https://ugmfree.it/forum/messages.aspx?TopicID=970 SyMenu - General discussion & questions - A crazy new adventure! - Messages en-us http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Mon, 13 Apr 2026 08:24:29 GMT Mon, 13 Apr 2026 08:24:29 GMT https://ugmfree.it/forum/messages.aspx?TopicID=970 Mon, 13 Apr 2026 08:24:29 GMT https://ugmfree.it/forum/messages.aspx?TopicID=970 Hopefully in a good way!

That's good news, glad your planning portability!
I bet this is an interesting project for you eh?

Re: Plugins - Also good news about current support. Not so about plugins, that looks quite complex when I looked inside the plugins folders to see what they consisted of O.o
I assume it'll require quite a bit of knowledge of .NET and some other stuff to do this?
Still, looks very useful indeed. Thanks for making it! ]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 15:37:03 GMT https://ugmfree.it/forum/messages.aspx?TopicID=970 ).

Is it portable?
Well, it will be. Once I exit the beta phase, I’ll include it as an SPS in SyMenu.
At the moment it writes its data in AppData\Local\GANI, but as you know, SyMenu can easily redirect that folder into a program’s subfolder.
The other file it creates is a virtual disk called GANI, which you’re free to place wherever you want.
So when GANI becomes part of SyMenu, its setup will be torn to pieces, just like we do for every other program... no privileges for anyone inside the SyMenu suite.

Plugin
Currently, GANI can read any kind of text file with the following extensions: .txt, .log, .csv, .ini, .md, .htm, .html, so HTML is already supported.
XML would be plain text too, but it’s more flexible than HTML because XML can define its own tags. So I can consider supporting specific XML formats. For example, if a data flow uses a specific XML structure, I can create a plugin to decode it without losing information. Remember that HTML relies on tag content, while XML can store information in attributes as well.

As for the other formats: why not? I designed the plugin system exactly to expand the tool or to allow someone else to expand it.
In fact, in addition to plain text files, I've already written plugins for xlsx, docx, pdf, pptx, and rtf.

edited by Gianluca on 10/03/2026]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 14:11:06 GMT https://ugmfree.it/forum/messages.aspx?TopicID=970

The most important question I have though... Is it portable?
Will there be more plugins for other formats? I'm thinking: epub, mobi, djvw, html, xml, etc.
These would be the most useful for me personally.
I have many ebooks and this app would help in learning subjects.

Thanks Gian!

edited by sl23 on 09/03/2026]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 13:40:59 GMT https://ugmfree.it/forum/messages.aspx?TopicID=970 It's because GANI is a fresh new app without a signed setup.
I think with 200 positive reports, MS will remove the alert or, better, I can add GANI to the SyMenu suite that is more permissive.]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 19:23:27 GMT https://ugmfree.it/forum/messages.aspx?TopicID=970 Fri, 06 Mar 2026 19:09:46 GMT https://ugmfree.it/forum/messages.aspx?TopicID=970 Wed, 04 Mar 2026 17:56:00 GMT https://ugmfree.it/forum/messages.aspx?TopicID=970
I'm going a bit off-topic here to tell you about a new, exciting madness I've been diving into lately: it's called GANI.

GANI is a very different program from SyMenu, yet it draws many of its core principles from it: absolute precision, total control, and zero compromises.

So, what exactly is GANI?
In technical terms, it is a RAG system assisted by conversational AI.
Specifically, a RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) is a system usually based on an LLM (Large Language Model), making it similar to ChatGPT, Gemini, or Copilot. Unlike those, however, a RAG concentrates its analytical power primarily on the user's own data. In practice, it's an intelligent assistant that reads your documents, understands them, and answers your questions based predominantly on the materials it has "absorbed".

For those who know a bit about the subject: I should clarify that it isn't exactly an "agent". It won't take initiative, it won't control your accounts, it won't go grocery shopping for you, and it won't clean the cat's litter box. It limits itself to reading and digesting only the documents you actively provide. Likewise, it will erase from its memory any documents you remove.

Is this the "total control" I mentioned earlier?
No. There are various software tools today that offer more or less the same thing. Even AIs like ChatGPT can do it: you give them a document, they read it, and they process it.

The real revolution here is something else: 100% local privacy, with no smoke and mirrors.
Today we are surrounded by cloud-based AI. Even 99% of so-called "local agents" are nothing more than interfaces that ultimately rely on online services for the actual processing.
But for me, privacy is not: "send me your text, I'll analyze it, I'll reply, and then... I promise... trust me... I'll delete it."
To me, privacy means not sending anything out at all, in the most absolute and total way.

GANI's AI runs entirely on your PC.
The whole indexing and analysis process happens right there, on your hardware, completely offline.
Your data never leaves your hard drive.
GANI is an AI with a pure and irreproachable soul that respects your privacy and doesn't exploit your content simply because... technically, it can't.

Clearly, running everything locally comes at a price: the hardware requirements are heavy. This isn't "lightweight" software for every PC but it requires computing power to run the models smoothly. You need a GPU, RAM, and VRAM. If you want to use the most powerful LLM models (GANI lets you choose from several), you'll need to increase that power... in the magic world of AI, power is everything. And unfortunately, power has a cost. And if you think we have all this computing power for free on the cloud today... well, reflect on the fact that you are paying for it with your data.

Consistent with my long-standing tradition, GANI will be completely free for the vast majority of users. However, to make it sustainable, I have included a limit on the number of indexable documents in the Free version (the Pro version will be dedicated to those who need to manage large volumes or want to use it commercially). SyMenu, in its own way, taught me that this is the only way to ensure continuity and remove the boundaries of development.

Why this post?
Well, I need some of you, enthusiastic and technically skilled people, who want to jump into this new adventure.
At this stage of development, I am looking for:

Beta Testers: to measure the AI engine performance on different hardware configurations and to test the user interface.

Translators: to make GANI multilingual.

But I've also opened this thread to gather your suggestions, doubts, technical insights, or critiques.
I want to know what you think and if the idea of a truly local AI seems as sensible to you as it does to me.
If you'd like to give a hand with testing or translations, please write to me in private.

You can learn more and download the beta version of the program on the GANI website here:
https://ganisoft.com]]> Wed, 04 Mar 2026 12:11:46 GMT