Software Africa Newsletter - September 2023

Main Article ~ Online Business Tip ~ Excel Tip ~ Training Tip

Rick's Editorial:

Welcome to the Software Africa Newsletter: Subscribed to by the Select, read by the Elite, acted on by the Exceptional.

Spring having sprung, Winter has made a bit of a comeback.  Never mind: Like the relief from load shedding, it is likely to be brief.

How good is ChatGPT, really?  That's the main article in this issue.  It's a mixed bag.  This AI is not ready to take over the world yet.  Computius agrees.

In the Business Tip, a technological breakthrough from WhatsApp.

In this month's Excel Tip we have more details on the alternative to the various LOOKUP functions.

Excel Macros and Excel for Engineers are ready for you as self-paced online courses.

How Good is ChatGPT Really?

You've heard of the artificial intelligence (AI) program ChatGPT. For the record, the GPT part stands for "Generative Pre-trained Transformer".  This refers to how ChatGPT processes requests and formulates responses. ChatGPT has been specifically optimized for conversational AI applications.

I tested ChatGPT on a number of subjects:

• "Ten-Living Lover": this was the clue for a six-letter word in the Citizen's "Give and Take" Puzzle. From the adjacent word. I knew that the word must contain the letters C, R, A, M and P.  ChatGPT first offered "CAMPUS."  It does not contain an R. The program apologised and offered  CARPOM"  This is not an English word.  It then tried "CAMPUS" again which, surprisingly, still did not contain an R. It then suggested "CAMPER".  This satisfied the letters but not the clue.  Neither of us could make sense of it.  I then had a brainwave: It must have been a rare misprint. If it the clue had been "tent-living lover", that answer would have been spot-on.
• ChatGPT was better on a six-letter word that satisfies the clue "truthful" and contains the letters S, T, O, N, and E: It got "HONEST" right away.
• (This was apropos the claim by Johannesburg Emergency Services that the Sandspruit drownings were in the Jukskei river.) Is the Sandspruit in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa the same river as the Jukskei River? ChatGPT said: "The Sandspruit and the Jukskei River are two different rivers in South Africa. The Sandspruit is a small river located in Johannesburg, Gauteng, while the Jukskei River is a larger river that flows through Gauteng and the North West province."  It was not able to refer me to a map, nor list the Johannesburg suburbs through which either river flows. "As a language model, my knowledge is limited to what I have been trained on by OpenAI. I do not have the ability to search for or access maps or other external information."
• ChatGPT was able to give a good summary about Monty Python, a British comedy group formed in the 1960s.  It was also able to explain the relationship between the Python programming language and the Monty Python's Flying Circus television show.
• I tried it on a programming problem in Microsoft Access VBA.  I wanted code to load a photograph into the current database record. ChatGPT was very willing, but kept producing code that would not run.  After a few tries it would then revert to previous code, seemingly forgetting that it had not worked before.  After many tries, I eventually gave up.
• In the previous series of attempts, I asked the program to indent the code it gave me using a Tab Width of 2 spaces and not 4.  It would willingly do this for one or two attempts, and then revert to 4 spaces.
• I asked ChatGPT to give me Visual Basic 6 (VB6) code that fits a cubic curve through four points, and to use a Tab Width of 2 spaces.  It took about 6 iterations, with me testing the code and pointing out errors, before together we got it right. I had to keep reminding it of the indention I wanted.

The site has a note that "ChatGPT may produce inaccurate information about people, places, or facts".  So it is.

Conclusion:  ChatGPT is very fast, responding instantly to questions.  If it took a bit longer to check its answers, it could get a lot more accurate.  It is alarming that in several instances it gave answers that it should be able to see are wrong. It also has a poor memory, failing to remember wrong answers it has already given in the same session.

ChatGPT is a wonderful tool, but it has some serious flaws.  Use it with caution, and always check its answers!

On-Line Business Tip #77 – Technological Breakthrough! WhatsApp Edits!

In a major advance in technology as of 12 September, WhatsApp now lets you edit your messages for up to 15 minutes after sending.

On the app, select (press on) the message.  Tap the ... (three dots) menu at top right.  Choose Edit.  Change and Send (or back out, top left).

On computer, right-click on the message to get the pop-up menu. Choose Edit in the middle.. Change and Send (or cancel). The word "Edited" appears next to the time.

It is nice to have an improvement in WhatsApp for a change.  Recent "upgrades" to WhatsApp desktop have all been retrogressive.  One used to be able to select (drag over) as many messages as you liked, and copy. When you pasted them elsewhere, each message came with the name of its sender and the date (in American format) and time.  Now one can only copy one at a time, and all you get is the text.

Also, at least on my laptop, the curser often disappears.  Then I have to guess at where my typing will appear. Or close it and restart.

If you are a Telegram user, of course you are now rolling in the aisles laughing at the idea that this is an advance.  Telegram has had the ability to Edit sent messages for years.  But maybe some of us would rather entrust our personal data to Meta than to a former Russian.

Excel for Engineers Online Self-Paced Course

Not for engineers alone, the Excel for Engineers course is available online as a self-paced course.  The same manual and examples as the live version.  The same trainer. Done at your own pace at times that suit you.  Take half an hour a day and complete it in a month.  Spend an hour a day and finish it in two weeks.  Or dedicate two days –a weekend, perhaps?– and crack the whole course.

Sign up now and get these Bonuses:

1. Report, "Are You Making These Microsoft Excel Mistakes?"
2. A Free Support Group
3. Our Excel file "Excel Shortcut keys & My Macro Shortcuts" (you'll want this once you start building macros).

Take our self-paced online course in your own time and venue.  All the value at a quarter of the price of the live course.  Backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Live Online Training Webinars: Excel for Engineers and Excel Macros

BEST (Built Environment Skills and Training (Pty) Ltd.) uses Rick to run these two courses regularly over two days. You get 2 CPA points from ECSA.  And lunch from Uber Eats.  Visit BEST here and book for next week.  Please tell them that Software Africa sent you.

Excel Tip #223 – Using INDEX(MATCH): The Syntax of the MATCH Statement

In the previous issue we talked about how to use INDEX(MATCH) instead of an Excel LOOKUP Function.  But how does MATCH work?  What is its syntax?  Here you go:

MATCH(lookup_value, lookup_array, [match_type])

The MATCH function has these arguments:

lookup_value (required): The value to find in lookup_array. This can be a literal value (number, text, or logical value) or a cell reference to a number, text, or logical value.

lookup_array (required): The one-dimensional range of cells you are searching.

match_type (optional): The number -1, 0, or 1.  The match_type argument specifies how Excel matches lookup_value with values in lookup_array. The options are:

• If match_type = 0, MATCH does an exact match.  It finds the first value exactly equal to lookup_value. If it cannot find an exact match, it returns the #N/A error value. The values in lookup_array can be in any order.
• If match_type = 1 or not used, MATCH does an approximate match.  It finds the largest value that is less than or equal to lookup_value. The values in lookup_array must be in ascending order, that is: ...-2, -1, 0, 1, 2, ..., A-Z, FALSE, TRUE.
• If match_type = -1, MATCH does a reverse order approximate match.  It finds the smallest value that is greater than or equal to lookup_value. The values in lookup_array must be in descending order, that is: TRUE, FALSE, Z-A, ...2, 1, 0, -1, -2, ...

MATCH returns a number, the position of the matched value within lookup_array, not the value itself.

When finding text, MATCH is case-insensitive (it treats upper- and lower-case the same).

If match_type is 0 (exact) and lookup_value is text, you can use wildcard characters in the lookup_value. A question mark (?) matches any single character; an asterisk (*) matches any number of any characters. To find an actual question mark or asterisk, put a tilde (~) before the character (~? or ~*).

Next time: the syntax of INDEX!

Microsoft Excel Macros Online Self-Paced Course

Macros let you do repetitive work in a flash, instead of repeating the same boring stuff by hand.  Save hours not working late, and spend more time with your family ...or the cat.  Do you have a good knowledge of Excel, and now want to program your own time-saving applications?  Then this course is for you!

Do it in your own time, at your own venue and pace, cost-effectively.  The Software Africa Quick 'n Easy Turbo-Start Excel Macros course is waiting for you online.  Take it now!

Computius Say:

Computers make very fast, very accurate mistakes.

Remember:  We can make your business run better by:

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