• ✅ A good internet connection for initial setup
• ✅ Download Docker Desktop App
• ✅ Minecraft Bedrock

Step by Step Guide to creating a LAN server you can play on any of your devices

1. On any laptop connected to the same network as your minecraft device, create a folder minecraft-server
2. Create a file docker-compose.yaml
3. Copy and paste the following code into the docker-compose.yaml file

services:
  minecraft:
    image: itzg/minecraft-bedrock-server
    container_name: minecraft-bedrock
    environment:
      EULA: "TRUE"
      SERVER_NAME: "My Server"
      GAMEMODE: survival
      DIFFICULTY: normal
      ALLOW_CHEATS: "false"
      LEVEL_SEED: "7085862198572591177"
      ALLOW_LIST: "false"
    ports:
      - "19132:19132/udp"
    volumes:
      - ./minecraft-data:/data
    restart: unless-stopped

You can change the server name and other settings as needed.

4. Right click inside the folder and select Open in Terminal or Open in Command Prompt

5. Type the following command to initialise the docker container (Be sure to have Docker Desktop running)

docker-compose up

(Dont include -d so you can see the logs inside the terminal)

On the first run, the server will download the necessary files and start the server. You can check the logs until it says server started as shown on the image below:

6. Open a cmd or powershell terminal and type the following command to get your local IP address

ipconfig

Look for soemthing like IPv4 Address. . . . . . : 192.168.1.100. It will be under: Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi you will see something like 192.168.100.4.

7. On your Minecraft device, go to Play > Servers > Add Server and enter the following details:

• Server Name: My Server
• Server Address: [Your Local IP Address e.g. 192.168.1.100]
• Port: 19132 (default port for Minecraft Bedrock)

8. You should be able to connect to the server and play with friends on the same network.

9. For offline play configuration set online-mode=false inside minecraft-data/server.properties file. This will allow you to play offline without needing an internet connection. (Note that an internet connection will still be needed to load minecraft to the servers menu)

Useful commands

docker exec minecraft-bedrock send-command gamerule showcoordinates true to set show coordinates

You can use AI to get other command variants

Managing the Server

I am in the process of creating a neat desktop app for you to manage the server. The app will allow you to start, stop, restart and view logs of the server. It will also allow you to change game settings without having to use the command line.

Personally I was not a big fan of anything done using AI especially in creative fields but it pains me to say that it might be time to accept AI. The only place I will never accept AI is in music.

AI in Daily Lives

As Zimbabweans, daily lives for the majority of people who are not students has continued the same as before with AI being a foreign object. Given that AI does require an internet connection it makes sense that the general public does not make use of it and I'm willing to bet that a large population of the working class has never used AI in Zimbabwe.

If you are part of the general public here are some suggestions on what you can use AI for:

• You can have a voice conversation with AI chatbots like ChatGPT as if you were talking to another human.
• You can also use AI to improve your cooking. Instead of feeding yourself or your family the same type of food over and over again use AI to prepare the same dishes differently.

AI in businesses

Using AI in businesses is a very underrated thing in Zimbabwe. I don't blame big corporations for not rushing to incorporate AI into their workflows but I must say it is a big game changer. A business that has collectable data like sales stands to benefit a lot in intergrating AI especially in data analysis and strategic planning.

I believe every business should have dashboards and adding an AI model to business dashboards can prove worthwhile. AI can analyze a lot of data at different angles. I don't think a vibe coded all-in-one dashboard is best but rather a focused clean dashboard is better for example a grocery store can have a dashboard with a sales table. Attached to this can be an OpenAI API key to analyze sales and give insights on what sells the most, the least and much more.

AI in Education

There is nothing new I can say about AI in this field as I was once a student myself I know we dug as deep and far as possible to have AI do all the hardwork. Something worth noting is AI never gives anyone a perfect score for some reason the all knowing tool always brings average results 🥲.