
I’ve created a mirror page for the popular modded Google Camera app:
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I know the practice is frown upon, but I did some vibe coding recently for the first time.
I don’t know how to code. I understand some basics, like the “if this do that, else do something else” or the concept of using a database to store and retrieve data, but when it comes to write code, I don’t know how to do it.
Even with this limitation, over the years I have done a few things PHP. It often involves many attempts and using existing code as base, but it has been enough to create basic WordPress themes (like the one I’m currently using here) and add small features. I have a page that allows me to upload files when I want to share them online. And I’ve also been using bash scripts and crons to do tasks ranging from backups to other maintenance tasks.
With the exception of the WordPress themes, nothing is exposed to the internet and I’m also the only person using these tools, so I don’t have to worry about the code not being super secure or have to account for every edge case. That’s why I’m confident enough to do this.
Recently, I was looking at my upload page and I wasn’t happy with it. It didn’t have a dark theme, the code could handle name collisions, but not in a smart way, and file name sanitisation worked, but wasn’t perfect (e.g.: if a file name had two spaces, it would add two “_” or remove characters like “à” instead of converting them to “a”). It would be nice if I could improve it and since people have been using “AI”/LLMs to code, I decided to give it a try and learn more about it in the process.
These are my thoughts about the 2023 Xiaomi Poco F5 Pro.

On this page:
I bought the phone a few months after it was released and paid £409/€467/$508 directly on Xiaomi’s UK website (prices have since dropped).
If you use Docker on a Mac running Windows (BootCamp), you’ll eventually get the “Docker Desktop is unable to detect a Hypervisor” error.

For whatever reason, sometimes the hypervisor is disabled when we restart the machine. Even if you don’t restart it, Windows itself might do it to apply updates, so when you try to run it again, it won’t work.
The fix for this is simple: reboot to macOS and then reboot to Windows again by selecting the Windows “Startup Disk”. This will re-enable the Hypervisor allowing Docker to run without problems.
Since this is likely to happen again, you need to have physical access to the machine or remote access to both Windows and macOS in order to re-enable the hypervisor.
I changed phones this summer. I got a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and my trusty OnePlus 8 Pro went to my father. He was using my old OnePlus Nord, but after two years it was getting to the point where wear and tear was apparent. He drives for Uber, the display is ON for hours almost every day, the phone is always charging… you get the idea (this is the screen burn-in, even system icons are there [WTH OnePlus?]).
With the phone he also received some of the accessories I had. I do most of my work on a desk, so I don’t need a lot of protection on a phone. My cases (mostly for grip) were thin and the screen protector – when used – was one of those soft plastic ones which are good enough for scratches, but don’t do much against big hits. It’s also hard to find a good rigid screen protector for a curved display that doesn’t lift, doesn’t affect gestures, and covers the whole display, so I always avoided them. He needs more protection than me though, so after looking around we managed to find a kit with a screen protector + glue + UV light and ordered it.
Unfortunately the hard plastic screen protector and ticker case I ordered from AliExpress took longer than expected to arrive and on a cold, rainy day his phone fell from his coat pocket while leaving the car:

The hit shattered the top left corner of the display. While the display and touch was still working, there was a few cracks right on top of the camera and one long circular one that goes from the top left to the middle left part of the display (not very visible on the picture above).