For all (free + paid) subscribers of Brain Bound Learning, I am starting a weekly series of Substack posts marked as “Single Page Sandbox”. This post marks a beginning.
The word “sandbox” evokes an image of a child playing on a beach.
But for a programmer, a sandbox is a closed environment where one can test a program with the bare minimum dependencies on a local computer.
Hello! I am Nirav - a programmer for 20+ years. I solo-published several content-centric apps. When internet businesses were being born, I self-published a nonfiction book.
Brain Bound Learning is focused on linguistics and cognitive science - two branches that have grown in parallel since the invention of modern computers. Our future will increasingly depend on how our brains learn, and how we communicate with machines and each other. Brain Bound Learning started in 2023, and I believe it happened at the right time.
While I will try to simplify concepts of these two disciplines, it also means that every article in Brain Bound Learning will try to update a reader’s mental model - even when it is not about any of them. This is a step above declarative AI tutorials that teach you “How to do X by prompting Y”. The full range of ELI-5 to ELI-50 will be available.
AI and LLMs are a huge mental leap for mankind. Brain Bound Learning will try to bridge the skill gap that’s being widened by them every day.
As part of Brain Bound Learning, I also publish free tools for subscribers under the Single Page Sandbox series. I vibe code them to make creators’ lives easier. You are welcome to visit the Single Page Sandbox to access them all. They are:
Completely free
Sign-up free
Often, runnable offline
Downloadable from TipsNGuts.com
What is the single-page sandbox series?
From now onwards, every “Brain Bound learning” post subtitled “Single Page Sandbox Free Tool # <number>” will include a tool that you can run in your browser without an internet connection.
Every tool under the Single Page Sandbox series will be a single HTML file that anyone can open in a local browser (Chrome, Edge, Safari, Firefox, or Opera). Since most creators own a computer, success on a desktop is guaranteed, but not always on a mobile.
Most important: It can be run without an internet connection (in some cases, the first time load may require internet, but not always).
I have a long list of tools in my backlog that I am going to share.
The dominant theme will be learning, so there will be student-friendly stuff. But before I know it, useful stuff might creep in (like this one).
I aim to deliver at least 95% of them in the offline-only mode. Curious to see how much I can achieve!
Every tool is free of malware or ads.
Every tool will be completely free for life.
The tool is part of a zipfile. You will find the instructions in the end of the article.
This week’s single-page sandbox contains what every business owner looks for: A QR Code Maker.
Why QR Codes are fascinating for the brain?
When you want to understand a newer concept, you need the brain’s fullest capacity. Text is ideal here because our brains are trained to learn through language.
However, sharing is interactive and hence, more visual than linguistic. We recognise faces first, and pay attention to what they say later. A picture is worth a thousand words.
Remembering links is not only tedious; it’s also out of reach for the less educated population. That’s why half the world makes mobile payments via QR codes.
QR Codes ≈ Web page compression into an address (URL) → Information transfer from textual domain to visual domain (Link to QR) → Condensation (square icon that fits everywhere)
Making a QR code should be easy. But it’s made difficult by rent-seeking tool-makers. Sometimes, browsers provide this functionality as built-in, but many users aren’t aware about. Making brand-specific QR codes is mostly out of reach.
That’s why it fits within the Single Page Sandbox.
How does the QR maker work?
Open the single web page file in your browser (Chrome, Edge, Safari, Firefox, or Opera).
Enter your website/Substack publication URL.
Pick a QR code color, and hit “Generate QR Code”. Your QR will display on the web page.
Optionally, add your CTA text and hit “Generate QR Code”. When you click “Download PNG”, you can see the resulting file that you can paste anywhere in your marketing material.
How was it made?
I used Claude code Pro (later, Max) in Visual Studio Code. Under a single prompt, it gave me what I wanted. But I wanted customizations (brand identity).
My incremental prompts:
Me: Is it possible to give it a brand color?
Claude: Sure, I will give the choice of 3 colors: red, blue, green
Me: Add a color picker with 10 colors. Add a brand CTA text field that should render in the center of the logo - if at all it is possible under the constraints previously specified.
Claude: Done under 2 minutes.
As you saw above, I made a maroon QR code with “Subscribe now!” CTA for “Brain-bound learning”, and it’s not uglier than the button below!
Why did I launch Single Page Sandbox?
When I was a freelance app developer, I thought I could do without a QR.
After filling out my email and 57 other fields, some QR makers demanded money for a watermark-free QR code.
But then I attended an app conference where QR codes were ubiquitous. I was without an identity.
The problem was trivial. A simple Google search for “online QR maker” did the job. But it wasn’t without the speedbreakers. After giving out my email, some QR makers demanded money for a watermark-free QR code. They had to recoup their Google ad campaign money, and I am not blaming them. But…
As I thought deeper, the problem isn’t just about a QR. It’s that of the ecosystem that somehow acts like a walled garden. There were so many such problems where I felt lame without a Google search and/or bound by my MacBook.
I can only imagine how it will be to live under AI’s walled gardens. Generative AI offers a window to save ourselves. The wider we open it, the more of us will feel liberated.
We are fascinated to learn that Claude code compiled the entire Linux kernel. But Claude code wouldn’t be here without Git & Linux - the two most powerful open source systems built in the 90s and 2000s. It’s satisfying to keep the spirit alive.
Under the single-page sandbox series, I will address such problems. I will also share the process and complexity I handled, along with the vibe coding tool(s) I used.
Every Single Page Sandbox offering is downloadable from Tipsnguts.com..
Download QR Maker from this link.
Unzip and open index.html.
If you face any issues downloading or have any suggestions about the single-page sandbox, feel free to share in the comments / DM!
And as a rule of thumb, positive comments are always welcome!
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