed, and pattern recognition. This is not speculation. It is already observable. I’ve seen it in my own work.

The question is not whether this is true. The question is what it means.

The Problem with Specialisation

If AI can match or exceed most specialists in their own field, then the value of narrow expertise changes. Consider this reasoning:

Premise one. AI systems now perform at expert level across a growing range of domains.

Premise two. These systems improve continuously. Today’s capability floor is tomorrow’s baseline.

Premise three. A career built on static knowledge in a single domain is therefore fragile. Not because the knowledge becomes wrong, but because the advantage it once conferred disappears.

Conclusion. For most people, the pursuit of narrow mastery alone is no longer a reliable strategy. The value of human contribution must shift.

This is not a rejection of specialists. The top tier will always matter. But for the broad majority (myself included), a different approach is now more rational.

What the AI Generalist Is

The AI Generalist is not a jack of all trades. They are not shallow. They are strategic.

Where the specialist asks how can I know more about this one thing, the generalist asks how can I connect, combine, and orchestrate across many things. They understand that AI has already claimed the ground of raw recall and domain computation. The ground that remains for humans is synthesis, judgment, and integration.

The AI Generalist learns the foundations, the principles behind the tools, not just the tools themselves. They grow a capacity to evaluate, adopt, and discard technology as it evolves. They orchestrate AI capabilities rather than compete with them.

This is not anti-specialist. It is meta-specialist. It is the strategic layer above.

Put simply: Stop trying to out-memorise a machine. Learn to conduct the orchestra.

The Five Foundations

1. Principles First

Tools change. The principle foundations behind them change slower. Understanding why a language model hallucinates, why a retrieval system fails, why an agent loops indefinitely, these foundations transfer across tools and time. Learn the mechanics. The interfaces will change; the foundations will not.

I have found that the people who struggle most with new AI tools are those who learned the buttons but never learned the why. Do not be that person.

2. Deliberate Breadth

Stay informed across domains. Not to become an expert in each, but to know enough to connect them. A generalist who understands data pipelines, user interfaces, business logic, and security basics can orchestrate solutions that a pure specialist in any one area cannot see. The value is in the connections.

This isn’t about being a dabbler. It is about developing vision.

3. Rapid Learning Cycles

Learn enough to evaluate. Learn enough to apply. Learn enough to know when to go deeper. Do not over-invest in systems that may be obsolete in eighteen months.

Develop the skill of fast, focused learning, the ability to become competent quickly and move on when the landscape shifts. This is not a nice-to-have. It is survival.

4. Orchestration Mindset

The future is not going to be in one single model. It is ecosystems of models, tools, and agents working together. The AI Generalist learns to build these systems, to understand their interfaces, and to design workflows that leverage each component’s strengths.

Orchestration is the skill that compounds. Time to master it.

5. Teaching as Mastery

The best way to understand something is to explain it. Share what you learn. Help others move from basic prompts to genuine capability. In teaching, you find the gaps in your own knowledge. You also build reputation and trust in a landscape where credibility matters.

If you can’t explain it simply, you do not understand it well enough.

Not my quote, but it’s pretty solid advice, not that I’m great at it!

Why This Matters

There’s a temptation to overhype this moment. To claim that we stand at the edge of a revolution, that everything changes, that the future belongs to the bold.

In a way, we are there, but that’s not what I’m saying.

What I’m saying is simpler. The tools have changed. The rational response is to change with them. Those who change their approach will find they expand their opportunities. Those who do not will find fewer. This isn’t revolutionary. It’s just standard cause and effect.

The AI Generalist mindset is not a guarantee of success. It’s just a better bet than the alternative. In an uncertain world, breadth and adaptability are more robust than depth and rigidity. That’s it.

Closing Thought

C.S. Lewis once wrote:

“If I find in myself desires which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”

This isn’t about the Author, it’s about the logic, though who could hate on the tales of Narnia, or other works? (There’s always someone, I suppose). Anyway, the logic is simple, and is one I come back to time and time again.
Observe what is. Reason about what it implies. Act accordingly.

If I find that AI now outperforms specialists in most domains, and that the pace of change makes static, deep, expertise fragile, then the most rational explanation is that the value I can offer lies somewhere else. Not by competing with machines on their ground, but in doing what they cannot: connecting, judging, teaching, and leading.

The AI Generalist knows they will 99% of the time not be able to compete with a machine. They learn to work with it. They become the one who sees the whole picture, and can put the pieces together – and lead the orchestra.

Originally published as a thought piece under my dev account RealistSec on GitHub

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[Opinion] STOP INSTALLING OPENCLAW (MOLTBOT) ON YOUR PC/MAC: How to Safely ‘Hire’ AI Agents via Cloud VPS

Editors ​note: As AI Technology moves FAST whilst the general theme of this article remains valid, some elements are now outdated.

Stop “installing” autonomous AI agents on your daily driver. You are doing it wrong.

The Quick Fix To Secure OpenClaw (MoltBot ClawdBot) TLDR:

Don’t run MoltBot/ClawdBot (or any autonomous AI agent) on your personal devices treat it like an easily-phished remote worker. Isolate it with burner accounts on a separate cloud PC/VM (and virtual mobile if needed), enforce tight spend limits, and keep it off your home LAN so you can kill it fast before it leaks data or drains your money.

Our hero, Jolty (Zoë Roth AKA Disaster Girl) being told to ‘gonnae no dae that!’ a beautiful Scottish expression (please don’t do that) as a fire blazes in the background. This phrase perfectly sums up my feelings on MoltBot and the backlash of us Security guys ‘standing in the way of innovation!’ She has “a devilish smirk” and “a knowing look in her eyes”, jokingly implying that she was responsible for the fire – she was – read on.

​I’ve spent the last week “onboarding” Moltbot (formerly Clawdbot). Notice I didn’t say “installing”.

​Most people are treating this beauty like a browser extension or a chatbot.

  • > They download the repo,
  • > Fire it up on their laptop/PC/Mac/MacMini (the one containing their full identity details, downloads folder filled with bills and bank statements, and a directory filled with family photos – or worse their company devices )
  • > And then they hand it partial or even full access to do whatever it pleases.

​This is insanity.

​You need to reframe your relationship with this software immediately.

Moltbot is not a utility; Moltbot is a junior employee.

​The “Work From Home” Analogy:

​Imagine you hired a bright, enthusiastic, but incredibly naïve staff member. Let’s call her “Jolty“. Jolty works at 10x speed, never sleeps, says inappropriate, if slightly funny things occasionally, but mostly does as told, even if it’s not the way you would have done it yourself.

She’s great though, an extra set of hands.

​However, you’ve noticed, Jolty is also pretty gullible. If a stranger hands her a note saying “Burn down the archives”, Jolt might just do it, because she thought it was a note from you, or simply for the giggles.

​Would you let this employee, Jolty, sleep in your house? Would you give her access to your personal filing cabinet & messy postal drawer mess? Would you hand her over your unlocked phone? No. (I wouldn’t.)

​You would give her a company (toy 👀) laptop, an account with limited access, and put her at a desk somewhere far away from you – or because of the trouble she caused with the archives, you simply make her work from home.

Jolty (Zoë Roth AKA Disaster Girl) holds up a post-it note with the words ‘Burn down the archives’ written on it as a fire blazes in the background. She has “a devilish smirk” and “a knowing look in her eyes”, jokingly implying that she was responsible for the fire.

I have phished, tricked & robbed my own Motlbot. > 3 different and stupidly simple ways, in as many days. I’ll be posting my technical writeup soon. (after the vulns have been patched, responsible disclosure and all…!)

OK, so, here is how we apply that office logic to your AI agent.

​1. The Remote Office (Infrastructure)

​Jolty does not live in your house. Or your office. (thank goodness.)

​Do not run Molty on your home or work network (LAN). Do not run Molty on your own personal hardware.

I would go as far as saying – not even on a VM or container – VLANd, segregated, dedicated network or airgapped; on any proxmox, vmware, virtualbox, Hyper-V or docker instance; old, new or dedicated hardware on your desk; under your desk, in your cupboard, home lab, server rack, or server room.

> And if you don’t know what any of this means – I would advise that this project is not for you – not yet.

​2. Company Equipment (Identity & Accounts)

​When a new staff member starts, IT provisions them their own accounts. You don’t hand them yours.

​The Rule: Never invite Molty into your home. His network and possessions should be completely separate from yours. If he gets compromised, the attacker is trapped on a cheap device in a data centre. They are not pivoting to your TV, home doorbell, baby-monitor, Apple Watch or NAS to encrypt your backup drive and do nasty things. (like check your resting heart rate.)

A comparison table shows three Molty deployment bundles. Cheapest (Redfinger + Hetzner), Best Value (Multilogin + DigitalOcean), and Premium (BitCloudPhone + Shadow) each with monthly and 6‑month costs and intended use.

The Setup:

  1. A Windows or Linux Cloud PC or VPS (Virtual Private Server) See table above. This is Molty’s personal device. He can do as he pleases, and if anything goes wrong, you have a kill switch.
  2. The Mobile Device: Don’t buy or use a physical phone. Even an old one. Use a a virtual phone device, a ‘Mobile Emulator as a Service’. This limits the chance of your home network or location being put on spam blacklists, or bot lists and keeps his potentially compromised device away from four home devices.
  3. A Phone Number: Do not link your personal WhatsApp or Telegram. Some Mobile Emulators include these. Else, get a cheap eSim and discard it if it gets banned or anything goes wrong. That is “Molty’s work number”.
  4. ​Email: Create a dedicated Proton/Gmail/Outlook account for the agent. He manages his own calendar. If you need him to schedule something for you, he invites you to his event or meeting, if he needs files – email them to him, or send a shared drive link.
  5. ​Monitoring: Add his email address as a secondary account on your phone. Share his calendar with your main account. Turn on verbose logging on mobile and VPS device. This lets you keep an eye on what he is doing -not the other way around.
  6. ​Creds: He gets his own browser, logins, AV, files, crypto wallets and password manager that has a web UI to store anything sensitive, (Dashlane, ProtonPass, Bitwarden, 1Password). He never sees yours.

​3. The Employee Handbook (Securing his Configuration)

​We need to set the “HR Policies” (config settings) to ensure he doesn’t accidentally burn the archives down.

Provide a caption (optional)

  • ​The Building Pass (DM Policy): You wouldn’t let random people off the street shout orders at your staff. Configure the dm_policy setting that is built in to Moltbot with a strict allowlist. Only you (the boss) can message him.
  • ​The Expense Account (API Caps): Junior staff don’t get limitless credit cards. And they don’t get access to API keys. Don’t use direct OpenAI or Anthropic keys. Use a gateway like OpenRouter. It allows you to set hard spending limits (e.g., $5 a day). If he gets stuck in a loop, or someone steals your key, he runs out of budget, he doesn’t bankrupt you.
  • ​Social Engineering Training (Input Sanitization): He needs to know that outside documents are dangerous. Wrap all trusted content in a secret XML tag (<in the system prompt so he knows the difference between “Your Instructions” and “The Sketchy PDF he is reading”.

​4. Communication Etiquette

You have now hired Molty. He is your employee. ​Treat him as such. Communicate as such.

Provide a caption (optional)

  • ​Email him.
  • Message him on his own number,
  • ​Message him on Teams/Telegram/Discord.
  • ​Drop files into a shared folder or send him a shared link.

​You do not let him move your mouse. You do not let him type on your keyboard. That’s gross. He has his own.

Recap: The Quick Fix To Secure MoltBot (ClawdBot):

Stop installing autonomous AI agents on your personal hardware; Treat them like gullible remote staff working from home.

Provide a caption (optional)

  • Give them burner identities accounts and email
  • Their own cloud PC/VPS/Device
  • Their own virtual Mobile device
  • Strict budgets

And zero access to your LAN (Home network) so you can terminate them safely when they inevitably click something they shouldn’t or get phished sending sensitive data to the baddies, or do something else costing you all your hard earned pennies. Keep your documents, identity and years worth of photo memories away from the new guy, And that is it.

Provide a caption (optional)

visit

The Onboarding Checklist (SOP)

​If you are ready to make the hire, here is the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for your new digital employee.

​Standard Operating Procedure: Agent Onboarding

  1. ​Procure Hardware: Deploy Windows 11 or Linux (ubuntu) on a dedicated Cloud PC/VPS. Not a shared host. Isolate this host.
  2. ​Establish Identity: Provision new email account, eSim number +any other services you want to give him access too.
  3. Start his Credential Manager: Either use chrome’s built in password manager and log into all his accounts for him on his device or setup your favourite password manager, and use its ‘create and share’ function to share his (never your) creds with him.
  4. ​Network Security: Install ProtonVPN, Mullvad, other and set it to ‘Kill Switch’ mode. His traffic and anything you send him should be encrypted and away from the VPS hosts prying eyes. (helps prevent bans too!)
  5. ​Endpoint Protection: Install an Adblocker like uBlock Origin, adGuard or pihole etc, or enforce his usage of Brave Browser only. Configure a solid AV or make sure the built in one is turned up to the max. He’s a child, and what may be obvious to us, clicking on that big fake ‘DOwNLoaD’ button – he hasn’t learnt yet, it all looks the same to him.
  6. ​Permissions (Least Privilege): ​Block dangerous binaries. ​Set his users file permissions to Read Only for important config/other folders. Don’t give him Sudo/Admin rights, he can always ask for your help if he needs it for anything – just like a junior employee would have to do.
  7. ​Supervision: Enable verbose logging – and occasionally check them! You are the manager (boss); you need to audit his work. And you are also legally responsible for what he does – at least in the UK/EU – I imagine in the US too.
  8. ​Contract Termination: Take a ‘golden image’ or backup, and ensure you can kill his device, phone and accounts remotely if he goes rogue. You can always roll back, or restore from a backup, if you have one.

​To Summarise:

​The value of Moltbot isn’t having an AI inside your operating system; it’s having an intelligent worker available to you.

​By treating the agent as a remote employee, you get 90% of the utility with 10% of the risk.

If Molty downloads a malicious payload, you simply fire him (delete the Cloud device) and hire a new one 5 minutes later.

​Trust, but verify. And for the love of sysadmin, keep him off your LAN.

And that really is it.
/rant over.

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[Solved] Help! Windows 365 Cloud PC Switch Feature Has Frozen My Local Host PC.

Windows 365 Switch Frozen? Here’s How to Escape a Locked Cloud PC Session

The Quick Fix TLDR:
  1. Minimize Everything: Press Win + Home. (If you can. Or try Win + End)
    • This minimizes all inactive windows. You won’t see it happen because the screen is frozen, but it forces the local OS to shift focus.
  2. Open Run: Press Win + R.
  3. Launch Terminal Blindly: Type wt (or cmd) and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter (to run as Admin).
  4. Accept UAC: Press Left Arrow, then Enter.
    • (This blindly accepts the “Yes” on the User Account Control prompt).
  5. Kill Explorer: Type the following and hit Enter:DOStaskkill /f /im explorer.exe
  6. (Optional) If explorer.exe did not auto restart type the following and hit Enter: explorer.exe

Your screen should blink black as the local Windows shell is killed, taking the frozen RDP session and Taskview with it and then should automatically restart.
Done.

It is the stuff of nightmares.

You are happily using the shiny new Windows 365 (task) Switch feature, bouncing between your local desktop and your Win365 Cloud PC seamlessly via Task View (Win + Tab) – when suddenly, everything stops.


The remote session freezes. But because Switch integrates so deeply with the local Win11 OS, it doesn’t just hang the window; it deadlocks your entire local PC.

The mouse moves, but you can’t click anything.

The Start menu won’t open. Alt + Tab does nothing. You are effectively locked out of your physical machine by the virtual one.

I found myself in this exact jam recently. The screen was frozen solid, and I was seconds away from a hard reboot when I managed to find a “blind” escape route.

Here is the quick fix if you are stuck right now, followed by why it happens and how to stop it coming back.

The “Proper” Escape Routes

While killing Explorer is effective, it is a bit like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. If you have the presence of mind (and a responding keyboard), there are cleaner ways to get out.

I’ve listed these from best to worst:

Options: CommandWhat it doesRank
The Clean BreaktsdisconBest Option. It tells the Terminal Services client to disconnect immediately. It leaves your Cloud PC running in the background but drops you straight back to your local desktop.1
The InterruptCtrl + Alt + EndThis is the RDP version of Ctrl + Alt + Del. It sends the interrupt to the remote PC, which often jars the local session enough to break the input deadlock.2
The Sledgehammertaskkill /f /im explorer.exeAs detailed above. It kills the local shell. Messy, but it works when nothing else will.3
The ‘Hail Mary’ Quick Fix CombinationSee TLDR
Tries to escape to your Host PC, opens an elevated terminal or CMD, then kills explorer.exe and all associated hooks and processes – that are hopefully causing you to hang. (1) 4

Why Does This Happen?

Windows 365 Switch isn’t just a standard app; it hooks right into the Windows 11 shell to act as a native desktop.

When the RDP protocol flakes and has a radge, it is usually due to a network spike or a graphics rendering loop while in full-screen. It refuses to let go of the display and input hooks. Meaning you are left with local explorer.exe waiting for the RDP process to say “ready,” but the RDP process is aff tae the shaps. Result? Total deadlock.

Prevention is Better than Cure

In reality, but I’d rather not have to type blind commands to use my own PC, or have type blind commands anywhere really!

If you are an admin (fingers crossed if you are reading this, you are), you can push some Intune policies to stop this happening across your just your PC (selfish much!), or out to the entire Intune estate.
It comes down to telling the RDP client to prioritize local stability over fancy remote graphics, and for now – seems to do the trick.

I’ve drafted a separate guide on exactly which settings to change in Intune to keep your Cloud PCs stable, will be placed in the link below soon!

👉 Coming soon, …maybe: How to Stop Windows 365 Freezing with Intune RDP Policies

Next Read: 10x Faster IT Troubleshooting: How I Used AI to Solve a Mysterious Windows Process Loop

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10x Faster IT Troubleshooting: How I Used AI to Solve a Mysterious Windows Process Loop

It’s one of those problems that every IT pro, sysadmin, or power user dreads. Not a blue screen, not a server-down emergency, but a small, persistent, and maddening “ghost in the machine.”

For me, it was a flashing cursor.

For about five minutes every few hours, my mouse cursor in Windows 11 would flash the “waiting” or “processing” icon. Every. Single. Second.

As a problem, it was just annoying. But as a puzzle, it was infuriating. My system was fully up-to-date, drivers were current (or how I liked them), and resources were normal. Task Manager showed… nothing. No CPU spikes, no disk thrashing, no memory leaks.

I work in IT. These sort of things shouldn’t happen to me!
Who is going to help me!?? I am THE HELPDESK!!
(or at least passed by that title to get to my current position.)

cannotdisplay.com flashing mouse cursor every few seconds issue. solved. AI companion helps to fix this annoying flashing mouse waiting timer that wont stop!
cannotdisplay.com flashing mouse cursor every few seconds issue. solved. AI companion helps to fix this annoying flashing mouse waiting timer that wont stop!
cannotdisplay.com flashing mouse cursor every few seconds issue. solved. AI companion helps to fix this annoying flashing mouse waiting timer that wont stop!

Why, oh why is this happening to me!
This is a user problem, not something that I should have to diagnose and solve on …my own device…?

I could have spent the next four hours solving it the old-fashioned way. Instead, I did it in under 30 minutes by using an AI as my troubleshooting co-pilot. This is the story of how that collaboration worked, and why it’s a game-changer for IT pros – at least in some situations.

The Problem: A Ghost in the Machine

My first instinct was to use the process of elimination. The “human” part of the troubleshooting.

  • Was it my screenshot tool, picpick.exe? I killed the process. Nope.
  • Was it a stuck powershell or wt.exe script? Killed those too. No change.
  • Was it a browser tab? Or browser process? Or Windows App?
    Restarted Brave.
    Restarted that long running google updater/chrome process,
    Restarted EdgeWebView2 (which all modern Windows Apps use). Still flashing.
  • Was it the classic: explorer.exe? Restarted it. Nothing.

I was 15 minutes in, and all I had done was prove what wasn’t the problem. Not necessarily a bad thing.

My next step was to break out the heavy-duty logging tools, dig through a million lines of text, and resign myself to a long, tedious hunt.
This is the “grunt work” of IT – the part of the job I can do, but don’t exactly enjoy.

The “AI Nudge”: Asking for a Second Pair of Eyes

Instead of diving into that digital haystack of logs, I took a different approach. I opened an AI assistant.

I didn’t ask it to “fix my PC.” That’s not how this works. I treated it like a junior sysadmin or a “second pair of eyes.” I explained the symptoms and what I had already tried.

My prompt was something like:

"I've got an intermittent flashing 'waiting' cursor on Windows 11. It's not a high-CPU process; Task Manager is clean. I've already restarted explorer and other common apps. I suspect it's a process starting and stopping too fast to see. What's the best way to catch it, which logs should we look at first, or which tools should we spin up?"

The AI’s response was the “force multiplier.”

It didn’t give me a magic answer. It gave me a precise, actionable workflow. It validated my theory (a fast process loop) and recommended the perfect tool and the exact filter to find it. It basically said, “You’re right. Now, go here, use this tool, and apply this specific filter to see only newly created processes.”

This is the power of human-AI collaboration. The AI didn’t replace my skill; it augmented it. It saved me 30 minutes of searching through old notes, Googling, and trying to remember the exact syntax for a tool I use maybe six times a year.

Collaboration: From Digital Haystack to Prime Suspect

With the AI’s “nudge,” I had my prime suspect in less than 60 seconds.

I ran the tool with the filter, and what was previously an overwhelming flood of data became a crystal-clear, one-line-per-second log of the exact same process being created and destroyed.

I’m writing a full, technical step-by-step tutorial on this exact method (at some point!), but the short version is: the filter worked perfectly.

The process name immediately told me it was a system component related to network connections. This is where I, the human, took back control.

  • AI Clue: It’s a network process.
  • Human Hunch: If the client is spamming a network request, the server must be rejecting it.

I immediately logged into my network-attached storage (NAS) / file server and opened the access logs.

Bingo.

A wall of red: “Failed to log in.” My PC’s IP address, every single second, trying and failing to authenticate.

The “Aha!” Moment and the 5-Minute Fix

I now had two pieces of the puzzle: a network process on my PC failing in a loop, and a file server rejecting its login – however, upon testing I could still access the file share? Nothing seemed to be blocked? It is all working as expected! (other than my BLINKING CUIRSOR!)

I could have figured it out from here, but I turned back to my AI co-pilot for the “why.” I fed it the two new clues:

 "I've got this process spamming, and my server is blocking it but I still have access? What is going on here and what process could be causing this if everything works as it should?"

My AI buddy instantly provided the obscure, “textbook” knowledge. It explained a specific, built-in Windows fallback behaviour. When a primary connection to a network share (via the normal SMB protocol) fails, Windows will sometimes try to “help” by falling back to a different protocol (WebDAV), creating this exact kind of rapid-fire loop.

The root cause was that I had updated my file server’s software a few days ago, and my PC was still trying to use an old, expired, cached credential – part of it updated, the other (seldom used) web browser access fall-back element – had not caught up. And according to my AI, once started the process was ‘handed off‘ to the ‘system’ to complete, thus is not tied to a browser and is why a browser restart or closure had not cleared the issue.

The fix was laughably simple.

  1. I went to Windows Credential Manager.
  2. I found the saved credential for my file server.
  3. I clicked Remove.
  4. I browsed to the server again and re-typed my password.

The flashing stopped. Instantly. The problem was solved.

AI Isn’t My Replacement, It’s My Co-Pilot

What would have been a long, annoying afternoon of troubleshooting was over before my coffee got cold.

AI didn’t solve the problem. I solved the problem.

But AI acted as the perfect co-pilot. It streamlined the most tedious parts of the process, provided the “second opinion” to keep me on track, and supplied the deep, “encyclopedic” knowledge when I needed it.
It let me skip the grunt work and focus on the smart work – the analysis, the hunch, and the fix.

This is the future of IT. It’s not about being replaced by AI;
it’s about being 10x more effective by using it.

If you’re curious about the specific tools and filters I used to catch that rogue process, keep an eye out for my next post: “[SOLVED] Beyond Task Manager: Simple Guide to Finding Process Loops with Process Explorer and Procmon.” – when I eventually post it!

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[SOLVED] UniFi AP Firmware 6.7.31: Breaking Wireless Meshing and Causing Channel Hopping – Here’s the Fix.

Unifi Firmware 6.7.31 Mesh Problem and Fix

A recent official firmware update for several popular UniFi Access Points, version 6.7.31 (Released: Tuesday, September 23rd, 2025), is causing significant network instability for some users, particularly those who rely on wireless meshing or custom channel configurations. While the official release notes claim “Improved overall AP stability,” user reports indicate the opposite can be true.

This release is only for these models:

  • U6-LR/U6-Lite/U6+
  • UAP-nanoHD/FlexHD/BeaconHD/IW-HD
The Quick Fix TLDR:

UniFi firmware 6.7.31 is causing mesh instability due to a channel hopping bug. To fix this, manually downgrade the affected Access Point to a stable version like 6.7.17 via the UniFi Controller’s Manual Firmware Update setting using the direct download URL.

The Issue: Constant Channel Hopping Breaks Meshing

Users have reported that after auto-updates or updating Access Points such as the UAP-FlexHD to version 6.7.31, the devices begin to ignore manually configured channel plans and start “drifting channels constantly”.

This behaviour is particularly destructive for wireless mesh networks, where APs must remain on the same channel to maintain their uplink connection. The constant channel changes effectively sever this link, leading to:

  • Isolated APs dropping from the network.
  • Frequent client disconnections and reconnections.
  • Overall network instability and performance degradation.

Logs confirm this behavior, showing a sudden flood of “AP Channel Change” events immediately after the APs are updated to firmware 6.7.31.

Here are the logs from 2 of my own Flex-HD’s (for anyone interested! ha) 
Items in bold where updates started, then logs from after manually downgrading back to previous version.
```
System  WiFi  AP Channel Change  Upstairs AP moved to channel 36 from 149.  Today at 1:16:02 PM  
System  WiFi  AP Channel Change  Upstairs AP moved to channel 149 from 40.  Today at 1:15:52 PM  
**System  Devices  Device Updated  Upstairs AP has updated to 6.7.17.  Today at 1:12:59 PM **
**System  Devices  Device Updated  Downstairs AP has updated to 6.7.17.  Today at 1:09:01 PM ** 
System  WiFi  AP Channel Change  Upstairs AP moved to channel 36 from 40.  Today at 12:52:50 PM  
System  WiFi  AP Channel Change  Upstairs AP moved to channel 40 from 48.  Today at 12:51:53 PM  
System  WiFi  AP Channel Change  Downstairs AP moved to channel 48 from 161.  Today at 12:44:51 PM  
System  WiFi  AP Channel Change  Upstairs AP moved to channel 161 from 48.  Today at 12:42:24 PM  
System  WiFi  AP Channel Change  Upstairs AP moved to channel 48 from 161.  Today at 12:40:41 PM  
System  WiFi  AP Channel Change  Downstairs AP moved to channel 161 from 157.  Today at 12:39:46 PM  
System  WiFi  AP Channel Change  Upstairs AP moved to channel 161 from 157.  Today at 12:38:18 PM  
System  WiFi  AP Channel Change  Upstairs AP moved to channel 157 from 48.  Today at 12:32:55 PM  
System  WiFi  AP Channel Change  Upstairs AP moved to channel 40 from 161.  Today at 12:23:08 PM  
System  WiFi  AP Channel Change  Upstairs AP moved to channel 161 from 48.  Today at 11:52:03 AM  
System  WiFi  AP Channel Change  Upstairs AP moved to channel 48 from 161.  Today at 11:47:57 AM  
System  WiFi  AP Channel Change  Upstairs AP moved to channel 161 from 48.  Today at 11:40:36 AM  
System  WiFi  AP Channel Change  Upstairs AP moved to channel 161 from 48.  Today at 11:34:05 AM  
System  WiFi  AP Channel Change  Upstairs AP moved to channel 48 from 161.  Today at 11:31:58 AM  
System  WiFi  AP Channel Change  Upstairs AP moved to channel 161 from 40.  Today at 11:17:41 AM  
System  WiFi  AP Channel Change  Upstairs AP moved to channel 40 from 161.  Today at 11:13:43 AM  
System  WiFi  AP Channel Change  Upstairs AP moved to channel 161 from 44.  Today at 11:05:25 AM  
System  WiFi  AP Channel Change  Upstairs AP moved to channel 161 from 40.  Today at 10:30:18 AM  
System  WiFi  AP Channel Change  Upstairs AP moved to channel 40 from 161.  Today at 10:26:34 AM  
System  Devices  Multiple Device Reconnections  USW-Enterprise-8-PoE has reconnected multiple times in the past 24 hours.  Today at 10:20:32 AM  
System  WiFi  AP Channel Change  Upstairs AP moved to channel 161 from 48.  Today at 9:41:46 AM  
System  WiFi  AP Channel Change  Upstairs AP moved to channel 48 from 161.  Today at 9:37:16 AM  
System  WiFi  AP Channel Change  Upstairs AP moved to channel 161 from 48.  Today at 9:36:09 AM  
System  WiFi  AP Channel Change  Upstairs AP moved to channel 48 from 161.  Today at 9:34:06 AM  
System  WiFi  AP Channel Change  Upstairs AP moved to channel 161 from 40.  Today at 9:32:26 AM  
System  WiFi  AP Channel Change  Upstairs AP moved to channel 40 from 161.  Today at 9:30:05 AM  
System  Devices  Multiple Device Reconnections  Downstairs AP has reconnected multiple times in the past 24 hours.  Today at 7:29:35 AM  
System  Devices  Multiple Device Reconnections  Upstairs AP has reconnected multiple times in the past 24 hours.  Today at 5:31:23 AM  
System  WiFi  AP Channel Change  Upstairs AP moved to channel 161 from 40.  Today at 4:27:04 AM  
System  WiFi  AP Channel Change  Upstairs AP moved to channel 40 from 161.  Today at 4:23:30 AM  
System  WiFi  AP Channel Change  Upstairs AP moved to channel 161 from 44.  Today at 3:56:33 AM  
System  WiFi  AP Channel Change  Upstairs AP moved to channel 44 from 161.  Today at 3:53:32 AM  
System  Devices  Device Updated  Upstairs AP has updated to 6.7.31.  Today at 3:11:04 AM  
System  Devices  Multiple Devices Offline  Multiple devices are offline.  Today at 3:09:05 AM  
System  Devices  Device Updated  Downstairs AP has updated to 6.7.31.  Today at 3:04:37 AM  
```

The Current Solution: Downgrade to a Stable Firmware Version

Until Ubiquiti releases a patch, the most effective solution, albeit a temp fix, is to manually downgrade the firmware on the affected Access Points to a known stable version, a known working version is: 6.7.17, which I used for my UAP-Flex-HD
(this should be the same firmware as for the Unifi: U6-LR, U6-Lite, U6+, UAP-nanoHD, FlexHD, BeaconHD & the IW-HD) and has been confirmed to resolve the issue, for now.
You should do a search on the official firmware downloads site here first to confirm firmware for your own device.

You can perform this downgrade via the UniFi Network Controller’s web interface:

Step-by-Step Downgrade Instructions:

Method 1: Downgrade via the UniFi Web Interface (Recommended)

  1. Navigate to the Devices section in your UniFi Network Controller.
  2. Click on the problematic Access Point to open its properties panel.
  3. Go to the Settings tab.
  4. Scroll down to the Manage section and find Manual Firmware Update.
  5. Paste the full direct download URL ending with ‘.bin’ into the ‘Location URL’ field.
    in my case for downgrading one firmware version back from the 6.7.31 to 6.7.17 I used: https://dl.ui.com/unifi/firmware/U7NHD/6.7.17.15512/BZ.mt7621_6.7.17+15512.250418.0425.bin
  6. Click the “Update” button. The AP will download and apply the older firmware, then reboot.
Screenshot of the Manual Firmware Update section in the UniFi Controller, showing where to paste the downgrade URL.

Method 2: Downgrade via SSH (Advanced)

  1. Connect to the AP via SSH either via the debug console in the web UI or with an SSH client.
  2. Run the direct upgrade command. Once logged in, run this command:
    upgrade https://dl.ui.com/unifi/firmware/U7NHD/6.7.17.15512/BZ.mt7621_6.7.17+15512.250418.0425.bin
  3. Do not close the terminal. Wait for the AP to download the firmware and begin the flashing process. Your connection will be terminated when the device reboots. Monitor its status in the UniFi Controller.
If you do not know your SSH login details,
Device Updates and Settings

You can find these in the web UI under: Device tab –> the tiny Device Updates and Settings button –> Device Settings –> ‘Device SSH Authentication’
or if you are using the AP standalone without the Unifi Network controller, your AP settings may just be the default UI SSH user/pass

After the process is complete, the Access Point should reconnect to the network with its wireless mesh links restored and channel settings properly honoured. I would highly recommended to disable automatic updates for these devices until a new, fixed firmware version is released.

Important Note on DFS Channels: It’s Also worth noting that none of the ‘restricted’ channels set in channel plan or settings from the ‘WiFi Management’ page are being honoured by WiFi AP’s in the 6.7.31 update, so if you don’t downgrade you may face DFS Radar scanning issues, especially here in the UK.

Misbehaving channels

Below was my test plan before I worked out I should just downgrade firmware.

I restricted pretty much every channel I could to dictate a set enforcement for.

I knew that settings dictated on the individual AP’s settings pages were not being honoured, so went an alternative route, to see if creating settings in the WiFi Channel Plan forms would work instead of doing it on individual AP’s.
However, not 10 minutes later – my ‘Upstairs AP’ had taken itself off for a wander into the what should have been restricted channel: 161

UniFi event log showing multiple "AP Channel Change" alerts after the 6.7.31 firmware update. Upstairs AP moved to channel 161 from 40

UniFi settings completely restricted for channel plan - still issues. Upstairs AP moved to channel 161 from 40

Conclusion: Maybe wait this update out a few days until UI find a fix. Else – hopefully you have googled some of your issues, and this wee post here has, for now helped you find my above recommended fix with some step by step instructions on how to downgrade Unifi AP firmware nice and easy.

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[SOLVED] How to insert todays time or date automatically *anywhere* into an Excel spreadsheet

Can Excel insert today’s date or time automatically?

Yes! Excel has built-in shortcuts ("Ctrl + ;" AND "Ctrl + Shift + ;") that let you quickly stamp today’s date, the current time, or even add them inside a cell that already contains text. This means you can keep accurate logs, time-stamp notes, or track when actions happened, all without complicated formulas or macros.

How to insert today’s date in Excel

To instantly insert today’s date into any cell:

  • Click into the cell where you want the date.
  • Press Ctrl + ; (Control key plus semicolon).

This stamps today’s date (e.g. 16/09/2025) as a fixed value that will not change the next day.

How to insert the current time in Excel

To insert the current time:

  • Click into the cell where you want the time.
  • Press Ctrl + Shift + ; (Control + Shift + semicolon).

This stamps the exact time (e.g. 14:37) at the moment you press the keys.

Pro tip: To add both date and time in the same cell, press Ctrl + ;, then type a space, then press Ctrl + Shift + ;.

Q: Can you insert the time or date into a cell that already has text?

A: Yes! These shortcuts work even inside text-filled cells. For example, if you’re using a cell as a running log, simply type your note, then press Ctrl + Shift + ; to append the time. Excel will add the time right where your cursor is, without overwriting your text.

Example:

Called client at 10:23
Sent email 11:05

FAQ

Does inserting today’s date or time using the shortcut update automatically the next day?

No. Using these shortcuts stamps a fixed value (static). If you want a cell to always show the live date or time, you’d use formulas like =TODAY() or =NOW(), but those will update continuously.

Can I add both date and time in one shortcut?

Not directly. But you can combine the two: press Ctrl + ; for date, type a space, then press Ctrl + Shift + ; for time.

Does inserting today’s date or time via shortcut work in Excel for Mac?

Yes, though the shortcut may vary slightly depending on your keyboard layout.
On most Macs, use:
Cmd + ; for date and
Cmd + Shift + ; for time.

Does inserting today’s date or time via shortcut work on all versions of Excel?

Pretty much any modern version, or Microsoft 365 version, has this feature enabled. We did our testing on Microsoft® Excel® for Microsoft 365 MSO (Version 2508 Build 16.0.19127.20192) – last checked as of 16/06/2025.

Conclusion

So, can you insert today’s date or the current time anywhere in an Excel spreadsheet? Yes, absolutely. With just two simple shortcuts, Ctrl + ; and Ctrl + Shift + ;, you can time-stamp logs, add accurate dates to records, or keep a detailed audit trail directly inside your worksheets. These tips work whether the cell is empty or already contains text, making them perfect for quick note-taking or tracking tasks inside Excel.

Mastering these keyboard tricks saves time, prevents errors, and helps you use Excel like a pro, without relying on security nightmares like macros or digging into complex and easily forgotten formulas. If you’re looking for more simple productivity tips, keep exploring here on CannotDisplay.com

A prompt box showing the title of the blog post

What is AI prompting and how has it changed over time?

AI prompting is the art of writing instructions that guide artificial intelligence models (like ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot or Claude) to generate useful answers. Between 2019 and 2025, prompting evolved pretty significantly from simple “one-shot” requests into powerful systems that support reasoning, memory, and tool-calling.

This article is a timeline of AI prompting methods, explained in plain English with examples. We’ll cover:

  • How prompting techniques like zero-shot, one-shot, few-shot, chain-of-thought, and persona prompts changed the way we interact with AI.
  • The rise of reasoning models, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), memory, and multimodal prompts.
  • What beginners can still learn today about writing better prompts in 2025, even as AI systems handle much of the complexity for you.

Whether you’re a beginner asking “How do I write a good AI prompt?” or you’ve been experimenting since the early days, this timeline will show you exactly how prompting got us here – and what still matters now.

TLDR;
We started simple, got complicated and lengthy, now we’re back to simple again.

The Evolution of AI Prompting (2019–2025)

From one-shot instructions to agentic, tool‑calling systems. A visual timeline with examples you can reuse.

2019 · Zero‑Shot Prompting

Ask Directly, No Examples

You give a clear instruction and the AI answers with no examples or extra context. Works best for simple, well‑known tasks.

Example: “Write a 3‑sentence bedtime story about a dragon who learns to share.”

2020 · One‑Shot Prompting

Show One Example, Then Ask

Provide a single example to set format or tone, then make your request.

Example: “Example caption: ‘5 quick dinners that don’t wreck your budget.’ Now write a caption for a productivity post.”

2020 · Few‑Shot Prompting

Give a Pattern with a Few Examples

Show several examples so the model learns the style or schema before your task.

Example: “Examples:
• Tagline → ‘Sleep better with small habits.’
• Tagline → ‘Plant‑based meals, zero fuss.’
Now: Tagline for a time‑management app.”

2021 · Persona Prompting

Ask the Model to Role‑Play

Set a perspective or communication style by assigning a role. ‘Act as a [X]’

Example: “Act as a friendly fitness coach. Create a 20‑minute no‑equipment routine for beginners.”

2022 · Chain & Tree of Thought

Show Your Working (One Path or Many)

Chain‑of‑Thought explains step‑by‑step logic. Tree‑of‑Thought explores several solution paths before choosing one.

Example: “Plan a one‑week budget trip to Paris. Think step by step about transport, accommodation, free activities, and daily meals. Offer two alternate itineraries and pick the best.”

2022 · Iterative Prompting

Refine in Loops

Use your previous output as input. Ask for edits, constraints, or new angles until it’s right.

Example: “Draft a LinkedIn post announcing a webinar.”
“Now make it more benefit‑focused. “
“Now shorten to 150 characters.”

2023 · Self‑Consistency

Generate Several, Keep the Best

Ask for multiple answers, then choose or vote for the most consistent or plausible one.

Example: “Give three solutions for reducing meeting overload. Then explain which one likely has the highest impact and why.”

2023 · Context Prompting & RAG

Ground Answers in Your Material

Paste key context or connect retrieval so the model cites and summarises what matters.

Example: “Here are last week’s meeting notes [paste]. Summarise decisions and list owners + deadlines.”

2023 · Meta, Reflexion & ReAct

Prompts About Prompts, Plus Reason & Act

Meta generates better prompts. Reflexion critiques and revises. ReAct mixes reasoning with tool use.

Example: “Propose five prompt phrasings to get a clear, bulleted onboarding checklist. Then pick the best and produce the checklist using the Notes MCP tool”

2024 · System Prompts & Reasoning Models

Quality by Default

Invisible system instructions handle tone and structure. Reasoning models plan, critique, and solve multi‑step tasks without prompt hacks.

Example: “Create a project plan for launching a newsletter. Include milestones, owners, risks, and a two‑week timeline.”

2024 · Memory & Source Checking

Long‑Running Tasks, Fewer Hallucinations

AI remembers past sessions and cites sources. Better for ongoing projects and trust.

Example: [Based on our previous sprint notes] “At last weeks sprint were there any carried‑over tasks? Can you link to any relevant docs.”

2025 · Tool‑Calling, MCP & Multimodal

From Words to Workflows

Prompts can invoke tools and APIs, and combine text with images, audio, or files. Tasks become orchestrated workflows.

Example: “Review this kitchen photo, propose a redesign, and output a shopping list as a table with estimated costs.”

2025 · Where We Are Now

Simple Prompts, Smarter Systems

Modern models ship with robust system prompts, reasoning, and retrieval. Beginners can get strong results with a single, clear request.

Example: “Write a 6‑page bedtime story with pictures for Josh about a different dragon who learns to share.”

2025 – Where We Are Now
We are back to the beginning.

By September 2025, prompting is less about clever tricks and personas and more about clear communication and having some form of understanding of the models capabilities.
Modern models:

  • Already come with great baked-in system prompts.
  • Can reason, critique, and fact-check.
  • Work with images, audio, and tools.
  • Know you, your ‘history’ and can access files, memories or other helpful context without being told.

The DNA of a Modern AI Prompt: Key Takeaways

  • Clarity: Start with a clear, direct, and unambiguous instruction.
  • Context & Examples: Ground the AI by providing relevant background information or a few examples (few-shot) to guide its output.
  • Constraints & Persona: Define the “box” the AI should think inside by setting a format, tone, length, or persona.
  • Reasoning: For complex tasks, encourage step-by-step thinking (Chain-of-Thought) to improve logical accuracy.
  • Iteration: Use the AI’s output as input for follow-up prompts, refining the result in a conversational loop.
  • Tools & Data: Leverage modern systems that can access external knowledge (RAG) or perform actions (Tool-Calling) for the most powerful results.

Frequently Asked Questions

>What is the difference between zero-shot, one-shot, and few-shot prompting?

Zero-shot prompting is giving a direct instruction to an AI with no examples. One-shot prompting provides a single example to set the tone or format. Few-shot prompting gives several examples to teach the AI a specific pattern or schema before it performs the task.

>What is Chain-of-Thought (CoT) prompting?

Chain-of-Thought (CoT) prompting is a technique where you instruct the AI model to ‘think step by step’ or show its reasoning process. This breaks down complex problems into logical parts, often leading to more accurate and reliable answers, especially for multi-step tasks.

>How does Persona Prompting improve AI responses?

Persona Prompting improves AI responses by assigning the model a specific role or character (e.g., ‘Act as a friendly fitness coach’). This sets a clear perspective, tone, and communication style, making the output more tailored and effective for a specific audience or purpose.

>What are modern prompting techniques like RAG and Tool-Calling?

Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) is a technique where the AI is grounded in specific, provided context (like your own documents) to reduce hallucination and provide source-based answers. Tool-Calling allows a prompt to invoke external tools and APIs, enabling the AI to perform actions, get live data, or orchestrate complex workflows beyond simple text generation.

>What has been the main goal of the evolution in AI prompting?

The main goal has been to move from simple instructions to complex, reliable workflows. The evolution has focused on increasing the AI’s accuracy, reducing errors (hallucinations), enabling it to solve multi-step problems, grounding it in factual data, and allowing it to interact with external systems. This makes AI more useful for practical, real-world tasks.

AI prompting has evolved, but these fundamentals remain timeless.

The principles of a good prompt and the right amount of added context still matter.

Though modern frontend AI interfaces and models have given us a much more intelligent starting place. AI is becoming more user friendly, especially for beginners or occasional users.

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