[Bing] Disable AI search clutter

AI is seemingly unescapable these days and annoying generated content is being shoved everywhere without consent.

To disable AI content clutter (copilot answers, video results, similar content and related searches) on Bing searches you can add a small rule to uBlock Origin extension under "My Filters" section:

www.bing.com##.b_ans

This will obviously break as soon as Microsoft pushes any update that changes the page content setup, however the workaround will be the same and will simply require finding out which element(s) to block.

uBlock Origin also has a very handy element picker mode that allows selecting a page component to create a rule to block it. Naturally the same can be achieved also by inspecting the page with Developer Tools (F12 usually) and finding the element tag(s) to block.

[Lenovo] Fix PSR screen issues with AMD graphics

Some recent Lenovo laptops come with displays theoretically supporting PSR (Panel Self Refresh) techology which supposedly would improve battery life.

On systems with AMD graphics, both the proprietary drivers and the ones packaged by Lenovo incorrectly implement support for it, leading to issues such as screen flickering, screen tearing and video stuttering.

The workaround is to force disable PSR in Windows registry, by opening regedit and looking for this entry:

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4d36e968-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}\0000

then modifying or creating a key DWORD 32 bit named DalPSRFeatureEnable with value 0

Afterwards simply reboot the system.

Even though in theory disabling PSR could lead to worse battery life and higher GPU temperatures, I have not seen noticeable differences after a month of use, naturally it might vary for others, therefore monitor your system to detect issues in case.

To reenable it, simply change the value to 1

[Windows 11] Uninstall widgets app

If you do not need the widgets functionality on your Windows machine, you can disable it from settings or completely remove it with:

winget uninstall "windows web experience pack"

[Windows] Hash a file

Windows offers a builtin tool to compute the hash of a file (example MD5):

CertUtil -hashfile FILENAME MD5

To view the list of supported options and hash algorithms:

CertUtil -hashfile -?

[Windows 11] Disable telemetry and diagnostic data

Windows 11 collects some data and allows some configuration under Settings > Privacy & Security > Diagnostics & Feedback however you are not allowed to completely disable it. If you wanted to do so, you could apply a policy using the Local Group Policy Editor app (gpedit).

Find the Local Computer Policy > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Data Collection and Preview Builds > Allow Diagnostic Data

Click to modify it, enable it and set it to "Diagnostic data off"

You can then logout and login again or run from a terminal the command to force reload policies:

gpupdate /force

[Windows 11] Remove PhoneLink app

Removing the PhoneLink app on Windows, is as easy as running (from administrator shell):

Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.YourPhone -AllUsers | Remove-AppxPackage

[Windows 11] Initial setup without forced login

When setting up Windows 11 from a new installation, you will be guided through a graphical setup at boot. 

Since every other company decided to force onto users annoying choices without much backlash, also Microsoft though to participate in the fun now by forcing you to login to your Microsoft account (or create a new one) during this process.

To avoid this for the moment, you can run a couple commands during the setup. After choosing the language for the setup process, press SHIFT+F10 to open a command prompt, then enter:

OOBE\BYPASSNRO

which will make the PC reboot. Once you are back into the setup process, choose the language again (if prompted) and press again SHIFT+F10 to get back into the command prompt, this time enter:

ipconfig /release

to disconnect from any network you might be connected to.

Finally moving forward in the process, when you reach the "connect to the internet" stage, you will have the option to click on a small link saying "I don't have internet", you will then be prompted to create a local account on your PC.

[Android] Sprescia app for run activity tracking

No it is not Christmas today, but here is another free, no ads, no trackers, no data collection, minimalistic app to track your run activity!

Built for Android 14+ using help from ChatGPT and icons from SVG Repo this app writes to a local Rooom DB in 1 table: run

Run view allows you to add, edit, delete run details and calculates average speed for each entry, comparing it with the previous one, giving you a quick view of your training progression. You can also export and import data to/from csv for quick backup and restore logic.

Daily stats view allows you to see daily run data and compare it to previous runs using key metrics: steps, average speed, distance, time.

Monthly stats view provides the same capability but averages the data grouping per month instead.

You can find the Sprescia project on my GitHub

[Android] MaiCar app for car expense management (refuels and maintenance)

Finally a free, no ads, no trackers, no data collection, minimalistic app to track your car expenses!

Built for Android 14+ using help from ChatGPT and icons from SVG Repo this app writes to a local Rooom DB in 2 tables: fuel and maintenance

Fuel view allows you to add, edit, delete refuel details (partial and full tank) and calculates efficiency for each entry, comparing it with the previous one, giving you a quick view of your trip efficiency progression.

Maintenance view allows you to add, edit, delete maintenance details for multiple maintenance types, it also allows you to filter the view on a specific maintenance type to quickly find a specific item.

Both views allow you to export and import data to/from csv for quick backup and restore logic.

You can find the MaiCar project on my GitHub