DEV Community: R Shahriar

Windows Doesn't Have a Real Internet Speed Meter... So I Built One

R Shahriar — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 19:09:12 +0000

One thing that always surprised me about Windows is that there's no simple way to see your internet speed in real time.

Yes, Task Manager shows network activity.

Yes, Settings shows data usage.

But neither gives you a small, always-visible internet speed meter that you can glance at while working, gaming, or downloading files.

The Problem

I wanted something that could answer these questions instantly:

Is my internet actually slow?
Is something downloading in the background?
How much data have I used today?
Why is my bandwidth suddenly maxed out?

Windows couldn't answer these without opening multiple windows.

So I Built Internet Usage Tracker

Instead of a complex network analyzer, I wanted something simple and clean.

The app includes:

🚀 Real-time upload & download speed
📊 Daily internet usage tracking
🖥️ A beautiful customizable floating speed meter
⚡ Lightweight performance with minimal resource usage

The best part is that the speed meter blends naturally with your desktop, making it feel like a native Windows widget instead of another bulky application.

Who Is It For?

This tool is useful if you:

Download large files regularly
Play online games
Work from home
Stream videos
Have a limited internet plan
Simply want to monitor your connection in real time

Final Thoughts

If you've ever searched for "How to show internet speed on Windows 10", "Internet speed meter for Windows 11", or "How to monitor internet usage on PC", this is exactly why I created Internet Usage Tracker.

I'd love to hear your feedback.

What feature would make an internet speed meter perfect for you?

AI Generates the Code. PreviewKit Lets You See It Instantly.

R Shahriar — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 18:44:48 +0000

AI coding assistants have changed the way I build frontend applications.

Instead of spending 30 minutes creating a UI component, I can describe what I want and get a React or Vue component in seconds.

That's amazing.

But I noticed something interesting.

The faster AI became at generating code, the more obvious one old problem became:

Previewing that code was still slow.

The Productivity Gap

Imagine this workflow.

You ask an AI to create a pricing card.

It generates a JSX file.

Now you want to know one thing:

Does it actually look good?

Instead of seeing the answer immediately, you have to:

Create a React project
Install dependencies
Copy the component
Run the development server
Wait for everything to load

Ironically, previewing the component often takes longer than generating it.

That doesn't make sense anymore.

The Idea Behind PreviewKit

I wanted something much simpler.

I wanted frontend files to behave like normal files.

Double-click.

Open.

Preview.

Done.

That's exactly what PreviewKit is designed to do.

More Than Just JSX

Although PreviewKit started as an idea for React developers, I quickly realized the same problem exists across different frontend technologies.

That's why PreviewKit supports:

JSX
Vue
HTML

Whether you're testing an AI-generated component, reviewing a teammate's work, or opening an old UI prototype, the experience should be identical.

No setup.

No configuration.

No unnecessary steps.

Why This Matters

The future of development isn't just about writing code.

It's about reviewing, testing, and iterating faster.

AI has accelerated code generation.

Developer tools now need to accelerate everything that comes after it.

PreviewKit helps close that gap by making visual feedback almost instant.

Built for Everyday Development

I didn't build PreviewKit for massive enterprise projects.

I built it for everyday moments.

Opening a component.

Checking a layout.

Reviewing a UI.

Testing an idea.

Those are tasks we perform constantly.

Removing friction from those moments makes development feel noticeably smoother.

Final Thoughts

Some tools try to solve everything.

PreviewKit focuses on solving one problem really well.

Opening frontend files shouldn't require creating an entire project.

It should be as simple as opening an image.

That's the experience I'm trying to build.

If you're constantly working with JSX, Vue, or HTML files, I'd love to know:

How do you currently preview standalone components?

How I Built an AI-Powered Windows App to Automate Image SEO

R Shahriar — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 18:23:25 +0000

If you've ever managed a large collection of images, you've probably experienced this.

Editing the images is only half the job.

After exporting them, you still need to add:

Titles
Descriptions
Alt text
Keywords
IPTC/XMP metadata

For a handful of images, that's manageable.

For hundreds of images, it becomes one of the most repetitive tasks in the entire workflow.

The Problem

I searched for a Windows application that could:

Generate image metadata with AI
Write IPTC and XMP metadata directly into image files
Process multiple images in bulk
Still allow full manual editing

I found tools that handled parts of the workflow.

Some could edit metadata.

Some could generate AI text.

But I couldn't find one focused on Image SEO from start to finish.

So I decided to build it myself.

Building Image SEO AI

The project eventually became Image SEO AI, a Windows desktop application built specifically for creators who need to optimize image metadata.

Instead of replacing existing photo editors, the goal was to eliminate repetitive metadata work.

Today, the application can:

Generate image titles with AI
Create SEO-friendly descriptions
Generate alt text
Suggest relevant keywords
Write IPTC & XMP metadata
Process up to 50 images in a single batch
Support both AI-assisted and manual editing
One Challenge I Didn't Expect

The biggest challenge wasn't AI.

It was designing a workflow that still felt familiar.

Many users don't want AI to make every decision.

Sometimes they just want a better starting point.

That's why every AI-generated field can be edited before saving.

The application is designed to speed up repetitive work—not remove user control.

Lessons Learned

Building this project taught me a few things.

AI works best as an assistant, not a replacement.
Small workflow improvements can save hours every week.
Metadata management is still an underserved problem.
Simplicity often matters more than adding more features.
What's Next?

I'm continuing to improve Image SEO AI based on user feedback.

Some of the features I'm currently exploring include:

Smarter keyword suggestions
Additional metadata standards
Better AI prompts
More bulk automation
Improved export options

If you regularly work with images, I'd love to hear how you currently handle metadata.

Is there a feature you wish existing tools had?

I'm always looking for ideas from developers, photographers, marketers, and content creators.