This page supports Module 04, Lesson 02. The lesson covers orientation and habits; this page is for learners who want to try families safely.
Safety first
Use only non-sensitive text (hobby copy, public tutorial snippets, fake “Acme Corp” examples). Never paste employer, client, or personal identity data into any chat or local tool without approval.
Browser vs on device
| Path | What you learn | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Browser chat | Fast taste-test of a vendor’s model UX; no GPU setup | Traffic usually goes to their servers — check terms and privacy policy |
| On device (later) | True local inference when configured correctly | Needs RAM/VRAM, time, and sometimes IT approval |
Browser starting points
Products rename pages often. If a link fails, search the official vendor name plus “chat” or “console.”
- DeepSeek — web chat when available in your region.
- MiniMax — check current model pages and terms.
- Qwen — Alibaba Cloud / Qwen official pages and linked playgrounds or Hugging Face model cards.
- Hugging Face — model cards, Spaces demos, comparison without installing.
Suggested prompts (same three for each tool):
- “Explain this HTML:
<nav><a href='/'>Home</a></nav>in plain language.” - Rewrite a short paragraph in plain language.
- Suggest a minimal accessible nav structure for a two-page static site.
Do this (20 minutes): Open two browser experiences. Run the same three prompts. Note differences in tone, length, hallucination risk, and whether the model cites uncertainty.
On device (when IT and hardware allow)
Runners load weights you choose:
- Ollama —
ollama pull <model>then run locally if your machine can handle the tag. - LM Studio — desktop UI to search, download, and chat locally.
- vLLM, llama.cpp — advanced; skip until you need them.
Optional (30+ minutes): Install one runner from the official site only. Pull one small CPU-friendly model tag (read the runner’s docs). Ask it to summarise a practice index.html after you open the project folder in the tool’s allowed scope.
Pricing and versions
Pricing (including free tiers) and model version numbers change — read current terms at the source. This course does not endorse a single vendor.